I love you... Do you and will you love me? - Chapter 1

Dorris, a housekeeper in Richmond condo, went to each of the designated floors to accomplish her duties. The strangest thing happened on a gray Monday morning. The penthouse suite on the 10th floor didn't answer to the doorbell rings when she pressed the plastic white button which was plastered to the beige wallpapered wall nor did they answer when she rapped her knuckles on the large mahogany door as she hollered 'housekeeping' at the top of her lungs. The even stranger thing was that the faint sound of dripping water came from inside of the house. She tried opening the door but it was locked up tight.

She got slightly agitated and nervous as her hand dove into her snow-white apron to retrieve the extra set of keys which the management handed to her when they hired her. Agitated because of the strangely unusual loud ringing plop of dripping water which never seemed to end. Nervous because she couldn't afford to lose this job to what the rash couple who lived in the penthouse suite would call "breaking-and-entering". With shaky hands, she tried to find the right key to the door. The brass keys made a delicious tinkle with every quiver of her hands.

She finally got the right key and slid it into the well oiled lock. Dorris turned the key and the door came unlock. Cautiously, she opened the door and entered the suite. Ultra modern furniture filled the suite which had black and grey stripped wallpapers and white hard tiled floors. The maddening sound of dripping water in the eerie silence almost drove Dorris insane. Before she could step any further to 'investigate', she felt an icy touch on her slippered feet. Dorris bit her lip from screaming, much to her relief, it was nothing but water. She heaved a sigh of relief then wondered silently, 'wait, why is there water?? Where is it coming from?? Why didn't they close their tap properly?? What's going on?!?".

Millions of questions filled Dorris' head as she walked through the shallow body of water. "Hello?? Is anybody home?!? I'm Dorris, the housekeeper you hired...." Dorris' frim voice trailed into a soft whisper. She searched every room in the suite for the source of the dripping water. Finally, when she got to the master bedroom. A horrible stench filled the air.' This smell far worse than death itself.' Dorris thought. She brushed off her ridiculous thoughts and opened the door which creaked loudly. The neighbors from the nearest levels were the ones to hear Dorris scream but before she did, a horrible sight greeted her eyes. A naked couple was on the bed, tied together with their backs facing each other. Their throats were slit in the most abominable fashion and their dried blood stained the blue bed sheet a dark maroon. Flies and maggots infested the corpses as if they have been left to rot for a few days. The stench was overpowering.  Both of them had their eyes and mouths wide open as if they were gasping for air. The sound of dripping water became louder and louder until it felt like as if Dorris was deafened by the insane sound.

Drip, drip, drip.

Dorris' lips parted as she found her voice. With that, she screamed and screamed.

***

The police came soon afterwards with a paramedic team. The news of the naked couple intrigued the neighbors and spread like wildfire. The police warded off the curious spectators, nosey journalists and pushy photographers. Detective Bram stepped into the water immersed crime scene. He spotted his long time cop buddy, Officer April. 

"Well, I'll be a son of a gun. This sure is one hell of a mess." Detective Bram, choked.

"Someone finally noticed! Hey there, buddy! Here to work on this case?" Sergeant April chuckled.

"Yeah. I knew that it was bad but I didn't know that is was THIS bad......."

"Well, pal, now you do."

"April, what the hell is that??" Detective Bram asked, pointing to the man's blue lips

"Bram, honey, that is the ugly glaucous colored lips of a dead and horribly castrated man." Sergeant April answered with a flinch. 

"No!! Look at what is INSIDE his cold dead lips, woman!" Bram hollered.

Sergeant April pried the man's stiff jaw open with her gloved hand and felt something hard and rectangular. She fished out a cassette tape from the lifeless man's mouth.

"Would someone PLEASE get me a cassette player and get this damn floor dry?!? Jesus, it's like I have to do everything myself!! Move it, ladies!!" she screamed at her team, cursing silently.

"Honestly, Bram, why'd you have to get promoted like that? Things were sure as hell a lot better when you were my partner in crime. I got a bunch of ninnys and smartasses that don't know how to handle stuff."

Bram stayed silent, he knew all too well about how April really felt but he'd rather keep his mouth shut and say nothing than to get into trouble with her. A police officer handed Sergeant April a cassette player. The voice was hateful and sad but still very clear. It was a woman's voice. 

