“...Just where have I found myself this time...”

 

Alice flinched as she heard her voice echo around her. Blinking spots out of her eyes, she allowed herself to acclimate to the darkness before surveying just where she was. From what she could tell, she had fallen headlong into a cave. The only light came from the small hole she had fallen through. Sunlight shone into the cave, bathing it in a warm orange glow that did not quite dispel the dark corners. Wincing slightly, she managed to get to her feet —thankfully, nothing had been badly injured in her fall. She stood in the center of the cave, almost as though within a spotlight. Reaching into her bag, she searched for her flashlight.

 

“...Meredith...?”

 

The voice cut through the air like a dagger through flesh. It was nothing more than a whisper, but it reverberated through the air. It nearly caused Alice's heart to jump out of her chest in shock. She jumped so badly that her flashlight fell out of her hand, hitting the floor with a clatter.

 

“Who said that...? Show yourself...!” She scrambled onto her hands and knees to grab her flashlight. Upon lifting it up, she was face-to-face with a skeleton. Instinctively, she crawled back away from it. “Jesus...!”

 

The flashlight's narrow beam trembled as she moved it back onto the skeleton. She wasn't sure how long it took for a human to decompose to this point, but she could tell it had been here for quite a long time. Though she couldn't help but wonder just how long it had been sitting here waiting for someone to find it. The skeleton had its weathered spine pressed against the wall of the cave as though it were sitting against it for support. The skull is resting against its bony shoulder due to the neck no longer being able to hold it up. Its empty black sockets, where its eyes might have once rested, were fixed upon the wall behind Alice— as though looking directly through her. Its slack jaw hung open, almost as though it had been screaming in its final moments. Scraps of cloth clung to the bones, but she couldn't tell what the outfit might have once been.

 

“You didn't say anything, did you...?” She said in a quivering voice. When the skeleton didn't answer, she let out a sigh of relief. “...It must have been my imagination.”

 

The beam of the flashlight lingered upon the skeleton. Shewondered how it had even gotten here in the first place. Had it fallen down the same hole she had? Following its empty gaze, she moved her flashlight to the back wall of the cave. The flashlight's beam fell upon what must have once been the mouth of the cave but was now covered by a pile of boulders. Reaching out, she ran her hand along the coarse surface. Thankfully they weren't as packed together as they seemed. With a little bit of effort, she was able to push them out of the way. She couldn't help but feel as though she was being watched.

 

“...Meredith... Are you Meredith...?”

 

“Show yourself...!” Alice demanded as the whisper cut through the air once more. This time it seemed to be coming from behind Alice. She quickly turned around again, but once more the only thing that she saw was the skeleton. Though she could have sworn that its empty sockets were staring right at her. Curiously, she crossed back over to the skeleton andcrouched down in front of it. Shining the beam into its face. “Hello...?”

 

“...Are you Meredith...?” This time there was no doubt the voice was coming from the skeleton. In fact, the moment it started to speak, its empty socketsglowed with a faint green light. Despite this, the skeleton's jaw did not move. “...Have you finally returned to me...?”

 

 “I must be going mad... talking to a skeleton....” She said to herself. It was unclear to her whether this was real or if she had truly lost her mind. Though her terror quickly turned into curiosity. “No. I'm afraid I'm not Meredith. My name is Alice. May I ask... who is Meredith?”

 

The skeleton was quiet once more. Long enough for her to start wondering if it was just a figment of her imagination. She could only imagine how crazy she would look if someone were to enter the cave right now. Alice had heard tales of people escorted into padded rooms for lesser things than talking to human remains. Perhaps that's all this really was: a mental break. That would explain it; she had fallen into this cave and hit her head. The skeleton wasn't talking, and she had brain damage. However, this line of thought was interrupted by the skeleton's hiss of a voice.

 

“...A lover... Supposed to meet me here...” The voice sent shudders down Alice's spine. It was as though the voice was speaking directly into her ear. Slithering around her like a snake.

 

“...Look like her....”

 

“I'm not her,” Alice insists. It almost felt as though she was being put on trial. “As I mentioned before, my name is Alice. Speaking of names, however, I'm quite curious to know what yours is, or I suppose was?”

 

“...Don't remember...”

