366: One Story Per Day (2024)

Day 93 - Veil of Secrecy

   A woman named Elowen lived in a quiet home in the small town of Carinthia. She married Lysander, a mysterious and intriguing guy. Their union had been peaceful, distinguished by Lysander's mysterious presence and Elowen's insatiable curiosity.

     "Where are you off to today, Lysander?" Elowen said, her voice laced with curiosity as she watched her husband gather his belongings at the door.

     Lysander gave her a mysterious smile, his eyes revealing nothing about his intentions.

     "Just some errands, my dear. I'll be back before you know it," he responded.

     However, as the days passed and Lysander did not return, Elowen's uneasiness became a gnawing feeling of anxiety. She asked people around the town for any hint that may throw light on his unexpected absence, but all she discovered were echoes of his mysterious presence.

     As she sat alone in their darkly lighted parlor one evening, a knock resonated down the silent hallways. Elowen's heart pounded in her chest as she rushed to open the door, hoping without hope that it was her missing husband.

     To her dismay, a solemn-faced messenger delivering word of Lysander's doom stood at the doorway instead of him.

     "I'm sorry, ma'am," the messenger murmured, his voice filled with anguish.

     "We found his belongings by the river. There's no sign of him anywhere," the messenger added.

     Elowen's eyes welled up with tears as the weight of Lysander's absence became too much for her.

     "Thank you," she whispered as she closed the door, shutting out the world and the misery it brought.

     In the next days, Elowen worked frantically to find any hint that may lead her to her missing husband. She spoke to neighbors, scoured the city streets, and even hired private investigators, but Lysander remained elusive, his secrets locked away in the recesses of his mind.

     As the weeks stretched into months, Elowen became overcome by a sensation of longing—a desire for the man who had stolen her heart and fled into the darkness. She clung to memories of their time together, treating each passing moment like a priceless gift to be cherished.

     But as time passed, the scars from Lysander's departure refused to heal and served as a continual reminder of the void he had left behind. And, while she may never learn the truth of his untimely departure, Elowen takes comfort in knowing that their love, albeit veiled in secret, was genuine—a beacon of light amid the darkness surrounding them.