The cool night breeze kissed Thomas' golden skin. Just like every night for the past month, he was walking between the multiple tombstones. He had walked this dark road so many times, that he knew every cobble stone that was misplaced or missing from the stone path.

Ever since Thomas was young, he had feared the graveyard at the end of the small town. But after Esmeralda's departure, this place became his second home. The freezing cold, the noises and the imaginary shadows didn't get to him anymore.

The songs from the howling trees and the chirping birds had become his favourite playlist. He even started to enjoy the quiet loneliness of the graveyard.

There it was, in the distance: Esmeralda's endless sleeping place. Her stone tomb was still as beautiful as the day they made it. Thomas made sure that it stayed like that, elegant and clean. Just like his Esmeralda.

Oh, how Esmeralda was beautiful. Like the flowers at the start of spring or the sun when it was setting.

Thomas sighed at those memories. Esmeralda always loved the sunset; the moment the sky coloured orange and red. How he missed his fiancée, they never had enough time together. He never said enough "I love you"-s.

Thomas shook away the daunting pain. He didn't like to feel that crawling heartbreak and loneliness.

Luckily, he didn't have to, he made sure of that. He couldn't lose his love, his first and only love. Esmeralda was the woman of his life, nothing would ever change that. He wasn't going to let her go just because death came for her.

The closer he got, the easier he could see the dim glow. Her ghost was flowing above her tomb stone. Her wrists were chained with heavy lockets that kept her from disappearing to the afterlife. This way she couldn't leave Thomas alone with an emptiness and a pain in which he would perish.

"Good evening my love." His young and joyful voice broke the silence of the calm night.

These were his favourite moments of his day, when he could see her and talk to her. So he could feel close to her.

He looked up at his beautiful angel. She had bronze locks flowing over her shoulders and back that complimented her sea-blue eyes perfectly. Her white wedding dress was standing out against her sun-kissed skin. She truly was worth a million pictures.

Thomas still couldn't truly comprehend how it was possible that such a beautiful woman could love such a simple man like him. He knew he wasn't terrible in the looks compartment, but he was nowhere close to some of the men in town.

"Tom, let -," her broken voice was a mere whisper that could have easily been mistaken for a strong northern breeze.

Thomas smiled at her, before laying down a blanket and sat down on it. He pulled out a thermos with hot tea in it and sat down on the ground.

"Today I went to the Hamilton's," he began, "they had big news to tell. Young Perry is expecting, she is two months in. I know what you're thinking, no she isn't showing yet."

Their evenings usually consisted of telling each other the news they had learned about Home. It was such a small town, that most people knew each other, and gossip was inevitable.

So, telling his beloved all the newbies from their precious little town now, was a way to make his life feel normal again.

Thomas sipped from the hot Marrakesh Mint tea. When he looked up, Esmeralda was saying something, but no sound ever reached his ears. Seeing her like that, trying and failing to communicate made him sad, so he looked away at his hands, at the way his fingers slightly trembled around the thermos cup.

"That is what I wondered as well!" He continued with the same enthusiasm, ignoring the negative emotions building up inside his chest. "I have no idea though who the father is. I wasn't even aware that she was dating anyone."

He shook his head, a little smile on his lips. He remembered how Perry looked so at peace with the news, even though her parents were clearly not as happy.

Esmeralda floated down to the side of her tomb, sitting right behind Thomas. He could feel her presence, like he always had.

"I'm happy for her, you know. I'm just sad that we didn't get the chance-," his voice broke, clenching his hand even tighter around his cup of tea, before he looked up at his beautiful ghost.

He reached for her dim glowing hand. When he touched it, he only felt freezing air in the place where Esmeralda's hand had been not a second ago. It felt like his heart imploded once more. Tears were welling up in his eyes.

"One day I'll be able to touch you my love. Then I'll hold you in my arms and never let go. I promise."

***

Thomas stayed at his fiancée's grave for a little while longer before he returned to his empty house.

He walked down the hiking trail on the eastern mountain that led to the graveyard. The lantern in his right hand was the only thing that lightened up the darkness that engulfed him. Careful not to take a wrong step, he walked down towards the cobbling water of the White River that was the east border of the town.

In the distance he could see the lights of the small town he called home. A remote town in between two big mountain hills in the south of Europe. No one ever came to Home, because there wasn't anything interesting to experience. There was no real history, there were no old ruins or special nature. The people were simple and most had lived there their whole lives. Their families were buried in the same graveyard as Esmeralda rested now.

There weren't many lights, which was normal considering the time of day. Most people would already be lying in bed by now, so they could wake up early and start their productive day on the fields or in the town.

