Full moon night

You're absolutely frozen. As if you'd been locked in ice. Your chest tightens as you struggle to breath. The full moon shines light upon the dark woodlands, bathing you in a ghastly glow. You put your hand on your chest, annoyed at the sound your heart makes when pounding. Your normally petite figure does nothing to stop it from shaking.

An arm stretches from behind you, grabbing your shoulder firmly and pulling you back. The anonymous figure has their hands wrapped around yours, holding both of your hands as you struggle to step away. You place your other hand on your shoulder and push, but the unknown force on your shoulder is too strong to break away from. Your heart skips a beat. You do not recognize this person and they are not letting you go.

"Please, let me go," you plead as you scrunch your face and twist your arm out of the grip, turning to face the person behind you. You gasp as you take a step backward.

"Bella," you whisper to yourself as you choke on the name. It's been four years since your fiancé has died. Tonight's the night of the full moon, and all you want to do is avoid the woods. However, you do not recognize the man from behind who held you by the shoulder. He's clearly not a man but a beast, showing his fangs in a smile. If you hadn't have identified him by appearance, the way the woods seemed to stand still would have been the dead giveaway.

"Who are you?" you ask in a firm, yet shaky voice. You grasp your jacket tightly around you as you attempt to keep yourself warm. The cold you once felt as you explored the woods is gone tonight, replaced entirely by something you cannot explain. A chill runs down your spine and you shiver as you step forward. You do not know where your fear comes from, you are afraid because this person is not something that you can guarantee is human.

"Bella, do not fret. I'm a friend," the man says to you, holding his hands out towards you. For you, frozen and in fear. Your hands tighten, gripping your jacket and pulling it as close to you as you physically can, as if that would do anything to protect you from this beast. You look around you and see how the man's presence affects the world around you. All of the small animals in the area are frozen in place, as if they are statues. The full moon shines on their eyes, reflected back at you.

"Something is coming. We need to find cover," the man tells you as he gently pulls your hands away from your head and shoulders. He might have right, but you can barely feel your hands or feet. You know you have to do something to get away, but you cannot move.

"W-who are you?" you ask him, your voice a croak. It's as if you don't know what you should be asking.

"I have something to show you," the man replies, starting to walk towards the woods. You instantly stiffen and shudder. He ignores that and continues.

"I need to help you find the answers you seek," he tells you as he continues to walk. You move your feet, get your wits about you, and try to follow him. For him to move, you will follow. Though the thought of stepping into the woods makes you sick.

"My fiancé," you tell him, holding your hands out in front of you as you walk after him. "What do you know about my fiancé?"

"I know that no one knows what really happened. I know that you're still so lost."

He's right, of course. As much as you try to escape it, you still feel like someone is missing from your life. You still feel as though you'll never understand what happened. You still feel as if he's coming back any minute to make you laugh. But you know better now.

The man leads you out of the woods and into the clearing. You gasp. It's the clearing where you two were supposed to get married. Ironic, isn't it?

You run your hands over the long benches and you know that you need to sit down. The man follows you, pulling out a chair and sitting it beside you. You lower yourself slowly as if you are afraid of your surroundings. But in reality you are afraid of him. As you look around at the scattering of dim lights in the area, you know that they are fake. But that's something you could deal with.

Once he sits and places the box he was carrying on the table, you look up at him. He stares back at you with the familiar gaze, but you cannot place this person. You have no idea who this man is.

"Forgive me for this box," he tells you as he takes a breath. You look down at the wood as it's stacked on top of itself in a series of boxes and piles. "Please, open it," he asks. You glance up at him, before carefully pulling the lid up, seeing what's inside.

"Is that what I think it is?" He nods his head and you explore the contents, seeing it's a bunch of homemade jewelry. But before you can ask, he pulls out a large envelope.

"I did not want to tell you in person, but I think you need to know how sorry I am. I'm also sorry if this can't help you."

It's official. You are more upset now than you were at that night in this very spot. Your dark, deep green eyes meet his golden ones, looking into each other and seeing how sorry he is for the grief he caused. He was not at the ceremony, he wasn't even invited. He knew though. He had to be there and see; he knew you were still hurting.