I’m posting my story here as I don’t know anywhere else to put it. I don’t know if I even believe it myself. I’m hoping someone else has seen this before as I don’t trust my own mind.
Part 1
I came from humble beginnings, lower middle class childhood with parents who barely had enough self awareness to recognize themselves and far too little to understand children were entire little humans with their own lives and needs.
I spent years running from my childhood. The further I got away from my parents and the more money I made, the less I felt like that kid locked in the basement listening to endless screaming.
But that’s not what this story is about…not really. This story is about a great time in my life.
I met her at 34, we had both recently broken off with long term partners and weren’t looking for anything serious. Her name was Isobel…well, her name still is Isobel.
We met online dating and it was fireworks from the start. We did all the normal texting that culminated to a date, a date culminated to coming upstairs to meet her dog which culminated to us falling in love, moving in together and getting engaged. Life was fantastic, better than fantastic, resplendent (yes, I went to college and paid too much for an English degree, shout out to my fellows debt laden graduate friends).
We had both broken from our humble beginnings and earned well into the six figures. We traveled the world, made love in every major continent and made a home with ourselves and our two four legged children. I won’t bore you with all the details as they’re not relevant to my issue…and frankly, those memories are gone and replaced with a black void.
We got engaged, and then married, that’s where everything went wrong, very very wrong.
I had wanted a unique wedding ring, something unique and something that had seen many lives before my own. I searched online for months, perusing various antique jewelry sites and sending options to my future wife.
Nothing was standing out to us, until one day I received an email with an invite only link to an antique ring site. I had assumed that all my searching had laid little cookie trails across the web and I had been auto targeted by a clever campaign to sell antique designer rings.
I should have known something was strange, right away. The email link led me to a professional looking site…but they only had one ring for sale. A men’s ring, in my size, with the exact features I was looking for. The ring was black with gold adornments. The inside of the ring had script in a language I did not recognize, something I assume that once meant something but which had faded with age. The ring was simple yet elegant. Something truly unique while seeming so simple and unassuming. It fit my personality and style perfectly, my wife agreed and I made the purchase.
The ring took a few weeks to arrive. The packaging was plain and unassuming. A simple thick brown packaging envelope with the ring inside, encased in a small metal box. I remember opening the box and feeling like some unknown force was holding it closed. It took some effort from my adult hands to pry the casing open. When it finally came ajar, the ring immediately caught my attention and held my gaze. The black of the ring was darker than the darkest of nights and the gold shimmered like the eyes of a beast, staring out from that dark night. My wife had to snap her fingers to get me back to reality.
I’m rambling too much, I know. I’m looking at the ring on my finger now and feel like I could ramble forever before getting to the point. Almost as if the ring doesn’t want me to get to the point, but I have to keep going as I don’t know if there will ever be a time to write this again.
Bear with me if I’m a bit scrambled, my mind feels unfocused, but I will do my best.
We got married, it was a beautiful night. My wife wore a beautiful dress that she had worked with a local designer to bring to life. The bottom was like the end of a rainbow that nature had taken and laid upon fabric. The waist was a plain and vibrant white and the straps hugged her shoulders in such a way to hint to onlookers that this dress was made for her and only for her. The beauty of her face, hair and features accented this miracle of art and design.
I remember saying our vows and her placing the ring on my finger. That was two years ago now and likely the last time I was happy. I firmly believe happiness ended at that point and joy is something I will never feel again.
Everything in our life started to go badly. My wife’s successful business started to have issues. Employees were leaving, customers were leaving, we were sinking more and more money into it and nothing went our way. It went from a success to a complete disaster within six months of our wedding.
I had never been much of a drinker but found myself drinking more and more often. My mind used to be clear and clever, but suddenly I craved the warm numbness of drink after drink.
I started to feel disconnected from other people. My wife and I stopped having sex, I stopped going to the gym, I stopped taking care of myself. My days were spent on the couch on my laptop, ensuring that my job and income remained stable as my wife’s business crumbled before our eyes.
We started arguing. We went from holding hands and making love to arguing about the most simple and mundane aspects of our lives. I screamed and yelled at her, something I had never done with her…or anyone, in my entire life. I had always been so gentle and caring. I was becoming something I no longer understood. My wife said I wasn’t the man she married.
Then she left.
My marriage was over, my life felt like it was over. She divorced me and met another man, I sat in my house on the couch and drank my days away, barely able to hold onto my remote job working in technology.
If you’ve read this far into this mess, I’m asking you to read just a bit more.
I finally decided it was time to take off my wedding ring. This is where my plea for help, the whole point of my story.
The ring didn’t want to come off. I tried pulling it off, soaking my hand, using soap, cooling my hand, heating my hand, using a pliers, using my teeth. I spent hour after hour. The ring finally came off. The ring finally came off.
Once the ring came off, I had clarity enter my mind. A dense fog had surrounded my mind for so long, it felt like a shock of electricity. My mind raced with everything that happened the past year. Everything that happened to my wife’s business, all the cruel things I said to her, all the mistakes I made and all the drinking and drugs.
Reader, I don’t know how to explain it, but it wasn’t me doing and saying those things to my wife. I know there is no way she will believe me, but the ring had taken over my thoughts and actions. It felt like a dark hand had encased my mind and heart and all the actions I took and words I said were of a mind, not my own.
I’m also very scared right now. The ring is back on my finger and I don’t know how it got there. I feel my mind slipping, I don’t even know why I’ve been writing this story for idiots like you. You’re just a stupid as my bitch of an ex wife and dying would be to merciful for trash like you…I’m losing control, I have to post this before it’s too late. Help, help you fucking idiots
Edit: In the light of morning, I can’t see what the fuss was all about last night. The ring didn’t do anything, I just became more of what I really was. I never was a kind and generous man, it’s foolish to think some magic ring changed me, there is no such thing as magic. This post makes me chuckle to myself now.
I really like my ring and the more I think about it, the more I am curious about making my own rings and selling them online. I am in a lot of debt after my divorce and I could really use the extra money. I received an email just this morning from the supplier of the ring. They are going to send me some metal and even pay for me to take a class on metalworking! It’s been a long time since I’ve had good luck and it seems like things are changing for the better, for once.
I’d love to make any of you happy. Aren’t you sad sometimes? I want to help you. You don’t even have to get married, I would love to make you a ring if you just PM me your address. You deserve to feel good and have something nice, I promise my work will be really nice.
I won’t even charge you and will ship for free. My only price is a picture of your new ring on your finger so I can get a website online with some and models. You don’t even have to wear it if you find you don’t like it. Just put on the ring once and send me a picture, it will only take a moment. You deserve to be happy, let me help you be happy.