Short Story @ MindSay 
writing
Personal Demons
In a single sight you may see a man, sleeping with his eyes open, but a man nonetheless. You can never see him for all that he is while he is there. He will never even see you for anything. He is a man obsessed. He is no longer a human; he is but a man gone mad.
He is lying alone in the woods of eastern Ontario. The bugs know not to leave him be, but the mammals and birds would rather devour their own offspring than take a step in his direction.
His body has been all but stripped to its bones. All around him the aroma of pus is prevalent. His breath is rapid and rattling. His mouth is dry, and his body is absorbed with open sores. The maggots and worms are already ravaging him. He is a man embracing Death, but Death will not take him.
He is a man who has stuck himself in time.
He lived in a small tight-knit community near the provincial town of Cobalt. He was a man whom some respected for his duties and tasks about the community, but most regarded him as a stranger to them, even though he has lived in the same spot for upwards of twenty years.
He was a reclusive man: he kept to himself. He would never have dreamt of leaving his home if it were not for his job or if food were not a necessity to him.
He worked as a wilderness guide in the Canadian forests; more commonly, a canoeing guide for the few local tourists. Sometimes he would leave with a client, or even all alone, for weeks at a time. He knew he was never at peace with the fresh waters and thus, he had an uncommon dread of his profession.
When he would eventually come back, he would go unseen. He would ride the river all the way to his cottage, and contrary to a welcome after up to a month alone, he would go unnoticed by the townspeople.
On one occasion he returned by the route straight through the village center. Although not many people were out, and when most saw him they did not know who he was, the ones that did were at a loss for words at his sudden appearance. He was a strong sight. He was carrying more than his share of food, but alone still.
It wasn’t a terribly uncommon sight to see him alone. The ones who knew his name figured he simply went out on a solo trip as opposed to business.
Once he was just out of earshot of the town a barely audible mumble was heard to arise from his boat:
“This… This makes no sense...”
With this he promptly disappeared to his home.
When he exited his boat and hung it upon his formal rack, as opposed to flipped next to his cottage. Despite the early time of 4:15 P.M., he hurried into his bed and soon fell asleep.
During the night, he dreamt a nightmare. He saw a body rising into the air. It rose so high the height was beyond recognition. The body began to glow a demonic green, and a river of the same mist flowed from its body. With no warning it burst into an inferno of grey flame.
He woke the next morning to remember nothing of the night before. Contrary to his normal routine, he showed himself at the town’s only diner. It was more of a chip-stand than anything else, but it served coffee. It served its purpose.
He ordered the drink, but never moved even once to so much as smell it. He let it sit until it was as cold as the air around him.
At about noontime, he was still motionless. A fellow townsman who sat down next to him, staring directly at him, greeted him. The townsman, Matthew Fraser, then waited half an hour himself before saying anything:
“Why have you come back?” He asked in a serious tone. “You know as well as I do that the people who know you here want you out.”
His first words in hours were spoken:
“But I have nowhere else to go,” he replied with a grin.
“ We don’t care about those things here, soon you too will realize that.”
“You really are the only one here who cares about me. You really are my only friend.”
With a smile, Matthew was gone.
The waitress, Leona Smith, then came over for an inquiry to what Mr. Fraser wanted. He told her it was just an innocent exchange of words. She asked him if he would be paying for the coffee that was drunk. With a puzzled glance at his now empty coffee mug he said:
“Yes.”
With this he paid the young lady, leaving a generous tip, and left her for his home once more.
A few days passed with no sight of him, but on the third day he was spotted once more at the diner. He once again ordered coffee, and he once again paid and left for his home.
He would never return to the diner, or for that matter, the village.
He laid down for sleep and entered yet another nightmare, from this one he would never wake.
It showed him living in a world not unlike the world in which he actually lived.
There was a small village near which a cottage sprung forth. The area was abundant in wildlife and had a moderate amount of people living in the town. But every living thing that was exposed to him in the dream would begin to decay. Some would bloat and host themselves to hideous parasites, while others would gain sunken features and seemingly wilt.
There was a constant glow of twilight around the town and along the river, it could be evaded nowhere in the dream.
The scene changed: it was now a portrait of the river that ran through the village. The river was not as he remembered it, instead of the crisp, cool blue he was used to, it was a cold and deep shade of black.
He knew what was to happen next.
In an instant the river went a pale white with a line of crimson waters flowing through it. With this he saw a spectral hand flowing through it. He only saw it briefly but he knew exactly what it was.
He cried out in horror. With this he woke the dead.
The body of Zachary Smith, recognizable only to him: the child he took on the prior trip, burst forth.
A completely different entity than the naïve young boy who set out weeks before, the thing that stood before him was a demon. A demon conjured from all the evil thoughts surrounding the boy’s death.
In a single swift motion, the demon brutally maimed him. The demon was to devour him.
It rose up into the sky. With a flash of remembrance he exclaimed:
“ At six miles up you will explode, I have seen it all!”
The demon replied:
“No one listens to the damned.”
But this man was not damned. He was an innocent, never taking more than he needed. It was an accident that the boy died. Leona knew this, Matthew knew this, but he did not.
The demon rose, to a total of what was now six miles, and burst apart in an inferno of grey flame.
With a moments hesitation he exclaimed for joy, for he thought he had defeated the demon.
Little Zachary began to form once again out of the ash. The man wept when he saw the boy again, but he knew it would not last. The boy began to grow wings, horns, black skin, and demonic eyes. He knew it was done.
A moment before the demon pierced his heart, it all ceased. There was a flash of absolute nothingness, followed by an eternal repetition of the agonizing horrors he experienced.
After two months since his last appearance the knowledgeable village people began to grow an uncertain concern. There was a buzz about the town of how he had fled without any reasons, or that the Ontario Provincial Police had found him living off the grid and taken him away.
Mr. Fraser knew that none of these rumors could be true. He set out for the man’s cottage that very evening.
After some ragged rapping upon a locked door, Mr. Fraser battered it down.
He arrived inside the house and immediately smelled the foul stench of rotting flesh. He moved into the bedroom and saw the body of his friend. It showed glassy eyes staring into nothing, it showed a split mouth, with dried blood all over his face. But what it didn’t show would be the question to haunt Matthew. It didn’t show the guilt of a man. It didn’t show the key to immortality to being eternal repentance. It didn't show the insanity of a man who would confine himself to damnation for an innocent crime.
Mr. Fraser simply closed his eyes and turned to leave: he could no longer save this man.
Wind and Water
By AnonFemINFJ
The man rushed through my trees, utterly spooked, horrified even. I watched him disappear through the thick pines, wondering why he did not scream. Speechless, I suppose. Ah, well. He would live. And now I had a new item for my collection.
I entered my home through the front, a large hole at the bottom of the trunk. The bark was a lovely rich brown this morning. I placed the man's scarf on my shelf, near the other outerwear. Humans were silly, and rather hideous, but I had always been fascinated by their possessions. I rolled a marble in my hand, the one I borrowed from that ugly little boy 80 years ago.
I was a free spirit called Wind, and I was invisible. This was only because I wanted to be, of course. I could show myself to others if I chose. However, invisibility was exceedingly useful for tweaking humans and borrowing the things they carried into my forest, and so I was glad of my talent. It also did not hurt that I could be as big as I needed to be.
I had been living in my tree for centuries, adding to my collection and trying to relax as much as possible. You see, I did have a bit of a temper. And when I got angry, it could lead to trouble. Being a free spirit, I was not bound by higher forces to keep my powers in check. I could create storms that did tremendous damage if I was provoked. When this happened, I would take some time off to visit a tropical island across the water. It was only a week's fly, and well worth the exertion.
"EXCUSE ME!"
Oh, dear. It was that vociferous squirrel. What was his name again? I spent a minute trying to remember, then went to the entrance to let him in. He looked about to burst, little chest puffed out, eyes wide.
"Yes, yes, come in. No need to bellow. How may I be of service, uh…?"
"My name is Ridley, sir," he stated impatiently.
"Ah, yes, of course." I began to ask him what he was doing here. I doubt that he noticed.
"Mr. Wind Spirit, Sir, you see, I have a bit of a dilemma. I knew you would be the best person to speak to. You see, there is a very big spirit in my house, eating my nuts. He is very hungry, and you know I would be happy to share, but he didn't even ask! He just-"
"Who is he?" What on earth was another spirit doing in my forest? And why was he eating Ridley's nuts? This was purely bizarre.
"Well, I don't know!"
I asked him where his home was and flew there immediately, not even watching the trees whiz by as I usually do. I was agitated, and though the trip took under a minute, it seemed longer.
