"Ripped in Two" Prologue Teaser Release

It’s here! You can finally take a peek into my new novel, the paranormal drama, RIPPED IN TWO. I’m revealing the Prologue as a teaser to the tale. You can download or buy a paperback copy on Amazon. Presale begins April 14th, full release April 21st! I can’t wait to share the entire work with you in a couple of weeks!!! More to come from now until then! For more information on the novel click here.

RIPPED

IN

TWO

a novel by

Andre Diniz

COPYRIGHT @2020

PROLOGUE

Sleep. Finally.

Should she refrain from touching him? Even though his eyes laid peacefully shut, she knew it was only momentary. She thought that angels must sleep like this, with a glow. Perhaps she should let him be—good rest was scarce lately—but her fingers believed otherwise anticipating the smoothness of his skin as they reached toward him. His face. His mouth.

She kissed him and let her lips linger over his taking in the warmth of his breath. She caressed his neck and his head turned toward her hand. His body was awakening. A smile surged on his face and his eyes slightly opened. He had no choice but to allow himself to gravitate toward her being. She longed for the beat of his heart. Nothing in the world could match the shower of comfort that slow steady beat brought. He belonged to her, was part of her, ingrained in her soul. She laid her hand delicately over his chest. His nipples hardened as she directed her fingers toward the center of his passion; his heart.

Suddenly, a summer breeze flipped into a cold chill. Her hand shivered. She had reached the left side of his chest and stopped. She couldn’t feel his heart beating. Her mouth opened and she turned.

Spiders. Everywhere.

As they began to attack and dig into his chest, she attempted desperately to awaken. Her stomach caved in pulling what seemed to be tons of air inside her lungs. She managed to open her eyes and jump up.

Beside her, in bed, there was nothing but a pillow. Reality.

Drops of sweat ran down from her head to her lips. Her hands automatically covered her eyes. She decided she was over having these nightmares. From now on, she would do her best to wake up before they even began. Her breath forced itself to regain its normal pace. She brushed the sweat drops away from her brows as she faced the fate that he was no longer there. This past year, the bed in which their love was shared became hers alone.

Where? Where is he? He...

She got up slowly regaining consciousness of her right then left foot. The bedroom window had been left opened and the candle on her bedside table struggled to burn against the night air. Her eyes dragged themselves toward the fragile light. The candle stared back at the woman as if understanding that tonight it mustn’t burn aimlessly, but stay ferociously lit for her. She glided her hand over the flame and it dipped toward the left receiving the tender touch. She grabbed the glass of water she set earlier by the candle and drank it. Sweat had now covered her entire body. She put the glass down and moved closer to the window to face the night air. Her bare feet, still a little numb from her dream, took each step carefully.

She reached the window and stood there cautiously. The night was treacherous. The nights always were. She loved the daytime but at night things changed. Creatures the daytime only suspected existed came out at night from dark spots within the forest and roamed about. Few were loud, some were noticeable, but most were silent movers. These silent ones, these were the ones she was afraid of. She had encountered them before in the woods. And tonight, certainty befell within her assuring they were out there. Not right there in front of her, but close enough waiting to get a hold of her mind, to step in and…

A thin rain began to fall. It calmed her down. She lifted her arms allowing the fresh dew to swim through her body. She heard the waves of the lake from her window. But did she? The lake was far. Was it possible to hear the waves in the distance if the wind blew a certain direction? She threw the possibility out and decided her head was playing tricks. She shut her eyes for a moment feeling thankful for the wind. She saw the lake in her mind. The lake, oh the lake. That body of water she adored so became a monster at the end. Her instincts told her that something was wrong, yet he chose not to listen. That mistake took him out of her life forever.

But you know that’s not true. It didn’t take him. He’s still out there somewhere and you have to find him. YOU HAVE TO.

          The light of the moon briefly fell through the clouds shining up her diamond ring as she opened her eyes. Months had passed and she had not yet had the courage to take it off her finger. He gave her the ring on the first night they moved into their apartment in the Berkshires. He presented it to her saying that she had gained the love of his heart completely, that they were meant to be, had been so since the beginning of time, and with a promise that all of her dreams would come true. Tonight—for the first time—she wondered if taking the diamond ring off might somehow brush away the deepening ache in her heart.

Take it off but save it. Keep it hidden somewhere because what you are about to do is a dirty, dirty job and you don’t want to mess that ring up. Take it off.

Her fingers slowly started to pull off the ring. Far in her mind, a vision of him sitting by the shore of the lake appeared. Excitement engulfed his person as he worked on his book. She presumed he must have been excited until the very end. She pictured him waving at her—the ring was halfway across her finger—just as the waves of the lake fell into a sudden spur. The clouds sped. The wind uncontrollably swung loosely over the waves—she halted the ring at the tip of her finger—as they grew higher and higher in her vision. Right then, a real thunder broke in the forest and pulled her out of the trance she had fallen into. She pushed the ring back on her finger conceding herself to the tears in her eyes.

