Chapter 70: I am what remains...

"Eek!", I squirmed and took a step back, my face contorting to one of fear.

The moment the lady's eyes opened, I felt an overwhelming wave of cold sweep through the garden, as though the temperature had plummeted in an instant. Her eyes, a piercing shade of blue that seemed to glow faintly, locked onto mine.

I felt my skin crawl when she looked at me. Her eyes...her eyes were strange and alien. They didn't look at all like the eyes of the living but then again, I didn't know how the eyes of the dead looked like.

Simply because, I have never seen a dead person before.

The woman's eyes seemed to hold an unnatural vitality, an unsettling awareness.

Oh...God...

My mouth began to water and my breath hitched. I wanted to move, to run, but my body remained frozen, as if the gaze of this ethereal woman had ensnared me in invisible chains.

Silence engulfed the world for several seconds before being broken by the sound of the woman's lips parting.

POP.

Her lips parted ever so slightly, and though no words escaped them, the ripple in the pond seemed to carry a sound—a soft melody that resonated in my ears, growing louder with every second. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was eerie, a song of sorrow, longing, and something darker lurking beneath.

I felt extremely disturbed, every cell in my body urging me to flee yet, I remained bound to the spot.

W-what...do I do?! I... I have to think...! Think...! Think Vicki! Think!

I racked my brain for an answer as the unsettling melody of the lake slowly grew louder, I strained my brain until I finally opened my mouth and whispered in a trembling tone.

"Marta... Droet"

But suddenly, I felt something odd.

Speaking those words in her presence felt strange.

Saying her name felt both wrong and right, like invoking a name that was meant to remain unsaid.

Her expression didn't change, but the glow in her eyes intensified.

SHEEN!

What?!

Suddenly, she began to rise, her body lifting out of the water effortlessly, as if the laws of gravity held no power over her. Her body ascended from the pond but there was something strange about it; the water didn't seem to be disturbed by her movements, in fact, it seemed more like the water was forming into her.

Like the pond became her body.

Oh...God...

I stepped back instinctively, my foot crunching on a stray twig.

SNAP!

The sound echoed unnaturally loud in the stillness of the garden, making me flinch. Her gaze shifted downward for a brief moment before returning to mine. There was something accusatory in her stare now, like I'd done something wrong.

God...no... please...

"Y-You're... alive?", I stammered, though the words felt absurd even as I said them.

She tilted her head slightly, her movements unnaturally slow and deliberate. Her eyes glinted sharply for a moment before she finally spoke.

"Alive...?"

She spoke or at least...thought she did because though I heard the word, her mouth never moved.

Her voice came, soft and melodic, but tinged with an otherworldly echo. It was like that soft melody from the lake shaped itself into the word 'Alive.'

Sweat trickled down my face as I stared at her, my heart was beating so luoudly that I feared that the woman would hear it.

She remained silent for several moments before suddenly, a faint smile touched her lips.

My eyes widened.

W-what?!

But then I realized something, her smile wasn't warm. It was a smile filled with sadness and a hint of malice.

Her voice came again, this time with a hint of contempt, "No... not alive... but not gone, either."

I swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond. My mind raced through possibilities.

Was this a spirit? A ghost tied to the gravestone? Or was this some kind of projection—an illusion conjured by the house itself?

This is a fantasy game world...anything can happen...

"What... what are you?", I managed to ask, my voice barely more than a whisper.

Her smile widened, though it didn't reach her eyes.

This time her lips parted and she said simply.

"I am what remains."

Suddenly, I froze and my expression turned complicated as I muttered, "You are what remains...?"

W-what does that mean?!

SPLISH!

She took a step forward, leaving the pond behind and reaching her feet for the ground when suddenly, the flowers around began to form into her legs.

My expression turned to one of bewilderment.

Is her...body being formed out of this...garden...?

TMP.

She took a step towards me, her face smiling yet her eyes unamused.

Suddenly, I felt my stomach twist and immediately, I blurted out,

"Why are you here?"

My instincts screaming at me to keep her talking, to keep her from doing... whatever it was she might do next.

She stopped walking, going silent before her expression suddenly softened and for a moment, she looked almost human, almost vulnerable.

