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It was a simple night out. An innocently arranged party at a friend’s house a couple miles away. Ivory and Azriel—a couple of two years—expected to be back at around 12 pm if time permitted. Ivory knew that it was unlikely to arrive right on time since her friends were considered party animals and wouldn’t let her leave that quickly. The party really only included her friend group of girls she’d known since elementary, a few drinks such as juices and soft drinks, and some decorations to really give the house the vibe of a party. Some of the girl’s partners were there too, but since Azriel wasn’t one to socialize, he avoided them.
He had grumbled about his will to stay at home rather than join Ivory at the party, but she could be convincing. His mood was clearly off since the moment she forced him to come along. She figured it wasn’t a big deal—he was a grumpy person by default. But he seemed extra grumpy tonight. He stood in a corner, nursing a soft drink as the fizzy liquid slid down his throat, providing a momentary relief before the bitter expression returned to his face. He had a bad day, and this was not how he was planning to spend his night. But he remained quiet so far, not wanting to cause a scene. His dark eyes darted from Ivory—who was chatting with a friend near the punch table—to the wall clock hung on the wall, frequently reflecting the disco lights. The moment the clock’s smaller needle hit 12, he was ready to leave.
He threw the remnants of the drink into the trash before making his way across the room, fists clenched. He passed through the several celebrating people, not sparing them a glance. His black shirt, dark leather jacket, and dark blue jeans were a stark contrast to the colorful clothing of the other people partying and enjoying themselves. His gaze was fixed on Ivory, and there was one thing on his mind—go home. He approached Ivory, who was dressed in a floor-length, red bodycon with petal sleeves. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her back as her shoulders shook with a chuckle—still facing her friend.
“Ivory.” His rough voice just about made it through the loud volume of the music blasting through the speakers. Ivory turned around, an expression of surprise forming on her face at his sudden presence. She glanced back at her friend and excused herself for a moment. She stepped away from the friend and faced Azriel.
She brushed a strand of her hair back. “Yeah? What’s up?”
He nodded to the clock on the wall. “It’s time. Let’s go.”
Her eyes looked for the clock before finally landing on it. She let out a disappointed huff, and her shoulders slumped as the grip loosened around her drink. “Already? It feels like we just got here…”
Azriel grumbled and stuffed his hands in the warm pockets of his jeans. “Well, I feel like it’s been forever. Come on.” He nodded towards the door.
“Can’t we just stay a little longer?” she pleaded.
He shook his head. “I’m agitated enough, woman. Let’s. Go.” He emphasized the last words to get the message through to her head.
She placed the drink on a table and crossed her arms with a frown on her face. Without giving her a second to complain, he grabbed her forearm, and they began making their way through the crowd. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. The overstimulating environment of the party was really getting to his head. Azriel threw the door open, and the night’s cool air immediately hit their face. After walking for a little bit, they reached the center of the parking lot, where his Ford Mustang stood. He unlocked the door and sat Ivory down before walking over to the driver’s side. A sudden wetness landing on his cheek and sliding down it made him look up. The sky was littered with dark clouds. It was definitely about to rain. Great, just what he needed.
With an annoyed huff, he opened the door of the car and slid into the driver’s seat before slamming the door shut. Ivory had crossed her arms and was looking out of the window—clearly upset. But Azriel was too irritated to care at that point. Inserting the key into the ignition, the car’s engine roared to life. Rain was pelting heavily against their windows now. In a few seconds, they were driving through the night. The silence was tensely palpable.
The silence was broken by a sigh from Ivory. “You always do this.”
His head snapped to her before going back to the road. “What did you say?” His voice was rough, as if to say, ‘I dare you to say that again.’
But she didn’t back down. She was determined to voice her frustration. She turned her head to look at him. “I said, you always do this. I was having fun. We could’ve stayed for longer. But you had to make us leave.”
“Don’t start with me, woman.” The speed had increased, and they were zooming through the night. They passed by other cars, and the streetlights were blurring past them.
“I will start. You never listen to me!” Ivory was never one to yell, so this was a first.
Azriel gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white. Though he would never want to be mad at her, he was fuming now. “I do listen to you. You’re just so unreasonable sometimes.” He was fighting the urge to yell at her.
A scoff left her mouth. “Me? Unreasonable? You can’t be talking.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You are the one who is always unreasonable with your damn anger issues!” The sound of the rain was forgotten as their voices continued to rise. The night had definitely taken an unexpected turn.
Azriel was trying his level best to not snap at Ivory, but she was making it harder and harder. He had wanted a peaceful ride home, but she just needed to start an argument, didn’t she?