Once there, I saw the spirit lying on his back, stuffed full of the poor squirrel's precious nuts. How strange. Most spirits were careful to respect the territories of the animals, to never mistreat them. And we only really needed to eat every month or so.
I studied him. He chose to take the shape of a divine human, as most did. His skin was bright white, so I reasoned that he was a servant of the high spirits who controlled the guardians. I eyed the scroll in his glowing hand. So he was a messenger. I could not see his face because it was turned away from me, but I had met some messenger spirits. They were all stiff and boring, too perfect, not beings I would want for friends or partners. Just like all the others.
Suddenly, the spirit sat up and looked at me.
"Fendrel!" I knew this one. He was not particularly interesting, but was kind and gentle.
"Hello, Wind!"
"Have you come to deliver a message to me?" There would be time for greetings later. This could be important. Messengers of this sort did not pay idle visits.
"Yes. We have finally found a guardian for your forest! Is that not wonderful, friend?"
I froze. There was numbness for a few minutes. Then is set it. My trees were spinning. My trees. Mine. They did not need a guardian spirit! I only left once in a while... I took care of my forest! There was no way I would share.
"… Wind? Oh, no. No, don't! You will be all right!"
He kept on yelling, which would have been bothersome, but I took no notice. I was having another tantrum, as he could see. But this was different. I felt an excruciating, foreign ache in my chest, which I thought must be grief. And I did not like it. It expanded inside me until I could not breathe properly. I could not tear my eyes from the lovely pines, the forest floor, the sun-coated stones, but these things did not bring me joy. Not any more. I needed to get out of this place, and though I knew I would return some day, the forest was no longer mine.
Before I could damage what used to be my home, I fled.
Falling onto the soft sand, exhausted, I felt it caressing me. I was here. This was my island. I had been here many times. I loved the feel of the warm palm trees with their deep green leaves like feathers, so different from the pines I knew so well. Hoisting myself up, I touched a grayish-brown trunk and stared at the place my hand would be seen if I had made it possible.
I laid there for days, mourning the loss of my home. But I recover quickly for a spirit. I am strong. After the dark days, I knew I had to stand tall and accept that I would live here from now on. With pain still inside me, but a brighter outlook, I once again lifted myself from the hot sand and walked off of the beach.
Since this was my home now, I decided to explore. Even after so many years of vacations to this place, I had never ventured into the trees. Noticing the lack of paths, I sighed. No humans came here. This reminded me that I needed to retrieve my collection. But there was time. I was not yet ready to go back.
This was ridiculous. I needed to pull myself together. Trying to do so with all my might, I observed my surroundings more closely. These trees had much thicker trunks than the palms closer to the beach. They looked strange. Short, chubby branches protruded only from the tops. Green shrubs covered much of the ground.
What was that gray blur up ahead? It was getting closer…
"Hello!"
"Ah!"
A lemur! Oh. It was a lemur. She had jumped straight in front of my face. I inwardly scolded myself for losing my composure so easily. She seemed very bright and jolly, perfectly harmless. Her large, round, amber eyes were aimed straight at me. When had I made myself visible? I must be very tired.
"Oh, I apologize! Did I startle you?"
"Yes, well, no harm done," I said awkwardly, but quite sincerely.
"You're new here. Fancy finally meeting another spirit on this island! My name is Ivy. What's yours?"
"My name is Wind. Pardon me, but…another spirit?" I do not think she heard me.
"Wind, you said? How original. Well, I'm off to tell my family! News travels fast around here, since there hardly ever is any. Everyone will know soon enough!"
"Wait!" But she was gone. I kept moving, wondering how many lemurs lived in this place.
Suddenly, I heard a faint noise in the distance. It was, unmistakably, the sound of running water. I grew curious and began to really move, having been dragging before this new distraction.
I soon arrived before a wall of greenery which stretched above my head. It was made up of vines and leaves, and strange plants I could not identify. There were flowers there, tiny blue and purple ones as well as large pink blossoms, and others. I parted it all slowly and found myself standing before an amazing waterfall. It was very tall and roared so that I could scarcely hear myself think. I stared up in wonder for while, and then lowered my gaze, still moving slowly for some reason. It emptied into a wide sparkling pond, where there sat almost in the very center a boulder. And on the boulder was… a woman!
Well, a spirit. But most spirits did have genders and this one was clearly very feminine. She was flawless, unlike any I had ever seen. She lay on the rock in a most graceful position, on her back. Her arms stretched above her glimmering head, her whole body relaxed as if she could just melt into the pond and be one with it. And judging by the looks of her, she probably could. Her skin was almost translucent in some places, and where water splashed gently onto her, her skin seemed to ripple. Her long dress, which was modest and had a very sophisticated style, was of the same material. She must have made it herself, as most spirits do their own clothing. Her hair was a shade darker than the rest of her, like deeper water. It floated down into the pond, exposing the gentle curves of her jaw, and her eyes were closed so that I could examine her long lashes. She had a peaceful look. This spirit was easily the most beautiful creature in the world.
And I was watching her sleep. Oh, dear. This was unseemly, wasn't it? I scolded myself once again, and then resolved to make my presence known.
"Hello, there! I am glad to see a beauty such as you enjoying my waterfall!"
The spirit sat up and turned toward me before I could blink, obviously startled. Her eyes were very wide, and I noticed that they were cerulean. Then they narrowed.
"Your island?" I had been distracted again, but her sharp tone got my attention.
"Why, yes. But do not worry. You are welcome to stay for as long as you wish. What is your-"
"I have guarded this waterfall and this island for my entire life!" So she was a guardian. No matter. I could get past that. But her voice was harsh, the volume escalating rapidly. Oh, dear. I had made her angry. This was why I had no mate. "I am Water, and you will heed my warning. Leave my home immediately!"
I sighed. "My deepest apologies, Miss. I am going through a hard time. You see, I am a free spirit, but I too have lived in one place for my entire existence. I was recently informed that a guardian has been found for my former home. I did not think that any other spirits lived here, so…" I drifted off.
Her expression had softened a bit. "I am sorry for your loss. However, I would like you to leave now."
I stared blankly at her. "What?"
"You have displeased me with your forward manner, Sir Wind. I will not tell you again."
Now, this was getting out of hand. I glared in the most threatening way I knew how. It did not seem to be enough to intimidate her, but she did look rather irritated. That was something. Emboldened, I once again voiced just what floated through my head at the moment:
"No."
"Excuse me?" She was now beyond irritated. This was fun.
"I shall not leave. I intend to stay here as long as I like, which could be for some time." Now I put on a more amiable face. "Clearly you object, but I do not see what you could do about it. You are not permitted by the higher ones to use your powers to harm me, are you?"
"I do not need my powers to drive you away," she informed me politely, her blue eyes blazing.
"Hmm… you will need to catch me, and for that you need great speed. Unfortunately, I am far too exhausted for a chase at present. Perhaps I shall run into you tomorrow. Goodbye!"
"I think not! Hold!" But I was off at full speed, and nearly half way to the beach.
The island truly became my home the moment I saw Water. I knew then that I had a reason to stay, and so I did. Leave immediately. Ha. That was not going to happen.
I noticed a deep connection with her, something humans often need to develop for a long time, sometimes years. And even then, the connection simply may not be enough. The lives of human beings are full of unnecessary complications. We spirits need only love to maintain a relationship, and we generally know straight away if it is present. So, I did not feel guilt about my confidence. Still…
Really, why would she say something like that? Was I so terrible? I quickly pushed the question from my mind. She must have felt it too! She was just reluctant to admit it. I respected Water's responsibilities, of course, and I knew that this was her island as well. For some reason, I was not nearly as disgusted by the idea of sharing with her as I probably should have been. I assured myself that this was a completely different situation that the one that haunted me.
For days at a time, I lay peacefully in the warm sand, sometimes letting the waves wash over me. In between, I would spend a day roaming through the trees, searching for the object of my infatuation. I did not want to upset her, of course, but I deeply longed to see her.
On some of these outings, I ran into the lemurs. There were other creatures as well, but I paid no attention to them. I had a purpose. These bothersome primates, unfortunately, demanded my attention. I was blown away by their numbers as it was, so when you added their energy, they were positively exhausting. Ivy seemed to have hundreds of friends and relatives, and insisted that I must be introduced to all of them. I never knew lemurs came in so many colors and patterns.
I actually grew very fond of one. He was Ivy's twin brother and his name was Ivan. I snorted inwardly at this, but he turned out to be surprisingly mellow and we got along. Their mother had me stay for a meal, and I sat with him on his favorite tree branch.