"I loved this place.", she said, her voice quieter now.

"I loved him... and I loved this garden, but love... love is not enough to stop the world from moving on without you."

"Him?", I echoed, my voice trembling. "Who? The man who called you his 'one and only'?"

Her eyes darkened, the glow fading slightly as her expression turned cold.

"He left", she said, her tone sharper now.

"He couldn't stay. But I... I couldn't leave."

I stared at her for a moment and suddenly, I felt a melancholy. I clasped a hand over my mouth and lowered my head.

So... this him...he ...he left her behind? Why?

The weight of her sorrow pressed down on me like a physical force, and for a brief moment, I forgot my fear. Instead, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of pity.

But why...why would a man leave such a beautiful woman...?

Despite my thoughts, I understood deep down that love was not one based only on physical appearances. It was after all, evident in my own relationship with Seba.

I wasn't the most well-endowed in my class yet, I was the only one that caught his eye.

We...lust with our eyes...before we love...with our hearts...

That was a beautiful quote I had read from a book.

"I-I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "That must have been... so hard."

My gaze was fixated down, unable to look at her. Although, I wanted to comfort her, I still felt a bit of fear. I struggled to raise my head to meet her gaze.

She stared at me with indifference, her eyes and expression cold, "You're sorry?"

HIC!

I choked, before quickly retracting my gaze.

"What use is your sorrow to one who cannot feel warmth, who cannot touch life? Words are empty echoes in the void I inhabit."

I know that...I know...but....

I clenched my fists, my mind racing. There had to be a way to reach her, to understand what she wanted—why she was still here.

"Then tell me," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "Tell me what you need. Why are you tied to this place? What's keeping you here?"

I wasn't merely curious simply because I felt pity for her. I wanted to see if I could break the ice so I could live.

My instincts were screaming at me that I could die, just by a change in her mood.

So... even now...am only thinking of my survival...I don't even care about what happened to her...as long as am alive...

Those thoughts brought up memories I'd rather not want to deal with, so I forcibly pushed them down before raising my gaze once again to meet her envisage.

She tilted her head again. The flowers that made up her legs swayed gently, as if responding to an unseen breeze.

"I am here because I cannot leave," she said, her voice quieter now, almost a whisper. "This garden... this grave... it is all that remains of me. He was my world, my star, my hope so and when he left, I... I shattered."

I stared at her with a complicated expression. My gaze turned melancholic when I realized what her words implied.

Suicide.

She killed herself.

Tears pricked my eyes, unbidden. Her pain was raw, tangible, and it resonated deep within me.

"But you don't have to stay like this," I said, stepping closer, using every willpower I had to suppress my fear.

"You don't have to keep holding on to the past. There must be a way to set you free."

Her wistful gaze suddenly snapped to mine, swiftly turning into one of fury,

"Free?" she echoed, her voice rising with a note of anger.

I flinched, and hastily took a step back.

"What do you know of freedom? I am bound by the choices I made, by the love I gave so freely. And you—what can you do to change what has already been written?"

I swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond. She was right; I was no love counsellor or magical witch but I did know one thing.

"Maybe I can't change the past," I said, my voice shaky yet steady. "But I can do know one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"He...he loved you!", I spoke sharply, my face flushing as I continued, "He did come back, he was the one who left that gravestone."

I pointed to the bone-white stone and panted heavily. The woman's eyes remained fixated on me, before tracing my hand and then landing on the white stone.

For a long moment, she stared at me, her expression unreadable. Then, slowly, the glow in her eyes dimmed, and her body seemed to relax. The flowers at her feet softened, their petals drooping as if relieved of a heavy burden.

Her expression turned to one of listlessness and her she uttered, her voice barely more than a whisper,

"Her lies Marta Droet. My one and only."

She stared at the gravestone in silence for several moments before suddenly collapsing to her knees.

HIC! HIC!

"Woah woah!"

The beautiful Marta Droet broke into tears.

HIC! HIC!

Tears rolled down my eyes, as she wailed uncontrollably; obviously, stricken by immense grief. With teary eyes, I rushed over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

Yet, the instant, I placed my hand on her flesh, the world cut to black.