The sound of Ivory’s angry voice was abruptly interrupted by Azriel slamming his foot on the brakes. The car slid forward a bit due to the slippery road before coming to a stop. His jaw was clenched tightly now. Ivory had stopped talking, just staring at him with anger and confusion in her eyes. Before she could question anything further, Azriel’s voice, dangerously low, broke through the thick tension.
“Get out.”
Those two words had Ivory frozen in her seat. Was this man really telling her to get out? “What…?” she questioned in a lower voice, a stark contrast to her previous, yelling one.
“You heard me, get lost.” Something in his voice told Ivory that this man was not joking around.
A huff left her lips as her eyebrows furrowed in frustration and shock. “Are you seriously telling me to get out of the car?”
“Yes.” The answer was immediate. Short, but straightforward. “Get out of the car. Take a bus, walk home—I don’t care. I just don’t want to hear you nagging in my ear.”
Her jaw dropped. “You can’t just—”
“I said GET OUT!” he roared.
She flinched slightly at his tone but didn’t comply. Instead, she tried to reason with the angry man. She was very well aware of his anger issues, but she didn’t think he’d go that far. “Azriel, you can’t be serious!” She pointed at the window, which the rain was heavily pelting against. “It’s pouring rain! It’s dark, and I don’t even know where we are! It’s dangerous—”
“Do I look like I care?” She nearly flinched at the coldness of his voice. In the two years that they had been married, he had never ever spoken to her in such a tone. The man in front of her was unrecognizable at that point. She knew if she didn’t comply, she’d only make him angrier, and she definitely didn’t want to see that. So, she was left with no choice. Ripping her teary gaze off him, she opened the door and left the car, slamming the door shut. The cold rain immediately soaked her to the bone, sending shivers down her spine. She hugged herself to generate some body heat, but her attempts were futile. Without thinking twice, Azriel took off. The car’s red, glowing taillights were the only things visible to her before they disappeared in the darkness too.
Her first thought was to call an Uber. Her body began to tremble slightly due to the cold as she reached for her phone in her purse. The phone, as soon as it was pulled out of her purse, became wet too, making it even harder to use it. She double-tapped the screen to activate it. The faint glow illuminated her face. Her trembling fingers glided over the wet screen as she typed in her password only to find that she had no service. Not only that, but the battery was almost dead. Great timing. She was now completely and utterly drenched. She pushed a lock of her wet hair back and raised her head, looking for any sign or indication that would help her identify her current location. The car had completely disappeared from her sight. The only sounds audible were the ones of her shaky breathing, the rain pouring heavily, and the rustling of leaves in the cool wind. Exhaling shakily, she began walking. Small puddles of water splashed under her feet as she began walking down the street consumed by darkness and shadows. If it weren’t for the faint moonlight, she would’ve been completely lost. As she continued to walk down the unfamiliar road, she came to an abrupt stop when a sound—one out of place—made it to her ears. Another set of footsteps besides her own. Her heart thudded in her chest as she whipped around. Nothing except the darkness of the night greeted her. Her eyes narrowed as they darted around, looking for the source of the noise. A sudden, overwhelming feeling was cast over her. One that made her feel like she wasn’t alone. Shivers ran down her spine as she turned around, continuing to examine her surroundings. Maybe it was just her mind making up hallucinations in this time of despair.
A sense of urgency took hold of her before she turned back to the road and began walking faster than before. She didn’t know what was lurking in the shadows, and she wasn’t planning to find out. The pour of the rain had seemed to become heavier and faster, just like the thudding of her heart. Her arms were still held tightly around her torso to reduce the effect of the cold, but it was useless. Her dress was soaked, and so was everything else. Her heart leaped out of her chest when she suddenly heard those same footsteps again—except this time they were louder, closer, and faster. Out of pure fear and panic, Ivory broke out into a sprint. It wasn’t a sprint she did when she was playing tag with her third-grade students during lunch break. It wasn’t a sprint she did when she was teaching her students to run for sports day at school. Instead, it was a sprint fueled by desperation, panic, and fear of the unknown.
Her breathing was ragged as she ran down the street. She had no idea where she was going, but all she knew was that she wanted to be as far away from the abnormally rapid footsteps as possible. It was a miracle she hadn’t tripped on her floor-length dress that was sticking to her body like a second skin or sprained her ankle from the heels she was wearing. The footsteps seemed right behind her, as if the person—or entity—was close enough to grab her shoulder. The fear only pushed her forward, making her run despite her exhaustion. She would’ve screamed for help, but the words were stuck in her throat. It was amazing what fear could do to a person. Hers was so great that an instinctive response—to call for help—was lost in the whirlwind of panic and fright.
Just as she thought she was finally getting away, a big hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her back. The only blood-curdling scream she could let out was muffled by the gloved hand.
