Lover’s Leap

“I thought you were dead,” I tell her.

She smiles, but doesn’t speak. It’s so good to see her again. Even here at the cliff where it happened.

No one comes up here any more. Not at night anyway. Its too dangerous. So I come alone. Every night. And every night is just like this, shrouded in fog. I don’t know what I expect to find here. Certainly not her, yet here she is. Diaphanous gown, ethereal body. A spectral vision. Or is she?

I move closer to the edge. The fog roils around me.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I continue. And still she says nothing. Maybe she can’t hear me. I move closer.

I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve forgotten something. Something important. What was it? I take another step, but it doesn’t bring me any closer to the answer.

I should know this. Whatever it is, I should know. I should remember. Another step. If I can just get to where she is, then perhaps….

“I thought you were dead,” I tell her again.

And as I take the last step into oblivion she finally answers, “We are.”

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31 Responses to "Lover’s Leap"

John Wiswell says:

2012/03/09 at 00:51

I wondered if she wasn’t a ghost. Could be a suicidal delusion, but it’s nicer to imagine they’re happily together again.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 08:38
  
  Thanks, John. I think she is a ghost, or maybe just a figment of his imagination. ~Tim
Adam Byatt says:

2012/03/09 at 04:37

“Together at last. Together forever” to butcher a song from little orphan Annie. Appears like a circular apparition, a loop they are doomed to repeat.
Adam B @revhappiness
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 08:40
  
  Thanks, Adam. I wonder if they are doomed to repeat it forever or is there some way to break the cycle? ~Tim
Laurita says:

2012/03/09 at 06:48

Haunting. I actually got a shiver. I have a fondness for romantic ghost stories, especially those involving long drops.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 08:43
  
  Thanks, Laurita. I find heights kind of scary so it seems a natural setting for a haunting story. ~Tim
justin davies says:

2012/03/09 at 12:41

The thing that interests me here is that any number of things could be going on: this really might be the ghost of his lost lover, or he might be suffering from very bad delusions and sees dead people in the fog. I found that her last (and only) words were explanation enough for his final step to oblivion.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 15:13
  
  Thanks, Justin. I like stories with just enough ambiguity to make us think. ~Tim
Craig says:

2012/03/09 at 13:02

Very clever . Kind of unfair of her to not wait for him, but it makes me wonder what made her jump in the first place?
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 15:14
  
  Thanks, Craig. There are some things we will never know. ~Tim
Dan Waters says:

2012/03/09 at 13:38

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, although i could see what was coming, it was a very satisfying way to finish. I especially enjoyed the simple descriptions of the location.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 15:15
  
  Thanks, Dan. I’m glad you enjoyed it. ~Tim
Michael A Tate says:

2012/03/09 at 16:04

I’m wondering if she wants to be with him, or is trying to kill him for some sort of revenge…
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 18:56
  
  Thanks, Michael. I wasn’t thinking about revenge when I wrote it, but I see how it could appear that way. ~Tim
Fernando H. Stevens says:

2012/03/09 at 16:38

It’s the silly intellectual in me, but I read it as a metaphor for forbidden knowledge and the things some people do to get it. Maybe it’s the paragraph about him having forgotten something and not knowing the answers?

Well done!
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/09 at 18:57
  
  Thanks, Fernando. That’s a fascinating interpretation. ~Tim
Danielle La Paglia says:

2012/03/09 at 23:58

Damn she’s selfish! LOL Seriously, I love that this can be interpreted so many ways. I’d like to think that he’s lost his mind and is seeking her rather than her summoning him to his death. Either way it’s a chilling end.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/10 at 12:20
  
  Thanks, Danielle. Hah! I hadn’t really thought of her as selfish, but of course I did make it ambiguous on purpose. Glad you enjoyed it. ~Tim
Steve Green says:

2012/03/10 at 08:02

Nicely written Tim, this to me reads like the ending of a longer story, it leaves me curious at to what happened to her, and why.

I know it isn’t the same thing but I kept thinking of Wuthering heights.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/10 at 12:23
  
  Thanks, Steve. I hope the mystery of what came before makes it more interesting. ~Tim
Larry Kollar says:

2012/03/10 at 10:01

I think he meant to follow her over the edge, personally. Talk about falling in love!
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/10 at 12:25
  
  Thanks, Larry. I suppose we can hope they died happily ever after. ~Tim
Gail Aldwin says:

2012/03/10 at 12:56

I like the sense of disorientation – that feeling of trying to recall something – works really well here
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/11 at 11:49
  
  Thanks, Gail. What do you think he was trying to remember? ~Tim
Estrella Azul says:

2012/03/10 at 16:50

I like how she can be a ghost, his imagination, or anything the reader wants to imagine. Nice, Tim!
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/11 at 11:50
  
  Thanks, Estrella. I like stories that give the reader room to think. ~Tim
BrindaBanerjee says:

2012/03/11 at 10:49

Ooooh- that is why ghosts get such a bad rap -they are always tempting folks to cross over to keep them company. But it is a good outcome for these lovers, right?
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/11 at 11:52
  
  Thanks, Brinda. I’m sure it’s a good outcome for them. We’ll just keep telling ourselves that. ~Tim
Helen says:

2012/03/11 at 21:06

I guessed that she was a ghost, but I liked how you created the uncertainty in his mind and how he too steps off the cliff and finally hears her. The piece flows nicely.
1. Tim says:
  
  2012/03/12 at 11:11
  
  Thanks, Helen. I saw this as a sort of half-awake dream state. Or maybe half-live. ~Tim
lime says:

2012/03/19 at 12:20

such sadness

Comments are closed.