Web Chapter 2: Easter Sunrise

****Maxine****

His laugh reached me first, a bright, infectious sound that echoed through the spring blooms like a melody. I turned, drawn by its warmth, and there he was: Ethan. His hair caught the sunlight, turning it a shade of gold, and his eyes sparkled with a joy I hadn’t felt in centuries. He was surrounded by friends, his laughter mingling with theirs, but it was his essence that called to me. A flicker of attraction ignited in my chest, unexpected and unwelcome. I was here to work, not to feel.

I watched him from afar, my instincts screaming at me to approach, to weave him into my web. But as I took a step forward, a suffocating dread clawed at my gut. It was as if an invisible wall stood between us, shielding him from my grasp. I shook it off, attributing it to nerves. After all, I was the predator, and he was just another soul to be harvested. Try as I might to weave him into my web and claim him as one more victim for Satan's gain, each time I neared him, an overwhelming sense of dread clawed at my gut.

Days turned into weeks, and the flicker of attraction grew into an unshakable flame. I found myself seeking him out, drawn to his radiant spirit like a moth to a flame. We met at the park again, this time by design. His smile was easy, his conversation light, and before I knew it, we were laughing together as if we’d known each other forever. I tried to remind myself of my purpose, but his presence was a balm to the emptiness I’d long grown accustomed to.

The closer we became, the clearer it became that neither could truly possess nor destroy what we felt for one another. Torn between fear and longing, I found myself wrestling with the very essence of love—the kind that tethered my heart despite its inherent curse. The stakes raised dramatically when Ethan unexpectedly proposed, drawing closer in trust rather than deception. I was beginning to love him, and we hadn’t even been intimate yet. This could end badly for us both.