 

“Very well then. I think I shall call you Bones. If it's all the same to you?” Alice asks. If ‘Bones’ had any arguments, they did not state them. Alice let the silence linger for a few moments, allowing for any sign of protest from the skeleton. When she did not receive any, she continued. “Very well then. Bones allow me to ask you a question, if I may: What are you doing in this cave? You mentioned you were waiting for someone?”

 

“...Waiting for Meredith...” If a skeleton could get a tone of annoyance, she supposed Bones would be giving her one. “...We were supposed to run away together... To be free together... She promised that she would come back... I waited for her... She swore she would never forget me...”

 

“I'm sorry. I don't think she's coming anymore... Judging by your state, I think it's been quite a long time since she made that promise to you...” Alice tried to speak in as soothing a tone as she could manage. “Perhaps it's time to let go.”

 

“...She swore she would never forget me...” The spark of green in Bones’ eye sockets flashes a brief, vibrant red. “Must be lost....”

 

“This cave has been blocked up for quite a long time. It could be a possibility that she simply could not find you.” Alice glanced back at the blocked-up cave opening. Then upwards at the hole she fell into. “How about this, Bones: if you don't mind, I can bring you back to my home if you'd like? I can't imagine it's enjoyable to stare at the same dull cave wall all day.”

 

“...Home...?” The whisper was an inquisitive one. It was as though Bones had forgotten the meaning of the word. The red gleam in Bone's eyes would fade into a soft blue hue. “...I can come with you...”

 

“Of course you can come with me. What kind of person would I be if I just left you here?” Alice tilted her head. Looking curiously down at Bones. “Now then, are you one of those skeletons that can move on its own, like in those movies, or do I need to carry you out of this place...?”

 

“...Can't move...” She imagined the spirit inhabiting Bones rolled its eyes at the question.

 

“No. I thought not. I suppose it would be hard to move without the muscles or tendons required to do so,” she sighs softly. “Even still, I can't help but wonder, how is it you're able to speak to me without a vocal box to do so?”

 

Bones did not answer. She couldn't help but wonder if Bones didn't know either, or perhaps, if this was all indeed just a dream Or, perhaps the answer was simply that it just didn't matter and that not everything required an answer.

 

Whatever the answer was, she had the arduous task of getting not only herself but Bones out of the cave. Glancing up at the hole in the cave roof, she sighed. Noticing that the light of the sun was starting to dim... It was time to start climbing…

 

Hours later, the sun had fallen to the horizon outside her window. Bathing the world in a vibrant blood-orange glow. Alice ran a towel through her damp locks as she walked through her apartment into her kitchen. Sitting upon her kitchen counter was Bones' skull, watching her. In Bones’ gaze, she couldn't help but feel slightly unsettled.

 

“I'm sorry I couldn’t bring the rest of your body. My bag was only big enough to carry your skull. I can always return later to collect the rest of your parts,” As she spoke, she poured herself a glass of water. As she did, however, she saw what almost looked like a person watching her out of the corner of her eye. Sitting exactly where Bones’ skull was. She swiveled her head back towards the skull, but there was no person there. “I must be seeing things...”

 

Cautiously, she crossed over to the skull, plucking it up and examining it. In the fluorescent glow, she admired the chiseled features of it. Each curve of it seemed masterfully done. She recalled her elder sister claiming the human body was a masterwork of evolution; she had never believed her until now.

 

“Bones, is it alright if I ask, how did you die? I hope I'm not being offensive in asking you that.” She crosses over to her living room with the skull. Placing it upon the coffee table. She sits cross-legged watching the skull with great interest. “How long has it been since you passed away?

 

“...It was our secret spot... The cave... Supposed to meet me there... Earth started to shake and blocked entrance... Couldn't escape...” In the bright lights of her apartment, the glow of Bones' eyes seemed fainter than ever. Even Bones' voice, which had reverberated through the cave, seemed quieter. It almost seemed as though it was a struggle for Bones to speak at all. “Didn't know I was dead.... There was a suffocating darkness... then quiet... then light... and you...”

 

“I'm sorry,” she tried to soothe Bones as best she could. “Is it alright if I ask: What do you recall of your past life? Did you have a family? Friends? I don’t want to push you if it's too hard to remember.”

