3/21/2011 -- This story just got accepted to the Wartburg College literary magainze, The Castle!
The lights flickered as Katherine slowly regained consciousness. She struggled to move for a moment, and suddenly found strength as she dragged herself out from under the rafters that had fallen on top of her. She weakly got to her feet, and allowed her eyes to focus on the destruction around her. The lights flickered again as she scanned her surroundings; nothing but wood and debris scattered the inside of the church, which now stood without the majestic steeple and intricate stained-glass windows.
Katherine surveyed the scene, and saw the bodies of friends and family, lying lifeless in the rubble. A gasp escaped her lips as she took in the broken and bloodied bodies. Electrical wires shorted and sparked as the dust began to settle, and the sound of the storm died off in the distance. For a moment, she considered calling out to see if anyone was alive, but the stillness was so thick and stifling that she believed that any shouting at all would be a lost cause.
Katherine inspected her wedding dress. Dirt, mud, and blood stained what was once a pristine and dazzlingly white dress. The purity and majesty of the moment was lost in the destruction. The material was stretched and torn. She looked disgusting, like she was left for dead in the middle of a desert. But she was lucky to be alive.
It was her quick thinking to dive under the first pew when the sirens gave no warning to the impending storm. The deafening howl of the tornado filled her ears, and she couldn't hear the screams of those who panicked and didn't know where to go. She didn't hear the sound of crushing bones from her bridesmaids, and she didn't hear the fading screams of her ringbearer, her little cousin Andrew, as he was sucked up by the storm and was lost forever.
"This was my day," she said to no one. "This was supposed to be my perfect day."
The sky was in limbo, getting brighter as the storm traveled away, yet getting darker as the sun set. In a few moments, Katherine wasn't going to be able to see, though today, that didn't seem like a bad idea.
She stepped over the unmoving bodies on the ground around her and went into the sacristy, looking for a match. She found a nearly empty box in the back of a drawer. She grabbed it and returned to the sanctuary, toward the baptismal candle, the one that was supposed to be lit as she and her fiance, Alex, said their "I dos" to pledge the rest of their lives to each other. It was supposed to be happily ever after, riding away from the church in a rented white limousine, getting ready to live in eternal bliss.
The match hissed as the sulfur lit, and she shielded the flame from the wind as she lit the candle. It wasn't much light, but it was more light than she was going to get otherwise. The dim, flickering light from the candle provided a little peace. Katherine thought it was beautiful that even in the midst of such destruction and pain, the light could still shine brightly. She hoped that some day she could shine as bright. She knew that our flames are always weak after tragedy, but in spite of it all, we still shine.
She grabbed the Book of Sacraments from the pastor's cold and bloody hands, and turned to the Order of Holy Matrimony. In her grief and helplessness, she was going to be married on this day, no matter what. She found the vows, and playing the role of the pastor, she recited them.
"Do you, Katherine, take this man, Alex, to be your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?" She paused, and answered, "I do."
Playing the pastor again, she addressed Alex, tears welling in her eyes and she read the vows. "Do you, Alex, take this woman, Katherine, to be your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health until--"
She paused, wiped a tear away, and finished. "Until death do you part?"
"I do."
Katherine glanced up, not expecting to hear anyone answer, much less someone who sounded like Alex. As she strained to see in the darkness, she could barely make out a figure walking towards her, struggling to get footing in the debris. As the figure approached the light, Katherine could make out the familiar features of her fiance, the man she was going to marry today, the lover she thought she had lost.
Alex sat next to Katherine in the darkness. He sighed and grabbed her hand. After a moment of silence, he turned to her and said, "Now, I don't know if you reading the vows makes the wedding legitimate, but can I kiss the bride anyway?"
Katherine laughed as she wiped tears away from her face. "Of course," she said.
They kissed and turned back to the darkness in front of them. Katherine glanced at the candle, and she swore that the flickering flame was shining a little brighter than it was before.
:
x
Gender:
Points: 3762
Reviews: 201