When the bell tolls

In the distance, a bell tolled the hour. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. It was eeiry in the early morning fog. A dog started barking at a unseen spectacle. It was still and clammy.


He really didn't why he was here. He didn't know why he had come. He figured it was because he would do anything for her, but he was starting to rethink that. He liked his sleep. 


He had not planned on getting up this early. But her phone call had been frantic, removing all vestiges of sleep from his mind. She needed him right now. He had to meet her, it was vitally important.


"It had better be important," he thought groggily as he rose from his bed. Even though he complained, he knew that he would do anything she asked, and she wouldn't call in the middle of night unless it was desperately important. Maybe she had finally left. This thought got him energized. He had been waiting for this for so long. 


It hadn't taken him long to get to the coordinates she gave him. The coordinates put him right in front of a cemetery. The fog was so thick, it seemed as if you could just pluck some right out of the air and hold it in your hand. He scanned the area, she was nowhere to be seen. "That was strange," he thought, "she had been so frantic on the phone." 


Since he was up and here, he started looking around. Within a few minutes, he found an opening in the fence to the cemetery. Peering into the cemetery, his skin prickled with sudden cold. He knew that he was going to have to go in, and knew that it wouldn't be good. He shivered. 


Raising his eyes to look deeper into the cemetery, he saw it. Her scarf, her favorite scarf. He had seen it so many times, he couldn't mistake it. His heart sunk, that feeling of dread he had been experiencing was now proven true. She WAS in the cemetery. He HAD to save her. In his mind there was no other option.


Using his capable strength, he bent the fence further to allow him to squeeze through, but it was definitely a tight fit. Inside the cemetery, he gazed around. He had no real idea where to start looking for her, and the fog was so thick now, he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him.


He turned on the flashlight he had stuck in his pocket. It didn't help any. Just made everything white. He turned it back off. Then he looked at his cellphone, "Yep, just as I thought." he said, "No Service." Nothing about this seemed to be good, but he just KNEW she was in here. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew she NEEDED him. 


Standing there, pondering his next move, he heard a small scream in the darkness. She was in trouble! He started moving toward the sound as quickly as possible. The fog made it almost impossible to move at anything other than a fast walk, anything else would bring injury. It was SO foggy. 


He reached a paved path, but was unsure where to go. Pausing, he felt a slight breeze blow, the air was cooling enough to start moving away some of the fog. An eddy blew past him, and he saw one of her shoes on the ground. His heart pounding, he searched nearby. YES! He soon found the other. Walking rapidly down the path in the directions of the shoes, he heard her call out again. It was definitely louder. 


Racing down the path as fast as he could, he moved towards her voice. She needed him, and she needed him NOW! Reaching a cross-roads, he paused, unsure which path to take again. Catching his breath, he strained his eyes for any sight of her, strained his ears for any hint of a sound.


He heard a muffled cry to his right, behind the big mausolem. Rushing around to the other side, he stopped suddenly, completely surprised at what he saw. 


Laid out before him on a blanket was his love, spread-eagle, bare as the day she was born. One hand was tied to a stake, and both of her ankles. With the one hand she had free, she put her finger to her lips to quiet him. Speaking softly, she said, "I want to fulfill your wildest desires. But I need your help to tie up my other hand. Then you can have your way with me."


Breaking into a grin, he knelt beside her. No words were needed. She knew his heart. She was his perfect match.