Jess’ sudden departure becomes an elegy for Nick. The beautiful smile that glowed a while ago was dead. Nick looked sadly at his wife’s beautiful face in the chest that had been decorated with flowers. Today, Jess is wearing a white princess-style dress with light makeup. The ankle-length dress with real pearls on the skirt and the cuffs of the sleeves and chest was Jess’ favorite outfit. If she used to wear it with a smile and sparkling eyes, today Jess wore it with her eyes closed.
“Sorry, Nick. I haven’t been able to find Dev’s whereabouts. The surveillance camera on her necklace didn’t detect anything.” Michele’s voice made Nick turn his head.
“She must have gone somewhere out of reach to cool off,” Nick said, walking over to the crate. Gazing at his wife’s face one last time before the mass and funeral services began. The soft touch of his fingers brushed the pink blushed face.
“I swear, I won’t be in a relationship with any woman after this, Jess. In my life, there is only one marriage, and that is you.” Nick fell down and slumped against the side of the crate, which made Michele feel even more sorry. The bespectacled man could only lightly tap Nick’s shoulder, and tried to lead him to get up.
Nick stood up, but something made Nick reluctant to move away from the crate. His eyes fell on Jess’ gloved hand. There was a slight movement in Jess’ fingers. Nick strained his eyes to make sure what he saw wasn’t true. A few seconds lasted, Nick got a more astonishing reality. In fact, everyone is there.
“Jessy!” shrieked Nick with a look of surprise on his face. Everyone’s eyes widened at the unbelievable phenomenon that was happening. They watched with full awareness of Jess’ corpse rising and sitting with their eyes open.
“Jessy, are you still alive?” Nick gently touched Jess’ shoulders, while the woman looked around.
“Thanks, God! This is His miracle,” said the middle-aged man who was beside Michele.
“Thank you!” Tears ran down Nick’s cheeks at the unexpected joy. He did not know what really happened to his wife after the suicide attempt. It could be that his wife only experienced temporary paralysis of her organs, and it could be that the heart that was not heard was actually still beating, even though it was very weak.
***
Nick decorated the room after the doctor said Jess was fine. The petals of Jess’ favorite rose strewn across the floor. The little candles glowed beautifully on the sides of the flower sprinkles. Something Nick had done several times to strengthen their marriage bond. Nick grabbed Jess’ hand, and led her to the bed. Hope the woman is impressed, and warmed up. Even though, all he saw was an expressionless expression.
“Your hands are so cold. I’ll turn on the heating.” Jess nodded slowly. After the room warmed up, Nick dropped the weights beside his wife.
“Honey, thank you for coming back. I will atone for all my sins. I’m sorry because of my mistake our child-to-be had to go,” Nick said sadly. His large hand stroked Jess’ flat stomach while the woman kept her blank gaze straight.
“Take it easy! I’ll cuddle you until you sleep.” A large blanket covered half of Jess’ body after she lay down with Nick’s help. Jess’ eyelids began to sway as stroke after stroke brushed against her forehead. Before long, she was lulled by sleep perfectly.
After making sure Jess was asleep, Nick immediately lay down beside his wife. His unrecoverable health condition, and all the sadness that had entangled him in the past, made him feel exhausted. Nick immediately fell asleep, fulfilling the time he had been deprived of sleep due to circumstances. However, when he had reached the stage where all the muscles of the body relaxed, a strange sound flowed in the ears, and thwarted the sleep process to the next stage. Nick opened his eyes to observe Jess, and the entire corner of the room. He didn’t find his wife snoring, or find anything suspicious. In fact, the sound sounded more terrible than the snoring of a very exhausted person.
“Maybe I was just dreaming,” he said to himself. Having assumed so, he closed his eyes again.
Five minutes passed, Nick felt thirsty. He decided to go downstairs to fill his empty water bottle. A strange sound was heard as he passed the banquet hall. The strange sound was exactly the one he heard in the room. However, this time it was followed by the squeak of a bird in pain. Nick approached a row of chairs bounded by a table. The closer, the more real the sound became. Nick didn’t want to rush into turning on the light. He chose a safe move by peeking at it first.
Nick stopped right at the corner of the table. The sudden thump of his breath made his legs drag slightly back. His wide eyeballs shone perfectly on something behind the chair. Something that instantly made all the strange feelings shake the heart. As if in therapy shock, he was unable to think about what steps to take.
“Oh, Jessy … that’s really impossible!” Nick’s eyes froze, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Jessy sat cross-legged, clutching a black bird the size of an adult chicken. Blood dripped down her mouth. The woman continued to tear the poor bird’s flesh until the painful squeak had disappeared.
Hesitating, finally Nick tried to lift his feet forward, but suddenly, Jessy lifted her head even more so that Nick could see those black-encircled eyes glaring firmly at him. Nick gasped at the sight of Jess’ short, neat teeth growing into hideous fangs. His lips were pursed with an expression that seemed as if he was digesting the illogical thing in front of him. What happened? Was what he saw really his wife? Impossible to believe, Nick had just left Jess asleep. There’s no way his wife would suddenly be here with a scary face.
Realizing from his daydream, Nick gasped again to see Jess standing up to him with a bloodied knife. To make sure that the woman in front of him wasn’t Jess, Nick decided to check the room. However, when he was about to drag his feet, suddenly his legs felt very heavy to move.
“God damn it!” Annoyance slid from the tongue.
Nick was still trying to move his legs with difficulty, while the distance between them continued to erode until finally leaving only three inches. Now, Nick is not only fighting his helplessness, but also has to fight the blade that is right in front of his face. An evil grin appeared on the face of a woman who looked exactly like Jess. The woman pressed Nick’s body, and continued to point the sharp object at Nick’s face. Nick tried so hard to hold Jess’ hands full of mucus, and bloodstains until he felt sweat dripping down his face, chest, and back.
“Jessy … stop!” shouted Nick. The woman was unmoved, and continued to act. The sharp edge of the knife had managed to slash Nick’s forehead. Blood flows through the nose. Suddenly, Nick remembered Mehmet’s words to pray and involve God if he met such a creature, even though he himself did not know who the replica of his wife was. Nick closed his eyes for a moment. There was a sudden great force pushing Nick’s hand to paralyze the woman in front of him. He pressed hard against Jess’ hand until the knife finally hit the floor. Nick moved his legs, which were starting to feel light, then he quickly ran up the stairs. Arriving in the bedroom, he was beyond shocked.