Four hours had passed since their bodies had melted into one, finding calm in the midst of that storm. Daniel and Diana slept in each other's arms, immersed in some distant dream in which their hearts probably would not have so many wounds.
They slept, oblivious to the presence that watched over them. In front of the bed, a spectral figure loomed motionless, seeming to wait for them to wake up. That ghost was wearing a black leather jacket and had long black hair that reached his back. It was Johnny Brando. His face revealed his identity, it was the deceased Johnny Brando. She´s there to take Diana´s soul with him to the afterlife.
Daniel woke up from his sleep feeling a presence in the room. He slowly opened his eyes to find an intruder in the room. His first reaction was shock, but he soon realized that there was something strange about this visitor, he was an ethereal presence, who remained motionless in front of them, surrounded by a celestial aura that blinded him.
On the other hand, Diana remained asleep, unmoved by her idol's visit to the bedroom.
Daniel rubbed his eyes, that couldn´t be happening.
“Am I dreaming?” -He asked, catching the attention of that specter.
Johnny looked at the room with displeasure before saying:
“How can someone live on this rathole?”
Those words weren´t what Daniel expected to hear from a man who he had always admired, without hiding his disappointment he replied:
“Probably better than the cradle in which you must rotting right now.”
The answer did not seem to please the rocker, who with a gesture began to point to Diana, still asleep.
“I´m here to take her with me.”
“You´re not taking anyone, ghost.”
“I´m not a ghost. I´m immortal.”
“I´m afraid that your social security number does not say the same.”
“She´s coming with me.”
“You have no right to do so.
“She gave me that right.”
Daniel couldn´t believe whet he was hearing and was not going to let her take her aways without giving him a fight.
“Why? Why her? You were a superstar with the world on your hands, why you have to take her away?”
“Because she gave the most sincere of all kinds of love, and I want to gave her all that love back.”
“I don´t care who you are, spectral freak! -Daniel screamed to him jumping out the bed to confront the specter.
“There´s nothing you can do, she´s coming to me to eternity.”
“Why don´t you beat the shit out of here before I punch you in your ghostly face!”
“She already took that trip for coming with me. While you were sleeping, she went to the kitchen and swallowed a whole bottle of pills.”
Daniel was alarmed after the specter said those words, he knew that Diana was capable of have that kind of suicidal impulse, she had already attempted suicide before meeting him, but he wanted to think that his love would be enough to keep her in this world, that her anguish would not lead her to take her own life with the blind hope of meeting a rock star who didn't even know of her existence.
“You are lying!” -He yelled at him, threateningly grabbing him by the lapel of his leather jacket.
The ghost just laughed macabrely, a laugh that echoed throughout the room.
Out of nowhere, one of his classic songs started playing
“Meet me on eternity,
Die with me, after a tender kiss,
Meet me on eternity,
Our heart will beat together beyond the realms of live and death.
Meet me on eternity.”
Daniel released the ghost, looking around trying to figure out where the music was coming from. The ghost took advantage and put his hands in his pockets, taking out a few dollars that he ended up throwing in Daniel's face.
“That´s the refund of your tickets!”
“Am I dreaming, right? This is not really happening. -Daniel started murmuring to himself, looking for a rational explanation. - “This is just a nightmare.”
“Sorry, kid. But sorrow is not a nightmare.”
Suddenly, a song from Brando named “Sorrow is not a nightmare” started to sound out loud.
“Let´s make love tonight,
Cause sorrow is not a nightmare,
Let´s just hold hands tight,
Cause sorrow is not a nightmare.”
Desperate and covering his ears, Daniel begins to go crazy, ignoring that spectral apparition that he had so admired when it was flesh and blood, wishing it would disappear.
“Get out of my rathole, you son of a bitch!” -He screamed repeatedly.
“I will, but not alone.” -Johnny stated stopping the music.
Daniel began to hit the ghost damaging his knuckles without doing any damage.
With his eyes clouded with tears, blinded by despair, Daniel is pushed aside by Diana, who after waking up runs into the arms of the rocker, giving herself to him.
“Are you ready, baby?” -Johnny asked her after kissing her lips.
“I´ve been waiting a lifetime for this moment.” -She replied.
But Daniel was not willing to let her go. He loved her with the frankness with which one loves someone lacking in virtues and full of defects. He was going to fight until his last breath so that Diana would remain at his side.
“In heaven you could date anyone, Brando.” -Daniel intervened- “You could date Marilyn, Greta Garbo, someone like that. Why you have to take my girlfriend away?”
Angry, Diana left the comfort of her idol's embrace, and after a strong push, she reproached Daniel for his love.
“I don´t belong to you! Is my choice!”
“You can´t leave me for a…” -Daniel begged her before being interrupted by Johnny.
“A star!” -Johnny added.
“A dead body!” -Daniel added with resentment.
“Stop insulting me! I thought you liked him!” -Diane reproached him again.
“You don´t like me anymore, Danny boy?” -Johnny asked him sarcastically.
“Not since you are trying to steal my girlfriend from me!”
“You keep talking as if I belong to you!” -Diana added spitefully.
“That´s sexist, Danny boy!” -Johnny said, adding more fuel to the fire.
“The guy who wrote songs such as “Baby, mine or anyone else” or “Your curly hair on my scrotch”, is accusing me of sexist?! What the hell I am doing arguing with a dead man?!”
Diana turned her back on Daniel, hugging the rocker again.
“Forget about me, Danny. I made up my mind, I´m leaving with him.”
“But you are alive! You have a life ahead of you waiting to be lived, and I want to live it by your side.”
Once again, Diana came out of her idol's embrace to face Daniel.
“Why don’t you want to understand it? I live for him!”
“And she´ll die with me.” -Johhny intervened.
