ANNABEL

Upon the midnight hour

The clock chimes upon this midnight hour

The blackest night sending shadows

Dancing upon his wall

A cold chill falls over the room

The curtains framing the battered old window

Dance wildly entwining within each other

As if they are long lost lovers

Dancing a waltz to an invisible tune

Shivering as his bare feet touch the cold black floor

An abyss that creaks as he edges closer

To that battered old window with its faded chipped white paint

A waft of sweet rose’s hits his senses like a boxers punch

Drawing in the elegant smell his heart flutters

Like a thousand moths have awaken and flapping their tiny wings inside his chest

Memories flashing behind his empty eyes, his lonely eyes

Gripping the window sill so tight his knuckles turn white

Anxiety creeping, filling him whole

A darkness that reaches into his soul

His heart thumping inside his chest as if it is trying to escape

The wind howl’s like a rabid beast chilling him to bone

A white mist envelope’s the trees like ghostly fingers reaching out

”Ellis, my sweet Ellis” Annabel’s haunting voice pierced the dark woods

Locket

Heartache washes over him

For his lost Annabel

“Ellis” a whisper so gentle in his ear

A tender hiss as his name is called

The hairs on his neck stand up

Clutching the silver locket around his neck

The tiny image inside faded and worn like an old piece of parchment

Her eyes a hue of green

Now vibrant when once they were black in this old photo

Long flowing locks of black hair draped down upon her bosom

A beauty to rival Cleopatra

A single tear rolls down his cheek

Cold and wet as it drips off his chin

Falling, tumbling upon the locket it splashes

For a breath of time Annabel is weeping in her silver and glass tomb

“Ellis”

The melody of his angel carried upon the breeze

Calling, drawing him forth into the night

Her white dress dances among the trees

“Annabel” Ellis whispers to no one but himself

A familiar beat of his heart a rhythm that only beats when near his sweet Annabel

A feeling that had long since died in his chest of pain

Into the night

Darkness hangs heavy over the silent homestead

The blanket of night covering all

Ellis lingers at the threshold to his domain

Peering out at the endless forest that resides at the border of his land

He passes through the garden which was once filled with magnificent blooms of white roses, their caretaker long since gone

The creeping weeds strangling the life out of the once vibrant flowers

The air is still, the breeze had dissipated

Yet a cold chill permeates every inch of his soul

Breathe of ice blows wisps of smoke into the air quickly vanishing on this frigid winter’s eve

A fractured stone path carved into the earth leads him into the night

Lost days long since past whittled away rocking together arm in arm on the wooden love seat on the edge of the trees

The empty swing rocks gently now pushed by an unseen hand as Ellis draws near

Faded initials scratched into the battered wood fills Ellis with a hollow feeling

Annabel

“Ellis”

Each call of his name like a dagger tearing through his heart digging in deeper leaving the most vicious of scar’s

The white picket fence with its rickety gate creaking, speaking an unnerving chant

The dark trees hanging overhead surrounding him like an army of the dead

The branches silhouette reaching down fills him with dread

Each step bringing him closer to his Annabel

Driving him forth into the unknown

The rolling mist thick and heavy as it crawls up his skin

The flickering light of the lantern casting deep shadows

As he searches for his lost bride

A flash of white guiding him on this darkest night

Leading him through these damned woods to a place he swore he would never return to the place where his heart died long ago

The mourning stone engraved with her name embedded beneath the Hangman’s tree at the centre of this hollow place that holds a world of sadness

It stands tall and imposing burnt away in parts by a vengeful deed

Tree roots like talons clawing into the frozen earth

Upon his knees in the clearing he peers out with teary eyes

A sea of white, her long dress flows as she flickers into sight

Barefoot and beautiful as the day she died her skin like porcelain

So gentle her touch as she held Ellis’s head to her chest

“Why my Ellis did you hurt me so?” She asked her face etched with sorrow

“My heart longs for thee, it has shattered into a hundred shards of remorse now you are gone, forgive me my darling Annabel” Ellis wept in the arms of his ethereal bride

A tender embrace as she held him tight as he poured himself out through eyes of grief

“Hush now it will be alright” She stroked his face a glint of darkness in her eyes

She laid him down upon her grave like a mother putting a child down to sleep

Ellis wept the tears of an infant as he rests weary head

He is hushed to sleep with a whispering hymn of forgiveness laced with poison

The amber glow as the sun peeks above the trees

Casting down light upon this serene scene

Frozen to the chilled earth curled up in a ball

The elements of the winter’s night capturing him in time

A fitting death for someone such as thee who takes a life out of jealous spite

The roses now bloom a magnificent white

For the lost Annabel on this cold winters night