The Unsent Letter — Part 3 (Final)
Dear Delilah,
I saw you do what you did; an act that would have required an incredible amount of courage, bravery and most of all, love. It came as a surprise to see him there, right in the backyard. You thought you were alone with him, without my prying eyes taking in the unusual encounter.
I saw him shuffle towards you, his head cocked to one side, his arms hanging loosely, he seemed to have no intention to eat you, to attack. He seemed to see you, to know who you were, and amazingly you also seemed to trust his placid entry and you stepped toward him. It was clear you were being careful, but you wanted to respond to him, to his strange and silent request.
He groaned softly, and you asked him if it was really him, if he was indeed your Rob. His head shifted slightly at the sound of his name, he seemed to recognise this, to understand. I wanted to intervene, this was dangerous, he could go at your throat at any moment, but I couldn’t; the moment seemed too private, too intimate. Instead I held my rifle ready to fire when the time came.
I saw you crying. Silent tears streamed down your cheeks, you sniffed quietly, wiping your nose with your sleeve. You told him you miss him and that you can’t imagine life without him. You stepped forward once again and my fear began to rise.
But then you did something unexpected. You took your gun slowly from the holster and lifted it to point at Rob; well at least the Rob standing in front of you, the infected, moaning Rob. The one who wanted your flesh, but he seemed to be able to battle against his instincts. The encounter seemed so bizarre, why was he not attacking I wondered? Could he recognise you? The atmosphere between you both was electric, I could almost see sparks flying in your shared space.
And then you did it. You fired one single bullet and Rob fell to the ground. Was he wanting that? Could I see relief on his distorted face? You fell to your knees and sobbed, then howled. The animal-like noises coming from you echoed into the forest, making birds flee into the late afternoon sun. I wanted to comfort you, my gun no longer needed. But I felt like you needed to be alone, to wallow in the complexity of your grief as it ravaged you.
I knew then that my unsaid love for you could never match the way you love him. Your selfless act expressed the power of your connection to Rob, you broke your own heart to save him from a terrible, undead existence.
I realised I loved you when we made that surprise breakfast for the group all those weeks ago. You were hurting after Rob’s infection but trying to be strong and I wanted to give you a moment of happiness. I had made you smile and I knew that I may never be able to tell you, but I had indeed fallen deeply in love with you.
I write this letter that will remain in my back pack, not to be given to you but just so I can know; that my love for you is real. As we prepare for the next part of our journey I will only try to make you smile and nothing more as the memory of Rob will always remain with us.
With all my heart,
Your Derek
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See also: The Unsent Letter — Part 1 and Part 2 available on P.S I Love You #ForbiddenLove
