Till Death do us Part

The Storm pelted the rooftops of Ryan’s mansion, beating at the roof with a drums rhythm. Flickers of lightning synced with perpetual roars of thunder. Rain made a perfect setting for an indoors date, with the cool moist air conjuring up pretty romantic moods. Movies always had the best romantic moments with the rain in the background and Ryan was about to make his own type of movie with his lover Cassie.

 Ryan was head over heels in love with Cassie, as he had been for the six months they had been dating. She was young, beautiful and made him reignite the romantic feelings he had lost in him. Cassie was also crazy over him, with the mystery and maturity he exhibited coming to her as irresistible appeal. Oddly enough, this was the first time Ryan had invited her over to dinner at his home, always preferring a trip out of town or dropping her at her place instead. Finally she got to see the home and it was beautiful.

The visit kicked off with a dinner Ryan had prepared, scrumptious lasagne with spicy chicken wings. Cassie loved lasagne and chicken so this was a true delicacy to her and with the way they were cooked to perfection she couldn’t help but have her mouth water at their sight. She dug into the meal and Ryan couldn’t help but smile at how she was enjoyed his meal. “Who taught you how to cook like this?” Cassie asked, stuffing her mouth with the delicious food.” Well, my mother taught me how to cook, and since then I’ve been training myself” he replied while taking a sip of wine. The glass slipped out of his hand and resulted in a comical splash of wine on his face. Cassie laughed it off making Ryan a tad more embarrassed than he felt. Still they continued dining and sharing experiences. Goofy Cassie always made it easy for Ryan as she could make jokes and speak for long lightening the weight of any conversation.

When they finished the meal Cassie delivered another question “So how many girls have you brought here” with a flair twinkle in her eyes. Ryan looked at her and started making counting gestures with his fingers before showing her one, “You are the first and only girl I’ve ever shared this place with, believe that”. Cassie wasn’t sure of she could believe it du e to how ludicrous it sounded but Ryan’s face seemed honest as ever and he had never lied to her before. The glass he had used seemed to object it however as it strangely rolled off the table and shattered. Momentarily they froze in awe of what they had seen but rationality returned and assuming it was an accident done by the other they looked away from it. “I think the glass wants us to go and shower” whispered Ryan in a jovial manner and they all left for his en suite.

The bed had a bottle of wine placed in the middle and rose petals all over it; a speaker was playing some old school music setting up an amorous mode in the idyllic picturesque scene Ryan had created. Cassie undressed and stepped into the shower and her lover followed. Passion filled the air and the pair couldn’t help but have their lips collide in a fashion that demanded mistletoe to top it.

The joyous sensation was cut off when searing hot water dripped from the shower scalding their skin. Cassie screamed as she walked out of the shower while Ryan scrambled to close the taps in vain, the shower didn’t close and he had to flee as well with a fair degree of burns. He said a curse then dried himself while Cassie was still crying because of the excruciating pain inflicted on her tender skin by the hot water. As if it couldn’t be any worse the speaker started blasting beyond its highest sound and made an agonizing noise of a pitch so high it would deafen a dog. Ryan twisted the volume knob and pressed its off button to no avail, resorting to tossing the speaker out of the window. It broke in half when it hit the ground and the noise stopped, relieving the lover birds from the momentary torture.

Cassie dived onto the bed blindly and rolled around in a feline manner, drawing attention and a laugh from Ryan who cannoned himself at her like a child in kindergarten. He loved how he could be crazy and young with her, the thirty seven years he lived where more than quartered at times when he was with his lover. The moment of bliss they were having were interrupted when they both noticed a dress over the pillows, a dress which wasn’t there when they entered the room.

How did it get there? Ryan quizzed himself, puzzled by the awkward circumstances he faced. Cassie had a difference question which she asked with a very serious tone, “Whose dress is that Ryan?” She was answered by nothing but a gaunt silent face which spoke volumes to her without its lips moving. “So you were lying to me all along? all this time you’ve been lying to me!” she shouted at the top of her voice. Ryan stuttered as he tried to answer, with his arms gesturing Cassie to calm down while he moved closer to her. She pushed him away and began to scream more, she was frantic and highly enraged while Ryan did nothing to calm her down with his livid face.

A queer smell drew his attention from Cassie, a smell which became more apparent and alarming by the second. Ryan dashed out of the room and confirmed the cause of the smell, smoke. A lot of smoke which clouded the hallways and choked him, he knew what this meant and he knew they didn’t have much time to escape. Ryan swiftly turned back to the room to warn Cassie but before he could return his eyes caught something that startled him. Disbelief beyond imagination hit him so hard that he fainted on the floor.

Ryan and Cassie thought they were having a good time alone, but in truth they weren’t. They had never been alone all night but they failed to notice it. Malia shared the whole evening with them, dining with them too. Malia could no longer eat but she was still annoyed when sweet Cassie took her place on the table, her table too. She made peace with this though, and opted to stand next to Ryan while they ate. Thereon she listened to every detail of their conversation, enduring it no matter how irritated she became with it. Ryan made her angry the most with the web of lies he was weaving. The lie on how he knew how to cook in particular made her so angry she struck his glass and spilt the contents on him.

Still she let him continue until he pulled the last straw and claimed that he had never been with another woman but the girl he had brought home. Malia was enraged so much that she hurled the glass off the table, had all the years she lived with Ryan mean nothing to him? Did he not consider her as a part of his life? The questions made her more enraged and this time she decided she had had enough and would put a permanent end to the lies. Malia dropped all the candles in the house on the carpet and before long a fire as intense as her rage broke. She followed them upstairs where she caused moments of mayhem that amused her as much as they tortured the couple. Just before that she left her old dress on her bed knowing very well Ryan would have a tough time explaining how it was there and who it belonged to. Maybe then he would confess it belonged to his wife who died only two weeks ago.

When the fire engulfed the rest of the house Malia revealed to herself momentarily to Ryan. He couldn’t take it, reeling to the floor in disbelief. The shock looked familiar; it reminded her of the day she died. Ryan was driving with her when he lost control and crashed into a tree, prior to that they had a huge argument about him cheating on her with a college girl called Cassie which resulted in the accident. Ryan wriggled to safety after the crash but Malia couldn’t do the same, the tree’s trunk had pinned her. “Call the ambulance” she wailed, overwhelmed with pain and trying to contain the blood loss from a haemorrhage on her belly. Ryan rushed to get his phone and dialled the ambulance number before cutting the call and dialling another number. Malia couldn’t believe it when his next words on the call were “Baby I won’t be able to make it tonight could we postpone” instead of “we need help”. She slumped on to the seat in horror and her heart gave up the fight that was left in her.