Past Regrets (Prologue)

The night sky was lit with many bright stars and a full moon. She stood in front of a tall and still house. At two stories high, it was an old Victorian, red with black windowsills. The door was a deep, dark blue. It was late and fog began to surround the house. The door slowly opened without the help of human hands. Behind it, stood a stranger; a stranger she has met many times before. “I have been waiting for you,” he spoke seductively as he pulled her into the house and the door closed as slowly as it had opened. “I shouldn’t be here,” she responded as she glanced out of the window. “I am not supposed to be here.” “Yet, you are.” His breath danced across her neck as he moved closer to her from behind. He placed his hands on her waist and slowly turned her to face him. “This is forbidden. We cannot do this anymore. I came to say goodbye.” She shivered and tried to pull away but her body would not listen to her commands. “Then why are you not leaving?” She didn’t try to answer. He already knew. He lowered his head to hers but paused inches away from her mouth. She could feel his breath on hers. “Tell me why you have really come. Tell me why you are here,” he whispered. “I am here to say goodbye. This can no longer be. This can never be.” Though she could hear the quiver in her own voice, she knew it wasn’t fear. She again tried to break away, this time her body listening, but he closed the distance between their lips. Her entire body lifted into his kiss with anticipation. She ran her arms up his chest, around his neck, and pulled him as close as she possibly could. The hunger, the passion, the promise of what he was offering was too good to resist. His arms encircled her waist. “If this is truly goodbye,” he pulled back just enough to speak. “Let’s make it memorable.” For that split second of separation, she was distracted. She quickly forced herself out of his embrace and stepped back. “No. We can’t. This is not allowed. I’m sorry, truly,” she hesitated. “But we can never be. This cannot be. I must go.” With those words her final goodbye, she ran from this house; from this night and from this man. When she stepped through the front door, she heard his words echo behind her, “I will always love you. We will be together...in this and every future life.”