Flash Fiction Friday - Lost the Plot

A love lost and a promise kept

Trudging along the cemetery path, they huddled together, hiding behind an umbrella that was doing little to hold back the driving rain. The wind howled, sometimes catching the umbrella in a way that made it seem as though it were breathing.

“I still don’t understand why we are doing this,” Melanie whined.

Gordon turned to face her, a little ashamed that the makeup sliding from her eyes down across her cheeks turned him on. The look was trashy and given that Mel was a bit of a prude, seeing her this way made him look at her in a whole new light.

“Did you hear me?” she said, giving Gordon a nudge.

“Um, yeah. I told you, Mel, it was a promise I made to my wife when she was sick. I told her I would let her meet any future dates that I was serious about.”

She moved in closer then, resting her head on his arm. “I’m happy to hear that you are serious about our relationship. I’m not the kind of woman…”

Gordon shut out her voice as she rambled on about her chastity and devotion to the Lord. Given her devout religious beliefs, he had been sure that Melanie would have been more than happy to take this little trip to “meet” his deceased wife, but she had been whining from the moment he had first mentioned it.

“You’re not listening, again.”

He looked down at her, annoyed at the constant whining and need for attention, and even more annoyed at the smudge of foundation now smeared across the arm of his jacket. Not for the first time, Gordon wondered why he was with her. Melanie was a good woman, but she was a stiff in bed and required constant praise and attention. She was a beautiful woman, though, and a solid companion. Despite all of those niggling little doubts, he was falling for her, hence the trip to visit the grave of his wife, the one woman that no one could ever replace.

As they approached the plot, the rain relented and the wind dropped to a whisper, caressing their skin like a cooling breath. It was then that Gordon noticed something wasn’t right. The earth of Jenny’s plot looked to have been torn open. Anger coursed through him. He’s heard of cemetery vandals and had seen spray paint splattered on headstones, but he never expected his Jenny to suffer such ignominy.

Gordon picked up the pace, feet stomping across the sodden grass, ignoring the wails from Melanie that she was going to fall and that he should slow down. When he reached the grave, his mouth dropped open. Not only was the turf disturbed, but it also looked like it had been rent asunder from within. He poked his head over the gaping hole and saw an empty coffin.

“Is this some kind of prank?” Melanie cried, a tremor in her voice.

Shaking his head, Gordon looked closer, which was when he saw the fabric tears on the coffin lid. None of it made sense. Were grave robbers still a thing? As he crouched to get a closer look, an all too familiar voice came from behind.

“Are you looking for me, my love?”

Gordon wheeled around and let out a scream at the sight in front of him. His wife, or what was left of her, sat perched on top of a tombstone, her bony fingers clinging to the edge like some carrion bird. The wedding dress, which she has begged to be buried in, was in tatters, revealing her emaciated carcass underneath. He sucked in a breath as she smiled, her lower jaw coming loose on one side.

“She’sh sho pretty,” the Jenny thing said, reaching up to lock the jaw back into place.

“I’m…I’m keeping my promise,” Gordon stammered.

“Are you? Are you really?”

“Yes, my love. I told you I would bring another woman if…”

“You also told me you would grieve me for one year. What has it been?’ Jenny moved her skeletal head from side to side, small particles of rotten flesh dripping off with the movement. “Tick tock, tick tock. Not even six months.”

Gordon fell to his knees and sobbed as Melanie ran back the way they had come, shrieking for help. “I missed you. I was so lonely.”

Jenny hopped off the headstone and walked in jerky movements toward Gordon. She wrapped her shredded arm around him and whispered in his ear, “Lonely no more.”

He didn’t fight as she dragged him back into the coffin, or when she closed the lid. He finally did scream, though, when the sound of the dirt thudding on the roof began.