While we munched on fruit and leaves (There were so many new foods to try that I was eating much more than usual), Ivan explained to me that Water was very close to the animals on the island. However, he was not surprised at her reaction to my arrival. He told me that she had a stubborn side. That was fine because I did, too. More importantly, Ivan informed me that she was indeed hiding from me. She had been running around so that she was constantly as far away from me as possible. That hurt a bit. He encouraged me to keep chasing her, because he liked me and thought that we would be happy "together or even just as friends.” We agreed that it was crucial for me to show her that my staying would not be such a bad thing. I left dinner with a plan.
I watched the forest speed by all around me. This was it. It was just a bit further. I readied myself and stopped suddenly, then turned and blew. I blew as I never had before. Come on, Wind. You can do it. Everything was such a blur, I could not tell shrubs from the tree trunks. Faster, Wind! There she is! And there was Water. I stopped merely a few yards away from her, watching in silence. She was baffled. Her brow was furrowed as she tried to pick up my scent. I had come from all the way around the island. Maybe it was enough. I shuffled a bit to get her attention without startling her. It worked.
"Is that you, Sir Wind?" she asked quietly, without even turning her head.
"Yes. It is me." I moved in front of her.
"I did not know you could fly at such a speed. You had reason to brag after all. Now, please leave."
"No."
She sighed. "Why not?"
"Why must I?"
"It would be better." I saw softness in her expression again, but then she exhaled loudly through her nose and looked at me. Her eyes narrowed suddenly, dangerously. "You do not care about me, and I simply view you as bothersome." I winced.
"Please, I did not come here to argue. You should accept that I am not going to leave. Can we not live in harmony?"
"Not so far. We have had to be careful."
"You have been hiding."
"I have not!"
"Well, you were avoiding me. Anyway, I mean that I want to know you, Water. I want us to be friends, at least."
"At least!" She looked affronted. I panicked.
"No! I didn't mean-"
"You will leave my home. I will make sure of that," she said as she turned to leave. Then, unnecessarily, "Do not follow me again."
Utterly discouraged, I returned to the beach and ducked into the ocean, leaving my head underwater for a few minutes. The water pulsed around my face. It felt nice. Water did. Oh, dear.
I did not know what to do. Part of me felt that I should continue to pursue her, follow my heart. But then, I did not want to hurt her. So, what to do? I wanted to talk to Ivan, as I had no other friends available to me. And he would know.
So I made my way to the lemurs' home. As soon as I arrived, I glided up a tree to find Ivan sitting there, looking perfectly distressed and clutching a piece of bark. He jumped.
"Gah! Oh. Hello, Wind." He sighed once.
"What troubles you, my friend?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just tired, that's all."
"Hmm…" That could not be right.
"Really, Wind! I'm fine."
"If you are sure," I said dubiously. I then told him everything of my encounter with my love. He seemed very concerned. It was almost strange. Then he gave me his own news.
"Wind, my mother wanted me to give this to you. She got it from Water," he said. He handed me the bark. It had writing on it, in very refined penmanship. I raised an eyebrow, and then read the message:
Wind,
I am deeply regretful that we had to meet under such unpleasant circumstances. I would like very much to try again. If you can ever forgive me, please let us meet at our waterfall tonight, just after sunset.
Thank you,
Water
I stared at the bark and read the message over a few times. This may have been too good to be true. How could she forgive me just like that, and apologize? She always seemed so proud. But I would find out after sunset. There was, of course, no question. I was going.
"Perhaps she has had a change of heart," Ivan suggested rather meekly.
"Yes. Now, about you. . ."
"I am fine!"
The waterfall sparkled mildly and crashed just as much as it always did, though it left me feeling more uneasy after dark. The moon shined down on the silvery boulder in the center, making it glitter like a diamond. It was bare. I searched the whole area with my eyes and waited for one hour. I was patient. She must have a good reason for not being here.
"Water?" I called. Nothing. Well, I had to stay. What would she think of me if she came late to find me gone? Some gentleman I would be. No, I would wait. After all, she had to come eventually.
There were noises in the trees, close by. Many noises. Clicking and hissing, scratching, purring. Hmm, what were they? After a few minutes I did not care anymore. I stood at the edge of that pond, waiting and waiting. The sounds continued. Finally it was sunrise. Dark thoughts had crept into my mind. Had she changed her mind? Had she given me the letter to trick me in the first place? Was my love as dishonest as that?
If she was, I could forgive her. I was dishonest. I stole. I had frightened innocent humans regularly for hundreds of years. And I was a good spirit.
I heard a loud gasp. Then, "Wind? He is still here?" It was Water. Who was she speaking to? And of course I was there!
"I'm so sorry, Miss Water!" It was the twins' mother, the leader of the lemurs. "He just would not leave! We tried to spook him all night long. It seems that his faith in you kept him standing here. And honestly, Miss, I don't think he even noticed us after the first few minutes."
This was infuriating. "I am right here! What is going on? What do you mean by all this?" I felt hundreds of eyes upon me.
Now my love spoke. "I had the lemurs try to make you ... less comfortable. I wanted you to leave.”
What?
“Why will you not leave?" She was raising her voice now. I had so much to say. This was why Ivan had acted so strangely. The message was a fake. This was all part of her vain attempt to make me fall for her aloof façade, to make me believe that she really did not care about me. I felt my chest ache the way it had when I lost my home. Where was this coming from, this distrust and insecurity? Had someone hurt her? There were so many words in my head, but only one thing I could bring myself to say.
"I love you, Water."
She froze, horrified. Then, "No, you do not!"
"Can you not feel our connection?"
"We are completely different in every way!"
"I said nothing about that."
She appeared to be livid now. Ah. So she did feel it. Honestly, I had never seen a spirit in such denial, other than myself. I thought then that we were alike. We were each so human that any other spirit would frown upon it. And that certainly explained a great deal!
While I had been having my epiphany about the nature of myself and Water, she had run off somewhere, probably to recover her equilibrium. I decided against following her. My feelings for her had not changed, but who could blame me for being angry? This was a betrayal of trust. Also, spirits were proud. Water's ego had already been damaged.
After speaking with Ivan and assuring him that all was forgiven, I decided to take the long way back to the beach because I reasoned that it would give me time to think. This was an incorrect assumption after all, since I lost track of my speed while I was thinking, and was half way there in under a minute. As soon as I realized this, I stopped and began to walk at a human pace. It was demeaning, but meditative.
After a few minutes, I jerked to a stop once again. I had heard a low, muffled sound, like a human being suffocated. What was it? Then there was a moan, a sound of true distress. Water's voice? It was from off to the right. I maneuvered my way through a thick patch of trees, and there she was, face in hands, crying. Deciding that it would be appropriate to speak with her now that my anger had subsided, I spoke up.
"Why do you weep, beautiful one?" It could not hurt to charm her a bit. And it was true. She was beautiful.
Water looked up at me for less than a second, and then quickly turned her head to glare at a rock. After a moment of silence, she broke down again. It was pitiful. How I longed to comfort her! But first I needed her to talk to me, obviously.
"Well?"
"I d-do not know." she stuttered softly.
"Really? You have no idea?" So much for protecting her pride. Ah, well.
"Do you truly not understand? I am angry with you!"
I just looked at her, and tilted my head a bit. She sighed. Neither of us said anything for about five minutes. Her tears stopped.
"Very well, Wind, I admit it. We have a connection. I suppose you do care about me on some strange level," she said, wrinkling her nose a bit. There was another long pause. "And I care about you, as well. You are not simply bothersome, Wind. You are brave and clever. You have depths I cannot yet understand."
Ah! Yes, yes, yes! This was it!
"I suppose I do love you. You were right." Here there was sort of a half-smile. "I am sorry."
Here I decided that it would be all right for me to hold her. She tensed, then relaxed and closed her eyes. It felt so wonderful that I closed mine, too.
"Wind?"
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Original Story by Nintendopower64
Written and Edited by LuigiGirl (Emily G. Fieldus)
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It was June 6th. Despite the bright sun peeking in through the window to say good morning, and the birds rousing to face another day – I hated waking up. Especially for this morning. I felt like I just wanted to crawl under the covers, and never come back out, like I used to do when I was a kid. There were days when I hated facing the world, and today was one of those days.