 

“...Only Meredith...” Bones spoke as though uncertain whether or not that was true. “...We were supposed to run away together... I... gave her a choice...”

 

“A choice?” Alice inquires. As Bones spoke, she tried to form a mental picture as to the type of person Bones used to be. “Can I ask what the choice was supposed to be...?”

 

“...Run away with me or marry another...” Bones would answer after what seemed to be an eternity. “...I gave her an ultimatum... she said she would come...”

 

“Bones... can I ask... Do you possibly think there's a chance she may have chosen that other person...? If what you're saying is true, about her being in love with you, wouldn't she have shown up instead of keeping you waiting...?” Alice was hesitant in asking, but she couldn't help but feel things weren't quite adding up. When     Bones didn't answer, she let out a soft sigh. “I'm sorry I brought that possibility up... I'll give you some time to think. Goodnight, Bones.”

 

Before leaving the room, Alice leaned her head down and placed a gentle kiss upon Bones’ skull. She felt bad for possibly upsetting them; however, she had often heard stories of spirits unable to pass on from the world due to unfinished business and wondered if this may have been such a case. Perhaps Bones did need closure. If she were in Bones’ place, it's what she would want.

 

That night she could sparsely rest. Each time she closed her eyes, she kept getting visions of something flashing in her eyes, but each time she tried to reach out to see them more clearly, they quickly retreated to the dark recesses of her mind. When she finally fell into a dreamless slumber, it was an uneasy one. At about midnight, she awakened with a sharp gasp. Something had awoken her. At first her eyes roamed the dark corners of her bedroom as though looking for some silent intruder until they fell upon a figure sitting on the edge of her bed. In the limited light of her room, she made out a rather slender figure with long coal-black hair.

 

“Hello...? Who are you...?” She quickly sat up in bed. While keeping her eyes on the figure, she reached over to try to turn on her bedside lamp. The figure briefly turned its gaze to her. She gasped in shock upon seeing its face, or the lack thereof. It was as though someone had painted the basic structure of a human but had forgotten to add any key details. Where there should have been a face instead was a smooth, almost wax-like, canvas that was completely blank.

 

Her hand found the switch to her lamp. The moment it turned on, the figure completely disappeared, making her wonder if it had actually been there in the first place. The rest of the night she couldn't sleep.

 

“Bones, what is it like to die?” She was now lying on her back on her bed, a couple of hours later. Her hair fanned around her head like a halo. Deep purple bags lingered under her weary eyes. “Does it hurt, or is it painless? Is there an afterlife?”

 

“...I didn’t know I died...” Bones replied after a few moments that felt as though they stretched on eternally. Bones was lying on the bed next to her now fully intact–she didn't recall going back to the cave to collect the rest of Bones’ pieces, but she must have. “I saw a light... a hand offering me a way out of the cave... I didn't take it... I didn't want to go alone...”

 

“Do you ever regret it?” Her eyes turned and fell on the skeleton. Its cracked bones glowed like the moon in the empty darkness of her room. “Staying in that cave? Not moving on when you had the chance?”

 

“I wonder sometimes... I have been thinking about Meredith.... About what you said...”

 

“Yeah? What did you think about?” She inquired. “You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable doing so.”

 

“I think she chose not to come... I think she made her choice, and it wasn't me...” Bones’ eyes glow a somber shade of blue. “I always suspected she may have just been using me... that she didn't love me...”

 

“I'm sorry, Bones... I truly am...” She reached up and placed her hand on top of Bones’ skeletal one, and closed her eyes. For a brief moment it almost felt fleshy and cold. Almost as though they were the hands of a corpse, but it was fleeting. She assumed it was just another figment of her imagination. “Just so you know... If I were her, I wouldn't have left you in the cave...” 

 

Alice's eyes started to feel very heavy. A wave of exhaustion hit her like a tidal wave. She let out a long yawn, struggling to keep her eyes open.

 

“Shh...” A hand suddenly ran through her hair. Her eyes moved up to fall onto a figure. The same one from last night. Only now she could tell the features were less blurry. Though she didn't have much of a glance before she started to succumb to sleep. The last words she heard before she fell asleep were: “Get some rest... You deserve it...”

 

When she awoke, Bones was gone. She quickly sat up and glanced around. Her heart was beating fast in her chest. Hammering like a drumt, thumping on the bars of her cage, desperate to get out. She stood on trembling feet and glanced around her room for any glimpse of Bones.

