Undead Love: A Post-Apocalyptic Romance Read online

  "Ah, that one is special," River said, grinning broadly. "I only stock one of these per showing. If you buy it, you become part of a special customer's club. Along with being part of an exclusive mailing list so you get to hear about deals first, you can also attend special group sessions with me to learn more about what goes into my product."

  "Huh, that sounds really cool," Melanie said. She squinted as she peered at the price tag, and had to bite back a comment about the price tag. Clearly, all those perks were for people willing to pay the price.

  "How about this?" River stood back up and got a small box from under the stall table. "I'm feeling generous today, and not many people are biting. How about you take this pendant? Consider it a promotional gift."

  Melanie's eyes might as well have bugged out of her head. "Something like this... for free? You're joking, right?"

  "Think of it this way," River said. "I get another member on my mailing list and another face at my group sessions, and you get a lovely piece of jewelry for free. That sounds like a win-win deal to me."

  "Can you really just give something like this to me?" Melanie's eyes went from the box to the pendant and back.

  "I consider it a worthwhile investment. Besides, I can tell you’ve had enough sticker shock for today. That look tells me everything." River scooted the box under Melanie's hand, along with a business card and a note card. "It's yours, along with my business card. If you accept, I'd like your e-mail address so that I can contact you on the mailing list."

  Melanie thought for a moment longer, then nodded. "If you say so. Give me a moment and I'll write it down for you."

  After Melanie recorded her information on the notecard, River pocketed the card. "Thank you for your business," he said, taking the pendant from her and putting it in the box. "Keep an eye on your e-mail for updates."

  "Thanks a lot," Melanie said. "And I will do that. I like that you're willing to get hands-on with your product like this."

  "If I can help others make beautiful things, then that's all the better," River said.

  "Yeah." Melanie slid the box with the pendant into her purse. "Hope to hear from you soon."

  The two said their goodbyes, and Melanie studied the business card she had been given. The card revealed man's full name as River Wells, and she couldn't help but wonder if he got picked on as a kid for having such a watery name. Still, she found the encounter intriguing, and felt a little silly for nearly saying "no" to free things. Hopefully the newsletters would give out interesting information and not spam.

  Still, she had some research to do.

  Chapter 2

  The next day, Melanie decided to comb through River's website to get a better idea of what she had just gotten into. The web address was on the business card, so getting there was simple. The home page appeared to be nicely laid out, with some previews of special products and a well-defined header that marked the sections of the site. She found herself wondering if web design was another one of his talents, or if he'd shelled out for a designer with a good aesthetic sense.

  She started out on the "about me" page, looking it over. She learned that River was 26 years old (two years older than her, which was just perfect for her) and enjoyed working with his hands (a phrase that she wanted to deem tacky but opted not to). He was local to Melanie's area, and had been since he was young. There was a link to the contact form in case someone had an inquiry or a commission for him. One particular segment caught her eye, however:

  "I create my works with carefully honed finesse, and I would like to think I imbue them with a dimension of spirituality."

  What did that mean? Melanie's mind raced with potential solutions. On the one hand, he could just be very into his art, to the point that it carried spiritual implications for him. On the other hand, maybe he had a secret dogma he was trying to spread through his store. Irrational and ridiculous, but possible.

  Cautiously, Melanie followed the link to the contact form and typed out a quick message.

  Hello River,

  I had a question about something you mentioned on your site. What do you mean when you say you imbue your work with a "dimension of spirituality"? It's a phrase that sticks out, so I'm curious.

  P.S. This is Melanie from the craft fair- the one you gave the pendant to, remember?

  She pressed the submit button and the message zipped off through the internet. She spent a little time looking at the other jewelry and crafts on River's site before closing out the tab and going about her business. About an hour later, she received two e-mail notifications. Both appeared to be from River, though one was clearly intended for the mailing list. She opened that one first and read it over.

  Greetings all,

  With a new member having joined us, I would like to call another meeting for the Riverflow Club. This one will be at a local botanical garden; I assure you it has quite a nice atmosphere, perfect for reflection and stopping to actually smell the flowers.

  I have included the date, address, and directions from a few places below. I hope to see you all there.

  -River

  While Melanie was curious about the meeting, she found herself wondering why there was no mention of an agenda for the meeting. She would have to ask about that too. Moving on, she opened the other e-mail from River.

  Hello Melanie,

  I'm glad to see you're still interested. You've asked a very good question, though it's a bit difficult to answer. By "dimension of spirituality," I mean that I have a very unique set of personal beliefs, and when I make my art, I adhere to my personal doctrines. It's nothing to really worry about, though it may come up at the next Riverflow Club meeting (did you get that e-mail? I just sent that out). Think of it this way: I try to maintain a sense of self-integrity when I make things for others. I don't compromise my values. Does that make sense?

