Erratic heartbeat drummed Genesis’ chest. The grass beneath the soles of his black leather shoes could’ve sued him for stomping on them, non-stop, because of mixed excitement and anxiety. He fixed his tie with a trembling hand, wanting to make sure he looked handsome, although he already was.
“Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the bride… Amanda Perez,” announced the Master of Ceremony, and Genesis’ heart exploded in bliss at the sight of his precious girl.
Everything was perfect. The butterfly garden they rented had a landscape like that of a fairytale. The aisle’s promenade was decorated with heart-shaped arches filled with all the colors of petunia, peonies, portulaca, and torenia. There were exhibits made up of plants shaped like garden gnomes, green bears, and fairies, too.
Genesis’ were eyes fixed on the love of his life who was walking down the aisle while butterflies stirred and flapped their tiny wings with excitement, flaunting their iridescent colors across the garden.
He was shedding tears of joy with twinkling eyes. He felt like he was living in a movie with a happy-ever-after ending. His eyes couldn't be taken off from the beauty who was about to be his forever.
As he thawed Amanda with his affectionate gaze, thunder clapped behind the lumps of thick, greyish clouds. Lightning drew blades across the sunlit sky. The weather was fine a few moments back, but as his bride took steps forward, cumulonimbus clouds hid the blue sky. As the heavens roar in chaos, turbulent wind blew from all directions that wrecked the decorations.
The officiating minister uttered a prayer. The guests ran towards the cottages nearby, but Amanda stood frozen in her place. The Earth’s gravitational pull held her there despite all things around her being thrown in havoc.
“Gen, I can’t move,” she cried.
Genesis scampered towards his bride. But as he approached her, a massive wall of clouds blocked his way. Those were fluffy but dense. He tried to break the obstacle, punching layers and layers of cotton, but he pounded to no avail. He could see Amanda on the other side, but he couldn’t get past through the transparent barrier.
“Amanda!”
In a snap, a whirling invisible hole gradually swallowed Amanda, like how specks of sand suctioned in a funnel.
“Gen!”
Her cry echoed in Genesis’ ears as the deep hallow pit sucked her from the surface of the earth. Her voice lingered for some time, long after everything went calm.
By the time Amanda disappeared, the powerful winds vanished. Clouds were feathery, white pillows in the bed of the blue skies again. The lump which barricaded Genesis earlier was gone as well.
That out of the blue mishap stunned the attendees. But none of them felt utterly devastated than Genesis.
He knelt on the spot where he last saw Amanda. Nothing was left of her except the bouquet of peonies. Right there, he wished to wake up from his midday nightmare.
“I’ll find you,” he whispered between poignant sobs.
Amanda quivered as the storm-like cloud inside the sucking hole narrowed. It was dark as night all around, not a single sliver of sunshine got through. But as she went down, flashes of bright light appeared and vanished quickly.
'What’s happening?'
A strong magnetic force from nowhere pulled her deeper down the seemingly endless abyss. Her wedding gown flipped, tossed, and covered her face every minute as she swirled inside the hazy pit.
Unheard screams of terror parched her throat.
‘Did I die? Am I going to hell?’
Her voice was the only sound in her head.
She closed her eyes to escape the reality she was in. But as she did so, lights and sounds percolated into the walls of her eternal fall. And when she opened eyelids, a screen of transparent clouds—like the ones in movie houses—projected a baby girl smiling in her sleep.
‘That’s me!’
The scene then changed from her growing up as a child to her becoming a teenager. It had been a long fall, but she didn’t notice at all. Her life’s memories reshowing entertained her. She didn’t bother about where she might end, or how she might land.
Then, there were glitches of fast forward. The last scene depicted her walking down the aisle.
‘I wonder how this would end.’
As a response, a loud cacophony filled her ears. Then there was a thud. Her butt slumped on a marble.
‘Ouch!’
She stood, massaged her pelvic bone with one hand, and rested her head on the other. The environment was spinning. Her feet were soggy.
It took her several minutes to recuperate from the dizziness caused by her trip. She scanned the surrounding. The atmosphere was a combination of a familiar and a new feeling.
‘This place looks familiar. Have I been here? No, I haven’t. Déjà vu.’
