She Survived. Didn’t She?

"Memory is such a funny, fluid thing. Almost like... water. It changes shape to fit whatever holds it.”

You have been friends since childhood, or since school — which is almost the same thing. Or did you meet in college? It doesn’t really matter now (though, my favourite reader, you can always clarify that for yourself). What matters is that ten years ago, you proposed to her, and she said yes.

Lake Lacrimosa. You gave her a pendant shaped like an anglerfish — she always liked that sort of thing. She was overjoyed. But that day, something went wrong. She decided to go for a swim, then suddenly went under. You found her on the opposite shore a while later, unconscious. Then the ambulance, the hospital, the doctor. “A miracle she survived.” They said she had asphyxia, part of her memory was lost — you were by her side. Helped her remember everything, and she said yes again. Chloe recovered surprisingly fast, though she changed a lot — she used to be brilliant at exact sciences, but now she had a talent for voice acting. Everyone just shrugged. “Compensatory brain function, it’s science,” they repeated. Some time later, you decided you were ready for children… another blow — an early miscarriage. And again, you got through it, and your bond seemed to grow stronger.

Ten years have passed since that day at Lake Lacrimosa. Shared daily life. A home. The small joys of marriage, the minor friction — a healthy family life, all in all. Until the news… human remains were found in Lake Lacrimosa, the only clue — a pendant shaped like an anglerfish.

Potential CWs: Emotional manipulation; Possessive/obsessive relationships; Emotional dependency; Deception.

Bonus pic with other model