V. L. Jones is a paranormal enthusiast and a horror writer. She grew up in a haunted house in Washington State, which fueled her passion for the supernatural and monsters. Verona now lives in Tucson, Arizona, which she uses as her home base to explore haunted sites with a history.
Verona enlisted in the Navy out of high school, and her first duty station was in the highlands of Scotland. Talk about hitting pay dirt. Scotland and England abound with urban legends and ghostly hauntings. Fascinated by the history of these places, she often writes about her spooky findings.
Her explorations fuel her imagination, and she writes horror stories with elements of urban legends, cryptids, and folklore blended in. Verona loves anything about cryptids such as Bigfoot, the Ozark Howler, the black dog, and the Mothman, to name a few. Verona also loves the paranormal and the supernatural worlds. As her schedule permits, you will find her plotting the next trip to a paranormal hotspot.
Verona is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and the Horror Authors Guild (HAG).
VALENTINE HEART
by
Verona Jones
The brilliant red heart-shaped box lay on my kitchen table as I thought about how to wrap it.
Two Valentine's ago, the love of my life gave me his heart. Shaped into a chocolate heart with an inscription, "I give you my heart."
It was so romantic, and I wanted to give him something in return to show my love. A package of pink and red tissue sat next to the heart. I thought red, but red on red seemed a bit much.
However, the pink tissue had some red highlights, making it appear darker than the usual pink. It offered a beautiful contrast, so I chose that tissue to layer the inside of the heart.
As I arranged the tissue inside the box, memories of all the beautiful times Stephen and I shared floated in my mind. I especially savored the ones we created on Valentine's Day.
Last Valentine's Day, we spent a romantic holiday at a bed-n-breakfast in Flagstaff. The honeymoon suite had a patio overlooking snow-covered hills and streets dusted with white pristine snow. It was then Stephen proposed with a similar crimson heart-shaped heart. Inside was a chocolate heart, and a heart-shaped pink diamond ring was embedded.
Stephen kneeled on the patio, taking my hand, "Heather Lee Thomas, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?"
Of course, I said, "Yes."
The tissue looked beautiful inside the box, layered and crimped. I placed Stephen's gift in the center of the box. I added more tissue enclosing the gift, like the setting for a diamond. I put the lid on top, closed the present inside the box, and picked up a roll of glittering velvet ribbon.
I rolled out what I thought I would need and began entwining the ribbon around the box.
After Stephen proposed, I walked around on cloud nine and happily planned my wedding. Everything was perfect until SHE came into my world: Tawny Crawford, the epitome of feminine beauty with her white-blonde hair and emerald-green eyes.
Even I had to admit, she was drop-dead gorgeous, but what was worse? Stephen fell under her spell, and gradually, I was nothing but a memory in Stephen's mind.
We used to spend every day together, but like rain in the desert, the visits trickled away. Stephen stopped calling and visiting, and soon, I stopped hearing from him altogether.
Our two years together evaporated in only a few months. I was stunned. How can one day Stephen declare his undying love to me and, in only a couple of months, act like I never existed? That we never existed.
My dream of the fairytale wedding disappeared in the nightmare that was a blonde, green-eyed tramp.
I wrapped the glittering ribbon around the box, ending with a big bow glittered with gold stars in the light.
It laid finished on the table, a red velvet heart-shaped Valentine's Day Heart. Inside, wrapped in pale reddish-pink tissue, symbolized my love for Stephen.
Now it was time to call Stephen and ask him to meet one last time so I could give him his present.
I was pleasantly surprised he agreed, and we decided to meet at Saguaro National Park at the Saguaro henge. It was a favorite of mine as it is a natural replication of England's Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a sacred pagan place of power. Saguaro didn't have the same mysticism, but it was perfect for my plan.
Stephen arrived, looking so handsome with his Raven hair and Amber eyes. He only wore dark blue machine-washed jeans and a sky-blue polo shirt. The only difference was the indifference in his eyes when he saw me.
That hurt so much that even my heart ached in real pain. It was okay; I took a fortifying breath, pulled out the beautifully wrapped heart, and handed it to him.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Stephen."
His eyes widened in surprise, but he reached for it and looked at me questioningly. "Why would you give me a Valentine gift when separated?"
"Because I still love you, and no matter what, I always will."
Stephen slowly unwrapped his Valentine Heart with trembling hands and lifted the lid to see his gift.
Inside, tucked within the ruffles of the pale pink tissues, was the heart of his bitch. Still covered with her blood, Stephen screamed and dropped the box in horror.
"She ripped the heart out of my body, so I thought it was only fitting I rip hers out in return."