School was boring for the past few weeks. Although, on the plus (or possibly minus…) side I had noticed a girl, and I had grown to like her, at least, that’s from my point of view.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched, finally managing (with great effort) to sit up and at least face the world through my window. It was the last day of school today, and yearbooks were being passed out. All we had to bring was a pen or a pencil; nothing more. No books. No papers. No backpacks. I preferred pen. I knew today would bring something big; thanks to the encouragement of my friend, Alyson, I was hopefully going to tell this girl I liked her… But I was always known to be very shy, and getting something like THAT done would be the BIGGEST thing I’ve ever accomplished other than survive on this planet.
So, today I was going to be different. I was going to bring not only a pen, but an imaginary lunch packed with courage and fear of being humiliated. Doesn’t that sound delicious?
With a tired yawn, I climbed down the stairs. I had a strong desire to wear one of my favourite shirts, but after I showed it to my mother, she refused it and said no – because it was old. (What is she talking about?! A shirt never gets old with me!)
With a frustrated groan, I sluggishly stomped my way back to my room and quickly slipped on some grey shorts and a white T-Shirt. I ruffled my hair, giving myself one last look in the mirror – grimaced slightly at my reflection each time I faced it as I was continued my own business in the bathroom – then walked out the door thirty minutes later and sighed.
There was only one thing that could keep my shaking body forward. Well, no. Make that three. Me, myself, and God. As I continued walking, I knew in the back of my head that it would take more than a World War III, a natural disaster, and the all hell breaking loose just to face her and say hello…
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I walked into the door of my school, hoping and praying she was going to be present for school today. If not, then I would have to keep my feelings of my love for her locked in – and apparently, from what I’ve read and heard, isn’t too good for your health. The bell finally rang; kicking itself multiple times in its side which signaled we, as students, to finally head in. We walked into class, and I was the first person to receive a yearbook. I flipped it open, flicking through several blank pages – envisioning this girl’s signature within one of those pages. Her perfect signature. The black ink forever written upon my heart…
I was holding onto something that I knew would last me a lifetime, and even more. But, this year, it was going to mean something. I was going to get the single, most important signature I ever wanted. I didn’t care what my picture looked like because I knew it looked terrible. The way I sat, the way my smile was crooked, the way my hair looked even though I checked, and even double checked, before I got that photo taken. Everyone says they look horrible when they get their school photos back, though; but to me, that didn’t matter. No. Not at all. Not one bit.
I flipped open to the page that was reserved for seventh graders; and then glanced briefly towards the person I liked. Her name was Haylee. A simple, common name, to say the least. I smiled dreamily, a glint catching my eye as I looked into her saucer-shaped, azure ones. How amazing she was…
Familiar faces snapped me back to reality, and almost instantly, I slammed the book shut – because my friends, Alex and Jeff (who had been bugging me for what seemed like forever to know who I had a crush on) were sat near me because of assigned seating. I told them the name Haylee, and being in the eighth grade and her being in the seventh made the difference.
At the time, Alex smirked, and commented, “I knew it was her. She’s in our Gym class!” He laughed, loudly – which made my cheeks turn read and my heart beat fast.
“It’s okay, don’t feel bad. I like plenty of seventh graders. Don’t ask me why; they’re just… Really hot.” Jeff said, with a cool, laid back smirk – thoughts invading his mind of what some of the girls looked like. Their slightly tanned skin, the way their hair was tied back into ponytails, the way their shorts accentuated their… Well, ahem, you know…
(Okay, so he told me that he was going to take that last sentence out - but I decided to keep it in, for some reason. :D)
But I never really payed much attention. Our Math teacher, Mr. Janas, was telling his famous jokes (to which I knew every single one of his punchlines!) and signing our yearbooks. I walked away from Alex and Jeff and received his signature. The bell rang again, and I glanced at the clock once. To Gym I go. It wouldn’t be a normal Gym class, because it was my last and only chance to see Haylee for the rest that winding, rocky pathway everyone else calls life.
Well, safe to say, the journey to Gym was a long one. As soon as I got there, other students I didn’t seem to recognize were already signing yearbooks and holding conversations with one another. We took attendance. Me and Alex quickly sat down in our little corner we usually sat in. Aden sat near us. Roberto signed yearbooks, and Mitch and his friend signed, and he put down:
“Mitch. A.K.A, Roberto’s wife.”
We laughed so hard, and I felt like I almost was about to bust a gut. But then I saw Haylee. She was taking pictures with some friends of hers. So, I walked over to my friends, and they said they would miss me (they were in the 7th grade) and they persuaded me to take a picture with them. I’m totally anti-camera, and I hate getting my picture taken, but I took it anyway. They wrote in my yearbook, and I made my way back to Alex.
I walked back to Alex, and we sat on the benches talking. I signed a few more yearbooks, and when Haylee came to the distance of a few feet before me, I wanted to stand up. My legs twitched, and my heart thumped hard against my chest. But at the same time, I wanted a moment with her alone; with nobody around.
Kayla and her friend called me over. I sighed. I wanted to be close to Haylee; but I stood up anyway and walked in their direction.
Then, all of a sudden, out of thin air – a voice appeared. Not just a voice arriving from an average joe; but it sounded sweet, innocent, and pure.
“Hey!”
Obviously not knowing, or even recognizing the voice that spoke to me. I turned around swiftly, and as soon as I did, I was taken by the hands of surprise and shock.
“Uh…” I stammered, not knowing what to say. “Hello.” I replied back, my hands beginning to sweat.
So our story continues and we turn another page. It was Haylee. Who else could it have been…? There were no friends with her, and nobody was surrounding me.
“Can I get you to take a picture with me?”
My face flushed, but my heart was doing front flips and dancing in delight.
“Oh, sure!”
We took the picture together, and she gave me her yearbook to sign.
As I was flipping through sparsely filled pages, and exchanging the odd quick glance to Hayley, a spark of courage lit up within me.
“Hey, um… Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.” She said, brushing the hair behind her back.
The spark faded. The courage was gone.
“Er, nevermind…” – Curse my shy nature!!
I handed my yearbook back to her, and she made her way over to the bench and folded my yearbook in half from the center and signed.
“Thank you very much.” I said, with a wide grin.
Haylee nodded, handing my yearbook back to me. I took it. My hands felt so undeserving.
“Seeya. Have a great summer” Haylee said, and with that, she retreated to the other side of the Gym. I inhaled deeply. She left a smell of watermelon. I happily made me way back to Alex and Aden, who apparently, had watched it all and wanted to know how I felt and if I told her my darkest secret.
I knew the chances were extremely rare in seeing her again, of course, I was moving on to a higher grade, into a different school, and those were going to be the last four years of my life as a teenager and they would be held there. I figured this was only the beginning, and once again, the bell rang, and we moved onto the next spot in our schedule.
I quickly exited the Gym, and Haylee was strutting in front of me. My next hour was Tech ED. More people signed my book, but regardless, I guarded it as if it were actually Haylee I was holding and I was her Romeo. Her knight in shining armour.
I looked at her signature for the first time:
Haylee Strauss is Radd. :)
It was written neatly in a bright red marker. I felt accomplished. That hour ended, and I moved onto English class where most of the what had happened previously for the past couple hours repeated itself. But the day was drawing to about 9:00. We had a half day, so hours were even shorter. The fifth bell rung, and I was in class. I told Alyson of my signature and story. She said that was great, but she seemed sad and very dissapointed. I assumed that she probably liked me, and was sad to hear I could have cared less…
So, I moved to my final class. Science. I went there, and let my teacher sign my yearbook. She had been gone for five months, and that was the last time I saw her and the substitute we had for that time. Class ended, and everyone was locked in the pod area to sign and say their goodbyes. I quickly retreated to my locker, and there Aden was. We said goodbye, and he said good luck in return. The sixth grade was dismissed first. Then the seventh grade. I grew worried that Haylee could walk by and all I would be able to do was watch her walk past me and never ever see her again.
The eighth grade was dismissed last; and our Principal made a long, epic speech that could take over the introduction to Star Wars, but I really could have cared less about what he had to say. My mind was only focused on one thing, and one thing only.
The doors finally opened, and I exited as fast as I could. My heart was beating against my chest, and my mind was filling up with all these different outcomes… Embarrassment and humiliation… Maybe she could have liked me back…?
I turned the cornet, and Haylee was, unfortunately, no where near my sight. I figured she took a different route, or possibly left somehow without me even seeing. Instantly, I felt a strange emotion possessing me… Sadness… I decided to give up. I walked a few steps, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, another unfamiliar emotion filled me. But this time, it wasn’t sadness… It was courage and determination; the imaginary lunch I had forgotten to eat. I turned around, and with as much bravery as I could muster, I marched towards the seventh graders and saw Haylee near some of her friends.
