Do You Love Me?

“I love you.”

The words came out soft, barely more than a whisper.

There was no one there to hear them, uttered out in utmost privacy.

They were even more significant because of this.

“I love you… do you love me?”

That voice again, desperation clear in the tone.

There was something peculiar, though.

The room had been locked and abandoned.

There was no one there to say them.

They came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“I love you… do you love me…? Please.”

That desperation now had a tinge of fear; of pleading.

Though wait! What is this? An eye showed through the peephole, looking, listening.

The eye belonged to a little boy, his age unclear.

This spurred the voice on, causing it to take form.

Through the peephole a woman could be seen, weeping.

“I love you… do you love me…? Please… Set me free…”

That little boy, mesmerised, touched his hand to the ever-cold brass doorknob.

That little boy, in his trance, didn’t see the woman look up.

The woman was that no more; her large eyes were not human.

There was a tinkle of sinister laughter from inside the room, going unnoticed by the boy.

Through the peephole, their eyes met; the no-longer-a-woman smiled an impossibly wide grin.

“Please… Set me free…”

Those words, yet again.

This time, drowned out by that little boy’s screams.

There was quiet for a time, the no-longer-a-woman disappeared, but like always, it starts anew.

“I love you…”