She stands alone by the river, cold, waiting, passing the time by staring into the iridescent waters as they ripple gently. Misleading, she muses, this tender façade which belies the true nature of the water. This river that would quickly grab her by the ankles and drag her under its surface, devouring her body in an inescapable cocoon, depriving her of precious air, and she would struggle regardless in a futile effort to reclaim her life.

And even when she should fail in the end, her corpse would at least rest easier knowing that she had tried her best before giving in to the all-consuming darkness.

Soft footfalls shake her reverie, and she knows her time has come when those strong arms encircle her shoulders. The closeness brings her no warmth, and the breath that tickles her ear is as chilling as the air around them. She does not move, and her gaze continues to follow the path of the river.

He chuckles to her softly (misleadingly), and says “I love you,” in his softest whisper. A gentle façade hiding the deadly nature of the monster within him. His spidery fingers curl in her hair, sweetly at first, as a lover’s caress should be. She does not react, and his grip tightens painfully.

Without releasing her hair, he leans ever closer and nuzzles her head, right behind her ear. “You’re trying to leave aren’t you?” he murmurs, and then he laughs, loudly, dispelling the quiet atmosphere that had shrouded them, and he spins her around to face him. “Don’t you know you can’t?” his smirk is condescending, and she hates it all the more.

She frowns as he yanks her closer, sending her crashing against his chest. His expression doesn’t change, other than a slight widening of that damnable smirk. “You can’t run away.” He taunts, and he leans closer to whisper in her ear again. “I love you so much,” he murmurs, “that I would crush you.” He finishes with a menacing hiss. “I would render you to dust and scatter your ashes, so that I could breathe you in and keep you forever…” he trails off, eyes suddenly following the river. “Just like the water continues to embrace a corpse after it has stolen their life away.”

She shivers, and abruptly he pulls away. His fingers are tightly clenching her shoulders, and there is a smile on his face that would make demons cry. She vaguely registers falling, and very suddenly she feels cold all over. Eyes widening, she thrashes around and breaks the surface of the river, just in time to feel his foot settle over her heart and shove her back under.

Bubbles spew from her lips and nostrils as she writhes and twists in futile attempts to slip away from under his heel. Her eyes meet his desperately, and she finds only amusement there. Through the rippling, bubbling water, she makes out the movements of his lips.

I am the water.

And with a painful sob, she breathes him in.