The gargoyle sat upright with his hands supporting the end table in the living room.

White painted brick walls kept the room looking brighter than it otherwise would not be,

inviting rays of sunlight to stream past through the vertical blinds.

Immaculate and spotless, a cabinet held framed photos of you with antiques

creating a wunderkammer, but to me it was a shrine in memory of you.

Creeping down the hall with a row of arches on my left side

a smiling hooded shape led me down to the room at the farthest end of the castle

where a round bed covered in black silk waited for me

flanked with a vase of deep red roses in a gold vase on the table nearby.

But I slept well, snuggled comfortably underneath those warm blankets

occasionally feeling your breath gently touching my face

as I dreamed of running down on the beach to greet you on my

return home from the service.

It felt wonderful at the time but then it became harder to remember

where I was supposed to be on my first day back home.

You kept a calendar for me right by my desk in the alcove

of your bedroom where I could look out into your garden of foxgloves and lupines.

That was when I wore that purple silk dress you bought for my birthday

staring at myself in the mirror, a crystal tiara was placed on my head with

a solitaire diamond necklace on my white throat when I felt a pair of warm lips

brush against my neck with a hint of musty moss and oak intoxicating my senses.

Nothing else quite matched the feeling at that moment,

sitting by the windowsill and looking out at the sky

as it turned from pink and orange

to blood red and black.