The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Masks
by Wynelda Ann Deaver

He comes, a thief in the night, stealing moments. His robe, long enough to brush the forest floor, conceals him from sight. A mask of jaw bone and sinew is removed, placed in the crook of a tree.

He goes to her.

She is tucked in tight and cozy in her cottage. He can feel the pull of her light, dimmed at night, spilling across his skin. In another time and place she would be the witch in the woods. Or perhaps a fairy, sparking magic where ever she landed. In this one she was many things to many people, always loving. Always giving just a little too much of herself away.

He knew her only as his best friend.

He slid into her house, doors and locks mean nothing to him. A television flickers in her room. A cooking show, playing just loud enough to be heard above the hum of her mask.

A machine forces her to breathe. And yet here he is still. He sits on the edge of her bed, pulls her hand in his. He only has twenty seconds every minute, for four to six hours.

Her body remains where it lies on the bed. Her soul perks up and looks for him, peeking out of the shadows in the room. Her light envelopes him in a hug fierce and true. They settle into a stuttering conversation. Those other forty seconds are rudely necessary to keep her alive.

Her family worries and frets about her. He has heard the voicemails and seen texts. He can’t tell them that he won’t come for her until she is ready.

It’s the least Death can do for his best friend.

Fiction © Copyright Wynelda Ann Deaver
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More about Wynelda Ann Deaver:

Wynelda Ann Deaver writes in the world of dark and twisty fantasy. She is in her own words a ‘girly girl’ who loves scrapbooking. Wynelda is extremely family oriented – her father is her best friend, and her son is the light of her life. If you’d like to read more about Wynelda, please visit her online at Wynword’s Weblog.