The Coup de Grace

His eyes followed her around the room. She was flitting around like a butterfly, laughing and giggling all the way. Her hair was beginning to come undone. Her eyes looked tired. Her dress looked shabby. Yet, she laughed without a care in the world, oblivious to his attentions.To his eyes, she was perfect. He was overcome by a mad desire to confront her, to speak with her, to have her smile for him. He felt he could not leave the party till he had made that happen. He wanted to hold her attention, dazzle her and possess her. Yet, how could he? He had no premise to spark a conversation with her, she was unknown to him. He was just another person at a big party. He shook his head and ordered another glass of wine.
While sipping on his wine, he saw the man at the next table staring at her, smiling to himself. He felt a sudden surge of anger towards this stranger. His only wish at that moment was to tear the man's face away from her, and punch his teeth out. The stranger caught him staring, they smiled at each other and looked away. He was puzzled by this sudden rush of emotions. He knew nothing about the girl, he had never spoken with her, had never even laid eyes on her before. How could he, a grown man, fall so hard? Maybe he was drunk. Something at the back of his head told him he wasn't.
She had decided to put her unfinished glass away and try her luck with some food. She was not getting anywhere with that either. She had begun talking animatedly with a nerdy looking toad. The toad leaned in closer, trying to hear what she said. The butterfly and the toad, he thought bitterly. She suddenly looked up at him and caught his eye. With a gesture of her head that was almost non existent, she blushed a deep red and smiled at him. His heart went wild, his stomach churned. He didn't know if he could keep standing any longer. He managed to smile back at her weakly. She was still red when she looked away to focus her attentions back on the toad. She was no longer herself, she was painfully aware of him. He smiled to himself. He had all he needed now. He walked up to her, looked her in the eye, and asked the toad if he would mind excusing her for a while. She looked amused and scared, all at the same time. For some reason, that pleased him. He had her undivided attention now. He wasn't letting it go.
He held out his hand to her, she took it.
"Amer."
"Anya."
Awkward smiles. They were both acutely aware of the other, neither had spoken another word. To him it felt like he had known her all his life, she was not a stranger, but a lover, a friend, a companion. She was everything. None of it made any sense, so he stopped trying to see sense. All he wanted to do now was to hold her close, hear her talk and watch her laugh. But she looked like a squirrel, alert, ready to run at the first sign of trouble. He would not give her the chance. So he waited. She took a deep breath, then beckoned to him with the nod of her head towards the door. He followed her through it. It opened out into a small courtyard, dimly lit up by lanterns. She looked ravishing in the light. His heart was pounding. At that moment, he felt complete. Nothing but her presence could bring relief to his aching self. Everything in the world was just as it should be. He touched her arm and pulled her close. He could smell her breath, feel her hair brush against his face. Her skin was soft. If only he could have her by his side forever..
Suddenly, there was darkness all around. He could see the stars. She withdrew from the embrace. She looked up at him, and smiled, ever so sweetly. She was no longer blushing. He looked on her face in mild surprise. There was no longer any pain. He looked down at his chest, where her head had been, there was now a dark stain, growing in size. It came from within, the stain. He knew he should be angry, he should at least feel cheated, but he only felt love. She had released him from his misery, he was free. As he caught sight of the silver in her hand, he smiled and thought, at least she is still here with me.

***

A little about the origin of this piece: The title of the post came to me first, the story followed. I am not sure if I have been able to convey the darkness the way I meant to, but I do hope it leaves you a little unsettled. As per Soumyashree's reactions (she gave all the right ones), my words came through. Please leave some comments behind so I may know what is good, and what isn't. I have no idea how this piece is. I just fell in love with the title when I started off. If I remember correctly, I first read about a coup de grace back in school, there was this rather nice and saddening story about two boys caught in a war. One delivered mercy to the other, only to discover *major spoiler*. 

And FYI, if anybody is, in fact, following the blog, I am caught up between work and study at this stage, expect delays in posts!

Looking forward to some feedback, however bad (or good), here is me, wishing you a Good Night.

Naina