Love and Rabies

It had been almost two years since they had tied the knot...approximately 10 months of that time had been spent in two different countries, with thousands of miles between them.

How had two years gone by so fast? Maybe it was between the flights and Skype phone calls, and working hours and paychecks that made the distance seem worthwhile.
But it was starting to show. The distance was forming a fissure between them, in the way they looked at each other. It was just not the same.
The first two months were bliss. The little apartment they bought and filled with things became a home, a quiet place and a refuge. When they met there in  the evenings after work it was a relief to see one another and get a hug and kiss and something more, and then talk and share and laugh.

After two months, he decided that he would look for a better job. They needed to save if they were going to buy a house, have a family, live a good life. So work took him far away, and she smiled and kissed him goodbye, sad but hopeful. It was all for the best.
Four months came and went. He arrived home and she was overjoyed. It was a sweet reunion.
And then he left again.
Another four months went by. Her happiness started to wane. She never wanted for anything, but money did not protect her from lonliness. As the months passed and she heard little, her spirits fell more and more. When he came home, she looked different and her joy was muted.

While he was away he found diversions and interesting things to distract himself. He was busy working and seeing all there was to see. He would come home when he could, and she had all she needed.

Now it had been almost two months, and she had fallen into depression.
She called him one day, tears in her eyes and her voice cracking, to tell him that she was tired and having trouble. How, he asked, why, he asked. Don't you have everything you need?
No, she told him. I need you.
But the money was too good, and the freedom to sweet, he could not give it up. He would not give it up for her.

Her heart was growing cold, and he did not reach out to stoke the fire. She grew ravenous. She hungered for him, calling to him and sending him messages and he ignored them, to ingrossed in his fun to respond.

When he came home next, he found her lying in bed, unmoving, eyes lifeless and her heart quiet, eaten from the inside out by love. She had given in to the lonliness.

He had lost her. And he finally remembered how much he had loved her.
Too late.