I hear the church bells ring a somber wedding song while awaiting my entrance to the grand chapel. I feel my flesh begin to crawl as if there were a thousand bugs beneath the surface at the thought of my murderous uncle’s impending marriage to my mother. The audacity of my mother to be flanked in white, the symbol of purity, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach.

As the church doors open and my mother eagerly grabs at my arm I cannot help but feel faint. Every memory and thought of my father has flooded my mind at once. I fear I cannot contain this mental disarray any longer. In response to this, I begin to sweat profusely. I can feel every salty drip leave my open pores and cascade down my pale body. With every step closer to the altar, I can feel my heart beat in my throat as if it were a trapped toad. My jaw clenches when I catch a glimpse of my uncle’s smug face. My nostrils flare out of disgust causing me to immediately smell the light scent of orchid and rose petals. My mother’s groom begins to stare me down with his wicked eyes. I nervously lick my bottom lip and find it to be salty from my extensive sweating. This unpleasant taste alongside my enemie’s death glare causes me to scrunch my nose out of pure disgust.

As the time comes to hand off my bride of a mother, I grasp her arm tighter as a last attempt at warning her of the dangers her fiancé brings. The tighter I clench the more each pearl and bead embedded in her sleeve imprints my forearm. As I hear the priest signal me to let my mother go, I feel each jewel detaching from where it once lain on my skin. She gives me this look as if to say ‘hurry up and let go of me faster.’ Every little voice in my head is screaming for me to stop this ceremony, but I do not have the heart to upset my mother with such a disturbance.

Once I see the bare hands that killed my father caress my mother’s in preparation to exchange vows, I feel my fist begin to draw up. A wedding is meant to be a day of celebration and love but this is anything but. If anything I feel my distain for my uncle has increase because of this event. I got so caught up in my lust for my uncle and solving my father’s murder I nearly missed the exchange of rings. I glare at my uncle as he slyly slides the gold band onto my mother’s slender finger. I see her hand is shaking uncontrollably. For a moment I think she is simply caught up in the moment and overly excited.