Astounded-- Astounded I was and I am. They think I have gone insane, but there is no truth without insanity. My infatuation has transformed me. It was almost as if it began as a small black rock within my core that had absorbed all of my rages. It slowly formed into a multi-faceted stone that would never leave my psyche. Its omnipresence haunted me. No matter how hard I tried to crush it, it resisted me and thereby tortured my very existence. This is her fault. It is all Christine’s fault. Watch me as I tell you the story of the woman who made me like this. It will prove that I am not as delirious as everyone believes I am.

  I do not remember how the thought entered my mind. But once it did it tortured me endlessly, forcing me to act upon it. There used to be love. There used to be desire. It all used to be until it came into our lives. Her eyes used to be the color of the sea. So blue one could have drowned in them. It changed when she found it. Her eyes became as black as charcoal. She had transformed into a being filled with a hunger. A hunger for more. It was then that I made up my mind to rid of the evil.

  It is now where you think I am mad. But you should have seen her. You would have aided me. Her eyes had gone blank as the strand of diamonds pressed against her pale skin, almost as if they were embedded within her. I spent endless nights in my laboratory creating a cure. A cure for her all-consuming disease. Once I fixed her she would be mine once more. I would no longer share her with the evil. I needed to restore her soul.

She layed in bed and dozed off into a deep slumber. She used to speak in her sleep asking for every material possession in existence. I could no longer take the immoral vulgarity that spewed out of her mouth. I knew I had to help her. It was then in her most peaceful state, I would part her cold lips and slip the scarlet elixir into her mouth. And I did this for six nights.

On the seventh night, I was more vigilant than usual. I slowly crept into the room, and heard a fluttering emanating from the window. As I walked closer and closer to the lunette window, the noise became louder and louder. I as I peered outside, I saw a raven, as black as midnight perched on a branch. It stared at me almost as if it was mocking me. I closed the burgundy curtains and slipped into bed next to her. The velvet curtains blew open into the wind creating an ominous shadow which loomed over me. The lantern on the side table began flickering, causing the shadow to perform an unholy dance.

My hands trembled as I removed the lid from the bottle. I had never realized the immense power I held over her. I was a god. Controlling her addiction with the power of my own hands. With a creation that I had given birth to in my own laboratory. Once more, I parted her lips and let the potion drip into her mouth. Her eyelids fluttered. Her body began to convulse at an alarming rate. And then she just stopped. Her lifeless body was pure once more.

There was a hidden truth behind her addiction. It was more than a superficial obsession. It pierced her skin, flowed through her veins, and intertwined with her heart. The only way to separate the two was through their joint demise. I looked down at the ungodly stone, and became mesmerised with its multifaceted nature. I slowly reached down and violently ripped the wretched necklace off her neck and threw it out the window. The evil had finally departed. She was mine once more.

Once the word of Christine’s death spread, I was interrogated by the police. Once they were satisfied with my responses, they ruled the cause of death a heart attack. Once they had left, I heard a noise, a sudden fluttering. A pounding at the window. It grew louder and louder. I looked outside and saw a bird, a raven clutching the possessed necklace. I thought I had rid of the evil. I thought I had restored the purity.  “Monster!” I yelled, “ Is there no way to rid the earth of an insatiable appetite for worldly possessions?”