“But what about us? We have a story together, and it was damn beautiful.” -Daniel told Diane, ignoring Johnny.
“That “us” you´re talking about wouldn´t exist without me.” -Johhny intervened again.
“Shut up, Johnny! -Daniel yelled at him fed up with his annoying presence.
“He´s right, Danny. There´s no “us” without him.” -She added truly believing it.
Johnny walked over to her, slapping her ass and putting his arms around her, which seemed to please her.
Daniel couldn't take it, and he threw a punch at the ghost's face, which was intercepted by Diana. their arms got tangled with each other, and their eyes met.
Daniel could not see traces of love left on them towards him.
“Don´t make this harder for me, Daniel.”
“Don´t throw away everything that we´ve created.”
“Is the past!”
“We have a future together!” -Daniel insisted.
“You´re not Johnny!!” -She loudly screamed.
“Yeah, that´s true. I´m not a rock star. I´m just a fella who is barely surviving every month on this rathole. There´s nothing glamorous on my way of living, I know. But I´m madly in love with you and that´s the only thing that matters.”
Those words, seemed to move Diane wo remained speechless with her arm still tangled on Daniel´s.
“You´re such a lose!” – Johnny mocked him.
“I might be a loser, Johnny. I don´t deny it. But I´m alive and still I have a story to tell.”
The answer seemed to unsettle the rocker, who for the first time during that unpleasant evening, seemed to lose his halo of invincibility.
Diane untangled her arm from Daniel, and with a depressive look, she stared at him.
“A loser for wasting his time in a waste like me.” -Diane said to Daniel.
“You´re not a waste!” -Daniel sincerely replied to her.
“I´m a heap of insufferable defects.” -She insisted.
“A heap of beautiful defects that makes you unique and irreplaceable.”
“Don´t go on with that.”
“Don´t let yourself go driven by the heat of the moment.”
“Johnny has been present in all the important moments of my life.” -She continued saying.
“On her first time.” -Johnny added.
“On my fist breakup.” -Diane mentioned.
“Was he with you were you were sick in the hospital?” -Daniel questioned her.
I got to give you credit for that, Danny boy, you were with us all day and night that time. -Johnny intervened being ignored by Danny.
“Did he give you comfort when your aunt died?” -Daniel continued trying to convince her to stay by his side.
“That was you, Danny.” -She recognized.
“Does he spends sleepless nights listening to your complains when something bothers you?”
Those words made her doubt on her conviction of leaving this world with Johnny. She realized that Daniel´s words are filled with truth, and that his love towards her can´t be more sincere.
Intoxicated by all those harsh words, she fixed her gaze on Johnny in search of answers, but the rocker remained silent, merely shrugging his shoulders. None of his songs at that moment could dispel the doubts that loomed over her. Her decision to leave no longer seemed as correct as it had a few minutes ago.
“Can you see it? Rock stars can only give you joy in some specific moments, and that´s fine. But your dear ones will always be by your side no matter what.” -Daniel told her surrounding her with his arms.- “Even though you despise me, even though you become an evil with, I´ll always love you.”
Diana drew a smile on her face which relieved Daniel.
“You were always there for me.”
Feeling left out, Johnny stepped in looking for reasons for her to accompany him on his trip.
“Not always, how long you know each other? A year maybe? Two? Three? What is that compared with A lifetime being together. Who were By your side when your father almost died in that Car crash?”
Diana turned around fixing her gaze on Johnny.
“That was you! Your song, “I´ll survive” help me a lot throughout that time.”
Daniel stood between them again, accusing Johnny of playing dirty.
“Stop playing dirty, wash out rocker!”
“You are living a lie, Danny boy, she´s coming with me.”
“Sorry, Johnny, I can´t do it!” -She exclaimed with tears on his eyes.
“Are you going to fail me now?” - Johnny rebuked her furiously, surrounded by an infernal aura of flames accompanied by fierce guitar solos that echoed throughout the room.
“I have a life here, I can´t do it!” - She insisted, broken with pain inside, battling her feelings.
Daniel ran to hug her, facing the specter that had taken demonic form.
“beat it, Johnny. She made her choice!”
Furious and increasingly taking on a demonic form, Johnny began to throw flames at them through his guitar by playing the wildest solo ever heard. Daniel protected her with his body, but after a moment of terror, Daniel did not suffer the flames on his body, the music had turned off, and Johnny had dissipated. Only he and Diana remained in the room that had returned to the complete tranquility of the night.
They remained embraced for a long moment, trying to protect themselves from the already extinguished fire that could not harm them. After a few seconds of confusion, they stared at each other after realizing that Johnny had left.
“He´s gone.” -Daniel said relieved, feeling that Diana had made her decision to stay with him.
She clung to his body, placing her ear on his chest to listen to his heartbeat, but the beats were replaced by Johnny Brando's music.
“Come with me.
I´ll open the heavenly gates of my heart.
Follow the riff of my guitar,
You and I together,
Together we will be Rock Stars”
Daniel held her tightly; he didn't want to let her go. The idea of losing her drove him crazy, and he hugged her as if there was no tomorrow, however, he soon felt like his arms embraced emptiness, a painful emptiness that left him alone, that threw away all those years where he had only loved her.
Diana vanished in his arms; she had finally chosen to leave with Johnny wherever he was going.
Broken and devastated, Daniel fell onto the bed while his eyes filled with tears, and he was humming a Johnny Brando song.
“Goodbye witch,
You´re burning at the stake,
Of the bad decisions you make.
Goodbye Witch,
You betrayed my saving words,
Conjuring my trust, throwing my love in despair.
“Goodbye witch,
There´ll be no tomorrows for you and me.
You´re burning
In a stake full of sin…
Goodbye witch…!”
THE END
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