he reaches for where the door handle was, but it is gone. his hands slide along the cold wall, feeling the raised bumps catch along the ridges of his fingertips. he feels for a door handle, a hinge, a change in wood - anything to indicate an escape from the black surrounding him.
something skitters across the floor, running directly into his bare foot. it is metal - cold as he presses his foot on top of it. a ring.
his body slides down the wall and he fumbles in the dark, finding the circular object with his fingers. he rolls it around in his left hand, letting it slip over the tip of his third finger and slide past his knuckle. it fits.
the room begins to change and suddenly he is in their home, perched on the tile counter, his right leg hanging between two bar stools. she is on the couch, their chocolate lab sprawled across the rest of the piece of furniture, his head in her lap. she is watching the NCAA championship game; the one he recorded for her because she wanted so much for Duke to win. she brushes a strawberry lock out of her face, and he realizes she isn’t even watching the game. he comes to the conclusion that she has it on for the noise when her head dips down and she laughs, the dog’s tongue lapping across her face. her joy is interrupted by the phone ringing, and she stands, taking her lanky body over the back of the couch to get to the kitchen phone. he hates it when she does that.
he says her name; twice. she picks up the phone. everything starts to go dark again, and the last thing he sees is her face, laced in terror, and he knows. it was the call.
his thumb traces the ring on his finger and he shifts, laying on the ground. his eyes adjust to the dark and he finally sees the light silver outline of the ring on his finger. he whispers her name, letting each letter roll off his tongue like drops of strawberry juice sliding down the back of his throat.
when they finally find him, his right hand is clutching his left ring finger, and his mouth is slightly open, like the most beautiful word in the world just rolled off his tongue.
