The Town Crier watched as distracted figure blindly crossed the old stone bridge, passing the village's Church, heading toward the dark woods beyond.
You plung into the forest, spindly birches giving way to dark foreboding trees, making your head spiral as you muttered desperately to yourself.
"With this hand, I will... I will..."
How could I have messed this up !
"With this hand, I empty your cup- No !"
You search your words with frenesy as you advanced more and more into the woods, crushing the snow beneath you. "Your cup will never empty, for I will light your way !"
"With this candle, I lift your sorrow." No, no !
Crows flapped from tree to tree, as if following you as you wandered through the dark forest, a haunted feeling gripping your mind, like someone or something was watching you.
That is until you reached the other edge of the woods, falling face to face with what could be apparent to a makeshift graveyard. Gravestones weighted by time sitting next to eachothers right and left, forming a sort of path filled with roots. Indeed, the graveyard itself seemed to be rounded by some old and gigantic trees with only few leaves, letting the moonlight streaming in through the gap in the forest canopy.
More crows roosted in the surrounding trees, cawing noisily. Out of options, you made your way to one of the gravestones, only one word on it, "Beneviento".
You sat in the snow, mumbling the vows. The cawing became even more insistent, almost cathartic. Surprised by so much noise, you look up, and realized that you were having an audience to your pathetic act. Ashamed but now determined, you decide to try one last time, standing with a theatrical flourish.
You take the ring firmly between you thumb and your index, and breathe in.
"With this hand, I lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, I will be your wine..."
The squawking grew louder from the branches overhead. Deciding to take this as a compliment, you swiftly bow the crows.
Then you take pose again, looking at the ring still between your fingers.
"With this candle, I will light your way in darkness..." Confidence was starting to flow it's way back to you.
Hastily looking around you, you spot a small twisted root that extended from the ground and stared at it for a moment, before gathering strength for the grand finale. With a dramatic step to the root, you kneel.
"With this ring..."You slowly slip the ring on the root, "I ask you to be mine !"
Your last words echoed around you as the crows suddenly fall silent. A faint wind rustling through the trees.
You look up into the branches, where the crows silently stare down at you. Surprised but the sudden lack of cawing, you blindly reach for the ring still on the root,
When you suddenly feel it circling around your wrist.
Horrified, you immeditaly try to pull free as the crows once again grow loud with and cacophonous, wings flapping as they all flew in circle. You desperately pull, ripping a mass of roots and dirt from the ground.
Sprawling backwards, you can only watch as a putrified, almost skeletal arm clamped around you wrist.
You scream and shoot it away as the ground splits open in front of your shaking the ground, making way for a root and dirt-covered figure, clad in a dark dress, masked by a mourning gown. The feminine figure rises from the frozen earth, the ring still on her finger sparkling in the moonlight.
A voice, booming and sultry follows.
"You may kiss the bride !"
You scramble backwards, turning and running to where you came from frantically, stumbling through thickets and branches.
Only to trip and fall on one of the gravestones. The figure now approaches you.
Getting up quickly, you run again, dodging branches and rocks, crashing blindly through the branches of the bare, brittle trees that now seem to block your escape.
You stumble across a small creek as the figure still pursues. Dashing for your life, you don't notice the crows following you as well as you reach the edge of the woods and sprint towards the footbridge, only stopping to catch your breath.
You turn back, peering at the dark forest. Only now do you notice the odd silence.
That is, before the crows burst from the trees, flying straight at you. You freeze in horror as they encircle you, blocking the view of the forest and you can't do anything but cover your face with your arms.
Unwittingly to you, the strangely-alluring figure approaches from the other side of the bridge, moving towards you as the crows continue, swirling, but despite it, you can still see her form moving closer. Overcome by fear, you stand motionless.
She slowly enters the circle, as if suddenly spectral and bodyless. On her hand, the wedding ring is glinding in the moonlight.
The only unclothed part of her body are the arms.
She leans towards you, her bony hand placing itself on your chest as the crows blend all together, now only a mush of black around you.
And then this mush of black explodes away in a gust. Looking around you, you notice with fear that you and the now unmoving figure stand back in the graveyard you flew. Standing one in front of the other.
The same voice as before, now sounding more shy, or at least restrained, cuts the silence.
"You were wonderful... The gist, the passion... It was a lovely proposal."
The words take you back to reality, and you try to take a couple of steps back, looking fearfully at the figure's face.
When suddenly, a pair of hard and tiny hands are on your lower back, and manage, despite the size, to reel him back in place.
You're about to scream again when a doll appears in front of you, seemingly now craddled in the figure's arms.
"Now, silly, where do you think you're going ?"
