Wedding bells merrily chimed through the air, and colorful flower petals fluttered on the warm summertime breeze. Bright sunshine lovingly kissed the vibrant trees which seemed to joyously dance along with the many formally dressed wedding goers, who happily waltzed and tangoed on the lustrous lawn of the fancy country club gardens. Sounds of laughter and singing resounded all around, adding to the cheerful celebratory atmosphere.

The pointy tops of large white tents, filled with tables of food fit for a king, stretched up to the clear blue sky, matching the shapes of the mountainous peaks looming in the background. They offered shade for some of the more elderly wedding guests. I giggled to myself as I stood off to the side, watching as some drunken jolly old man helplessly tried to pluck a pesky flower petal out of his drink.

“Alright, everyone! It’s time for the bouquet toss!” Some lovely-looking middle-aged woman with bouncy brunette curls enthusiastically exclaimed in a thick Hispanic accent, while slurring her words a bit due to intoxication. “Gather round, gather round, all who would like to participate!”

I excitedly straightened out the rainbow crown of impressively realistic synthetic flowers on top of my head, and despite my silvery heels, quickly dashed over to where one of the brides was holding the bridal bouquet. I swiftly wove my way through the decent-sized crowd of other girls and a few men, all adorned in colorful dresses and vibrant shirts, until I was standing right behind the lady in white.

My bright blue eyes carefully followed the movement as the bride’s caramelly hand-tossed the bouquet of every color in the rainbow passed the raven ringlets on her head, and high up into the clear crystalline sky. It zoomed past the crown of green mountains which kissed the pale blue in the background, slowing as it reached the pinnacle of its arch, and then it began to fall right towards me.

...Oh shit! It’s falling right towards me!

With a big smile on my pink glossy lips, I swiftly leapt up and reached for the bouquet. Ten or so other people all swarmed like a hungry flock of seagulls attacking a single french fry on the beach, trying to beat me to it. But my hand wrapped around the silver ribbon laced stems first, and I held that fucker in a firm death grip. Realizing that I had actually caught it, my expression changed from one of carefree laughter to a surprised one of ‘Oh my golly gumdrops!’ ...Then I was immediately tackled to the ground by four other girls.

With a dainty little “Oof!” the wind was knocked right out of my lungs, as my back slammed against the lush green lawn. My flower crown was crooked, and my thick wavy blonde hair was laid all sprawled out around my head, glimmering in the sunlight like a halo of spun gold. I held the bouquet firmly against my chest and laughed up towards the sunny sky using what little breath I could manage to muster up.

“Alright, alright, game’s over. Get the hell off of her.” Pema, my aggressive and overly protective bestfriend, suddenly said from above while forcefully peeling the other girls off of me.

Her silky straight black hair was up in an elegant messy bun, while her usually bare large phoenix eyes were decorated with thick black eyeliner wings, making her look like a smoldering temptress. Her downcast scowl shadowed her petite features as the final green-dressed girl was ripped off of my stomach, revealing my slightly bedraggled form. For such a slender girl, Pema had incredible strength. I giggled and sat up while grabbing the tan olive-toned hand that she had extended towards me.

“Thanks, Pema.” I giggled with a beaming smile, while gently brushing a few straggler blades of grass off of my flowy peachy pink dress. “I wasn’t expecting my moment of glory to end in me getting pulverized to the ground like that.” I joked.

Congratulatory murmurs from other contestants came from all around, as I looked up and locked gazes with my boyfriend Justin’s seafoam green eyes. The sun illuminated the short chocolatey tousled waves which grew a bit longer on the very top of his head and kissed his handsome tanned face. He was the paragon of male perfection in his formal attire, with the sleeves of his light blue button-up shirt rolled halfway up his muscular arms, and black slacks hugging his toned behind.

“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy...” He deeply drawled with a prideful sparkling white grin and up-turned palms, while casually walking over, ignoring Pema’s look of pure unbridled disdain for him. “Look at you, catching the bridal bouquet.” He flicked a yellow rose within it, causing a few petals to fall out as if they were desperately running away from his touch. “I guess the pressure to get you a ring is really on now.” He chuckled as he took his phone out of his back pocket. “Let’s take a picture!” He quickly added.