Thomas arrived at the foot of the mountain. He could see his house from across the river. It was the first one on the right. It was a white clay house that was supported by wooden planks. The house was of regular size, and that had only been affordable for the young couple because of the inheritance Esmeralda got from her grandparents. His fiancée was from one of the few rich families in town. He wasn't. He was regular, nothing special. Just a farmer. Another reason why he still didn't understand how such beauty could be his. She could've gotten so much better.

Thomas reached the white cobblestone bridge that led to the town. He hated that bridge; cars kept honking at each other when they passed, people kept shouting at each other from one side of the street to the other. It was never just quiet. The bridge wasn't large and wide, only one car could pass it at a time.

On the doorsteps of his house a young man, slightly older than himself, was awaiting his return. Just like himself, the man had medium long, wild brown hair, but unlike Thomas his best friend, Mario, had tucked it behind a crimson bandana. The two boys looked a lot alike, they could've easily been mistaken as brothers. The only clear difference was their eye color. Where Mario had warm chocolate eyes in which any girl in town lost the sense of time, Thomas had expressive emerald eyes that did the green gemstone justice in beauty. Or so he was told, repeatedly. Both by Esmeralda and the elderly ladies of town.

"There you are. I was starting to think that I had to put you on the missing list too."

Mario's rough voice echoed through the quiet night. He rubbed his stubbled chin before he jumped up from the doorstep.

Thomas patted his friend on the shoulder while passing. "Relax, man. My dad showed me how to fend off ambushers, I can take care of myself."

He went through the huge pockets in his loose black trousers, searching for his keys. When he finally found them between papers and other unnecessary things that he always carried around, he opened the door of his empty house. A cold breeze that smelled like dust and citrus left the house.

"I don't doubt that. I've seen you break fights apart at Julio's. If you can scare the town drunks, everyone should run to safety," Mario snickered in a deep southern accent.

Mario had followed Thomas inside the cold and dark house.

"Where were you anyway?"

Thomas flicked on the light and collapsed on the old couch. His friend followed his lead and lifted his feet on the small table in front of it.

"I went to see her," Thomas's voice had turned hard. He felt his heart and throat squeeze.

Mario shifted uncomfortably next to him, but he kept his eyes on the white ceiling while he bit his lower lip. Thomas knew his friend wanted to ask more, but was glad he didn't.

For minutes they sat there in silence. His mind turned back to Esmeralda and her gentle smile, to the jingle of her laughs and the sound of her soft voice. Tom. Tears filled his eyes. With too much force, he bit his tongue and clenched his fist hard enough to feel his nails burn against his palms.

He sat up abruptly, making Mario jump in his place.

"What are you doing here, Mario?" He asked not too softly.

Mario looked surprised, and Thomas cringed at himself. He realized he had ignored his best friend quite some bit lately. He also couldn't find the strength to do more than he was already doing - which wasn't a lot. Every bit of energy he used to have, had floated away like the blood from Esmeralda's body.

"Oh right, I came here for a reason," Mario chuckled awkwardly, then fell quiet. "There, uh, there was another person found missing earlier this night."

Thomas was wide awake now. He had followed the disappearances and deaths in town closely ever since his wedding day; the day he lost his Esmeralda. Thirtieth of august 2018 would haunt him for the rest of his life. The gruesomeness of that day was painted on his eyelids for every day to come.

"Wh-who?" He asked, his voice slightly trembling. Mario's eyes were suddenly very focused on his leather shoes. "What does the police have to say this time?"

"The usual. The kid went off the path and got lost," Mario turned his eyes at the ridiculous explanation from their town's sheriff.

"Kid?" Thomas asked, shocked. "Who?"

Distress and worry were evident in his voice. He knew every one of the missing people. Who was it this time?

Not too long ago, Luna, a good friend of his, and her friend, Vanessa, went missing. Thomas didn't even dare to think about Luna's dead body, but of course the image sprang to mind. With it the bloodied white wedding dress of Esmeralda and the endless stream of red liquid that kept pulsing, and pulsing, and pulsing until her body had turned cold from the lack of it.

"The Yorker's kid," Mario's voice pulled him back to the present. "Adius. He was only thirteen. They're suspecting he might've fought with his parents beforehand."

Mario's voice sounded cool and professional. He had probably already explained this a hundred times by then, he was a police officer in training after all. He had to be able to bring bad news without being an emotional mess.

Thomas's eyes fell down in defeat. He should've found this killer by now, but he still had no clue where to start. For weeks he had been asking Mario for updates, hoping the police had found something that could give him a lead. Unfortunately nothing even remotely close was found. Whoever this killer was, they were good.

"We've got to find this serial killer before there is no one left to save," Thomas said in full determination. He was done losing this game, he owed it to Esmeralda to find her killer.