Mad Love

I stared blankly at the screen in front of me. It was bright, far brighter than it should be, with no other source of light in this tiny windowless box. I should be blinded by now, but for some reason unknown to myself, I kept staring, and it stared back at me.

Neither of us made a sound. Neither of us moved. But of course, the screen cannot move to begin with.

What time is it? I could’ve found out by looking at the bottom right corner of the screen, yet I found my own eyeballs not moving as I wished. In fact, they would not move at all.

What am I doing here?

The sound of loud rapping on the door startled me out of my trance. I jumped in my skin, and finally found my body moving. My eyes finally moved to the time shown on the bottom right of the screen. It read 10:00 AM.

Aah. It must be the landlord. I smiled. I do love this man.

I got up and went to get the door. He was there, hair slicked back as usual, dressed in his usual tailor-made suit, and carrying his usual briefcase. It is an oddly comforting sight.

“Good morning, Kaori. Are you ready?” he asked. His face betrayed no emotion, as usual. Again, an oddly comforting attribute of his. There is no danger of the unexpected with him.

“Yes, Ishigami-san.”

“Then let us go.”

He started off down the corridor. I silently closed the door of my room, and as I did so, I could almost see the screen of my laptop flickering, perhaps in protest. It was unnerving at first, but I eventually got used to it. If it stopped flickering one day, I might start feeling unsettled again.

No wonder I always thought that device was alive.

I followed Ishigami-san out of the building and into his car. I glanced at the clock as I got in, and it read 10:17 AM. I caught myself before I smiled. That didn’t change either.

Ishigami-san and I rode in the car side by side, neither of us saying anything. Most people would find this extremely awkward, but not me. This was, in my heart of hearts, the best kind of conversation two people can have. Ishigami-san was looking out at the passing cars and buildings, as the car took us out of the city. I kept my eyes on him. The outside world meant nothing to me. I would have stopped looking at him if he had asked me not to, but he never did.

At 11:02 AM, Ishigami-san turned to me.

“Close your eyes. Do not open them until I say so.”

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes as I was told. It was the same command he gave me every day, at this time, without fail.

Silence again. I did not mind it. It was never uncomfortable for me. I reached over to Ishigami-san, and felt his fingers lace through mine. This simple gesture, though it happened only when I was not allowed to see him, made me so excited and happy I would tremble and sweat. I used to be terrified that Ishigami-san would release his grip on me once he feels the beads form between our palms, but he never did.

Finally, the wheels of the car rolled to a stop. I heard the car door opening, and Ishigami-san gently tugged me out with him. I followed obediently. I heard the car door close behind me, and my stomach did a somersault.

It’s coming.

Still hand-in-hand with Ishigami-san, I let him guide me wherever we needed to go. My flats crunched on twigs and leaves, then on small stones, and then finally on smooth concrete. I heard the click of a lock opening, and the slow swing of a heavy door. My heart was beating so hard I felt slight difficulty in breathing.

Yes. This is it. This excitement. My blood was coursing through my body twice as fast as it normally did. There is nothing more exhilarating than this.

I felt Ishigami-san’s hand relax, and we released each other simultaneously.

“You can open your eyes now.”

I opened my eyes, and found myself in front of an old concrete doorway, the heavy iron door ajar. I turned to look at Ishigami-san and beamed at him.

“May I?” I asked, my voice perhaps a little higher than normal. He smiled at me, and handed me a small penknife. He leaned in close to my ear, and whispered.

“I will come back for you in an hour.”

That sent shivers down my spine. I took the knife from him, pushed the iron door open and skipped inside. I could hear the door closing behind me, and the click of a lock that signaled the absolute seal of the space. I barely took notice though, because on the floor in the middle of the blood-streaked room, was a near naked woman clad in some leather, with lines of red and splotches of black and brown scattered across her body. Her eyes were glassy and unseeing, and her long, jet-black hair scattered about her blood-caked face.

She was the most beautiful thing I will ever see.

“Hitomi-chan! I’m here!”

I dropped to my knees next to her and shook her awake. She stirred slowly. I never did understand why it always took her such a long time to wake up properly. Her eyes slowly traveled from the wall to my face, and I swear she was always so happy to see me she would begin tearing as soon as she knew it was me.

“Let’s play.” I told her cheerfully, and took out the penknife.

*

I walked up the path to the abandoned Ishigami mansion. All kinds of strange plants had grown here since its glory days twenty years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if a giant snake were to appear out of nowhere and attack.

The drawing room was quiet when I reached it. Kaori must have had a good time, if she was quiet by then.

“Kaori,” I called out. My tone of voice never faltered. “Are you finished?”

“Yes,” came her reply from the other side of the door.

I put the key in the lock and turned, then stepped to the side so that Hitomi will not see me. Kaori came through the door, her dress soaked in blood and her eyes bright with cheer. She smiled up at me, and I at her.

“How is she?”

“Even more beautiful than she was before.”

I could feel the corner of my lips curl upwards. Before she could say anything else I had her slammed up against the wall with my hand around her neck, and my mouth firmly on hers. The taste and smell of the blood on her face, the sensation of her hands digging into my back, brought back many memories of when I had Hitomi in this exact position. The difference was that Hitomi had cried and kicked and screamed, and Kaori, on the other hand, had surrendered herself completely to me.

If I cannot have Hitomi, then Kaori drenched in Hitomi’s blood will do.

I pulled my face a fraction of an inch away from her, and stared into her eyes. I liked those eyes. Hungry, desperate, manic. I relish in those emotions.

“We shall continue this upstairs,” I breathed. Kaori’s manic grin widened, and her entire body shook madly as I threw her over my shoulder and carried her upstairs.

***

Author's note: Say hello to my eighth (or ninth) blog!

I have decided to launch a new one JUST for my writing. Two years is a very long break, and my friend and I have decided that we cannot put this off any longer. She had revived her old blog and you can check it out here, but five years ago I had made the decision to never update my old blog again, for personal reasons, so here's a new one!

This is my first piece of writing after a two year break, seven if we don't count all my coursework in university. All constructive criticism is welcome.

Thank you for taking the time =)