I awkwardly tucked a bouncy lock of hair behind my ear. “Alright, well, do I look decent enough for it?” I meekly asked with a small smile. I had just been tackled to the ground, and he was very particular about my appearance. Especially when it came to things that might get posted to social media. I didn’t want to upset him.

“Ehmm..” He deeply hummed while swiping some melted eyeliner from beneath my right eye, then frowned. “Just don’t show this side of your face.” He tapped my right cheek. “And it will be perfect.”

“Okay, perfect.” I replied, then my eyes widened as he kissed me by surprise.

I smiled against his soft warm lips, savoring the moment since he usually only kissed me when we were on camera. One of his arms tenderly wrapped around my waist, while I held the bouquet between us. Then his arm extended to my left and he snapped a few photos, ending our kiss far sooner than I’d like to.

“I wonder if the promise to get her a ring is as fake as that happy moment you two just shared.” Pema pipped in with a look of disinterest, with her orange dress fluttering in the breeze while she examined her perfectly manicured fingernails.

Justin’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t deny it. “We should leave soon. We have a long drive, and I’d like to get home before dark.” He callously stated. Justin was Pema’s ride too, as her and I shared a tiny apartment on the upper floor of her blind great aunt’s house, and he lived only five minutes down the road from us.

“Alright, I’ll go gather my things.” I ducked my head and took the opportunity to quickly scurry away from the tense moment like a pathetic poltroon.

-: ✧ :-✧-: ✧ :-

“Turn right on Linden Lane.” The stupid GPS kept repeating in its annoying robotic female voice, as we drove through the green rolling hills of the New England countryside.

I smacked the damn thing while angrily grumbling to myself. “It’s still trying to take us through Sycamore Valley.” I shook my head while looking over at Justin in defeat. An overly upbeat pop song quietly poured through the speakers, contrasting our ongoing acrimonious dispute over how to get home.

Justin tightly gripped the wheel in frustration while strenuously leaning forwards. “Dammit, Lucilia, don’t you know how to choose a different route!?” His gaze stayed fixated on the windy road ahead. “It’s a simple fucking task! A halfwitted ape could do it!”

I sighed in both discomfiture and agitation. “I’m sorry.” I shook my head again but with my hand on my forehead this time. “Going through Sycamore Valley would save us well over an hour of travel time, and the GPS isn’t showing any alternative routes that go around it.” It truly wasn’t showing me any other ways. I was befuddled and at a complete loss.

“Well, you managed to find a route that avoided it on our way down, so you’re clearly doing something wrong.” He gritted. “Why do you have to be so stubborn and incompetent all the-”

“For fuck’s sake!” Pema, who was sitting in the seat behind me, abruptly growled like a rabid bulldog. Justin and I both stiffened with widened eyes and immediately became silent as mice. The sound of squeaky crinkling filled the car, as she aggressively tore open a bag of cheesy chips while continuing to angrily speak. “Let’s just go through the damn valley if it means less time having to listen to your bickering and this shitty pop music!”

Justin furiously looked between the rearview mirror and the road a few times. “Pema, what the hell do you think you’re doing? You know that I don’t allow messy snacks in my car!” He was super anal about his car, and I was surprised that Pema was provoking him in such a way.

“Oh, I know. That’s why I opened these.” She smugly replied. “Be nice to Lucilia and take us through Sycamore Valley, or I’ll wipe my cheesy fingers all over your back seat.” She calmly threatened with a venomous undertone.

“You wouldn’t dare...” He glared at her through the mirror.

While maintaining her fearsome eye contact, she quickly shoved her hand into the bag, shook it around a bit, then pulled it out and tauntingly wiggled her cheese-covered fingers at him. Little orange flecks clung to the grey fabric of the seat, as she then boldly wiped her hand off next to her.

A gurgled sound of anger and disgust spewed from the back of his throat like the hiss of a dying viper. “Alright! Fine, you win, dammit! Just put that package of crisp and crunchy edibles away!” He shouted with a beet-red face, while furiously pointing a finger behind him at her chips.

