The veils of fog shrouded the landscape, and the misty waves had covered the atmosphere, as if darkness had ceased the air with a miasma of melancholy, a solitary crow, sitting on a dead tree’s bough, was gazing at the grayish sky that reflected the ceasing gloom of some lugubrious entity lurking in the shadows, flocks of heavy clouds were moving slowly and followed a sullen rhythm as they cloaked the empty grey ether, and the mighty calling of the ebony bird broke the stillness; Only a feeble light was seen from a distance, and a figure appeared, a ghostly, unearthly and bizarre shadowy shape against the hoary setting. As the fog started to fade and the sunlight beamed through the heavy clouds, a mansion emerged from darkness, the features of the domain looked quite visible, the walls, the doors, the balconies, the windows; and the feeble light, emanated from one particular window, from the room of the beautiful Ophelia.

She was a frail young lady, the daughter of Mr. Anderson a very distinguished man, who owned a big company and was tremendously rich; his wife was very elegant; she enjoyed reading and wrote poetry. Ophelia was a petite and quite slender girl, with watery eyes, an angelic porcelain face and with divine long hair. She was very sensitive and showed artistic abilities at a very young age, she wrote some poems and painted beautiful landscapes, thus leading to the growth of her very emotions. That day, she hadn’t slept at all; “is it my despair that made the world look like a ghastly abyss?” She asked herself while looking around the dusky room, and outside the window, darkness began to languish as the day came in sight still her sorrow was there. The thought of the only man whom she truly knew and all the moments of pure joy they shared were not enough, she remembered everything, every accurate detail, his beautiful hair, his dark eyes; he was a strong young man, a hard worker, generous and kind and the way he looked at her and talked to her made her instantly smile, at first she was flattered, but then, she was confused. “Maybe,” she thought, “maybe, it is something else; something deeper! Am I going mad? For he is always on my mind, his name haunts me, oh Adam, what did you do to me? What would father think? Good Lord, what should I do? And what if it is only an illusion? Even if it is true, is he feeling the same way, is he thinking about me as well, is he confused?”

As she was sitting in her room thinking of her worries, the maid entered the room calling out her name: “Miss Ophelia, Miss Ophelia “, Ophelia was drowning in her thoughts, as if she was unconscious, that she didn’t even hear her. The maid approached and held the young lady’s shoulder; she awoke suddenly from her daydream and replied …. -Yes, what is it?-Your father is looking for you miss-I will join him in a moment

“It's already been days and I’m still thinking about him, Adam, this simple word is turning my world upside down, what should I do? Is this true or is it one of my daydreams?” She wrote those few lines in her diary, “He was always there whenever I needed him, whenever I felt sorrowful or even outraged, he understands me. Could this mean that he shares the same ardent feelings? “.

“I have to clear my mind”, she said finally, and she went to the garden and there he was, Adam, an orphan who lived in the Anderson’s residence, he was interested in books and literary works, though he was a simple worker, he continued his studies no matter what. There he was sitting on the grass with a book in his hands under an azure sky and the sun beams emphasized his unearthly beauty, his

perfect presence among nature, as if he belonged to the pure natural perfection itself; and this very scenery made her forget all the pain she endured that night. She took a long breath and made a beeline towards him and her eyes scrutinized the garden, making sure none was around; "It is now or never" she said to herself.

Ophelia walked her path up to him and brought to light all her feelings.

“I love you my dear Adam, good Lord I love you, you are my soul, my breath, my own life; you saved me from the tomb of my despair, from a life resembling an empty shell but I cannot stand it anymore, it’s killing me, haunting me, devouring me in such a ghastly way, I do not understand why I fell for you, in fact, loving you never crossed my mind but whenever I am with you I feel special and true to myself, I never laughed nor smiled that much in my entire life, you brought me to life. I am not expecting you to feel the same; but I just wanted you to know that I sincerely love you.”

When she finished talking, she didn’t even awaited for his respond and turned away, and headed rapidly to the house, suddenly, Adam held her by the hand.

