Possession of the Candle

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A young woman named Ariel Smith was hiking the trail, Creek Peek Falls. She carried a small bag with a bottle of water, her journal, and a black sweater. Ariel was taking pictures of nature and the creek with her phone, and later, she would write in her journal about her travel when she'd return to camp. Speaking of which, Ariel reminded of herself. The night was getting darker, but she wanted to take one last photo of the full moon. The moon beamed brightly, making the tree branches part of the silhouette. Ariel began to position her phone on the moon when suddenly, a cabin with a lit candle caught her eye from a distance.

The cabin had stairs leading to the front door and a patio surrounded by a wooden fence. Ariel glanced at the house covered with moss on top of the roof and the bottom of the broken balcony. Inside the house, the windows were pitch black. Ariel dragged her brown eyes to the lit candle, and she gasped. A man stood still stiff as a board, wearing a fancy, expensive tuxedo. Her heart rate was throbbing so fast then it started to slow down as she took a breath. Ariel couldn't capture his face, but he had black hair. She is tempted to take a picture but respects others and their privacy. Ariel avoided the cabin to head back to her camp. She turned her flashlight on from her phone and began to follow the trail. She glanced around the woods for directions as if the signs had disappeared. Ariel was confused.

"I swore this trail led back to camp?"

Ariel didn't have any bars registered to help her use as a map. She examined the woods, pointing her flashlight at many trees surrounding her. Tree after tree, the movement of her flashlight gliding for an exit. Until she passed, a masculine figure peeked around a tree nearby her. A twig snapped when Ariel flinched, skimming around the woods again. Gradually, Ariel kept roaming, following the trail until the path finished with a dead-end sign. Her bare legs started to get cold while mosquitoes were pickling her skin. In an immediate response, Ariel slammed her leg to kill the mosquito with her right hand. Ariel hugged herself to keep warm and started to shiver. Unbuckling her bag from her shoulders, she grabs her black sweater to put it on. Ariel was starting to get worried, but she wasn't far from the cabin. So, she sighed heavily and picked her feet up to ask for directions.

Ariel stepped up the stairs to reach the front door placing her knuckles to knock three times, and waited patiently.

No answer.

Ariel knocked on the door again.

"Hello! Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but could I use your help, please?"

Ariel waited again while she was glimpsing at the woods, hearing an owl hooting aloud. The wind was slightly blowing with the tree branches breaking and twigs snapping. Suddenly, the door creaked open slowly; Ariel was startled.

"Hello," Ariel said, confused. Then, her nerves started to shake, "Sir? Are you there?"

Her feet felt frozen on the porch while examining the pitch-black room. Carefully, Ariel moves one foot closer to the house, looking for the man with her flashlight. Ariel steps farther inside when the door shuts behind her; she feels her skin jump! Ariel tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

"Okay, this isn't funny," Ariel said, frightened; her windpipe felt pressured from suffocation.

Suddenly, she approaches a lit pink candle with a piece of paper.

Ariel picks it up, shining the flashlight on it as she reads aloud, "My darling cannot break true love, a kiss tastes sweet but not poison, two pure souls capture, trust will not fracture, two bodies touch and devour. Two hearts full of bliss, you are the one I miss. True love explores rapture, and our lives begin with the next chapter."

Ariel put the paper back next to the candle when she had her eyes glued to the orange-red flame burning the pink wax. Ariel's nerves disappeared, feeling calmer than before when her phone dropped onto the floor. First, she felt her brown hair tingling from the top of her head as the man stroked her hair back to her ear with his index finger. Next, he caressed her soft neck, sliding the tip of his finger, and began to swirl onto her right cheek. Ariel rolled her eyes back that his touch was hard to resist. Finally, the man kissed Ariel's pink luscious lips. They closed their eyes as the kiss tasted so sweet, like strawberries. His tongue had stirred with Ariel holding onto her so close. She touched his smooth face when he broke the kiss with a loud smack.

"Yes, you are perfect," He said smiling, continuing to caress her cheek.

Ariel reached out for more to kiss him again, but he refused. So instead, a standing mirror merges into the same room. The man took Ariel's hand to wander near the mirror, placing her to stand in front of it. But she didn't see her reflection; another different-looking, beautiful woman, was there. She had long red hair, green eyes, a white dress, a veil on her head, and a gold wedding ring wrapped around her left finger. The man slid the same wedding ring on Ariel's left ring finger, and the two souls cycle.

"Patricia?" The man called.

Patricia turned around to face her husband as her face enlightened, "Eric!"

The married couple reunited with a kiss.

"No, please, no, let me go!" Ariel begged, pounding her fists against the glass.

The couple broke the kiss, and Patricia shattered the mirror with her shoe into a million pieces scattered on the floor.