Warped: Historic & Fictional Relationships Gone Bad!

Warped: Historic and Fictional Relationships Gone Bad

  Copyright 2015 Rose Perez

  Dedicated to my mother

  Have you ever been so mad about someone that you thought you would do absolutely anything for him/her; no matter how insane it might be? Or have you ever loved a person so intensely that you thought you would go absolutely crazy? When does love become an obsession or a crime? You’ll read twenty tales of what people obsessed are capable of doing. Just for fun, see if you’re able to guess if the story is fiction or real! Perhaps you’ll see a little or a lot of yourself in these characters. Monster, wolf, cheater or criminal -- which one are you? And more importantly, what are you going to do about it?

  Rain

  He was driving, and she gazed at him with unabashed worship. She was overjoyed. Why then was she shivering? He smiled at her but before she could smile back, he was gone. Bonnie screamed, but her terror was short-lived as the rain of bullets ended her young life, as well.

  (Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were outlaws who robbed and murdered people during the Great Depression)

  Toxic

  I returned to him. I always did. A toxic and intoxicating love. I shiver now; thinking of how he’d bend me over and slap my bottom until it was as red as Father Preston’s face when Mrs. Swanson, with her enormous breasts, would stick her tongue out for Holy Communion.

  (Fictional story by Rose Perez: inspired by being raised Catholic, having to go to mass every Sunday, and watching the priest, whom, to me, looked uncomfortable whenever an attractive woman passed by)

  Weak

  He woke up feeling strangely weak; even opening his eyes took some determination. He reached towards her side of the bed, but only felt the cool sheet. Attempting to get out of bed, his legs buckled, and he fell to the floor. His hair had been shaved.

  “Delilah!” Samson screamed.

  (Samson was granted otherworldly strength by God, but was betrayed by his lover, Delilah, who allowed the Philistines to shave his hair while he slept)

  Her Head

  He heard her approaching and knew she’d be angry. He didn’t expect the noises coming from her head. Leaning against the wall, he waited. As she walked towards his direction, he swiftly brandished the mirror. She screamed at her reflection, and then there was silence. Medusa had turned into stone.

  (According to Greek mythology, Medusa had venomous snakes in place of hair. If one were to gaze directly into her eyes, the onlooker would turn into stone. Perseus was sent, by the gods, to destroy Medusa)

  Stranger

  He saw her, and his breath caught in his throat. He stared. She met his gaze and let out a horrified gasp.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized profusely.

  She smiled uneasily. Suddenly cold, she tightened her red cloak about her. Who was this hairy stranger?

  (Little Red Riding Hood is a fairytale about a girl and a big bad wolf)

  Cold Shoulder

  She was turned away from him, and he felt her distance. He closed the gap between them, reached out, and caressed her cheek. No response.

  He felt anger welling up inside. “You wouldn’t be here without me!”

  He was being childish, but how was he to reach her?

  Pygmalion wept.

  (In Ovid's poem, Metamorphoses, Pygmalion was a sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory and fell in love with his sculpture)

  Jerome

  She had a long day at work and couldn’t wait to go home and just look into Jerome’s eyes. She smiled, entering the apartment.

  “Honey, I’m home!”

  She walked over to a cupboard and took out a jar. She stared into it, and Jerome’s eyeballs, suspended in formaldehyde, stared back.

  (Fictional story by Rose Perez: inspired by a collection of porcelain doll eyes in a glass jar))

  Discontent

  She felt happy in his arms, but she wanted so much more with their lives. They sat under a tree, and that's when she shouted: "Let’s stand up and do something with our lives!" Eve plucked the apple from the tree. In the shadows, the snake watched with glinting eyes.

  (Adam & Eve, from the Bible, are believed to be the first man and woman created by God)

  A Great Fall

  He felt dizzy and fell hard; his head bleeding profusely. Running to him, she, too, tumbled. Her arm snapped, and she screamed.

  She crawled painfully to him. “Are you okay, Jack?”

  He winced. “There’s something wrong with the well water, Jill. I feel sick. Tell everyone not to drink it.”

  (Jack and Jill is an English nursery rhyme)