“Hey, Haylee…” – These were the first words that popped out of my mouth that made me sound like a complete dork.
“What?” She said, her eyes glistening against the warm rays of the sun above.
“Um…” I stared at my feet, my cheeks burning beet red.
Here we go… Oh boy…
“For a little while I, um… Kinda liked you… A lot, really… Uh…” – Not taking any more of how much of a love-struck loser I sounded, my voice trailed off as I walked away.
Then, she spoke up.
“Aww… That’s really sweet. You at least deserve a hug!”
I flinched, turning back around. My silence gave off a message that I definatley agreed to the offer. I walked towards her, and she walked towards me – yearbooks in hand. Then she slowly wrapped her arms around me, and I wrapped an arm around her. A chorus of angels, singing the famous ‘Hallelujah’ song must have broke out. I was shaking; but at the same time I was both ecstatic and upset.
We let go, and she apologized for any ignorance and any accident involving volleyballs in Gym class. I told her that I would miss her, and she said that it was okay.
I repeated myself with different words, in trying to find something to say. I couldn't. We both walked down the hall slowly for almost a minute. We said our parting ways of Good Luck to wherever we were headed off to and wished each other a good summer. It was 11:48 A.M. I glanced at the clock, and we walked a few more feet and she saw her gym teacher and went off her ways, and I did the same Aden had been watching, and he asked me how it was – and I smiled in response and went off on my way.
That’s my tale. Now I know why most say that parting is such a sweet sorrow...
---
[Phase One – The Tension Builds]
(There may be a breakdown of communication, and the victim may become fearful and may feel the need to soothe their partner.)
I hear the door shutting and the lock clicking into place. I slowly prop my feet, one at a time, upon the coffee table as I continue to intently watch my favourite sitcom that airs once a week, every Wednesday, at eight P.M.
The noises following afterwards were like a daily routine after the door was shut – husband enters, drops his suitcase on the tiled floor by the dining room table, closet opens, husband hangs up his coat, closet shuts, husband opens fridge to grab a plate of dinner, microwave door opens, microwave door shut, timer beeps three times, and last but not least, husband enters room where wife is located.
I remove my absorbed gaze from the episode taking place, and place it on the face of my husband – my face suddenly drops as I notice the stern expression that has invaded
his face. The familiar feeling of fear begins to stir and arouse within me. I don’t know what to say to him.
“…How was work?” I ask hesitantly, placing my head to one side in concern. Something must have occurred over there. This morning ran pleasantly, and it certainly wasn’t anticipated on my part – so I have been feeling precautious about nearly everything for the whole day.
My partner’s eyes drift away from me, the atmosphere suddenly growing cold as he responds with a soft grunt. This makes me more concerned. I get up, stretching myself as I try to make things brighter.
“Did I tell you I got a raise, this last week?”
My husband, David, emits a growling noise from the back of his throat, sending me a clear indication that I had obviously said the wrong thing. A pang suddenly strikes my heart. I begin to worry. I carefully place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he turns back to face me with hardened eyes of hostility.
“Good for you.” He says bluntly. Jealousy? I blink in bewilderment and awkwardly remove my hand. I continue to stare into his eyes, which continue to sparkle with a great amount of hostility.
“Come on, what’s wrong?” I ask, trying to get him to talk to me. I cautiously hug his arm to add some extra persuasion.
“Nothing.” He says, giving me the same amount of hostility as before. My arms drop sadly, and the weight of hopelessness begins to slowly mount upon my shoulders.
“…I’m only trying to help.” I whisper sorrowfully, giving a sigh as I turn away slightly.
“Well, you’re not doing a very good job of it.”
I spin back around, and my brow furrows in sudden frustration at his words. How dare he?!
“Well, at least I’m making some sort of effort!” I snap, my voice suddenly rising and my tone becoming firm.
My husband’s eyebrows knit together, He looks as if he’s about to retort. My face softens as I brace myself, preparing for anything unexpected. My partner opens his mouth, but his unsaid words are replaced with the beeping from the microwave. His meal is ready. I am saved from the microwave timer.
What an odd, unusual thing to be saved by…
My husband glares sharply at me for a final time, before he slowly retreats back to the kitchen to retrieve his dinner. Relief begins removing the hopelessness from my shoulders.
I sigh silently, walking over to where my coat is hung, and I quickly put it on. I twist the knob on the door, the lock clicks, and I swing the door aside.
“Where are you going?”
I freeze. The question lingers in the air, and stirs throughout my mind – waiting desperately to be answered. I look over my shoulder, obediently responding to his question.
“I’m going out. I need a break....”
“Be back by eleven.” – By the time my partner says this; I’m already out the door.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
I take a sip from my coffee. It feels nice against my throat. The soft aroma of ground coffee beans wafts through the air and tickles my nose. The warm, soothing sensation of my personal two cream, two sugar brew erases my mind.
The warm, welcoming atmosphere embraces me with pleasant service and a soft feeling that I can’t identify. I set my cup down. The person sitting across from me clears his throat roughly, drawing my attention towards him.
Matt, my fellow co-worker, is the one sitting across from me. He has a welcoming look that’s constantly among his face, a warm sparkle forever remains within his hazel eyes – hidden behind his personal pair of glasses.
His hair, a gentle shade of ochre, is neatly combed to the left. His figure is fairly slender, and his attire is neatly consisting of faded blue jeans and a bright blue sweater vest.
He smiles at me. The trademark smile he always gives me which made me know that I could trust him.
“So, how are things?”
“It depends on what you want to know about.” I answer honestly, fingering at the rim of my paper cup absentmindedly.
Matt raises a curious eyebrow, his lips settling naturally into a grimace.
“What do you mean?”
I remain silent. My eyes lower miserably to my finger which is still picking apart the rim of my coffee cup. I’m being distant from him, which, of course, is unfair. But I have no choice.
“Hey…” He whispers calmly, which grabs my attention and causes me to raise my head. Our gazes lock. A shiver runs down my spine. I dread the next few moments ahead, and I suddenly start to tense.
He continues, “It’s okay, you know. You can tell me anything.”
I sigh hopelessly, taking another sip from my coffee. I set my cup down, knowing everything will spill out from my mind and mouth with future persuasion on his part.
“…I don’t know, Matt. Things are running along okay, but…” I stop abruptly, shaking my head slowly. I really don’t want to tell him. Ever since I’ve been in a relationship with David, I feel like he’s planted some sort of shield around me that’s preventing me from getting to close to other men.
“…But?” Matt questions, raising an eyebrow – an indication that says it’s safe for me to continue what I was saying. He slowly removes his glasses from the bridge of his nose and quickly pulls out a cleaning cloth from a pocket in his sweater vest. His eyes shift from me, to his glasses, and back again as he waits impatiently for me to continue.
“…It’s Dave.” I croak, my husband’s name making my heart stop. The image of his face reappears in my mind. I gulp. I can feel my face burn in response to an unusual sensation that’s taking over me.
“Oh?” Matt asks. A hesitation leaves a silence between us, and he places his glasses back to where they should be.
“He hasn’t… Hurt you again, has he?”
“…No.” I whisper slowly, my voice growing hoarse. He, again, raises a suspicious eyebrow in response to my clear hesitation that leaves us wrapped in a cold blanket of silence.
I continue on, my voice growing thick. “I just don’t know, Matt… He hasn’t been speaking to me lately… It’s at those days again where I feel there’s this wall between us… It’s getting to that point where I’m putting in extra hours at work just to avoid coming home…”
Matt hesitates for a moment. My mind is spinning. I bite my lip.
“I’ve noticed that, too.” He finally comments, taking another swig from his coffee.
“I just don’t know what to-” I’m suddenly cut off by the loud, shrill ring of my cell phone – which attracts many curious and annoyed stares from those around me. I chuckle anxiously, quickly removing my phone from my pocket. I quickly flash an apologetic glance towards Matt, and he nods in reply.
The white, flashing envelope flashing onscreen indicates that I have a new text message. My thumb presses the OK button. My eyes widen and my heart quickens its pace as I read the message that was sent to me.
‘Where are you?’ it says. I look at the time it was sent. 11:17.
“What’s the matter?” Matt finally asks, showing deep concern and worry in response to the expression on my face. My hands are shaking. I read the received text over again; my pupils dilating as they continue to scan the digital lettering – over and over again.
‘Where are you?’
