Not Like This - Flash Story

 I had no idea it would be like this. The way he looked at me, my immediate response whether I liked it or not, and the fact that I would always be his. It wasn't supposed to be like the books I used to devour, those cute romance titles with pastel-coloured covers and titles that were so sweet and innocent that they made my fillings hurt. If he read my mind, he would have laughed, then held me in his arms and proceeded to tell me that no, I would never be free from him and yes, his love was real. I had given up smoking when I met him that one evening when I didn't want to go home because I knew what awaited me there - loneliness, despair, and a manuscript that silently screamed at me - come back to me, come back and finish what you started! Instead, I sat in a small bar with my nearly empty pack of cigarettes, my one beer that I nursed, and an invisible barrier that blocked anyone from speaking to me. I liked being unapproachable. I liked looking as though I would scratch your eyes out if you dared to ask me how I was doing. But for some reason, HE walked right up to my table, sat down across from me, and then slid a full pack of smokes my way. I glared at the cigarettes, then at his smiling face. Hello, he said in a tone that nulled all the sounds surrounding us. You've got me mixed up with someone else, I replied as I pushed the pack toward him. On the contrary, he replied with a sense of charm as he set the pack right in front of me, I have been looking for you. I suddenly got up, finished my beer, and then stormed outside, forgetting my crumpled pack and his offered pack. For some reason, I wanted to get the hell away from him but I didn't know why. I walked down the street and located a bench to sit down and collect myself. As soon as I sat down, I saw him walking toward me with a stride that could almost be labeled as casual or carefree. My chest hurt; I wanted to now run away from this man, this stranger, yet all I could do was watch him slowly advance toward me. He sat down next to me, handed me the same pack from before, and said - you and I are more alike than you think. Look, I said with a flare of fire burning within me, I don't KNOW you! I don't WANT to know you! Leave me the hell alone! He smiled even wider and I gasped in shock. You're not . . . I mumbled as he took my hand in his, pulled me toward him, and whispered in my ear - I've chosen you. There is no need to fear me. You are now safe with me. Something scraped against my neck, and then everything went black. When my eyes fluttered open, I saw his face looming over mine. His smile, I thought to myself, only to touch my lips. Why me, I croaked, noticing that my voice bounced throughout the spacious and desolate room that I finally realized we were in. He leaned back and then helped me to my feet. I saw your soul, he said, and I knew that I needed to save you. But not like this, I cried. Not like this. You seemed to want to die so quickly, he replied, and that would have been a waste. By the way, your belongings are upstairs. I glanced at my surroundings, then at the ebony coffin I had stepped out of, and wondered if perhaps truth was stranger than fiction. You have no idea, he said with a laugh as he then led me upstairs to my new life. The one I never asked for. I had no idea it would be like this.  

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