“How could you just reveal your feelings then go away without even wait for my response,” he said and Ophelia stood there gazing at him astonished, “I feel comfortable when I am with you, I do not usually show my emotions, I do it only with the ones I trust and I trust you, I mean isn’t it obvious that I love you. I was so afraid to show it; because the two of us are too different, I was afraid that you wouldn’t love someone like me, who has nothing.”

She could not believe what she just heard, she was so happy that tears of joy ran down her beautiful eyes and draw crystalline lines along her cheeks, her face unveiled a radiant smile and then she looked at him straight in his dark eyes and said: “I love you despite of everything, I love you for who you are, the man who showed me so many things and was here to bring light to my darkest moments.”

Adam was simply overwhelmed; he took her tightly in his arms then kissed her gently.

When Ophelia went back to her room, happiness and joy invaded the place, she couldn’t stop smiling, she felt her heart was about to explode, she was still thinking about Adam but this time, no doubt tormented her, only the yearning to see him, to feel him, his arms around her, the sweet taste of his velvet lips made her swoon into a bittersweet void.

Ophelia was living a dream; she finally reached pure joy and encountered the only man whom she truly loved, then a sudden knocking brought her back to reality.

“Who is it?”

“It is your father!”

She jumped out of her bed and ran towards the door, when she opened it, her father’s stark figure stood there with a severe mien, thus her heart tweaked and all her fantasies faded away.

-“I called for you earlier, why didn’t you come over?”

-“I am truly sorry father, I must have forgotten.”

-“I see … well I just wanted to inform you that I am going away for a business trip, so I will be absent for two days, and if you need anything, you can count on Adam to take you wherever you’d like, I will inform him later.”

When she heard that single word ‘Adam’, which she once by herself, it gave her chills and shivers down her spine, she tried to sound anything but enthusiastic;

-“Are you going alone or is mother coming with you? “

-“No, she’s staying here for she has to work on her poems.” He answered briefly and clearly showed that he’s in a hurry, Ophelia understood and finally said: “well then, my dear father, be careful and have a safe trip.” And with one sign, her father departed.

The two lovers spent the two days fancying each other, lived each moment, as if it was their last days on this earth. One afternoon, Adam was sitting in the yard waiting for Ophelia; the afternoon sun revealed his divine beauty, the harmony of nature was there and emphasized the presence of the young man, in his full grace. Ophelia was preparing herself carefully; she wanted to look perfect to please her beloved.

When she reached the yard, Adam turned around, he saw her, in her lovely little black dress, walking as if she was dancing, and that very moment, time had stopped, only the two of them remained, the two living entities, breathing love, emerging passion. They spent the afternoon talking about their dreams and gazing at each other, noticing every detail; Adam enchanted by her beauty, strangely attracted by an invisible force, came closer and kissed her, Ophelia felt like her heart stopped, and she kissed him back, with an extreme passion that took his breath away.

They could not tell whether the kiss lasted few moments or an eternity, and suddenly Mr. Anderson came out of nowhere and he saw everything. The young girl tried to explain but in vain, her father was outraged, he took her by the arm and looked at Adam; “How dare you! I raised you and offered you a job, a better life, my trust and this is how you are thanking me, by corrupting my own daughter! I don’t want you here, you are fired, and if I ever see you around my property I swear I will call the police!” and before leaving, Adam looked at Ophelia as a farewell, but she couldn’t see anything, for the tears blurred everything around her.

Ophelia ran to her room, throw herself on the bed and cried all the tears of her body.

Days passed, weeks, months but her sorrow remained, she tried to recall her lover’s face, but she couldn’t; despite the memories of all the moments she spent with him, Ophelia’s days were the same; full of melancholy and gloom, empty, meaningless… but she decided to give her love a last chance; she decided to talk to her father again, he was her only chance; so she walked through the corridor, to her father’s office, she took a deep breath and knocked;

-“Yes, who is it?”

-“It is Ophelia, may I come in?”

-“Of course dear, come in!”

As she came in, she saw her mother standing there;

-“Mother, I didn’t expect you to be here, I thought you were working on your poems.”

