Amour

I would like to thank everyone for their reviews:
TheNightButterfly, BigGator5, Wren, Pacman, S.M, shadowcat142@hotmail.com and ara.
Thank you so much for your support and reviews, no doubt if it wasn\'t for these reviews i wouldnt have felt as motivated to finish this story as quickly as i did. I hope everyone enjoys the exciting conclusion to Amour.


Tienna awoke alone; she had fallsleesleep the previous night on the couch after their passionate love making with Aria. The cold bite of a morning breeze swept throthe the house to cool Tienna\'s naked body. She felt refreshed like she had just awoken from a long slumber to embrace the world anew. She looked around the couch for any sign of Aria but there was none, the couch and pillows lay perfectly symmetrical on the couch like they had not been touched. Mocking her in their unruffled states. Had last night been a dream? Tienna walked out onto the balcony and felt a sharp pain in her left foot. Yelping, she jumped back in pain as thick drops of blood tarnished the clean floor of the balcony. Tienna hopped back inside where she dressed the wound, removing the small shards of glass that had embedded themselves deep within her foot. A crimson trail of blood followed her back, leaving droplets as she moved; a stained trail of scarlet vermilion. She remembered last night, it was all perfectly clear in her mind. The only thing that was missing was Aria. Was she real? Was it all her imagination? Figments of Aria\'s conversation flittered across her mind.

\"The neighbours cannot see nor hear a thing that I do, they can only see and hear you talking to me\"

\"I\'ll never leave you.\"

Tienna shook her head in an attempt to rid her rationale mind from stating the obvious as it dawned across her mind. Filling her mind as she tried to close her eyes to rid her mind of what it was telling her. Aria was not real. She was a figment of her imagination, conjured up from the depths of her mind in a vain attempt to deal with her husbands death. It all made sense now she thought to herself, the way that the Aria just happened to be in the cave whenever she went to the beach. That is WHY nobody else had seen her. Was Aria really a mythical creature? Or was she just another illusion? Tienna felt herself slipping back into the deep black chasm of insanity. No...NO! I am not insane Tienna shouted at herself. Oh god, now tal talking to myself Tienna thought out aloud. There is only one way to solve this Tienna thought to herself resolutely as she began to search for her car keys, her hands shaking as her nerves began to take over. She eventually found her keys and after dressing herself back in her bikini top and bottoms made her way to her car. The trip to the beach was a nightmare as her subconscious mind began to debate with her rationale mind. If all of this is false, then I am afraid of the consequences of that may result.

Tienna arrived at the beach, it was afternoon as on many occasions as she made her way down the footpath, past families on their way back after spending a day at the beach. Her feet touched the warm sand and she quickly made her way to the cliff. The sun began to set, casting out its last rays of light before succumbing to the night. Tienna made her way round the cliff face to the other side of the beach. The waves were rough here as they crashed against the rocky outcrops angrily. Tienna ignored all of this as she dived into the ocean, swimming towards the cave entrance with a mixture of fear, trepidation and hope. Like the night before she felt her anxiety levels rise as she neared the cave, her vision began to swim but she managed to quell it down ignoring the throbbing pain in her left foot as she entered the dank cave. She slowed down as she allowed her sight to become accustomed to the light. She looked around slowly. It was empty.

She felt something break deep within her as she perched herself upon a rock and began to weep. John.... Aria.... The only two loves in her life... gone. She felt a great darknfillfill up her body, as she felt herself tumble down. Falling endlessly to reach no bottom. She looked up suddenly in hope that Aria was real and she had sensed her pain. There was nobody. She looked outside the cave and saw that it was beginning to get dark. With an effort she hoisted hersfromfrom the rock and swam back to the shoreline. The beach was completely silent except for the sound of the ocean breaking against the shoreline. She walked past the cliff and decided to look out upon the ocean from the cliff face. One last time. She stumbled past the littered bushes filled with empty cans and various pieces of rubbish to walk towards the cliff face, ignoring the dull throbbing pain in her foot. Threading her way through the wooden posts she stood on the edge, admiring the turmoil of the ocean beneath her. It matched her thoughts. Lyrics from \'Mad World\' once again began to haunt her subconscious.

\"All around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out faces....\"

Tienna stood on the edge of the cliff, as a strong wind from the ocean blew against her face, jeering at her to jump. Taunting her as the waves continued to crash down below, welcoming her to its endless black depths. A release from all the pain that this world continued to assault her with. A reprieve for her soul. She took a large breath, savouring the sweetness of the night air one last time as she closed her eyes, raising her ato sto shoulder height as she prepared to dive.

\"Tienna?\"

Tienna whirled around. There standing 5ft away from her was Aria.

-\"Get away from me, you aren\'t real....\"

Aria looked at her as if Tienna had gone mad.

\"What are you talking about? Of course I\'m real...\"

-\"So why come when I woke up the couch was completely clean, as if you hadn\'t even came to me last night? How come nobody else can see you? How can somebody so perfect exist for me?\"

\"I did a little cleaning up before I left. Didn\'t you read the note I left you in the bathroom? I needed... some time to think over my decision. Why can nobody see me? Of course people can see me, I was just playing a trick on you last night because it was freezing cold outside. Human\'s can see me in my mermaid form as well but whether they choose to believe what they see or don\'t is entirely up to them. And I don\'t know how to answer that last question, unless of course you are talking about somebody else...\"

Aria giggled softly when she thought about the last question.

-\"S-so you m-mean I.. you are real?\"

\"Yes.\"

-\"a-and you will be giving up your life as a mermaid to be with me?\"

\"...Yes\"

Tienna had turned her back on the ocean and was making a step forward with each question. She was only a step away from Aria at this stage.

-\"S-so y-you are real?\"

Aria smiled and stepped into Tienna\'s embrace.

\"I made a promise to you remember? I\'ll never leave you. If in any doubts of your sanity, I wonder... Is your imagination as creative as this?\"

Aria said leaning forward to kiss Tienna deeply as they embraced, as one. A kiss to last an eternity as Tienna felt her soul soar above them, free of its constraints of pain to explore the ethereal heavens above. Tienna broke their embrace as she looked deep into Aria\'s green eyes, her own eyes aquamarine in colour as she smiled, for once in a long time feeling complete.

-\"No...\"

Tienna said, her voice trailing off to be carried away by the night air. She smiled as their lips met. Sometimes fairytales doe hae happy endings.

THE END