FSF: Cherished into Death

Five Sentence Fiction challenges you to pack a punch into a mere five sentences using a weekly prompt for inspiration.  This week's prompt, provided by Lillie McFerrin, is CHERISH.

To read my entire "Unchained" saga from the beginning, go to this PAGE.

Unchained

Chapter 19: Cherished into Death

 “How are you alive?” Ylana asked from her seat beside Nara on the woman’s front porch, grateful that her friend’s hand rested on her shoulder as a constant source of comfort and support.

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“I wanted my ex-husband to think I died, so I staged my death,” the woman replied simply as she buttered a freshly baked roll.  “When he and I first met, I saw that he cherished me in a way no one else ever had, so I finally consented to marry him.  I soon discovered that his obsession with me was . . . shall we say unhealthy . . ., and even after I left him, he may as well have been my shadow.”  The woman paused and gave a bone-chillingly mirthless laugh before adding, “I never realized that he would chase me even into death, or that I would have to kill so many victims of his ‘purple fever’ to protect my secret.”