Black Blisters

“There’s one thing that never seems to change no matter how grim the world becomes.

No matter how dark the days are, the sun will still rise and mark a new dawn. The circle of life will always continue - you may not be able to see it, but it will. ”

I place my hand over the pile of dirt and give it one final pat smoothing the bumps. One final pat signifying one final goodbye.

The world was changing. It was finally being held accountable for its sins. Left and right people were being smited. The elderly, the young, and the children. All being punished. At first it seemed reasonable - it made sense.

But then, my fiance fell ill. His neck swole; black blisters covered his body. It only took four days for his young and healthy body to perish. Some may say it was his punishment for fleeing the city - but I disagree.

We were scared, and rightfully so. The smell of death was unavoidable and only signified the growing instability of the world. Chaos was everywhere. People who were alive yesterday now lay soulless on the streets. Bodies lay everywhere. Neither of us wanted to become one of them. We wanted to have a future together - we wanted to live.

Leaving was the only rational thing to do.

Maybe we were selfish. We decided we’d be the judges of our own fate.

Maybe we were cowards.

But the echoes of grave diggers yelling to bring out the dead terrified us. Which one of us was going to have to carry the other’s corpse out? Which one of us was going to become just another body in a sea of decay?

Which one of us would become lonely?

Maybe he was the lucky one of us.

“Isn't it funny how we both left so we could be together forever but all I have left of you is a promise and a locket?”

I stood up from the grave and brushed myself off.

“I could not have imagined that this was how we would part ways. Not that I had ever imagined it. I had hoped we would spend eternity together. I hoped we’d be wed and have children. I never thought we would end up this way...”

I held the locket in the left palm of my hand. It was an engagement gift. It was misshapen and uneven - but I loved it non the less. The small, intricate carving of his family crest signified that I was now his family.

When he proposed to me, he said no matter how rough the journey was, he would love me nonetheless. He was likely trying to create a coverup as to why his craftsmanship was messy - which made me smile.

Now it’s all I have left of him.

I guess he was right though. He did love me until the very end. He died in my arms telling me how glad he was that we left the city. He was glad we could forget the smell of death for just a few days.

“I love you. I will never stop loving you. As long as I have breath in my lungs, and blood in my veins - my heart will always be yours. Goodbye my love.”

I turn away from his grave. He would have wanted me to continue on to our destination - not sit and dwell.

Roughly 50 kilometers from the city we fled was a small hamlet. There, his sister and her family owned a small farm. We figured that since they were isolated and had their own resources they would be safe to stay with.

His grave was roughly a third of the way there. I was no more than a day's walk from his family farm.

Dusk fell and before I knew it, I had spent the whole night following the dirt road.

I arrived early in the morning. To my surprise, the man of the farm was already working on the land. Frantically, I started waving, but my body, exhausted, failed to gain his attention.

I began to run, but after a few steps my body gave out and I collapsed in the dirt.

“Wake up.”

“Are you alright?”

Water splashed on my face. I gasped.

“Oh! Thank the heavens. We were afraid you were another corpse.”

My beloved’s sister stood before me. She looked almost exactly like him except a little more feminine. Beside her stood the man of the farm - her husband.

Lost for words, I grabbed the locket and held it up so she could see.

“Is that… my father’s family crest?”

“Your brother made it for me! We were on our way over, fleeing the city, but…”

“Where is he?” She interrupted. Worry began to overwhelm her face.

“He joined the others in punishment”

Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. The pounding of her racing heart pierced my eardrums.

“Come with me. You look exhausted from your journey. My husband will fetch some water so you may clean off the dirt and freshen up.” Her voice shook as she spoke to me.

“Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure. In these doomed days we must help those in need. You seem to have been important to my late brother - so you are important to me. Our home is your home. Welcome.”

She helped me off the ground and gestured to the gates of the farm. She led me to a spare room where her husband had set up a bucket of water and some cloth.

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

I undressed so I could wipe myself down. The water was cold but it felt nice to finally rid myself of dirt and sweat.

I ran the cloth up my legs and over my waist. Suddenly, I felt something underneath my left arm. A large malformed lump. It hadn’t been there the day before. I pressed the cloth over the lump and pain shot through my body.

That's when I noticed blisters - black like the night - covering my torso.

I was next.

“I brought you a change of clothes. I’m coming in!” My beloved’s sister called out while opening the door.

“Wait!”

It was too late - she saw. Her wide frightened eyes glued onto the tokens of death that covered my body.

“You…”

Quickly she slammed the door. I covered myself and leapt after her.

“Wait! Let me out of here so I can talk to you! I can explain”, I cried.

“No! My brother died because of that horrible illness. I should have known you would have it too!”

“I feel fine! I promise! It's just fleas!”

“You have brought the doomsday to us! You’ve contaminated me and my family! Now we’re all going to join the forsaken!”

I began to pound on the door.

“I promise you I am not sick!”

“You hid those sores from us! You knew you had them and you came here anyway-”

“No I swear!”

Scratching the door I began to sob. I could feel the wood peeling under my fingernails and penetrating the layers of my skin.

“Please! Let me explain!”

“We let you into our house in the middle of the apocalypse - we let you in despite you actually being family. We let you in out of the sheer kindness of our hearts and in return we are met with doom!”

I could hear the tears in her voice and the fear in her heart. I brought death to her door, and she let it in without knowing.

“I’m sorry! Your brother promised it was safe here. He said that your family would accept me…”

“You are no family of ours. You are nothing more than a dead man’s promise with a locket!”

She stormed away from the door. I could hear her crying. It was all my fault. Had we not fled, neither of us would have been punished. Neither of us would have spread the punishment to others.

Maybe my beloved was the lucky one. He didn't live long enough to see the fear he and I would cause. Maybe my beloved was the lucky one. He got to die in the arms of his lover while I die alone on the floor with nothing but a locket.

On the bright side of this doomsday, as it says, it is just a day. All days end. The sun will eventually rise and all this suffering will end.

Life will always continue on - I may not be able to see it, but it will...