Amy's Gift

Amy turned slowly, gracefully in her white dress - her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and her eyes sparkled with malice.

‘Isn’t this perfect?!’ She squealed, ‘I think this is it, it’s ‘the one’’ she described the air quotes with her manicured nails.

Alicia smiled gamely and tucked a strand of hair behind an ear ‘looks great on you,’ she bit back ‘…everything does’. Amy stared adoringly into the mirror, her eyes crossed paths with Alicia’s and there was a strange clouded moment where they seemed to be looking through one another.

‘And of course we’ll find something cute for you, I’m thinking yellow for the bridesmaids’ - great, so I’ll look like a banana thought Alicia - ‘And once you have your hair and makeup done you won’t recognise yourself!!’ - I wish I didn’t recognise you - Alicia took a sip of Prosecco, it was flat and acid. She tried to force herself into a more generous frame of mind. Amy was one of her oldest friends, Amy probably didn’t mean to suck the air out of every room she entered, Amy probably hadn’t meant… hadn’t meant what? Hadn’t meant for Liam to fall in love with her? Amy wasn’t quite generous enough to believe that.

‘Yellow - that’s a very…happy colour’ She said in a slightly strangled voice.

‘Yes, happy’ chimed Amy ‘happy happy happy we’re just going to be so happy together’

The stop assistant gave Alicia a sympathetic look and Alicia became aware her face had twisted itself once again into an expression of barely contained malevolence. She swallowed the rest of her Prosecco in an attempt to hide the grimace. 

‘Just imagine it’ Amy sighed ‘me and Liam, and the church! You know it’s where we met - of course you know were there at the beginning’ Amy sighed deeply, and Alicia wondered who she was performing for, ‘so many wonderful times - and that awful one I know darling. Of course it’s sad it’s being torn down but it does make it kind of special we’re the last people who will be married there. Everything is changing - but in just the best possible way! What a perfect ending to our little three musketeers act! Oh…’ she turned to the assistant, ‘can you show her how to fluff my train? Listen carefully darling I need you to get this exactly right!’.

Alicia gritted her teeth and stood up, the assistant explained with exaggerated care that the train would need to sit like this, the veil, cathedral length?, would twist like so, ‘and of course’, she finished, ‘you’ll be needing this’ she handed Alicia a small rectangular silver box he size of her hand. Alicia moved to open it but the sales assistant brushed her questioning fingers away, ‘not now dear, it’s a surprise for the bride’.

Amy turned to look ‘ooh what is it, do you give them to every bride?’

‘No not at all, only the special cases’ Amy grinned triumphantly. ‘Liam is so grateful you’re coming, he thought it might be awkward but I told him "she’s one of my oldest friends!" and anyway you understand. Some things are meant to be... me and Liam we just fit together - anyone can...' Amy hesitated and Alicia felt a mild surprise that there were apparently depths of viciousness to which even Amy would not stoop. ‘I just mean we belong together’ she finished someone unconvincingly. Alicia touched a hand to the scar that pulled at her left eye and said with a sweet unconcern 'Yes, anyone can see that.’

…

Alicia tossed the silver package to the side once she got home, kicking off her shoes and pouring herself a glass of a decent Spanish red to wash the taste of the day out of her mouth. She put the tv on loud and tried not to think about Liam or Amy. She concentrated very hard in being interested in the crispness of pie bottoms and not the clench in her throat that seemed to be making it hard to swallow. Someone on the show had silver grey eyes the same colour as Liam’s. The same colour as that stupid package. Of course Amy got special treatment, Amy was so used to it it probably didn’t even register with her anymore. Everything came easy for Amy. 

She glanced at her phone and realised she had a new list of tasks from Amy. ‘Thanks for coming today babe - just realised I am going to need you at the venue the day before the wedding to sort everyone out and pick up the cake and also Liam's suit. I’ll just be helpless with nerves, so could you switch your flight that would be perfect! Any update on what was inside that little gift box! A little good luck charm? Hope it’s something shiny!’

Alicia got up and stumbled over to the corner where she’d thrown it, intending to hurl the stupid thing out the window. But she hesitated, she might as well open it first, the paper wrapping it was crisp and oddly cool to the touch. Inside was a carved wooden box, the top showing a heart surrounded by stylised knot work, she stared at it for some time before realising what was wrong. The twisting patterns weren’t just knots, buried and twisted in on itself was the head of a snake. Her fingers found the silver clasp and flipped it open with renewed curiosity, and there, sitting on a bed of grey silk, was the dagger. At first she thought it was made out of glass, she briefly thought it might be some sort of strange wedding tradition a horseshoe for a luck a dagger for... something else. She looked at it more closely and realised it wasn't glass at all. The dagger was made of ice. It was cold to the touch but it didn’t seem to have melted at all despite its hours in the box. The tip looked curiously sharp, she touched a finger to it and it came away bloody. Carefully, very carefully she turned it a little in its silk nest, she could see now there were words carved into it. She tilted it to the light, ‘for Amy’ it read, yes she thought that was right - this was perfect for Amy.