Sea Glass and Sand Memories

A loud knock on my door made us hush.

I held my breath.

I heard metal scraping, as though the door bolt slide open. A shadow moved across the rug in the main room.

My pulse rang in my ears.

Zandra stood in the bedroom doorway, her face ashen. “Lover, you and I have something to discuss. Leave her!” she commanded.

Anson gathered his clothes and left obediently. With only a chilling look cast at me, she turned and followed him.

What would she do to him? I dressed quickly and quietly, moving to a position under their sitting room window, listening to every noise. Soon, they argued.

“I own your soul,” Zandra pronounced.

“You possess me only by your black deeds.”

“You are my lover. What do you think you’re doing with that girl?”

“I will never love you.” His voice remained composed and assertive.

She declared, “Then, you will never love her.”

I rose up just enough to peer through a slat in the blind.

She stomped across the room, snatched an amber-colored bottle from a shelf, and yanked out the stopper. She turned toward Anson. Her face looked like a corpse, drawn and white. She proclaimed, “Captus anima!”

My mouth dropped open as his form vaporized into smoke sucked in by the bottle. When all his matter entered the vessel, she quickly replaced the stopper.

Her lips curled. “You will never love again.” Then, she looked directly at me.

Horrified, I dropped down. My heart thumped in my chest. Had she seen me? I waited. Nothing happened. Then I heard her footsteps, but they sounded from farther in the apartment. I crept back to my room. I sat on the floor, completely still, listening. Still nothing. A faint glow of dawn shone through the window. What should I do?