I love you, Dennis. I loved you so much. You know that painting I drew of you? The one I sent a month ago? I drew it, Brandon. I drew it for you and I sent you all those boxes of your favorite clothes, underwear and that mix of Old Spice Aftershave. I love you so much, Brandon. But too bad you have your whore of a wife. That fat pregnant slut. Wanna know something, darling? I ran her down with my car. That bastard child is dead now. You and me, we can live together forever, right, honey? Together, forever and ever and ever and ever...........

The cassette player went silent. April and Bram stared at the cassette player for a very very long time. 

"What the hell is going on?" April whispered
"I don't know, April. But it's my job to find out." Bram murmured as he left the building noiselessly. 

Hearts of the Ocean - Chapter 1

Thunder rumbled and clapped in the dark sky. Rain would only come much later. Rondha Wilks stared out the carriage window and thought about the visit that was supposed to take place tonight. No, rendezvous. How many girls had secret lovers behind their parents backs? Oh the shame Mother and Father would have to go through, she thought, relishing the idea of the humiliation they would have to go through, no, writhe in if they or anybody outside the family for that matter, found out about her fortnightly meetings which went on for a year before her engagement with this man. Especially this man.

The carriage headed faster and faster into the lurid grasps of the forest. The moon glowed chalky white and even through the loud bumps the wooden wheels of the carriage, the low, solemn hoots of owls and the many cries of wolves as the called out to each other could be heard. Rhonda glanced at a glittering diamond ring which was on her second last finger of her left hand. After some time riding in the darkness, the carriage came to an abrupt stop.

She gazed outat the wooden cabin which was quite some distance away from her. So close and yet so far, she thought.... 

"We're here, mam' " the carriage driver said hoarsely.

Rhonda looked at the man with a deep feeling of disgust. His clothes looked as if they haven't been washed for at least a week and he sported himself a scraggly dirty pale ginger beard wich went along with his equally pale dirty ginger mop of hair. She handed him a small purse with money and told him to stay where he was. The driver snorted as a reply and went back to smoking his pipe.

From where she stood, she admired the scenery of the place. There was a lake which glittered under the glow of the moon and a beautiful field with soft long grass. At the side of the lake was the cabin. She breathed a sigh of happiness and did the one thing she wasn't allowed to do. She lift her dress up as high as possible, let her smooth auburn hair down and took off her shoes and ran like a mad woman to the cabin. The messy driver lept a foot in the air then shrugged and  muttered "Never in my life" under his breath.

Rhonda ran and every step she took only made her want to get closer to that cabin. Her legs pumped, energetically and her heart was raced so badly till she swore that it would beat right out of her chest. When she reached the cabin, she didn't stop. She flung the door right open and there he was, standing in the of the cabin with a smile that instantly melted her heart and arms wide open where she landed softly, knowing that it was the one place where she truly belonged. She stayed in his arms for a long time, not caring about anything else but themselves and what little time they had together. She felt the muscular body on her soft one and his strong arms which hugged every inch of her upper body. They broke apart from their hug which seem to last forever and admired each other. 

She couldn't take her eyes off him. His sky blue eyes looked at her warm and lovingly. He had a fine crop of long ebony hair witch was always tied neatly into a ponytail and his smile, his smile was so beautiful. Never in her life was she ever head over heels in love with someone. Not even with her fiance, Edward. James was his name and it was a name which suited him divinely. She really couldn't take her eyes off him. Everything right there at that moment wanted to make her explode with indescribable happiness. 

He looked at her. Her eyes were a beautiful dark chocolate which went wonderfully with her hair which was long and a little bit curly. She was looking at him with so much love, he knew that he could only be happy with her in his arms forever than to let her leave. She beamed at him and when she did, a wave of bliss and ecstasy crashed upon him. Nothing in te world would make him happier than to see her happy and smile like the way she's smiling right now. All his life, he was with the wrong women, at the wrong places in the wrong time. But now, as he glanced at this extraordinary woman. He knew that there was nothing in his life he was more sure of, more certain of. 

And it all happened a year ago in the Yorkshire's town market