 

“Bones...? Where did you go...?” She felt odd calling out to the skeleton as though it were a lost puppy. Again, her mind wandered to the thought that Bones never existed and she was having a mental breakdown or suffering from some type of brain damage. Perhaps she had never truly left that cave and was lying dead within it much the same way she had found Bones.

 

“Alice...”

 

Those thoughts that had been surging through her mind quickly dissipated when she heard a voice–Bones’ voice- calling out to her. Were she not burdened by exhaustion, she may have taken note that Bones’ voice sounded different than it had prior. Rather than a harsh whisper, it was like a melody. It bounced off the walls of her darkened apartment and traveled down her trembling spine.

 

“Bones...? Where are you....?”

 

“In here, Alice...”

 

She walked on quivering legs, following the alluring siren song of Bones’ voice. It was almost like she was in a trance. Or as though she were a snake and Bones was a snake charmer. She followed it into her living room, where a figure stood with its back to her.

 

It was a tall and almost skeletal, with long flowing black hair that was as dark as midnight and seemed to flow down the figure’s back like a river. Its skin glowed a pale soft blue, not unlike that of the moon. The figure seemed almost unworldly. Her skeletal figure was clothed in a flowing twilight blue gown that sparkled with silver, like that of billions of stars.

 

“Bones...?” She would stand awestruck before the figure. The moment she spoke, the figure turned to face her. 

 

“Yes, Alice...” Her face was breathtaking, with eyes that glowed like sapphires and lips as red as blood. Bones, or rather the being she had been calling Bones, offered her a smile. Reaching out a long arm, she offered a hand to Alice. She clutched something silver, but Alice couldn't quite tell what it was. “Come to me...”

 

“Does this mean you're finally ready to move on...?” Alice stared at ‘Bones’ with disbelief. Staying just out of her reach. She wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to feel regarding Bones’ new form.

 

“I suppose so...” Bones’ hand would remain extended to Alice. Her thin fingers wiggled impatiently. Eager for Alice to take her hand. As Alice watched Bones, she couldn't help but notice a hole in her breast where she assumed Bones’ heart once resided. “I'd like you to come with me...”

 

“You want me to come with you...? Why?” Alice was taken aback by such a request. She couldn't help but shudder in the presence of Bones. It was as though she was sucking up all the warmth in the room.

 

“So neither of us have to be alone ever again....” Bones said this as though it were the most simplistic, obvious answer. Her eyes never once left Alice. Her gaze did not feel threatening but rather curious. “I don't want to go alone...”

 

“I'm not alone though...” Alice tried to insist. Each breath felt icy in her chest, sending out a foggy mist. Her lips couldn't stop quivering.

 

“You are alone... but you don't have to be...” For a split second Bones’ voice took on an annoyed edge. “We can leave this place together.”

 

“Do you know what comes after this?”

 

“No. But we can find out together. Take my hand, Alice.” Bones tilted her head as she beckoned Alice closer. “You promised you wouldn't leave me.”

 

Alice glanced at Bones and then back at the door to her apartment. Closing her eyes, she slowly exhaled and stepped towards Bones. Reaching out, she took Bones’ hand in her own, allowing Bones to pull her into a tight embrace.

 

“It will only take a second...” Bones’ soothing voice whispered in her ear. “I promise it won't hurt.” 

 

“What won’t hurt...?” She asked. She tried to glance up at Bones, but she held her tight to her chest. So tight she felt as though she were a mouse that had been caught by a boa constrictor.

 

It didn't take long for Alice to get an answer to that question, as well as an answer to what Bones was holding in her other hand. As the knife plunged deep into her back, penetrating her heart, she would feel her breath pushed out of her lungs in one sharp exhale.

 

“Why...?” She could feel the point of the knife protruding through her chest. Coating her white nightgown with scarlet blood. The last thing she saw as her vision started to fade was Bones’ face. It glowed translucent in the dark, allowing the skull beneath to be seen.

 

“So we can go together.”

 

Those were the last words she ever heard before her body fell to the ground, a puddle of scarlet forming beneath her. Landing on the ground next to her was Bones. Her skeleton hit the ground with a clatter.