text: [Themes: horror, horror]
  
  That's right. The light came filtering through the branches of the old willow tree as I walked past it. It painted the leaves. I remember... What color was it?
  
  > Gold
  The golden light fell through the silken curtain of willow leaves to dapple the path beneath my feet. The day of the wedding could not have been more perfectly illustrated if I had set each detail myself. Only two rows or so separated the tree from the small iron fence that separated the graveyard from the church beyond. The flowers planted along the border were in full bloom, the church itself surrounded by a flurry of petals from the lilac bushes beside. I hummed to myself as I shifted the package in my arms and envisioned the beautiful woman who would walk down the path all wreathed in white in just a few hours.
  
  Amy. My fiance and, soon, my wife.
  
  It was bad luck to see a bride before the wedding, but we had decided to take the chance anyway. She needed to see her wedding gift before the ceremony or it was pointless. There was a bench in between a few graves on my right so I sat there. It was sheltered under a bower of wisteria which was considering blooming. The smell of the lilacs swept over the place.
  
  It was calm, quiet, and private. The perfect place for two lovers to meet.
  
  I caught sight of Amy a few moments later, darting from the church and casting her eyes about like a convict on the run. Her hair seemed to be in a pile of curlers and she was in some sort of slip. She bounded nimbly and reached the gate in a few moments. She opened and shut it behind her as noiselessly as she could.
  
  "Amy! Over here!" I stage whispered. She ran over to me with a smirk on her face. Her face was flushed from the short sprint and a giggle escaped her. Delight showed in her eyes.
  
  "Well hello there!" she said. "What's a handsome fella like you doing in a place like this?"
  
  Her hands were around my neck and she leaned down to steal a kiss. She leaned over the heavy package in my arms pressing it's weight between the two of us. When she pulled away she was smiling.
  
  "Now. What did you want to show me. I hope this wasn't some bad attempt to seduce me before my wedding night." A knowing sparkle shone in her eyes "After all, you know how pure I am."
  
  "Oh. No. I would never dream of sullying your honor. You know, not the way I did yesterday. Or the time before. Ow! Or that one time in the bathroom at your sister's baby shower. Ow! Ok, I'll stop! I surrender!"
  
  She swatted at me a few more times. "Alright, if you didn't call me out here to bend me over a headstone, what do you want?"
  
  I held up the package. "Open it. Here." I scooched over and made a spot for her on the bench.
  
  She eyed the bench. "Sorry, I can't get the slip dirty."
  
  "Alright, take a seat." I patted my lap. She smiled and sat against me, crushing my leg in the most pleasant way possible.
  
  She picked up the package and eyed it. It was wrapped in brown parchment paper like an old timey parcel.
  
  She ran a fingernail under the tape that held the paper then started to gently unfold it. She'd always been of the 'unwrap, don't tear' persuasion. Something we disagreed on.
  
  As the paper fell away, there was a cardboard box beneath it. The tape was alreay slit open so she opened it easily. There was fitted styrofoam inside. She gave me a puzzled look as she struggled to pry the form fitting material away.
  
  "Here, you hold the box and I'll pull," she said. As she got the foam free and pulled it apart, something metal glinted in the sunlight. She gasped.
  
  "I know how you like old ritual things and-"
  
  "It's lovely!" The bell had to be held in two hands. It was about the size of a head. There was a pattern etched in of a wedding scene or some similar ancient revelry. beneath that was an inscription in unknown script.
  
  "Mr. Gambel helped me find it. It's supposed to be used for weddings to bless them. I pulled some strings and Mark's going to ring it from the church after we say our vows."
  
  "I... I love it so much." Tears started to fill her eyes she laughed as she wiped them away. "It's a good thing I haven't put on my makeup yet. Thank you, babe."
  
  "Of course. I'm glad you like it."
  
  "I, um, I need to go get ready. I'm gonna go back all teary eyed and their gonna think I'm having second thoughts and it'll be your fault for making me cry on our wedding day," she said with a playful smile. She leaned over and kissed me again. "I love you."
  
  "I love you to."
  
  She was bounding back to the church. I put the bell back in the box to carry it up to the chapel.
  
  Mr. Gambel had helped a lot in finding it. It had only come in yesterday.
  
  He had immediately advised against using it when he saw it, but what did he know. "The symbols aren't right," he'd said.
  
  That's the sort of thing Amy would catch though. I was almost completely certain...
  
  Even if it wasn't, what harm could it do. It would sound beautiful and Amy simply loved it.
  
  I waked to the church. And if I wasn't confident than it could be explained away by pre-wedding jitters.
  
  I went to the graveyard and brought a bell for my bride as a gift.