The Monster Ball
Sarah Wolf walked out of the castle, towards the Transylvanian village behind it. Normally her father wouldn't let her out of the castle in the middle of the afternoon but, she was tired of not having a costume for All Hallow's Eve. Dracula, her father, always stressed the importance of not letting the humans catch you and stick a bloody stake through you. She knew that. That's why she chose this small village behind her father's Castle. She pointed this out to him and she was finally able to convince him to let her find a Halloween costume. Skipping along the dusty trail, she finally reached the village. She was a short vampire, was at least 816 years old, had long dark black hair and had big green eyes like her mother.
The Monster Ball was what Sarah looked forward to every year. It was held in her father's villa in Budapest. This year, however, she will be allowed to stay up past midnight, instead of retiring to hunt. She had been looking forward to that as well. Every year for most of her life, Dracula refused to let her stay up past midnight. After nagging from not only her but her mother, she finally convinced him to let her stay past midnight. Tonight was going to be cool. This Halloween was on a full moon.
As she walked along the cobblestone street she finally looked up and found the costume shop that her mother often went to, ran to it and opened the door to walk in. It was a rustic little shop. Judging by the structure, it had to have been made in the Renaissance period. To the left were men's costumes and to the right were women's costumes. The cash register was right in the center of the shop with a middle aged woman behind the counter, knitting. The bell on the door rang, when Sarah opened it and the woman looked up from her knitting and smiled through her glasses. Judging by her appearance, Sarah guessed her to be mid to late 60s. She had her graying hair braided and was pinned on top of her head in the fashion of the Germans. Her face was wrinkled in a smile and her blue eyes had the look of profound wisdom in them. Sarah took a liking to her immediately.
"What can I help you with?" The kind old lady asked in German.
"My mother, Anastasia, recommended this store to help me find a costume," Sarah replied in the same language. She was glad that her father insisted upon her learning different languages. The lady smiled again, got up from her chair, set her knitting down and started walking towards the women's section of the store, gesturing for her to follow, which Sarah did. The lady pulled a couple of costumes off the rack and handed them to her.
"Here, dear, try these on in the room over there," she said pointing to a door right next to the register. Sarah smiled and went into through the door and closed it. After she turned on the light, she noticed that it was a bathroom. A dingy toilet stood in front of her with an old sink next to it. By the looks of it, it hadn't been in use for years. The chain above the toilet that flushed it was rusted, covered with cobwebs and half of it was in the toilet, which was also dirty and full of cobwebs. She peered into the toilet and noticed that it was dry and had a huge wolf spider in the middle. Her castle was full of spiders and bats, so she didn't mind in the least that she was sharing a fitting room with one. The brown spider proceeded to open it's eyes and looked up at her with a sleepy annoyance.
"Do you mind? You are disturbing my nap," the spider snapped. Sarah's brown eyes widened. She was not used to spiders talking to her.
"Sorry, I'm trying on these costumes for the Monster Ball on Halloween," she said setting the clothes on the sink, after checking to make sure that nothing was in that. By this time the spider crawled out of his place in the toilet and sat on top of the toilet, watching her put on the piratess costume.
"Really, I didn't know that Halloween was so soon," the spider said. Sarah looked at her reflection in the mirror that hung over the sink. She kind of liked the Pirate costume, but wanted to try on the two others that the kind lady picked out for her.
"Halloween is in about a week," Sarah explained, pulling off the costume, picked up the witch's costume, unzipped it and stepped into it. Seeing that she was having difficulty with the costume, the spider climbed up his web and landed on the sink, zipping up her dress with ease. She felt the spider tickle her back as he climbed off and scurried back up to the toilet so he could chat with her again. She was the first civilized person that he had talked to in years. The lady who owned the store was civil enough but kept trying to kill him instead of chat with him. That was something that he hoped the girl would understand.
"Do you realize, that you are the first civilized person that I've talked to in years?" He asked her, unzipping her dress for her. He had given up staying on the toilet and had sat in the sink. Sarah shook her head.
"You mean the woman at the register doesn't talk to you?" She asked. The spider shook his head.
"She seems more interested in killing me than even pausing to chat with me," he explained. Sarah understood that.
"I know what you mean; I'm a vampire and humans are too afraid to realize that I'm perfectly harmless; they think I'm going to suck their blood out," she replied. The spider's eyes widened. He never met a vampire before, but found them fascinating and told her so. At this she smiled.
"My name's Sarah, what's yours?" She asked.
"My name's Henry," he replied. She had finally decided to go as a Renaissance witch and noticed that the outfit was surprisingly accurate for it's time-period. Henry and Sarah had decided that since, he didn't really have anything keeping him there in the bathroom, that he would journey back with her to the castle. She was glad; she always wanted a pet spider. However, Henry made it quite clear that he did NOT want to be treated like a pet. Walking out of the bathroom, with Henry in her purse, Sarah told the lady that she wanted the witch's costume, along with the accessories that the lady, who finally introduced herself as Helga Litzser, picked out. They were the following:
a broomstick
a cape
makeup
and a hat. Sarah paid Frauline Litzser and left with the promise that she would tell her mother that Helga said hello. Sarah had decided to wear the cape over her face, since the humans were coming home from work. Henry remained comfortable in her purse until she reached the edge of town. She finally let him know that the only thing left in the village was a pub, so he pulled himself halfway out of the purse to chat with Sarah. Right as she was approaching the pub, a group of rowdy men came out of it and were seen carrying a young man. Sarah did not want to be recognized as Dracula's daughter so she looked down on the ground, told Henry to get back into her purse and started walking fast. The men were obviously drunk because their speech was slurred and several of them were staggering. She slowed down when she saw that the young man was handsome. He looked at her and seemed to be giving her a pleading look. He was quite taller than she was, had long brown hair and the prettiest green eyes she had ever seen. Sarah stopped. The men threw him down to the ground and bounded right back into the bar. Taking immediate pity on him, she gently set down her purse, the broomstick and bag that contained her makeup, costume and hat and raced to the young man's side. Sarah gently rolled him over and he coughed, sitting straight up. Finally, he looked at her again.
"You're still here?" He asked in awe. Sarah nodded, her hood had fallen off when she ran. Realizing this she started to pull it back on then decided that he wouldn't care.
"Why did they throw you out like that?" She asked gently batting the dust off of his clothes. The cobblestone road ended when she came out of town and had turned into the dusty road that she came to the village in the first place. The man rolled his eyes and glowered at the pub's doors.
"I...made the mistake of telling them that I'm a werewolf," he stammered not looking at her. Sarah sank down beside him. What would be next? She thought to herself. She had already befriended a spider, now she rescued a handsome werewolf. She may as well make a friend of a human, a witch and a zombie while she was at it. Hearing what was in her mind, he laughed out loud.
"I don't think humans would want to see me," he explained. Sarah was startled at first but relaxed when she remembered from reading that werewolves read minds. The young man regarded her for a moment. It suddenly hit him that she didn't react like he thought she would when he told her that he was a werewolf. His first instinct was to run but he hesitated. Why hadn't she freaked out about him?
"You didn't freak when I told you that I was a werewolf," he said, getting up off the ground, dusting his blue jeans and turning around to help her up as well. Sarah looked at him with confusion on her face.
"Why should I?" She asked. Again this was not the reaction that he was expecting. He walked beside her, picked up her bag with her costume and accessories in it, and her broomstick. Sarah picked up her purse, with Henry still in it and pulled her hood back over her face. The sun was now setting and she knew that her father would start to get worried.
"You mean you aren't?" He asked, confused. Sarah looked at him and laughed.
"I'm a vampire. I know what it's like to have humans hate you. Believe me," she answered. The werewolf looked at her in amazement.
"You are? But, I thought that vampires couldn't come out in daylight," he spluttered. Sarah rolled her eyes.
"That's just a myth; we also don't despise garlic. Actually, we eat garlic bread everyday," she replied. At this, he didn't know what to say. He had always knew the myths and legends about his kind to be false but, he didn't think that vampires' legends would be false either. But then, you can't really believe everything you hear. Especially when humans are the ones who made them up.
"So what's your name?" She asked him realizing that they hadn't been introduced.
"Hanzi Flanders, and yours?" Hanzi asked.
"Sarah Wolf; and this spider in here is Henry," she replied holding out her purse with Henry finally peeking out.
"Pleasure to meet you, Hanzi," he said smiling a spidery smile. Hanzi's eyes went wide. Now he had seen everything.
"Never met a talking spider before," he said, still in shock. Sarah agreed with him and Henry settled contentedly in her purse. He thought again of running but, he didn't want to. Sarah captivated him and was by far the prettiest vampire he'd ever seen. Pretty soon, they started sharing their life stories.