She remembered a letter he wrote to her during their engagement stating that she was never alone, that her diamond ring held the essence of his heart close to her at all times. He ended the letter by declaring that he was fully hers. And by God, that alone was something she would never forget, never.

Suddenly her tongue felt loose in her mouth creating a choking sound. Her back curved up as her arms bent out. Her throat undulated with her breath. The wind stroked her black hair with stupendous violence. Her head lifted up and a grotesque cry released from her mouth. She grabbed the empty glass by the window and threw it across the room shattering it against the hallway closet. The blow cracked open the door and she saw it creeping out of the crevice.

The shovel.

She let out another desperate cry and raced toward the closet. She grabbed the shovel like a possessed witch takes her broom. The shovel pointed toward the front door, past her backyard, into the forest, with an intention so strong no spell could counter, in the hunt for the soul she had once known; the soul of her lover.

Not the soul! I can’t take this game of repeating what I’ve already said. You can’t really be that stupid.

Another thunder crashed outside. She burst open the front door and faced the forest. Rain fell like rocks from the sky. Her heart pumped blood so rapidly she thought she might faint.    

I can feel the whole of the forest, all of it standing still. Run!

She jumped off her porch with the shovel in her hands and sped pointedly through the woods. The animals of the forest saw her pass by in desolate fury. She had a destination and nothing could stand in her way. No one would even attempt.

Her anguish increased. She blocked all sounds from the forest in her concentrated state. The rain fell stronger. She could see the tree he was buried by approaching now. It was incredibly majestic in the dark of the night, blowing its branches in the storm as if saying, come and get him, come, he’s been here all along.

She caught sight of his tombstone and anger bled from her. It was broken in two pieces splitting the “RIP” in half. Thunder must have struck it. She ran toward the grave, raised the shovel up high and bombarded it into the ground with all the power she possessed. The rain fell violently as her soul burst into flames.

She dug… one (her husband’s smile)… two (his eagerness for life)… three (the day she first saw him)… four (his touch)… five (the office)… (the plans they made)… (his poems)… (the night they first made love)… (the baby she lost)… (the apartment)… (his book)… (I love you)… (marry me)… (the lake)… (the forest)... (the house)… (you are my heart)… (you are)… (you)… (you)…

She stuck the shovel onto the side of the coffin, put her foot on its handle and pressed it down. The top flew open. Her knees collapsed. The wind and the rain continued. There he was. Not his smile, not his face, not really. She clenched her hands into fists and screamed toward the sky. She bent forward as tears fell over the sight of his decaying body, once so fervent and full of life, now forever still and helpless.

Take what you came for. His soul. Find it, now! DO IT!

She hit she shovel against his neck enough times until it separated his skull from the rest of the body. She fell backwards and convulsed. It only lasted a few seconds and, once it subsided, she was back on target. She placed the skull on the ground near her. This is where his soul must be. Here... With one hand she touched his chin and with the other her own. She caressed his lips, his cheeks, but nothing was the same. Her fingers slipped through the sockets of his eyes. She lifted the skull and immersed herself into its image. She could almost see him. If this was him once, then it could be again. His soul must still be in there somewhere. She stood up and brought the skull close to her breast, to the drumming of her heart, and remained there frozen. The clouds, the animals, the leaves of the trees, even the lake in the distance, carefully waited for her next move. To their surprise, she simply got up and slowly headed back home.

She went up the steps of the porch, past the front door, through the living room, and into the bedroom. As she neared her bed she sensed company about her. She thought about turning around, but her eyes were caught between the fixating sight of the skull she carried and the candle on her bedside table. The wick of the candle remained burning even with all the wind that had gushed about. Now all was quiet, all was still, all was where it should be.

She sat on her chair by her desk, held the skull gently in her hands, and intently stared into the dark holes where his eyes should be. There were no more thunders in the sky that night though the rain continued to fall ever so slightly. She felt hope slipping away. She was lost yet again, but this time there was no one here to help her. Numbed tears formed in her eyes as she realized how foolish she had been; incredibly so. He wasn’t here. That much was bluntly clear.

I won’t accept it. He is somewhere. He has got to be somewhere.

But he was not. She had searched everywhere she could think of by now. He must have moved on. Dear God, please let it be so. Maybe their plan worked after all. If it did, then perhaps it meant that one day she would join him. At that, her heart skipped a beat.

Unbeknownst to her senses, something had lurked into her bedroom from the forest. Not something. Someone. But in her despaired state, she momentarily lost the ability to detect him.