Summer kills

Images flickered across the screen, revealing fragments of a life lived in harmony and chaos alike. With each click, the vivid panorama of their shared past unfurled like an unfolding tapestry. His laughter echoed through the speakers, a haunting melody that pulled at her heartstrings with the precision of an expertly played violin.

She watched them dance, their bodies intertwined within the confines of the pixelated screen. Each frame showcased stolen kisses, shared whispers, and wild nights that blurred into alcohol-tainted mornings. Together they had charted this tumultuous journey; together they had navigated the intricacies of love and madness.

But now, she was left alone to traverse this road - a path paved with memories that did nothing but intensify her longing for him.

She listened to his voice, replayed their conversations - every inflection, every understated declaration of affection - it all served as a cruel reminder of what she had lost. Each moment captured on that drive was just another layer added to her labyrinth of insanity.

With hushed anticipation, Ruby found a video file named 'For you'. Her heart pounded in her chest like an unrestrained beast as she held her breath and clicked open the file. His face filled the screen, immediately turning her world monochromatic except for the vibrant hues of his golden hair and azure eyes.

"My dearest Ruby," he began in that soft voice that made her insides flutter. "I hope you're watching this when I'm not around..." The words hung heavy in the room; each phrase was like a dagger that tore through her heart yet she couldn't tear herself away.

As he confessed his feelings and insecurities - those he had veiled behind a façade of arrogance and indifference - Ruby felt her tears cascading down her cheeks. Each sentence was punctuated by his own tears, adding further torment to her already desolate state.

"Remember me for what we had, not for what we've lost," he concluded, his voice cracking with the weight of his words.

His digital confession ended with a faint whisper of her name and Ruby was left in the deafening silence of her villa. The echoes of his voice - raw and heavy with emotions - seemed to reverberate off the opulent walls and ricochet back into her aching heart.

Her trance was shattered by the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore beyond her window. The world invited her to rejoin its rhythm - a rhythm she felt disconnected from. But as she closed the laptop, she found herself neither fully in reality nor completely in her self-made dream world. She was somewhere in between, like a ghost straddling two realms.

The dawn approached slowly, revealing itself from behind the mountains. As Ruby retreated from the balcony into her room, she clung to his digital presence - a memory preserved in bytes and pixels.

Love or madness? Fantasy or reality? The questions unanswered lingered on. But one thing remained certain - he lived within her heart, in every breath she took, in every beat that pulsed through her veins. She lived within this strange kind of solace - a melancholic harmony that existed only because of him.

Ruby retreated into the midst of the plush velvet curtains, her room bathing in the morning sunlight. The USB drive lay on her palm, its cold metallic surface a stark contrast to the warmth emanating from her skin. Her gaze fell on it, and she realized its significance. It was not merely a piece of technology; it was a vessel bearing a piece of him, his spirit.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she felt an irresistible pull towards his digital shadow. The alluring call of his voice, the painful allure of the memories he had left behind - all kept within this tiny device. She plugged it back into her laptop again, unable to resist the yearning to hear him once more.

An ocean of wealth surrounded her; she lived a life many could only dream of. Silk sheets, gold-coated artifacts adorning her villa, exquisite artwork lining her walls-none of it mattered. None brought comfort to her aching heart. All that mattered was his phantom presence echoing through these opulent halls - forever caught in the web of pixels and data.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, Ruby found herself increasingly lost within this digital labyrinth. Her opulent world seemed vacant - haunted by his memory and echoing his laughter that rang hollow without him. "I really am going mad," she murmured one evening, her reflection in the ornate vanity mirror stared back at her - an image dominated by sadness and longing.

She often found herself wandering aimlessly through her mansion, his voice filling each room - an echo from a distant past that refused to fade away. And with each passing day, the line between reality and fantasy blurred.

The other rich spoilt teenagers in their circle hadn't a clue about their cherished friend's inner turmoil. They continued their lives unabated - throwing extravagant parties, indulging in wild scandals under the guise of youthful rebellion. To them, love was just another amusing game, a way to pass the time between their excessive shopping sprees and globe-trotting vacations.

Ruby could not share her pain with them. They wouldn't understand, she thought. Their worlds were built on pretense and artifice, while hers was being consumed by an unspeakable sorrow.

One night, under the glow of the full moon, Ruby found herself back in the pool, the cool water caressing her body. She stared into the vast expanse of the night sky, searching for some semblance of peace. Each twinkling star seemed to mock her pain, reminding her of how alone she felt in this world filled with superficial merriments.

"Are you watching me?" she whispered into the night, hoping against hope that he would answer. She closed her eyes and listened - not to the sounds of the crashing waves or the distant hoot of an owl - but for his voice. But all she heard was silence.

As she opened her eyes to once again gaze up at the stars, for a moment, it felt as if one twinkled a bit brighter - as if responding to her desperate plea. A small smile graced her lips as she floated in her solitude - luxuriating in this momentary illusion of connection.

Yes, they might brand it as madness, but for Ruby, it was love.

As the sun began to rise, the pool's surface reflected its golden rays, dancing around her as if in a personal ballet. Ruby allowed herself a small sigh before hoisting herself out of the pool and onto the marble deck. She wrapped herself in an oversized white towel, its fabric softer than a cloud, yet it offered no real comfort or warmth.

She moved about the villa, her heart heavy as she passed by his favorite spots - the elaborate bookshelf where he would spend hours engrossed in some old tome, the mini theatre where they watched countless movies together, the grand piano that he played with such passion. Each object was like a dagger to her heart, reopening old wounds that refused to heal.

In her suite, Ruby's gaze fell onto a silver-framed picture - one where he was caught in a moment of pure laughter; his eyes sparkled with life that now felt too distant. The heaviness within her was unbearable; it weighed upon her chest, making it difficult to breathe. In desperation, she clutched the picture frame to her chest, craving for some solace.

Weeks morphed into months but his memory didn't fade - instead, it grew stronger. Each sunrise brought with it a fresh wave of longing and every sunset carried away another day without him. Her opulent world felt nothing more than an elaborate prison, gilded and luxurious, yet cold and unfeeling.

Her friends often enquired about her increasingly reclusive behavior but Ruby brushed off their concerns with practiced ease. She hid behind embellished masks at their extravagant parties, laughed at their frivolous jokes and joined them on their endless shopping sprees but they were merely distractions from the emptiness that echoed within her.

One evening during a lavish party hosted at her villa, she found herself standing amidst a sea of people. Expensive champagne flowed freely and laughter filled the air. Yet Ruby felt more alone than ever. She glanced at her friends, their faces beaming with unbothered cheerfulness, their eyes empty of the pain she was trying so hard to hide.