She inhaled a lungful of fresh air with a combination of dewy leaves mixed with formalin and decomposing flesh. Then she looked down at the grounds she was standing. Beneath her heels lay a marble. She stepped backwards and raised the train of her gown a little, revealing a tombstone that read:
Lenard Rendez
February 1, 1990
June 1, 2018
“Ooops! I’m sorry for disrespecting you.” She knelt and wiped some dirt off the marble with her gloved hand. As she stood, her bracelet brightened. Another magnetic force pulled her downward.
‘Will Lenard rise from the dead? Is he mad at me for stepping on his resting place? Does he want me to be buried too?’
She panicked but fought the gravity with her might. As she stumbled gain, a powerful arm caught her waist from behind, preventing her from kissing the marble.
That grip was firm but comforting. The force drawing her to the ground stopped when the arm held her. She turned to thank who was behind her, but the cat got her tongue.
In front of her stood a man so dear to her heart.
His eyes, deep, black like the abyss she was in moments ago. He had prominent thick eyebrows that matched his hockey cut hair.
The man gave a cough, feeling uncomfortable with her stare. He still held Amanda in his arm, while her hands were on his chest.
“Genesis?!”
“Who’s Genesis? And who are you? What are you doing at my twin’s grave?”
Amanda’s jaw dropped at the man’s response.
“I’m your fiancé. We’re just about to get married when I was drawn,” she said, looking at the surrounding, “here.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you, and I don’t have a fiancé.” The man looked at her wrist. The beads glowed even more. “Why do you have Lenard’s bracelet?”
“You gave me this, Gen.”
“I’m not Genesis. My name is Lander.”
**
Amanda left Lander at the cemetery. She left him in her torn wedding dress and a shattered heart.
“Where on Earth am I? I saw Genesis, but he doesn’t recognize me. He even has a twin?! Did he make up those lies just to get rid of me?”
Tears welled in her eyes, ruining her mascara. She dragged the train of her muddy dress and walked absent-mindedly along the rough road, without noticing that the sun was about to kiss the day goodbye.
After walking for hours, she reached a shore where a lone boat was tied to some huge rocks. A burst of luminous scarlet and magenta hues painted the somber afternoon sky, while nostlgia and longing smashed her heart.
She walked towards the boat and saw a man fixing his fishing net. He was wearing a white camisa Chino top and a pair of khaki pants folded knee-high. The longer she watched his back, the more she realized he looked like—
“Genesis?” she asked as she tapped his shoulder when she approached him. The man turned to her, and to her amusement, it was indeed Genesis’ face that greeted her.
“I’m sorry. I’m Lucas, not Genesis. You must’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
Amanda burst into tears. Her heart blew up in confusion.
She didn’t know where she was. She had seen several men bearing the face of the man she loved, but none of them recognized her.
Desperation seized her, so she ran towards the ocean, taking off her shoes and throwing them as far as she could toss them. She didn’t mind the sharp stones pricking her feet. The sting of salty water absorbed by her wounds felt ticklish but fiery on her soles.
When the water reached her chest, she swam even more to the deepest area, but her mother’s voice stopped her from getting too far.
“Amada! No!”
**
Lucy found her daughter standing at the edge of the terrace, about to jump from the third floor of the hospital room they were in.
“Amanda! No!”
She rushed towards her, grabbed and pulled her arm, pinning her on the floor.
“Please, honey. Go back to your senses. Don’t leave us like that. Please.”
Her tears dropped in Amanda’s face, pulling her back to reality.
“Mom?” She reached for her mom’s face and wiped her tears away. “I saw Genesis. There were many of them. I was trying to swim because I can’t find the real one.”
Lucy sobbed even more and hugged Amanda.
“Please. Why can’t you accept Genesis is already gone? He’s not coming back.”
Poignant bellow escaped Amanda’s throat when Lucy reminded her of what happened. Then, everything suddenly became clear.
She was walking down the aisle, smiling at the sight of the second most handsome guy she had ever met—the first one was her father. She was over the moon to see Genesis waiting for her at the altar. However, not long had she taken a few steps towards him, he grasped his chest, winced in pain, and had a heart attack.
“Mom? Why did he leave me?”
“Both too much happiness and sadness are silent killers, my dear. Genesis died because of too much bliss when he was about to marry you. We don’t want to lose you because of depression from losing him. All you need to do is accept the truth. We’re here to help you.”