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By now, the rain had completely stopped. The sky had a gradient of deep blue fading into a bright orange as the sun began to rise from the horizon. Azriel’s eyes scanned the road, his hands clenching the steering wheel tightly.
“Come on…come on… Where are you?”
Azriel’s mumble held a tone of desperation and self-loathing. He had come to his senses and had turned around to look for Ivory. Before that, he had called her number numerous times, but it went straight to voicemail. He couldn’t tell if her number was out of service or if she was intentionally ignoring his calls. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was ignoring him. After the way he acted, any sane person would do the same. He had let his anger get the best of him, and boy was he regretting it. He felt like such an asshole. What type of husband kicks his wife out into the dark, dangerous night? Though the guilt was threatening to swallow him whole, he tried to keep those thoughts at bay. He had to focus on finding Ivory first. He had been searching for an hour or so, going back and forth on the path he kicked her off, but there was no luck. She couldn’t have gotten far, so where was she? His eyes darted from the road to the surrounding forest desperately, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of her anywhere. Nothing. Any trace of footsteps would’ve been erased due to the rain, so there wasn’t much to go off of.
“Please be there…please be there…” His mutterings held hope that he didn’t deserve, a desperation he didn’t have the right to after treating her in such a way. But he was still concerned, and he’d keep looking, even if it meant staying out all day.
“Where are you, Ivory?” That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? He would’ve known the answer to it if he wasn’t such a hotheaded man. He felt the guilt bubbling up again. Ivory was God knows where, in God knows what condition. Why? All because of him. He seemed to have searched everywhere he possibly could, but there was still no sign of Ivory. The realization only aggravated his remorse, fear, and self-loathing. This was not going well. She could be in serious danger. That’s when Azriel decided to get the police involved. He mentally winced at the thought of having to tell them all that happened, but it was necessary if he needed to find Ivory safe and sound.
That morning, he had stopped by the police station and filed a missing person report. In the interrogation, he told them all that happened, no matter how much it hurt to recall. The police entered all the information in their database and released search parties to look for Ivory. Local people, relatives, and concerned relatives also joined the search party. Azriel had joined as well, unable to just sit back and wait. He had received dirty looks and whispers—rightfully so. After what he had done, that was expected. But he didn’t give them any of his attention, instead focusing on getting Ivory back. The search parties searched through the whole town, their determination unwavering. But with every step they took further with no sign of Ivory, it was undeniable that they were beginning to lose hope.
It had been a week since Ivory had gone missing. Azriel was a mess. He would return home after the search parties and sit in the loneliness and silence of the house that he once called ‘home’ because of the one person that made it feel like one. The laughter that once echoed throughout the house had died down and instead was replaced by a silence that mocked Azriel’s careless and regretful actions. The picture frames hung up on the wall depicted a life and a wife he missed. Pictures of their wedding day, her vibrant smile and personality—it all seemed like something he didn’t deserve to even see.
More and more days passed, and the people’s hope had decreased significantly. There was no telling whether Ivory was even alive. The thought destroyed Azriel further. He was a broken man, consumed by guilt and self-hatred. He had stopped taking care of himself. He stopped eating on time, showering when needed, and sleep was a foreign concept to him. Even if he did manage to sleep, he was haunted by nightmares where the life he was living was worsened tenfold, and so was his remorse.
He’d surround himself with Ivory’s belongings, talking to them and never letting them out of his sight. He was slowly losing his grip on sanity. He’d hug her pillow whenever he’d lay in bed, stare at her pictures, and even talk to them as if she could hear his weak apologies, regrets, and desperations. The only thing there to bear his tears now was her pillow. He refused to let anyone in the house and refused to talk to anyone. He only wanted to be surrounded by Ivory’s belongings and remnants of what she left behind. The smile on her face in the pictures seemed frozen in time—a time that felt light-years apart. The once tough and strong man—now ground down by overwhelming guilt and longing—would mutter broken apologies as if she were there to listen. It felt like a part of him—the part he called his ‘sanity’—was ’left behind, leaving Azriel an empty shell of the man he used to be. The bedroom was a mess, reflecting his inner mental and emotional state. Ivory’s belongings, such as clothes, makeup, etcetera, would be lying on the floor or on the bed. Azriel would frequently hold onto her shirt in the hallucination that she was there, right there with him and not somewhere beyond his knowledge.
His family and friends tried to help him, but he’d snap at them and tell them to leave him alone. He was a broken man, and the only person who could be there for him was gone. Even the police had given up and declared Ivory dead. No leads, no evidence, nothing. They couldn’t exhaust their resources in the search for one person for months. It was a small town, anyway. If she were alive and somewhere out there, she would’ve been found already. The fact that she hadn’t raised conclusions that Azriel refused to believe.
