‘til Death, or Something Stranger
by Mea Cohen
The ceremony was supposed to start at seven, but the groom hadn’t yet arrived. Guests waited in chairs on the cliffside, backs straight, smiles politely frozen like appetizers wilting on cocktail napkins. The bride stood alone beneath a crooked birch arch, her veil swelling in the salt wind.
The moon rose early, full, bruised-looking. It loomed large behind the ocean, an impatient witness. A lone bird circled above, its shape strange. Not quite seagull. Not quite hawk. Something in between, or beyond.
Then, at 7:16, the groom arrived.
Walking barefoot, hair wet, tuxedo soaked like he'd clawed his way from the sea. No one said a word as he made his way up the aisle. The music faltered. The officiant cleared his throat and stepped back.
The bride smiled like nothing was wrong. Like this was how it was always going to be. When he reached her, he took her hand. She whispered something only he could hear.
The bird above shrieked once, then vanished.
Friends, the officiant began again, we are gathered here to—
Don’t bother, the groom cut in. The sea already bore witness.
The bride turned to the guests, eyes gleaming, if a little wildly. Hell is empty and all the devils are here, she said softly.
The guests clapped. Politely. Confusedly. Because what else do you do when a bride says something like that?
Afterward, no one could remember the vows. Only the way the waves looked too still. How the wind stopped during the kiss. How the bird returned in the end, perching on the arch as if to crown the couple.
They left before dessert. The groom never dried off. The bride never removed her veil.
Some say they walked straight into the sea.
Others say they never left the altar. Just stood there, watching the moon, hand in hand, smiling at something only they could see.
BIO: Born and raised in Palisades, NY, Mea Cohen is a writer now based in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Her work has appeared in West Trade Review, Harpur Palate, OKAY Donkey, Big Whoopie Deal, Barely South Review, and more. In 2024, she was nominated for best micro-fiction. She earned her MFA in creative writing and literature from Stony Brook University, where she was a Contributing Editor for The Southampton Review.