A Story A Day. Story 277 of 365: Graveyard.

Morana was fascinated by abandoned graveyards, her face would lit up every time she stumbled across one during her travels. She would walk among tombstones, gingerly, carefully placing her feet on the grass. She would caress the old weathered stones, trying to make out what the engraved letters used to say, fascinated at the dates of death, the ages of death, wondering what was the story behind those tombs, wondering what had killed them. The thought that there were bodies under her feet made her feel alive. She knew that most of them were little more than dust, yet she liked to imagine that maybe one of the stones would break open and a rotten body would be uncovered. 

This obsession wasn't something she would keep secret, she was quite vocal about her incursions, and, although her friends thought she was crazy, they respected her. Apart from that, she was a fairly common girl who studied, dated boys, and liked spending time with her friends. She wouldn't usually tell the guys she dated about her fixation with graveyards, at least not until she was comfortable enough with them. Such was the case with Bion, they had met about a year before, and he fell instantly for her. It took her longer, but as a dripping drop finds its way through the stone, his love found a way to her heart. When Morana told him about her obsession, they were still not dating, she still considered him only a friend. Impulsively, he told her he wanted to go with her on her next excursion, even if he was terrified. She was so delighted about finally having a companion, that she didn't see the way he shacked and the stare of sheer horror that appeared in his face as soon as they reached the cemetery. He was covered in cold sweat, even if it was a warm sunny day, seeing her flying from one tombstone to the other like a butterfly. 

From that day on he accompanied her every time, suffering through it, but seeing her happy compensated it all. However, she was convinced he liked those outings, that he actually enjoyed them, and she risked it more and more every time. At one point, she told him she had a surprise for him, and, during a clear summer night, she took him to a deserted graveyard. The moon was full, and the stones shone pale against the dark grass. He was surprised and speechless, which she interpreted as a victory. It had taken her long to find such a graveyard. It had been abandoned for a long time, and the stones were cracked, some of them laid on the floor on their backs after the time had taken them down. The cemetery was surrounded by a low crumbling wall, and a rusty iron gate closed the entrance. Morana pushed it firmly and the gate opened with a creak. Bion could feel all his skin crawling. Was he willing to go that far for love? She didn't let him consider, as she took him by the hand and shoved him inside. She lead the way towards the ruins of a church that had been erected in the middle of the graveyard. Barely a couple of walls remained, and of them some impressive craved windows. Some of the stones at the top were charred, so presumably the church had fallen down during a fire. The town folk had decided, then, to use the newly recovered grounds to expand the graveyard, and several tombstones had been placed between the church walls. Despite of already having seen it, Morana was completely fascinated, the moonlight gave it a mystical feeling. Bion was too terrorized to speak, he feared that if he opened his mouth his heart would escape through it. They walked among the tombs, or rather over them, as it was so packed it was difficult to find a spot of grass. She explained him the story of the place, and how an illness had claimed three quarters of the population around one hundred years before. Most of those tombstones were from that period, wasn't it fascinating? Grandchildren and grandparents had been buried at the same time, and the tombs remained open until the plague had passed. Almost every family had lost at least two of their members, and those who remained decided to flee the place, so no one remained to take care of it. She spoke and spoke, yet he didn't hear anything, his imagination kept confusing pieces of stone for fingers and limbs, sure that the dead would get out and chase them away.