-“Well I was indeed, but I had finished ages ago!” Ophelia looked at her, astonished, she realized that time passed very quickly but her grief isolated her from reality, locked her in a tormented fantasy world; “yes indeed, I must admit that I wasn’t aware of certain things.”

-“I know that my dear, I believe you want to talk to your father?”

-“Yes I do” she faced the man and without blinking she said: “Father,” she tried to talk but nothing came out, then she breathed and looked at him in the eyes; “I know that you do not approve the nature of my relationship with Adam, but this is very important for me, he is the love of my life and I cannot live without him“

- “Sweetheart, I will talk to you later, could you leave us alone? I have to talk with our daughter.”

-“Certainly darling.” She hesitated first but then she walked out of the room after looking at Ophelia tenderly, reminding her that nothing is lost.

-“My dear Ophelia,” he said, “this relationship can never be, and your feelings, no matter how great they are, cannot change a thing, I won’t let you ruin your future.”

- “father, I am begging you please, let him come back at least, and I will not talk to him I promise, let him work and earn a living, let him not suffer out in this cruel world.”

-“ this is impossible, I have made my decision, he’s not coming back and this is final, beside, he already turned the page and found someone else, so instead of thinking about him and his situation you should think about yours! I don’t want to see my only daughter ruin her life for someone like him.”

“He already turned the page and found someone else” those words, made her feel an unimaginable pain, her heart stopped for a moment, she felt empty and so lonely, her hopes and dreams died before her eyes. She headed straight to her room, and gazed through the window, the familiar melancholia was there, that same heartache that haunted her a long time ago, sorrow and grief blinded her, and nothing mattered that night.

The lugubrious landscape encouraged her self-destruction, Ophelia, the charming young lady was in the mercy of the mighty shadows, she looked around and saw the sleeping pills she took when she struggled with insomnia, and she took them all at once, leaving behind a note that read:

“I cannot live in a world where you don’t exist, my beloved, your light guided me, through the shadows, the mighty darkness, flowers have grown inside my heart when you looked at me, when you said that you love me, and I truly love you my dear Adam, may your dreams come true and love fill your life with joy, I bid you farewell my love, and promise me, you will at least let a smile brighten your divine face every time you think about me.”

The maid entered and found Ophelia on the floor, she called for help and suddenly Mr. Anderson came in along with his wife, his daughter’s suicide made him turn pale, he was astonished and couldn’t move, Ophelia’s mother started screaming and crying, it was too much for them, but Mr.

Anderson immediately regained his full consciousness, he calmed his wife then held his only daughter in his arms, demanded a car and took her to the hospital.

Despite the tragedy that stroke the Andersons, and a long time before it, a young man grew prosperous, worked hard and reached the top in order to regain the love of his love, the beautiful Ophelia. When his beloved collapsed, he felt as if a part of him died, swooned, was nothing but dust that faded away. He couldn’t take it any longer, he felt lost, utterly bewildered, and he needed to clear his mind.

Adam told his driver to take him to the cemetery, during the entire trip; he didn’t say anything or checked the newspaper as usual.

When the young man reached his destination, the sight of hundreds of graves and tombstones made his heart sink further more into an endless sea of sorrow, but he had to go there, through those ghastly monuments, reminders of death. Finally, over there stood a lonely grave, a greyish piece of marble on the dry soil; it was in fact the resting place of Adam’s mother, dead in an early age after giving birth to her only son. When he saw the decaying stone, he couldn’t hold onto his tears, he felt helpless and forlorn, and engaged in a one way talk, thinking maybe somewhere his mother could hear him

“hello mother, it is me again, I know that if you can see me, you’d be so proud of me, and I did all this to please you, the woman I’ve never known and to be with the woman I’ve known and loved since I can remember, but, oh mother, I sense something exasperating, and I cannot tell what, I am also afraid, I am terrified, what if her father won’t approve? I did all I can to share a lifetime with her, but I am afraid it is not enough! What should I do mother? Give me at least a sign, anything!” he stood there, staring at the dull landscape, the dead trees, and the heavy grey clouds, cloaking the empty sky, the silence strangely soothed his grief-stricken soul, his irksome melancholy faded away; so he decided to leave this macabre place, he took a last look at his dear mother’s grave, and he felt as if she had listened to him then headed straight to his car.