  I hope I'll see you at the meeting later this week. Bring your pendant with you; it sort of acts like a badge for the club members. I'm not saying I'll kick you out if you don't bring it, but bring it anyway, why don't you?

  Hope to hear from you soon,

  River

  Melanie nodded as she read through the e-mail. The explanation seemed benign enough, though she wondered what his beliefs had to do with the Riverflow Club. She typed out a response:

  River,

  Your explanation makes sense. I like that you stick to your beliefs. Speaking of the Riverflow Club, I have two questions. Why didn't you mention what would be happening at the meeting? Also, why are your personal beliefs a part of the club meetings? Don't take that the wrong way, I'm really just wondering.

  I'll do my best to make it to the meeting. See you there.

  - Melanie

  Once that e-mail was sent off, Melanie didn't have to wait long before the response came back, leaving her wondering if he had been waiting for her response or was simply a fast typist. She paused her loafing around to read the response e-mail.

  Hello again Melanie,

  Sorry, I should have explained better. The agenda is generally up to the members, and the meetings tend to take something of a philosophical turn. If there is anything important to discuss, I make sure to mention it. Maybe I should have included something about introducing you, as you are our newest member, but I'll make sure to do that anyway at the meeting- so please don't worry about that. If you feel like coming a few minutes early, I'll try to catch you up on some of the things we have been discussing.

  Don't let all this talk of philosophy scare you off. Think of it as a gathering of friends. I hope to see you there.

  See you soon,

  River

  The response raised more questions than it answered. Melanie wished that River would shed some light on the mysterious philosophy of the meetings; his mentions had put her somewhere between being even more suspicious of his motives and wanting to go anyway to see things for herself. Perhaps she could still go as long as she had a good safety plan set up. Sh
e could text some friends and let them know that if she didn't call at a certain time, something had happened. There was always the possibility that she was being paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  Still, her curiosity was winning out. She was going to have to go and see what the Riverflow Club was all about.

  Chapter 3

  Melanie decided to arrive at the botanical garden a bit early to see if she could get any more information out of River before the meeting started. Her eyes were half-glued to her phone as she repeatedly checked the location of the meeting in the garden, and for a moment, she was afraid that she would never find it. Eventually, of course, she did, even if she had to change her focus from landmarks to looking for River to do so. She found him setting up some displays of crystals and jewelry on a table, carefully adjusting how some of the crystals were facing with a peculiar precision.

  Though she spotted him first, River was the one who made the greeting. "Hello, Melanie. Glad you showed up. For a moment, I was afraid that you wouldn't."

  Melanie smiled, shrugged, and approached him. "It takes more than a bunch of philosophical mumbo-jumbo to scare me off."

  "It's not mumbo-jumbo," River said quickly, almost sharply. However, despite the apparent objection, he laughed. "Think of it this way. It's a more fun way of looking at the world. Besides, doesn't everyone have some belief that looks strange to others, but is completely real to them?"

  "You're right," Melanie said. "Things like superstitions add spice to life, no matter how silly they might seem."

  "Definitely. It's those things that imbue our world with a little magic." River moved one crystal a fraction of an inch over before continuing. "Speaking of which, did you bring your pendant?"

  Melanie fished the pendant out of her purse and held it up. "Here it is."

  "Good! I don't have to kick you out," River said with a chuckle. "Now that you're here, maybe I should catch you up on what the group has been discussing. Would you like that?"

  "Yes, of course," Melanie said. "It'd be better than just diving right into the middle."

  River sucked in a breath. "All right, here we go. First, do you believe in things like spirits or elements?"

  "Spirits? Like ghosts?" Melanie scratched her head. "Sort of. I mean, I've never seen a ghost, but there's some people I know who might have, so I don't completely rule it out."

  "Ghosts are one type of spirit, but I think there can be other kinds," River explained. "Spirits of fire, water, nature... things like that. Just because you can't see them and can't confirm they exist doesn't mean that they don't."

  "That's kind of alarming. Imagine what that opens the gates to," Melanie said. "That's kind of like saying that anything can exist, period."

  "I wouldn't spread it quite that far. Let's just confine it to basic magical things. Magic itself may not exist like it does in books and movies, but I think there might be more to this world than we can see," River said, gesturing to his eyes.

  "Like fairies?" Melanie asked. "Or dragons?" River chuckled, and Melanie cocked her head. "What's so funny about dragons?"

  "Do you think it would be hard to hide a dragon? Really. Tell me," River said.

  "I don't know, maybe? They're pretty big, or at least they sound like they should be," Melanie said.