Henry, ironically enough, was born in the very pub that threw out Hanzi. His father died while mating and so his mother raised him and his three little sisters and one brother in the basement. That is, until the owner of the pub bought a cat, who ate his mother while she told them to escape. They decided to split up and so that's how he had ended up at the Costume Shoppe, where he and Sarah met.
Sarah's was the most boring, in her opinion. She was born in London, where her father and her mother were living at the time. Abraham Van Helsing swore to kill them but, Dracula managed to escape back to Transylvania, where he and her mother lived in fear that the humans would discover what they were and try to force them out like Frankenstein.
Hanzi's was sad. His pack was killed, along with his mate, by humans in America. He then came to Transylvania on hopes and false promises. But he liked it there so far. He didn't dive into the details of the killing nor did Henry or Sarah want to press for any. Henry finally crawled out of the purse for the threesome were finally approaching her castle. With the spider perched on Sarah's shoulder she opened the door and gestured for Hanzi to follow.
"Are you sure that your father would approve of me?" He asked.
"Well, if her father approves of a talking spider as her pet, then I'm quite certain that he'd approve of her being friends with a Werewolf," Henry said with dignity. Sarah agreed but was still a little nervous about the confrontation as well. Hanzi held the door open for her and reluctantly followed the young vampire and the spider inside and down the hall. Sarah was not sure what her welcome would be since she took so long. She walked into the Great Hall to find her father pacing in front of the fireplace and her mother nervously glancing outside the window. Nickolai, their butler, was the first to notice the company walk into the room and hastily announced their entrance. Dracula immediately ceased pacing and strode the yards between him and Sarah and grabbed her shoulders.
"Sarah, what took you so long??? We were worried sick about you!" He exclaimed. Sarah looked down and nodded.
"Father, I'm sorry," she said as her mother pulled her and spider into her arms. Dracula had by now turned to Hanzi who was standing back and letting them get over with the affections.
"And you are?" Sarah's father asked.
"Oh! Father, Mother, this is my new friend Hanzi Flanders...he's a werewolf," she explained. Dracula seemed wary but, Anastasia Wolf welcomed him warmly. Henry had crawled into Sarah's hood when her mother hugged Sarah. He now crawled out of the hood and was practically panting on her shoulder. Sarah's father extended his hand, after she explained to him what had happened. After he and Hanzi shook hands Dracula had Nickolai get him some brandy and Sarah sat down after she introduced them to Henry as well. Henry crawled off of Sarah's shoulder to the couch's armrest and sat there chatting with Dracula about the economy in Romania. Nickolai came back with two glasses of Brandy and Absinthe mixed with Code Red Mountain Dew, which was Sarah's favourite drink. Their butler then retired to the coffin to sleep in until they needed his services. Hanzi, Sarah and Anastasia were talking about the Monster Ball. Sarah and Anastasia begged for him to come. Henry was already invited and would rest on Sarah's shoulder. Hanzi was finally talked into it was going to dress up as a Warlock, since Sarah and Hanzi were going to escort each other to the Ball. Dracula, as an inside joke, was going as a Werewolf and Anastasia was going to be a Renaissance Queen. She looked the part already. She had long blonde hair and big green eyes. Sarah's mother also had a thick British accent, which was the one thing that Sarah had of her mother's besides her eye colour. When it was time for bed, Sarah took Hanzi's hand and led him to the bedroom adjourning hers. It was large and had a normal king sized 4-poster bed with long black velvet curtains. Next to the bed was a nightstand that had an alarm clock and a telephone on it. Hanzi looked around and realized that this would be the first time he slept in a bed in 800 years. He sat on the edge of the bed and noticed that there was a door that opened up to a balcony. Sarah stood in the doorway to the room and watched him open the door to stand at the balcony and look at the Transylvanian Sunset. Silent as a cat, she walked over to him. He didn't freak when she stood next to him in silence watching the sky turn bright red with splashes of orange, yellow and pink.
"There's nothing like a Transylvanian sunset," she declared finally. Hanzi smiled at her. She seemed to glow in the fading sunlight.
"This is the first time in over 800 years that I've actually been able to enjoy a sunset so pretty," he said quietly. It was her turn to smile. At the door, Nickolai brought Henry to Sarah. He was a tall chap, with silver hair and icy blue eyes. Nickolai was more than just their butler. He was practically part of the family.
"Would you like to have you snack now, Miss Sarah?" He asked her with a sneaky smile. Sarah nodded and asked for a double of it. Nickolai bowed and went to ask the Cook for her usual snack and one for Hanzi as well. Hanzi, by this time, was hungry. He looked back at her with curiosity.
"Do I want to know what your snack is?" He asked her. Sarah smiled.
"I think you do; it's pizza," she said. Hanzi laughed with relief and they went back inside and sat on the bed.
"Don't vampires drink blood?" He asked.
"We do occasionally, but we also eat food as well," she explained. She also pointed out that they don't drink human blood, the smell of it was revolting to her. They preferred to drink animal blood and they only did that once a month.
"When Father was younger, he used to drink human blood but, that was a long time ago," she said. Hanzi nodded. He explained to her that Werewolves aren't monsters like the human legends say, but they looked like ordinary wolves and hunted deer and elk like normal wolves do. They not once killed a human. Only in self-defense would they kill humans but, only if the human attacked them first. They would NEVER eat a human either. Sarah understood completely. She was the first person he came across who understood him for what he was. Henry had by this time crawled into the water bowl on the table across from his bed to sleep. He seemed to find their conversation a tad boring. Nickolai came in with Sarah's chicken and garlic pizza and Hanzi's pepperoni pizza. The Butler stood and chatted with them, telling Sarah that tomorrow would be filled with decorating the Castle for Halloween and such. Nickolai was also a vampire and also despised human blood. In fact, Sarah had two slices of pizza and shared the pizza with him, as they always did.
Hours later, after Nickolai had left the room to go hunting, Hanzi and Sarah closed their eyes for a time to rest. The night was quiet, save for the occasional boom, coming from her father's laboratory. Dracula was constantly performing scientific experiments. Sarah used to tease him about it. She once told him that he was turning into Dr. Viktor Frankenstein. He had laughed at that comment and took it as a compliment. Hanzi and Sarah's slumber was interrupted when they heard a loud scream coming from the forest below their balcony. Both of them immediately sat up and glanced fearfully at each other. Henry opened two of his eyes and glowered at Hanzi and Sarah.
"What is making that infernal racket??" He demanded. "Is that you?" Sarah and Hanzi both shook their heads. Somewhat satisfied he curled up in his new home and fell back asleep. The loud scream came again so this time, Sarah pulled on her cloak and Hanzi changed into his wolf form, he saw her plan of jumping off the balcony, so that's why he changed into a wolf. Sarah cascaded off the balcony first, her black cape ballooning up above her head. Hanzi leaped off last landing first and waiting for her. When she did finally land, he jokingly pretended that he was asleep. Sarah glared and playfully hit him. Yelping and faining injury he sulked off leaving her to chase after him towards the sound of the screaming. Sarah reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a flashlight, which she turned on. She found Hanzi sitting on the ground near a tree that seemed to have a human underneath it screaming in pain. Seeing that, she raced to the human's side and switched off her flashlight. She could hear her parents and Nickolai behind her running towards the sound as well. Hanzi changed back into his human form which seemed to have scared the child even more. Sarah could see in the dim light of the moon that the human was a young girl. Blood was shooting out of her leg and her arm had a bad gash on it. Henry decided to stay on Hanzi's shoulder and remained quiet.
When Dracula, Anastasia and Nickolai finally reached them, the child's screams were reduced to quiet sobbing, while Sarah cradled the young girl in her arms singing a Romanian Lullaby. Sarah looked up at her parents; Nickolai held up a lantern, while Dracula gently carried the girl in his arms towards the castle. On the journey back, not a word was said. Hanzi and Sarah were carrying on a telepathic conversation on where the girl should go and if she had parents, when and where to locate them and notify them of their daughter's disappearance. Sarah's theory was that the girl could have been an orphan, who wanted to sleep somewhere that night and a tree was all that she could find. Their conversation turned to a quiet-out loud discussion for Henry had several theories as well. It wasn't long before they all reached the castle and by this time Nickolai and Anastasia were also participating. Anastasia was the one who went to Oxford and received her degree in medicine, so she was the one who was to take care of the girl. Sarah had her put the child in her room. She never slept at night hardly anyways. Dracula reached Sarah's room and had her placed on her bed.
“There, there, dear, we won’t hurt you,” Sarah said trying to calm the poor child down.
