The wind howled mournfully, rattling the windows as she watched the disease consume his body. It turned him into a shadow of himself. Greedily, It ate up every bit of strength he had until he couldn't leave the bed, couldn't even move without a guiding hand.
His body wasn't enough to feed the insatiable hunger, It stole his memories, too. The good ones it had a particular craving for. Until only the bad, the ones that left him screaming and tugging at his hair, remained.
It grew, and drained him, until all she had left was the tumor that had snaked its way through his organs and dribbled into his bloodstream, spreading like wildfire in September. Sometimes she swore she could smell the smoke.
It had devoured Him bit by bit and now It laid in his place, tucked under the quilt she had made.
His replacement was a ghastly thing, with its own pulse, its own heartbeat. She despised it until the only thing she could do was love It. After all It was what remained, gasping and grasping for life not its own.
She fed It, sustained It. Perhaps, if she nurtured It enough It would become Him. It regurgitated his thoughts and memories, garbled and condensed down to something only she recognized because there were threads within them that aligned with her own.
It grew stronger until It could join her on the porch just like He used to, watching the birds as they broke their fast and welcomed the dawn.
However, the birds would no longer come to the feeders, no matter how much seed she put out.
It danced with her in the living room and stood behind her as she stirred something on the stove, savory smells turning putrid and fetid in his wake.
It was now an echo of Him, and oh how that made her ache, how it made her rage until the caustic voice of his proxy shushed her. Consoled her. She longed for Him, yet she found herself settling for this beast, this thing, this terror that now resembled His form.
The house was dark and she couldn't remember when the lights were last on. The cold seeped in through the crumbling plaster. She swayed to some distant tinny music that she recalled from the night they met. His arms wrapped around her, his mouth stretched into the grotesque smile she had become accustomed to. He pressed it to her temple, she no longer shuddered from His touch.
"You're here," she said as He laid her down on the bare, stained mattress. Cobwebs adorned the ceiling and there were brown rings where the rain had leaked through the roof.
"Where are you going?" She asked as he got up. In the dark he looked just like he should, dark hair, dark eyes, plush lips, strong even. She smiled at the ghost of a memory that passed around her like smoke.
"Bringing you with me," he answered, as he opened his mouth. His teeth were sharper than she remembered them being.
There were lots of thoughts like that these days. When her mind registered the ghastly pallor and yet didn't flinch away.
His gullet widened, he kneeled at the foot of the bed and consumed her, or what was left. Piece by piece, just like Him. She'd be a part of Him now and not even death could stop it.
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