The Love Life of Victor Frankenstein

Letting Go and Moving On

Four years have passed and Victor and Elsa are now seventeen years old in their final year of high school. They've decided to become boyfriend and girl friend a long time ago, since the first day of freshman year. When it was first announced, the whole school had been in an excited uproar; after all, the couple the school had been routing for was finally coming true before their eyes... with Edgar, Mindy, Nassor, and Toshiaki taking the credit, of course. Around the same time, Mindy and Edgar had started dating as well... thanks to the encouragement of Bob and his new girlfriend Jenny.

Be at lunch, in the library, or out on a date, Victor and Elsa were always seen together; they always felt at home around one another and they wouldn't have it any other way.

One stormy night while they were watching a black-and-white horror movie at Victor's house, Elsa was awfully quiet and Victor was growing very curious. They were lounging on the couch side by side; she leaned up against him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"You okay, Els?" Victor asked.

"...I'm worried about Persephone." Elsa suddenly commented.

"Is she sick?" He asked as he got up and pressed a button to pause the movie.

"Yeah. And... she is getting older."

Victor knew exactly where his girlfriend was going with this and he had to swallow the lump in his throat. "Elsa, you know I promised my parents that I—"

"I know, I know." Elsa sighed as she nuzzled against her boyfriend; he held her hand.

Victor knew perfectly well that Persephone was mortal and that when Death decided to pay anyone a visit, there would be no turning back. But then he remembered Sparky and their four pups; he wondered about they would handle her death and his resolve weakened. He knew that Sparky would not want to live without his soul mate. Maybe... maybe now was the time to finally let go.

"Victor? You can press play now." Elsa's voice said.

But he didn't. The boy sighed as he turned the horror movie back on, but he was unable to concentrate on the event happening on the screen before them.

Later that night, at about 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, the phone rang. Victor was suddenly woken up by the sound of his bedroom door opening; he groaned as he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Mom? It's the middle of the night, what's going on?" He yawned.

"Honey? Phone's for you. It's... Elsa." Susan said.

Somehow, Victor knew why his girlfriend was calling now before he could even ask what was wrong. He got out of bed, took the phone, and said into it,

"Hello, Elsa?"

"V-Victor?"

'Oh no, the tone in her voice...' He thought; he knew she was crying.

"Elsa, what's wrong?!"

"It's Persephone. I woke up to get a drink of water and... and I found her. She's..."

Elsa's voice faded, and Victor completely understood what she was trying to say; his face fell. "Oh... you want me to come over?"

"Please. I know you made a promise, but PLEASE; bring her back. It isn't fair that you can have your dog forever and I can't have mine. Sparky would be happier with her too..."

Victor bit his lip as he thought through his girlfriend's words, feeling like he might make himself cry.

"Sparky would be happier with Persephone, and so would the pups. I know it's not fair, and I know you want her back. I can't fix one, but the other two..."

There was a pause on the other end. "Victor, no; I didn't mean it like that."

"No... It would be better." He looked up to where the attic was supposed to be; that was where Sparky usually slept.

"No! Victor, you can't put Sparky down!"

"I'm not practicing euthanasia. I just... I think I should just turn off his electricity. He's charging right now, so it shouldn't take too long."

"Don't! You shouldn't have to lose your dog just because I lost mine. You need him!"

"He's not my only friend anymore." Victor bit back his own tears, finally realizing what he'd been denying. "I have you, and Edgar, and Bob..."

"But you still need him! All of the trouble you went through to bring him back... does that mean nothing to you?"

"Elsa, calm down. I have to lose him eventually, don't I? ...And I have to learn how to let go."

"How are you so calm about this?!"

'I'm not.'

"I... I don't know; I guess I just have to be."

After a long moment of silence, Elsa finally spoke again. "Maybe we can bury them together."

"...I bet they'd like that."

"Can we keep talking? I don't think I can go back to sleep right now."

"...Me neither."

"Thanks, Vic."

"No problem, Els."

Meanwhile, Susan and Edward sitting in the other room and watching and listening to everything their son was saying.

A few days went by. It was Sunday when Sparky finally breathed his last, a fairly relieving and devastating moment as Persephone was starting to be beyond help of any kind. A soft drizzle followed the gray morning as the young couple made their way up the hill in the Pet Cemetery, carrying their dogs in the same box between them. Raven, Hades, Coal, and Anastasia were sadly following close behind.

"Here's to the cutest, sweetest dog couple that ever lived." Elsa muttered as she helped her boyfriend set the box into the hole that was dug the day before.

"May they forever rest in peace." Victor added softly.

"And forever rest together."

Victor was a little startled when he felt his girlfriend's gentle hand grasp his own; he wasn't expecting any form of affection today. She rested her head on his shoulder, trying her hardest not to cry. The two held hands in silence, looking down at the hole at the blank top of the box before Victor picked up a nearby shovel and began to cover the hole. The four pups laid themselves down near the grave together as the hole was finally covered with dirt; they whimpered softly, as if they were crying.

As of today, Victor was finally letting go... but at least he didn't have to do it alone.