Once in the car, he began to read the newspaper; he discerned a particular photograph, a young lady, with a skin as white as snow, and long beautiful hair, the title stated clearly “The Young Lady Anderson, A Suicide Victim, Is still in Hospital”; he tried to persuade himself that it is just a coincidence, that could not be Ophelia, not his sweet Ophelia, that cannot be! Adam tried to convince himself but in vain, it was too obvious and lying made everything worst, he immediately told his driver to go hastily to the hospital.

As he entered, the dim light of the hospital hallway emphasized on the despair that cloaked the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, the minutes turned to hours, and the hours to an everlasting torment devouring their core unmercifully.

Adam didn’t know what to do, what to utter; and all the words that exist couldn’t ease the pain or heal the wounds. When he approached, Mr. Anderson turned around and gazed at him, Adam remembered the last time he saw him, his eyes reflected wrath, loathing; but that very day, the man’s eyes mirrored only hopelessness, feebleness. Without uttering a single word, he stood still, put his hand on the young man’s shoulder and gave him the note his daughter left; this gesture, this attitude, was sufficient, Adam understood and went into Ophelia’s room, she was there, sleeping peacefully, he couldn’t stop staring at her, gazing at her divine beauty, then he remembered the note, he read it carefully, the tears were streaming from his dark eyes; he knew why her father let him in, he was the reason why she tried to depart from this mortal world, when he finished reading this heartbreaking note, he took a seat near his beloved, and waited for her to wake up so that he would embrace her and tell her that he will never go away, he will stay with her forever.

The young man was still waiting for his beloved to arouse; the room looked dreadfully plain and dark, minutes turned to eternity, Adam thought hundreds of years passed and Ophelia was still sleeping, he approached carefully, and there he heard the young lady’s feeble heart beats, her breath was like a summer breeze, he caressed her cheek with the tip of his finger, abruptly, Ophelia’s watery eyes opened gently, she looked around without moving, and there, near her, Adam’s face was the first thing she beheld;

-“Where am I? … My dear Adam, is that you? Or is it an angel?”

-“No my dearest dear,” he said with a delightful smile, “I am here with you and you are with me, you are not dreaming nor dead my beautiful angel.”

-“Good Lord, how I missed you, your voice, your velvet lips, your soft hands and your precious love, where were you all this time? I longed to see you or hear you calling my name.”

-“Oh my sweet Ophelia, I thought about you all the time, and now I am here to be with you and I swear I will never leave you, I worked really hard to prove the world that I do exist, that I will do anything and everything to make you happy; I shall buy you all the gold in the universe, the most divine garments, I will buy you all the books ever written, I will build a magnificent palace with a gigantic garden, that bears millions of flowers! Dear Ophelia I will make you my queen, and we shall live together for eternity.”

She looked surprised when she heard that, but it didn’t really mattered; “my darling,’ she replied, ‘the only thing that I want, is something that none can buy, and all the money gathered cannot afford such a thing.”

-“What is it?’ he said hastily, ‘pray let me know, I will try anything to make you happy my love, just tell me and I will have it no matter what!”

-“You already have it my dear Adam, it’s your love that makes me happy, your presence, your warmth, I cannot live far from you, you are my breath, my core, you’re in my veins, you are my other half, my own soul.”

And then, out of a sudden, the young man kissed Ophelia tightly, at that moment, everything around them disappeared, only the young couple was there, floating in the ether, and they became one, that kiss reunited them, it was like a sunbeam, piercing the darkness within their heart, casting out the

despair and grief; “my Ophelia,” he said, his lips near hers, “I love you dearly, I want you to be a permanent part of me, my other half; will you marry me?”

She looked at him and embraced his lips again, it was a clear answer and when she let go of his velvet lips, she said, “I do, I will always be yours, and now I am utterly happy.”