Chapter Text
Clarissa blinked awake.
She was not lying down on her bed like one typically would when they woke up. She was standing– no–floating–above the altar. How peculiar. She lifted her white flowy dress up to reveal her usually pale legs had become translucent. She took a look at her hands, bedazzled with pearl bracelets. They were also glowing a translucent green color.
Maybe her mother knew something about this. Even with her illness, she was still a doctor after all. She’d always been the person Clarissa went to for answers. “Mom!” She called out, finally observing the environment around her.
The quaint church was decorated head to toe in white wedding decorations. Her favorite flowers hung around her. They were beginning to rot by the smell of it. The multi-tier cake was untouched in the corner. The round tables covered with fine china and embroidered napkins–once bustling with people– now sat empty in the middle of the church. That was not how she remembered it being.
Where was everyone?
“Hello?” Her echo was the only reply.
She stared at the other side of the altar. There was no one to be found. She swore that Mark was there right, speaking his vows, before her sudden nap. “Mark?” She whispered in disbelief. Did she scare him off? Did he realize she was unfit to be a bride? Falling asleep at your wedding would surely make that impression.
There could have been the possibility that he simply ran off. He ran away from his responsibilities quite frequently. Why not run from the biggest day of his life? Whatever the case, he took the entire guest list with him and left her behind. She could not let that slide! She was gonna find this man and give him a talking to like her mother always said.
She rushed down the aisle, “stepping” on the petals that she so carefully made perfect, to the front door. First, she gently nudged the door and when that didn’t work she became more aggressive. A church door would not be locked from the inside, right?
“Why won’t you budge!” She exclaimed, banging on the door once more. There was something holding her back. A blue field appeared briefly around the door every time she pushed on it. That wasn’t normal. She attempted a few more times before she gave up completely.
Luckily, she spotted the assistant pastor whose name she had forgotten out of the corner of her eye. He would surely know how to open the door for her. “Sir!” she exclaimed, hoping to get the man’s attention. He kept cleaning up the tables, ignoring her. “Sir! Excuse me! I need some help over here!” she repeated. She sighed in frustration as the assistant refused to listen to her. That kid was a dumb one sometimes.
She stormed right over to him. “Hello, sir! Can you help with the door? It won’t open,” she explained. She tried her best to act as politely as possible, but she was fed up with the nonsense of the day. The man had the audacity to not even acknowledge her in any manner. He actually turned around and walked to the next table. How rude.“Excuse me!” She shouted, right into his ear.
Still nothing.
What was going on? She groaned. Fine. If she was trapped here, then so be it. It wasn’t like she was gonna be here much longer anyway. Any moment now she was gonna wake up, perfectly fine, and completely ready to get married! She floated back to the altar and sat in front of the lecture.
While sitting, she helplessly watched the young pastor clean up, essentially erasing all of her hard work. He took down the flowers, cake, and her special ribbons. He threw away their menus, notes. What was he even doing? The wedding wasn’t done yet! They still had to finish the ceremony. If only the man would let her out to find her guests, then maybe this confusion wouldn’t have happened.
She opened her mouth to tell him this information, but nothing came out. She was honestly too tired to speak anymore. It wasn’t like he was going to listen to her anyway since he completely ignored her the first time.
Nobody wanted to listen to her. Even on her wedding day.
A tear fell down her cheek and landed on her wedding dress. She tried to catch her tears with her hand, but they kept pouring, overfilling it. There was no way to stop them. After a few minutes–or months– she embraced the ruin. Why not make this already miserable day worse? There was nothing to lose. There was no one to care. She sobbed right into her dress, her make up smudging all over it.
Little did she know, she’ll keep crying for fifty long years.