Trembling With Fear 3/12/2023

My Girlfriend Meant Literally, by Evelyn Michaels

I had been dating Mary for about two months when she told me about the marble.

We had already exchanged the l-word. At least, she had – she said she loved me, that she wanted to be with me forever, that she wanted nothing more than to spend every night of her life with me, in my arms.

I couldn’t say it back to her. Because obviously, how could I? She had never actually spent a whole night with me. How could I say I love you to a woman who desperately rushed out of the door after a few hours with me?

Oh we slept together – there was no problem in that department. The most amazing sex of our lives, we murmured to each other, our limbs and hair intertwined.

Then, as we would get drowsy and heavy, she’d jerk up, frantic, her jade-green eyes wide open in terror, start pulling on her clothes.

“Mary, come back,” I’d beg, “Sweetheart where are you going? Stay with me!”

She’d kiss me “no – I can’t. I have to go home. I can’t sleep over – I told you so”

“But why? You said you don’t have kids, or husband?” I couldn’t help the note of suspicion in my voice.

“I swear I don’t,” she would kiss me deeply. “I just can’t sleep over. It’s nothing bad, I swear. I have to go.” And she’d leave.

I believed her. And eventually, after she told me she loved me, she swore me to secrecy and told me the real reason why she wouldn’t stay.

Sitting close to me, snuggling up, she said: “Farid, please believe me. I turn into marble when I fall asleep.”

I smiled kindly. “Ok, Mary, whatever.”

“No, I’m serious. I turn to actual stone when I sleep. It started happening after an old boyfriend of mine” – she paused for a moment and swallowed hard – “tried to assault me while I was asleep.”

I fought down the shocking rage which flamed inside me. I drew her closer to me, kissed her and asked, “what do you mean my love?”

Tears spilled out of her eyes. “I don’t know why. I’ve researched – I’ve never dared tell anyone. At first it was cool. Then – that’s how I knew, I started dating again and it happened the first night I slept over with the new boyfriend, Barry. I was wakened by his screaming. He was screaming staring at me. I had turned into a marble statue when asleep – and as I wake up, I turn back to normal human flesh.”

I shook my head. I didn’t understand what she was talking about, but I realised it was some sort of trial of our love. I didn’t need to understand. I kissed her trembling lips. “Listen, Mary, I don’t care about that, ok? You could turn into a frog when you fall asleep and I would still love you.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, Farid!” she sighed. “You’ve never told me you love me before.”

I kissed her again. “I haven’t? How remiss of me. I’m telling you now. I love you, Mary.”

She started crying – I thought it was from joy, but thinking back to that night, I realise it was from relief.

“You – you don’t understand,” she sobbed, “how te-terrified I was of losing you. I love you so much. And the sleeping thing – I’ve never slept over with a man since Barry. He killed himself. He couldn’t handle seeing me turn into marble. It –it wasn’t my fault – he already had issues…”

I stroked her jet-black hair. “Shh- shhh, you don’t have to talk about it.”

But she continued sobbing and talking. “No, no, I ruined all my relationships because I couldn’t sleep over with anyone. They all said they didn’t mind at first, then they grew suspicious like you just did, thought I must be cheating on someone. And then I heard you sounding the same. I couldn’t bear it. So I’m telling you, it’s just because I turn into marble when I fall asleep. I’ve filmed myself; it starts from my legs and then the marble comes all the way up, and then when I wake up it’s reversed, from the top of my head going down, I turn back into human…”

I wanted her to stop talking about the marble and Barry and the other men she’d slept with before me. I held her closely, kissed her face which was wet with tears. “Please, Mary, please, it’s ok. I believe you. I didn’t mean to sound suspicious, I’m sorry. Stay over with me tonight, please. I don’t care about the marble.”

Her sobs gradually faded and she clung to me. Soon enough, our embrace changed from solace and comfort to passion. Our time together was the most joyful we had ever had. The burden of confession off Mary’s shoulders, she abandoned herself to pleasure like I have never seen in a woman, and probably never will again.

It was around midnight, I think, that we fell asleep, entangled in each other.

I jerked awake only a short while after, conscious of a heavy coldness pressing against my skin, my neck. Something stone-cold was against me, digging into my flesh. My right arm and leg seemed to be caged in something cold. I reached out with my free arm and switched on the bedside light, confused and groggy.

And then, in the harsh electric light, I saw a statue of a woman lying next to me, in white marble veined with jade-green and jet-black, her stone arms and legs interlaced with mine.

I gave a cry of terror, frantically trying to free my captive arm and leg. At the sound, the marble seemed to shiver, and flush of human colour started from the top of her head. I was trying to prise myself free, and just as I succeeded in pulling away and pushing her off, her eyes opened. I pushed her off the bed as I jumped backwards, she fell to the ground and I heard her cry out and a loud shattering sound.

Then silence.

“Mary?” I quavered, and slowly I went around to her side.

There she was, lying in two marble pieces broken on the ground. Only her head was of human flesh, her black hair spread back, her jade-green eyes wide open staring at me in agony, her lips open in her last cry.