‘Oh wow, you look beautiful. My daughter’s so gorgeous. Cinderella ain’t got nothing on you baby girl,’ Lanaya’s mother gushed. 

‘Aww, mum.’ Lanaya could feel the heat flush her cheeks from the compliment. Or was it her nerves? So many emotions coursing through her. Excitement? Anticipation? Happiness? All of the above. As her mother finished fastening her dress, Lanaya’s best friend Eloise put on the finishing touches by placing the long lace veil. 

‘I’m gonna cry but I spent way too much time on my makeup so I’m a suck it up. But Naya, you do look beautiful.’

‘Thanks, hun.’ Lanaya reached out to hold her friend’s hand and gave them an affectionate squeeze as they squealed and giggled like happy school girls. Lanaya could not stop smiling, feeling all the love filling up the room just for her. 

Lanaya took a long look at herself as she stood in front of a full-length mirror. The long white gown fit perfectly. Its body-hugging silhouette caressed Lanaya’s curves. The lace sleeves that wrapped around her slender arms added a touch of class and elegance. Lanaya ran her hands softly over the bodice feeling the handcrafted details of sequins and beads that accented the front of the dress. Her hair was swept up in an intricate updo dotted with crystal hair pins. The lace veil laid softly against her back, giving just enough of a glimpse of the plunging backless design that stopped just before the small of her back. Lanaya looked beautiful and felt as if she was in a fairytale. 

The ride to the church went without a hitch. Sitting with her mother and father in a stretch limousine, Lanaya took in the views from the window for the last time as a single woman as soon she will be a Mrs. 

Family and friends had already taken their seats in the large church hall. Flowers decorated the aisles and tall arrangements of cascading blossoms in whites, silvers and blues stood by the wedding arch. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement. Family members gave hugs across the pews. Friends pointed and waved to familiar faces. The photographers took pictures of the settling guest before getting into position to snap the entrance of the bridal party. Soon the hum of chatter amongst the waiting guests fell silent as the processional song began to play. 

The bridesmaids and groomsmen walked in time to the music up the decorated aisle. The little ring bearer carefully walked along the aisle, stopping every few steps to check the rings were secured to the pillow, much to the amusement of the watching guests. The flower girl with her diligent petal laying garnered an ‘aww’ from the crowd as she dropped one petal at a time with each step. Soon the bride will make her graceful stride to the altar. With the bridal party all positioned at the front of the stage, the guests stood to their feet and awaited the march of the bride. 

Lanaya stood with her father at the entrance of the large arch doors of the church listening out for the musical cue to proceed down the aisle.  The familiar melody of the wedding march began to play, sounding more magical in the large church auditorium. Lanaya held firmly onto her father’s arm, steadying herself and concentrating on making sure to lead with the correct step. 

As the music continued to play, filling the air with harmonious chords, Lanaya had yet to make a move up the aisle. Her legs felt heavy. Her satin pumps felt stuck to the floor. Trying not to draw too much attention to her struggle,  she looked discreetly towards her dad squeezing his arm gently to get his attention but the face that looked back at her was not that of her beloved father. 

Lanaya shirked backwards in shock, releasing her grip from the arm of whatever stood beside her and dropping her bouquet that fell to the ground in slow motion. The figure that stood next to her, its black hollow eyes and gaping mouth cocked its head to the side as if to ask what was wrong. Lanaya began to panic. Her heart was racing, her breathing became erratic, her eyes darted left and right looking for a familiar face to help her. Lanaya tried to back away but could not move. She looked down. Where was the aisle strewn with white petals? In its place was a thick sticky sludge clinging to her legs and creeping further and further up her dress. Her beautiful white wedding gown was sullied by this unknown substance. She tried desperately to free herself, and attempted to wade through the sticky tar-like gunge. She stretched towards the closest pew to try and pull herself out. Her dropped bouquet had since been swallowed up and Lanaya was next. She continued to stretch out her hands towards the pew but it was no use.  Losing her balance, Lanaya fell to her knees putting her hands out to cushion her fall. Lanaya looked up. What should have been the loving faces of family and friends were now warped and distorted, bobbing and swaying slowly, tauntingly around her. Lanaya opened her mouth to scream for help but not a sound left her quivering lips. Her face, makeup streaked and tear-stained was contorted in distress. Her eyes wide, stared helplessly into the haunting faces. Her veil began to crumble away. Her lace sleeves disintegrated as her hands sank into the ground. As the sludge rose higher and higher covering her waist, and her chest, edging towards her shoulders, Lanaya tried frantically to free her arms but with every movement, sunk deeper and deeper into the sludge. The wedding march song no longer recognisable, sounded garbled and distorted as if being played backwards underwater. 

The faces of the guests blurred together, closing in on Lanaya. The aisle decorations exploded into black dust one by one. The tall flower arrangements melted into a black sludge as if made of wax. Tarry gunk crept up the walls and ceiling, covering the room in immense darkness. The once light and airy church hall became a confined, dank,  grotesquely black prison of nightmarish proportions. Lanaya was almost fully submerged. As she craned her neck back as far as it would go trying to keep her face out of the sludge, a large drop of black gunk fell from the ceiling onto her head dripping slowly down her face, smothering her eyes, her nose, her mouth until she was completely gone.