Then There Was Nothing

"I have never loved someone so much in my entire life."

Those were it; my last words. Fear ran the course of my veins in that moment, but then I was calm as they shot me up.

I was only 32, young, full of life... in love. I never thought I would end up on death row, in that room, on that table. I never thought I would be dead one day before my 33rd birthday. Yet, that's exactly what I was. Dead.

It all started with a girl. The sweetest, most beautiful being I have ever laid my eyes on. The love of my life.

She was the type of woman who could woo a crowd, steal your heart, and put a smile on anyone's face. That's what she did to me. I first saw her on stage at the Maclin Theatre in my hometown. She was a pianist, a talented one at that. A traveling musician, recognized by many, loved by all.

Especially by me.

She was staying at the Hamilton, a large hotel just a few miles outside of my town. I met her there after her show. Well, not exactly. I purchased a room just to have an excuse to follow her there. She was at the bar, alone, sipping on some fine Merlot. I approached her with a flower I took from a vase near the door.

I was petrified, my voice was quivering, but somehow I perked up the courage to ask if i could buy her a drink. My voice squeaked a bit as I talked, she must've thought it was cute or something, because she said yes.

We drank until the sun came up, and made love until it went back down. It was the most amazing night of my life. I fell instantly and hard. As did she. It was a match made in heaven.

Or was it hell?

3 years passed. We got married and had a child. A baby girl... Lila. She was just as beautful as her mother. A perfect angel in her own right. The greatest gift in the world. We were a happy little family. We had a nice house on the beach, we weren't rich but we had money, nice cars and clothes, all that fancy stuff.

3 years. For 3 years everything was perfect. Then tragedy struck. Our daughter came down with a sickness, something new, unexplainable. The doctors couldn't figure it out at all. Within months our perfect little angel withered away to nothing. We buried her next to her grandparents back in my hometown.

Life became a living hell soon after. My wife went crazy, stopped making beautiful music, let herself be consumed by drugs and alcohol. She was never herself again, and neither was I. Everything I loved was falling apart.

I soon learned that she had taken new lovers in her drunken, drugged out stupors. Many other men, and even women, began to share my prize. I was furious, uncontrollably enraged everytime I looked at her face, but also I was sad. Sad at the loss of my family, and the declination of our love.

I had to stop it. I called her out. She lied. Told me I was stupid and crazy. So I began following her. Got proof. Pictures, videos, even used condoms. Everything I needed to get her to admit her wrongs, and she still lied.

I couldn't take it. I made her believe I was fine, even apologized for acting so crazy. I wasn't sorry though, I was confused and hurt. I knew I had to help her.

The plan was simple, easy, and ultimately...wicked. I used her birthday as a disguise to poison her. She loved chocolate cake, so much so, that every year I would import a special slice from Paris just for her. The most divine cake in the world. She loved it so much, even as it took away her sorrow permanently.

I wept as she writhed on the floor in agony. Wailed as the life left her eyes. Her torment was finally over. The love of my life was finally at peace. I cried until the sun went down, and still as it rose the next morning.

The following day I called the police and told them what I had done.

I lived in a state where premeditated murder instantly granted you the death penalty. I knew it was going to happen, but didn't care. I had nothing left. My baby was dead, my wife was dead, my soul was dead. Only thing left was for me to die. So I did.

I closed my eyes as I felt the needle slip into my arm. A single tear slid down my face, into my ear, as I laid awaiting the afterlife. A flash of the life I once loved jolted through my conscious. A single image of my wife holding our beautiful daughter stuck with me until my life left my body. Then there was absolute blackness... Then there was nothing.