A Sinful Lie
“A desire that cannot be met,” she whispered, “is a sin that all beings carry.” Her eyes tore into the very bottom of his soul. Every desire, every whim, every want was lay bare for her to see. His breath became shallow as his eyes started to twitch with an unbearable longing to destroy her. She smiled and he returned it with a powerful glower.

“Don’t look so scary, it doesn’t suit your pretty face at all.” When he was told that she was akin to a witch, he didn’t believe anyone. He wouldn’t believe anyone. How could anyone with a sweet smile like hers’ be such a conniving, little-

“Do be careful. I can hear you.” She winked as her hand reached up to his face to caress him. He felt the need to pull away, to push her hands away from him but her azure-colored eyes enthralled him to a point of no return.

“Human emotions are a pain aren’t they? But I suppose they have their uses.” She lightly traced the contour of his face and gave an amorously conniving smile.

“Will you do it or not?” He clenched his knuckles to ensure that he would not lose his way, his way back to the arms of his beloved, the beloved that was never his. She pulled her hands away from his face with a twinkle of glee in her eyes.

“Once brought back from that boundary, I assure you, she won’t be the same.” He stood his ground. He wouldn’t fall prey to her tricks and lies. He had spent night after night mourning until dawn, before the realization of the forbidden came upon him. The glee that made her eyes shine before was gone when she realized he would not back down, no matter what warning or truth she gave him. The beauty of life comes from the inevitability of death, she thought.

“You must love her oh so much but I’ll tell you a secret,” she brought her head close to his ear, “it’s all in vain.” She reached out her hands to grab his clenched ones. Her fingers unraveled his tightly coiled fingers with the utmost gentleness of a mother caressing her baby. As his hand unraveled, she drew upon his palm a raven, the messenger of the world beyond and a symbol of ill fortune. She brought her head down to lay a light and gentle kiss upon his palm before she placed another on his cheek.

“A never ending dream, an irreversible wish.” His eyes shined with a false realization of her meaning. His eyes glistened with tears of happiness and a smile emerged across his face. Her foreboding words had not reached him, it would not reach him.

“What is it that you want in return?” His eyes shined unbearably bright.

“You can leave now,” she motioned her hand towards the doorway. He looked at her questionably.

“So you want nothing?” She simpered.

“There is no such thing as giving something and receiving nothing in return.” A wily look flashed across her eyes.

“Happiness is but a fleeting moment,” she said, “take it while you still have it.” She dropped his hand and turned her back on him, just like she did on all the others who came to her.
~

“Did you hear? She’s died again.”

“I heard he went to the witch too.”
“That poor boy, he loved her so.”
“I knew that witch can do no good!”
She stroked the raven upon her shoulder as she listened to the townsfolk whisper and gossip among themselves. A tenacious grin flashed across her face as quickly as it disappeared. She lightly removed the messenger from her shoulder and let it fly towards the dark sky.
“Every wish will always turn into a lovely sin.” The wilted flower that stood on her window sill crumbled as the wind brushed it by. She removed her cloak and let her dress fall to the ground. She walked nimbly into her tub that was filled to the brim with rosewater. She let loose her diamond shiny hair as she reached for her book.
“What of the boy?”
“He should’ve known.”
“He’s lost the life in his eyes.”
“I saw him today, he looked dead.”
“I wonder what it’s like to live when you’re completely lifeless,” she wondered aloud. Her messenger came back and quietly placed itself upon her table. She beckoned to it and it placed a human skull into her hand.
“I wonder how long I’ll have to wait before he too joins my little collection. He does want to be with her after all.” She grinned as a thought entered her mind.
“I wouldn’t have to wait long if I told him his dearly beloved had wished for the world beyond now would I?” Footsteps quietly tip tapped itself into the bathroom. She turned to look at her visitor, her new servant, who was the same girl that she had sent to death and brought back, but was sent to death once again.
“Father never did like giving the dead a life again,” she sighed, “but it’s a good thing he let me keep you. It’ll be so much more fun when your adorer comes and joins us.” She couldn’t stop the devious grin that crept up her face.
“Humans always want what they cannot have, isn’t that right darling?” She reached out her hand to caress the girl’s face.
“You’re such a naughty girl for lying to that poor boy but don’t you worry, the beloved you so longed to leave will be joining us soon and then you can tell him all about the lie you lived through with him.” She lay in her tub of rosewater with her book, awaiting the next victim who would fall prey to their desire, who would wish for the forbidden because that is the sin of all beings that live.