As I sat on the cold marble steps of the mausoleum, leaning back against the frigid steel doors watching the sunrise through the mist that rose over the decrepit headstones, I began to question my sanity. If it weren't for my severely disheveled appearance and the dull ache throbbing from every muscle in my body, I could have written it off as just a dream....a very vivid imagination gone wild....but the evidence was unmistakable and the memories so clear and vibrant, I couldn't help but think I had spent an evening in a place few ever visited until they were called to take up permanent residence. I dared not close my eyes again, fearing my escape from the other side would be noticed and minions of the underworld would materialize in the shadows, ready to rend me limb from limb and carry my soul back to where I had been......but when I did close my eyes, I could see her in all her flawless beauty.....ah, shit......if I am to die today, let me spend eternity with her.....let her come and take me into her arms.......let me go to My Angeline......
The talk around the locker room was that the cemetery was haunted, watched over by the spirit of a woman who had died horribly at the hands of her husband mere hours after they were pronounced man and wife. Those who claimed they had seen her offered incomplete descriptions as if their memory had been wiped clean, but if you pulled out the common threads it became obvious that this woman was of incredible beauty even in her incorporeal form….shared adjectives included stunning, angelic, spectacular, magnificent, and delectable (how seven different men, five of whom never graduated the ninth grade, managed to come up with “delectable” was anybodies guess, but the similarities in their tales peaked my interest!) Without announcing my plans to even my closest buddies, I decided to have a wee adventure of my own!
I arrived at the rusted cemetery gate just before sundown, having walked from town to give my eyes an opportunity to adjust to the night…the full moon would be rising soon and that should give me all the light I needed. A vague feeling of uncertainty plagued me as I grasped the cold wrought iron latch, but I shook it off as nothing and pulled the gate open far enough to let me slip inside, cringing at the painfully loud screech as the metal protested this late night activity…..I didn’t bother closing it behind me. Mentally kicking myself for not doing more research (I had no idea where the supposed specter had been laid to rest) I surveyed the area swiftly and decided to head for the largest mausoleum I could see….if she was truly here, she would find me!
Once I got over the initial eeriness of the situation, I found myself enjoying the walk. The nocturnal creatures had awoken and filled the night air with chirps and hoots and rustlings and other mundane sounds as they went about their nightly rituals, oblivious of my intrusion. I was nearing my chosen destination when I heard it…..a soft whimpering in the night….a quiet murmuring that spoke of heartache and pain beyond human recognition….I had hoped to be alone tonight as the spirit had never appeared to more than a single person at a time, but it was now clear that was not to be. I stopped on the gravel path, suddenly aware of how loud the stones had been, crunching beneath my feet, and locating the direction of the lament, I wandered towards a quant little corner of the cemetery to see if I could be of assistance.
Not twenty paces off the path, I saw her, kneeling by a solitary headstone beneath a massive gnarled oak. The closer I got, the clearer became the sound of her soft wailing and although I couldn’t quite make out the individual words themselves, it was easy to see she was grieving deeply. I stopped a ways off and coughed into my hand, awkwardly attempting to let her know I was there without frightening or embarrassing her. Even with the warning, she spooked, catching a wet sob in mid-release and jumping enough that I could tell I had startled her. She rose immediately to her feet and dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief, she turned towards me, stepping between the headstone and me. I bid her a good evening and after apologizing for interrupting her, I inquired as to whether there was anything I could do for her. She stepped out of the shadows and silently came towards me, seeming to glide over the wet grass her full length bone white gown rustling about her thighs. Her eyes enchanted me from the moment she caught my gaze. Her long black hair framed a cherub’s face, her pale white skin smoldering in my vision. As she reached me, a chill burrowed into my body not stopping until it had reached the bottom of my soul and in a heartbeat I knew that I had found the one I had come looking for. Her hand reached for my cheek and I reached to intercept it, pulling it to my mouth and kissing it softly as I fell to a knee before her.