The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Love Lock Bridge
by Naching T. Kassa 

In France, there is a bridge called the Pont Des Arts. Once, it was a place of romance and devotion. Lovers used to write their names upon a lock, attach it to the bridge, lock it and toss the key in the water. They called it “Love Lock Bridge.” A magical place. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

In 2015, it was decided that the weight of all these locks would damage the bridge and so they were removed. That is the story they want you to believe. The truth is far stranger.

I should know. I’m the reason they took the locks away.

I wish I could give you a romantic explanation. Perhaps a ghost story about a drowned specter who had lost his true love and sought her soul in every mortal woman he met. This poor phantom would fall deeply in love with his chosen one. But when he revealed his ghostly nature to her, she would flee in terror, leaving him alone again. Perhaps it is he who haunted the bridge and forced the others to leave. Such a tragic and romantic story.

If only it were true.

But what if it was? And what if I could experience such a thing? Maybe, then I wouldn’t hunt the couples who frequent the Pont Des Arts. But I have to have them. Afterall, with my looks, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to love.

There are so many couples on Love Lock Bridge, their arms wrapped around one another, their souls struggling to become one. It’s so beautiful. They don’t even notice the green woman with the face of a frog. Nor do they see her sharp teeth.

Of course, in the morning it’s not so lovely. Pieces of the couple, those which washed up on the shore, can’t be identified. Only the rusty locks hanging from the bridge bear witness to the carnage.

Such a terrible thing. Yet…so delicious.

I try to catch the men first, waiting until they’ve taken their lovers in their arms. That’s when I snatch them. Their bodies are a delectable cocktail of endorphins before the terror seeps in. And it’s almost as though my prey loves me in that moment. Not her. Me!

I drop them in the water when they begin to scream. Their fear and agony saddens me. I feel almost sorry when I leave them bleeding.

But the women are another matter. Their fear is a pure delight. I suppose that if the men are the entrée, women are the dessert.

I shouldn’t have become so greedy. It’s my fault the locks and lovers faded away. Now, no one stands on the Pont Des Arts under the midnight moon.

No one…except…him.

Who is this man on the edge of the bridge, staring into the water? He who smells of love and…melancholy.

I lean on the rail beside him, the rail where they used to hang the locks. Strangely enough, there is a lock there. A solitary steel beauty, glinting in the moonlight.

“Who is it for?” I ask.

“Collette.”

My heart quickens at the word. “Strange. That’s my name.”

He turns to me, a smile on his lips. I want to hide. I’m not very nice to look at.

“Do you know how long I’ve searched for you?” he asks.

I turn, but there is no one there. He must be speaking to me.

“How long?”

“Seems like years.”

He touches my cheek. His fingers are cold, frigid. He leans forward and kisses me. The melancholy fades, leaving only love.

But I am not his Collette.

The urge to sink my teeth into him fills me. I want to taste all of his love before he realizes his mistake.

But there is nothing there when I bite down. Air has more substance. So strange that he can touch me and I cannot touch him.

He does not seem to mind what I have done. He kisses me again.

“I have loved you so long, Collette,” the ghost says.

There are tears in my eyes when he leads me to the water. I see our key when we sink beneath the waves.

Fiction © Copyright Naching T. Kassa
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Naching T. Kassa:

Arterial Bloom

Lush. Brutal.

Beautiful. Visceral.

Crystal Lake Publishing proudly presents Arterial Bloom, an artful juxtaposition of the magnificence and macabre that exist within mankind. Each tale in this collection is resplendent with beauty, teeth, and heart.

Edited by the Bram Stoker Award-winning writer Mercedes M. Yardley, Arterial Bloom is a literary experience featuring sixteen stories from some of the most compelling dark authors writing today.

With a foreword by HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Linda D. Addison, you are invited to step inside and let the grim flowers wind themselves comfortably around your bones.

Available on Amazon!