“Thought so.” She snippily replied, while crossing her arms and leaning back in a ‘my work here is done’ sort of way.

Other than the so called ‘shitty pop music’ and the sound of tires crunching over cracks in the road, the car became completely silent. I wistfully gazed down at the colorful bridal bouquet in my lap. My heart felt heavy and tears threatened to prick my eyes at the sight of it. I wondered why I had even tried to catch the stupid thing in the first place.

Justin was indeed a very handsome fellow. He had a successful business management career at a rubber stamp company and his own house at age 26. Most women would kill for a man like him. He seemed like the perfect guy to complete my perfect pseudo world. And yet, the thought of getting married to him only suffocated me with trepidation.

Because truthfully, I was just an accessory to him. A perfect little prop for his dumb social media pages. The romantic affection I felt was unrequited, and no one managed to make me feel more unloved and used than he did. I felt hopelessly trapped with him like I was digging my own grave in the mushiest of mud. The deeper I got into it, the more difficult it became to get out, and I knew full well that I’d inevitably drown in the metaphorical sludge of our toxic relationship.

I defeatedly rested my forehead against the cool glass of the car window, and gloomily watched the vibrant summer day pass by. In between long stretches of flourishing woodlands filled with little tranquil streams, beautiful farmhouses stood proudly amongst the wavering trees and colorful June blooming flowers. The car jostled us around and wooden planks blocked out the shimmering sunlight each time we crossed over an old rickety covered bridge. Then the houses eventually turned from being well kept with lush lawns to abandoned, overgrown, and downright shabby looking, and the roads became cracked and bumpy, giving away that we had entered the infamous Sycamore Valley.

The town had been completely abandoned almost fifteen years ago. A massive tragedy had killed around a thousand or so people, turning the place into a ghost town. Both figuratively and apparently quite literally, as it was also widely rumored to be incredibly haunted. Making it a hot spot for paranormal hunters, professional and amateur alike.

What unsettled me more than the possibility of ghosts, was the fact that no one truly knew what exactly had happened here. Official reports claimed that a meteor had hit the town center, obliterating everything near it. But no evidence of space rock was ever found, nor did any satellites pick up anything unusual. It just didn’t make any sense.

Even stranger yet was that every single survivor had an eerily similar account of a zombie apocalypse. Some guy, who used to work in the town as a bartender, had started an outrageous conspiracy theory about a giant alien lizard and a fiery demon, which leaked its way into the widely believed local scuttlebutt as well. There were also human remains found mutilated by some unidentified beast in the Mount Sumac State Forest, all of which appeared to have been a part of some sort of sinister cult. The place had a creepy history, to say the least.

Pema suddenly leaned forward in between Justin and me with a mischievous look on her face. “Hey guys, wouldn’t it be fun to go explore one of the abandoned houses while we’re here?” She slyly grinned.

I pried my gaze away from the window and looked over at her with a ‘you’re crazier than a bunch of bouncing bananas’ expression. “Absolutely not! You know I don’t like creepy things!” I exclaimed. It was true, I couldn’t even watch horror films without having to close my eyes every time a scary scene came on.

“Yeah right. What a waste of time that would be.” Justin scoffed, while casually resting his forearm on the wheel so his hand was dangling over the dashboard. Green forestland zipped by in the window behind his handsome profile, as he stared emotionlessly at the road ahead.

“Alright, fair enough.” She shrugged. “I just thought it would be fun to go film a ghost hunt, that’s all. I’d imagine that it’d get tons of likes and views.” Justin suddenly perked up at her words, and I could practically see the wheels in his brain turning.

No... Dear god, please say no...

“You think so?” He curiously asked her.

“Oh, I know so.” She responded.

“No, no, no! Absolutely not!” I whipped around to face her. “I know what you’re doing, Pema! And I refuse to go along with it!” I sternly stated.

“Shhh!” Justin forcefully shushed. “Shut up, Lucy. Pema has a good point. It would get a lot of views if we filmed it, and would be good for my overall online persona.” He reached over and roughly squeezed my shoulder. “We’re doing it!”

Pema devilishly grinned. “Awesome.”

Fucking hell...