  "So, it's possible that they're just very well hidden." River moved a chair over slightly.

  "Where are you even going with this?" Melanie asked.

  River shrugged. "I think all you'll need to know to keep up with the meeting is that we believe in things that others might not. We meditate on our energies, we break things down into elements. Honestly, I don't think it's that hard to accept as long as you have an open mind."

  "Yeah... I'm sorry, I hope I didn't offend you at all. I was kind of flippant about your belief system," Melanie admitted, nervously fidgeting with her purse.

  "Don't worry about it," River said, waving dismissively. "I know my beliefs are odd and hard to accept sometimes. If you're willing to apologize for taking them lightly, then I think your mind is open enough to keep up with us." He looked past Melanie for a moment, then broke out into a broad grin. "I think the others are arriving. If you have any questions after seeing us in action, feel free to talk to me after the meeting."

  Melanie was surprised to see a group of four people approach, three women and a man. She guessed that they must have carpooled here to arrive at the same time like they did. A woman with radiantly red hair smiled and waved at Melanie, while the one man (who was very blonde) strode up to River to chat with him one-on-one. The other two women were brunettes, though one had a blue streak in her hair like River's. Perhaps a pop of color was in fashion these days.

  Feeling a bit antsy, Melanie took a seat by the brunette with the streak in her hair. The woman gave her a small smile. "Welcome to the club," she said.

  "Thanks," Melanie replied back. At that moment, the man and that other woman took their seats, and River cleared his throat.

  "Welcome to another Riverflow Club meeting," River announced. "As you can see, we have a new member with us today. Melanie, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?"

  Way to put me on the spot, Melanie thought as she stood up. "Hi, everybody. I'm Melanie, and I met River at the big craft fair that went on earlier this week. I work as a receptionist for a staffing company, and I like window shopping and handmade things. That’s part of how I got here." She paused, laughed, and looked around awkwardly. Talking about herself was not one of her favorite things to do. "River told me a bit about what you people talk about here. It sounds really interesting. It might take me a while to get up to speed, but I can't wait to get to know you all." She wasn't entirely sure how honest she was being, though as time went on, she had to admit her paranoia was silly. After a brief silence, she sat back down.

  "Thank you, Melanie," River said. "Now, why don't the rest of you introduce yourselves?"

  The redhead was the first to stand up. "Hi! I'm Fay, and I do crafts, too. I'm pretty good with metalwork, so sometimes River and I collaborate on special pieces. Keep an eye out!" She smiled, waved, and sat back down.

  The plain brunette stood up next. "Hi, I'm Erin. I work at an edible arrangements kind of place. In my spare time, I garden. Fresh tomatoes are the best, let me tell you." With little fanfare, she sat down.

  The blonde man stood up third. "I'm Leo, and I'm just a businessman with an eye for shiny things. Also an eye for deals, so that's part of why I joined the club." Chuckling, he sat down.

  Lastly, the brunette with the streak in her hair stood. "I'm Marissa. I'm a swim instructor over at the local pool. I think swimming is an underrated skill these days, so I'm willing to help anyone who wants to learn." She sat down, ending the introductions.

  "I hope that you all can get along and enjoy each other's company," River said. "Does anyone have any questions or announcements before we move on?" There was a pause; Melanie felt like she should have something to say, but nothing came to her. "Very well then. I suppose I'll start by asking everyone: how have your meditations been going? Are you finding any peace or enlightenment while meditating, or are you having difficulties?"

  Fay was first to respond. "I've been having trouble sitting still for that lately. I sit down and try to narrow my focus, and then I get super fidgety. I didn't have this problem before, so... I don't really know what's up with that."

  "Is there something outside that's stressing you?" River asked.

  "No, not really," Fay answered. "I feel like I have a very diffuse energy that won't condense into something I can focus on. It's a little like being hyper, but I can't do anything with it."

  "Let me try a different question then. Is there something you're excited about?" River's eyes were on Fay, and Melanie thought there was something probing in his gaze.

  "Well, I did find some fun new projects to do," Fay said. "Maybe I'm fidgety because of those."

  "Maybe," River said
with a nod. "Even though meditation is a tool to relax and focus the mind, it's perfectly fine to have times when you just can't do it. Like with anything you're having trouble with, maybe it's best that you just step away for a bit and wait till you feel more together."

  "Sounds like a plan," Fay said, smiling and nodding.

  "What about you, Leo?" River asked, looking towards the other man in the group.

  Leo made a guilty expression. "Things have been really crazy at work, so I haven't had much time to sit down and reflect on things. Which is a shame, because I could really use an oasis of sanity right now," he said with a chuckle.