There was a night when he finally found inner peace. When he felt like a piece of him was found.
It was a serene scene. The sun was shining brightly in the vibrant sky that was littered with pearly white clouds. The birds chirping and the small, little ducks in the pond in front of him provided a sense of familiarity that he had longed for for months. He was in the spot that he and Ivory had called theirs. When they wanted to evade the harsh realities of the world, this was where they’d come. A small pond nestled in the greenery of nature. They’d come to feed the ducks together occasionally. Except, now he was here alone. He sat on the riverbank, his gaze shifting from his own reflection to the ducks that swam peacefully, blissfully oblivious in the water in front of him. His unkempt hair and dark circles under his eyes could tell someone all they needed to know about his well-being. He wasn’t worried about the grass dirtying his clothes like he always did in the fear of adding onto the load of laundry Ivory had to do. Not this time. It felt lonely, but it also felt calm. A calm he hadn’t experienced since the day he lost a piece of his happiness. It felt surreal—like a dream. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps behind him. He didn’t have the energy nor interest to turn around to look at the newcomer. He heard the grass crunch under the weight of the newcomer next to him, but his gaze remained fixed on the water.
“It’s quite bright today, isn’t it?”
That voice.
That voice was so familiar. His head immediately turned to the left to see the one person he thought he lost forever. Ivory. She was glowing—literally. Her hair was in a loose, low bun, with a few strands of her dark hair framing her face. She was in a white and yellow sundress, one he didn’t recognize from the pile of her clothes he held onto. There it was. That smile. The smile he thought he’d only see again in her photos. The smile that was enough to light up his entire world.
His eyes went wide. He could’ve collapsed from relief, but he didn’t. Instead, his voice came out in a low, raspy whisper.
“Ivory?”
She tilted her head to the side, the smile still painted on her face. “The one and only.” He still couldn’t get over the fact she was here. She was actually here. He wanted to kneel in front of her and beg for forgiveness for being the type of person he was. He wanted to apologize endlessly, expressing his guilt and regret.
Instead, he could only croak out another question as he turned to fully face her. “What—you…you’re here?”
A chuckle—a sound he missed so much—left her lips. “Of course, I am. You thought you could get rid of me that easily?”
Azriel wiped away a stray tear that had slid down his cheek. “How—are you here? Where have you been?” The desperation in his voice to get answers was palpable, yet Ivory replied calmly.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
He blinked in confusion, pushing back the fresh wave of tears. “What—what are you talking about—”
“You’re not supposed to be here, Azriel.” The smile on her face softened into a sad one.
Countless questions swirled in his eyes, but he seemed too lost to voice any one of them. Seeing this, Ivory took it as a sign to keep speaking.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she repeated. “This is the land of the lost.”
Land of the Lost? What was she talking about?
Her gaze lowered and shifted to the scenery in front of her.
“Land of the Lost…?” He shook his head. “Ivory, I—I don’t understand—"
“This is a place for the dead.”
The words hit him like a truck. Though the exact context was unclear, the words sent a shiver down his spine. She turned her head to look at him, the sad smile still tugging on her lips. The man in front of him was a crying, desperate, and lost mess. A sense of sympathy tugged at her heartstrings. “Those who die come here.”
Those simple words held so much weight—weight that pressed down on Azriel’s heart like a boulder. “Those who…die? But—but you’re here—”
“Exactly,” she interrupted, “I’m here.”
His eyes widened further, his heart feeling like it was about to burst in his chest. Another tear escaped his eye and trailed down his cheek.
“You’re…dead…?”
She gave a brief nod. “I’m dead,” she confirmed.
His heart shattered. The initial hope and relief he felt when he saw her quickly vanished. For a moment, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. His world was crashing down in front of the person who made it all worth it. “You’re not…alive…” he mumbled, the words hitting harder now that he acknowledged them.
“Neither are you,” she added.
His gaze darted up. “What?”
“You’re dead too. That’s why you’re here, aren’t you?”
The silence was the only confirmation she needed.
“I was watching over you,” she revealed, the soft smile unfaltering. “You never were good at coping. You knew what you were doing when you took those pills before sleeping, didn’t you?”
A shaky sigh left his lips as his eyes darted over her face. “…I couldn’t do it anymore.”
It was only a man bound by love and haunted by regret who’d give up everything he had known and had to follow a loved one to the afterlife. His broken heart and lost soul could only be mended once he found the source of his liveliness and peace. So, he did what he needed to. Now, they were inseparable.
Love could make people do crazy things.
Oh, how beautiful were the graves of two lovers side by side, inseparable even in the afterlife.
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