“You....you...promise?” The little girl asked, her sobs were starting to turn into hiccups and Anastasia told Nickolai to go and get some water. Sarah stroked the girl’s hair as her mother gently examined her leg and arm. Nickolai came back with the water and the little girl drank it down in huge gulps. After a moment, she diagnosed the child with a broken leg and the gash needed stitches. She told her husband to go and fetch her medical supplies.
“What’s your name, young lady?” Anastasia asked.
“My name is Sofia Pope but call me Sophie,” she murmured timidly. Anastasia and Sarah introduced themselves and so did Hanzi who sat down on one of the many chairs in Sarah’s room to watch Sarah. Henry had already climbed off of Hanzi and crawled onto Sophie’s lap, letting her know that he wasn’t going to hurt her. Sophie didn’t care. To Sarah, she didn’t strike her as a traditional human. For one, she didn’t freak when she saw her father. For another, the only part of Hanzi that bothered her was when he changed from Wolf to his human self. When Dracula came back, Anastasia set Sophie’s leg and put it in a cast. After that, she deadened Sophie’s entire arm and proceeded to stitch up the gash in her arm. It only took 5 stitches to close it back up. She then bandaged it up and gave her low dosage pain killers, after learning that she was ten years old. Sophie went to sleep and Anastasia told Sarah, Henry and Hanzi to go back to whatever they were doing. Dracula, Anastasia and Nickolai took turns watching over little Sophie.
The next morning Sarah opened up the curtains in Hanzi’s room. By dawn, Sophie had already awakened to be somewhat disoriented. Hanzi had already went hunting and came back when Sarah finally got out of bed. He had slept on the floor to let Sarah sleep in his bed. At first she had protested but he didn’t mind and morphed into his wolf self, sleeping just fine on the floor. When he came back, Nickolai had brought Sarah her breakfast and updated Henry and Sarah on how Sophie was doing.
What Sophie had told him was that she was abandoned as a baby and left at an orphanage, who treated her very kindly. But some jerk set it on fire. She was the only survivor. Hanzi mouthed the word, wow, to Sarah. She nodded her head in agreement. Hanzi and Sarah decided to visit her in the next room. Nickolai thought that it was a good idea. Hanzi told Sarah that he was going to get dressed, in the clothes that Dracula had purchased for him, and that he would be in there shortly. Sarah nodded and was going to do the same thing. Sarah walked into her room and saw Sophie sitting up sipping her juice.
“Good morning, Miss Sarah,” the young girl said respectfully. Sarah laughed.
“You can just call me Sarah; you aren’t my servant,” she said. Sophie looked confused as Sarah turned on the lamp next to the closet and opened the door.
“If I’m not your servant then what am I?” She asked scratching her head. Sarah reached in and pulled out her favourite black dress. It was made in the medieval style, with fancy laced sleeves, the same lace covered the skirting of the dress. Underneath the lace was taffeta and the top part was made out of silk. Sarah reached out and pulled out her Japanese screen and got dressed behind it.
“You are our guest of course!” She exclaimed zipping up the back only halfway. Giving up she turned around and walked backwards toward Sophie.
“Would you like me to zip that for you?” Sophie asked laughing at the comical way Sarah kept running into stuff. She laughed with her.
“How could you tell?” The young vampire asked sarcastically. This made for a good show for Hanzi, who had got dressed and was standing in the doorway watching with amusement Sarah walking backwards like a penguin learning how to walk for the first time. Sophie zipped her dress up, still laughing really hard. Sarah looked at the doorway to see Hanzi staring at her with avid amusement. She then looked down at the floor, in obvious embarrassment. This made him start laughing.
“Oh yeah? I’d like to see YOU put on a dress, mongrel!” Sarah yelled grabbing the pillow that Sophie handed her, running towards Hanzi in break-neck speed and hit him on the head with it. He started running and she chased him all through the castle, screaming at him in Latin, Italian, German, Romanian, Sanskrit and Greek. Her parents heard her yelling and looked at each other, terrified and wondering where on earth she learned to use such language. Sarah chased him all the way into the dungeons and outside the Castle. With a loud yell she lunged forward at him, knocking him to the ground wrestling with him in between whacking him with the pillow. He wriggled his arms free, grabbed her around the waist and rolled her to the ground, knocking the pillow out of her hand in the process. For a while there, they lay with him on top of her laughing till both of their sides hurt. Hanzi gently moved a piece of hair from her face and looked deeply into her eyes. For the longest time, she thought he was going to kiss her and to be honest, he wanted to. His face was inches from hers but, Nickolai came running out of the Castle.
“Miss Sarah! Mr. Hanzi!” He shouted. Hanzi quickly got up and helped her up right as he came up them.
“Yes, Nickolai?” Sarah asked glancing sideways at Hanzi.
“Your parents want to see both of you in the Great Hall,” he said panting a little bit. Sarah shot Hanzi a mental question to which he shrugged. They followed Nickolai after he caught his breath back into the Castle. When they reached the Great Hall and Nickolai formally announced them, Sarah was worried that they may have heard her insults at Hanzi and may be scolding her, directing this mentally at Hanzi, to which he shrugged again and gave her a look that said, “Beats me.”
“Sarah and Hanzi, I suppose you both think that you are in trouble,” Dracula stated matter-of-factly. Sarah searched her father’s face but could find no emotion whatsoever. Neither could Hanzi read his thoughts. Dracula may be boyish at times but, he was frugal about his thoughts.
“Your father and I are astonished at your language and don’t recommend that you do it again but, that is not why we summoned you both here,” Anastasia seemed to finish her husband’s thought.
“We summoned you here, because Halloween is in less than a week away and we still have yet to decorate this house and then pack everything up to move to Budapest,” Dracula said once again. To Hanzi, it was like a rehearsed skit. It was kind of amusing.
“So we want the both of you to help us pack and also to put Sophie into the car with us, since her leg’s still broken and can’t really get out of bed,” Anastasia once again spoke her turn. By this time, Hanzi was almost to the point of laughing out loud.
“Sarah, that means you cannot go outside for the next few days,” her father concluded. So it was finally agreed that they were going let Sophie stay and obviously Hanzi was also going to stay. He figured that he may as well; he didn’t really have anywhere else to live now that his job at the Pub and Inn was officially terminated.
The next few days before All Hallow’s Eve were extremely hectic. The cooks were going insane, packing up all of the dishes necessary. Sarah and Henry were packing up clothes and potential homes for Henry to sleep in. Hanzi packed up all the clothes that Dracula had made for him and his costume that Anastasia actually DID make for him. They decided to carry Sophie in a litter out to the car, and Nickolai would drive her to the palace. They were finally ready four days before All Hallow’s Eve.
Sarah got dressed in all black, as it was evening and wouldn’t attract attention to them. Her shirt was black velvet; the sleeves were long and flared. Her skirt was a gothic black one with a black silk underskirt with black soft lace over it. She wore long black leather boots and a black fuzzy cloak. Henry was riding in a big pouch that Sarah made especially for him, the pouch was tied around her waist. The help were busy loading up the car. There was a light breeze blowing through the trees and made Sarah’s and Anastasia’s capes billow around them. Hanzi came out with his suitcase, wearing dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His long brown hair blew back and Sarah noticed he was starting to grow a beard. As he gave the suitcase to one of the servants he noticed that the car was packed full.
“Sarah, there’s no room for us in the car but Nickolai and Sophie,” he said puzzled. At this, Sarah laughed.
“We aren’t taking the car, we’re flying,” she said. Hanzi’s eyes went wide.
“So, you DO turn into bats?” He asked. Sarah shook her head and explained that they don’t turn into anything; they just fly. Finally, he got it. Sarah and Anastasia had to put their hoods over their heads because it was starting to rain. Hanzi pulled his jacket on and slipped his hood over his head as well. Her father was the last to finish loading the car. Sarah grabbed Hanzi’s hand and led him to the balcony, where they were to climb up to the rooftop above her room. Her parents stood on the tower next to them. The help were able to fly off the ground so they didn’t climb anywhere. Nickolai and Dracula had already carried Sophie into the car and stuck her and the litter in it. Dracula finally gave the signal for them to take off. Nickolai was allowed a head start and was already disappearing into the wild and thick forest. Sarah told Hanzi to grab a hold of her waist and they jumped. She spread her arms and her cape ballooned out around her and Hanzi. Her parents and the servants followed them. Sarah decided to fly on the low side, and kept to the forest cover, to avoid humans spotting them. Every year, her parents relied upon her to plan the route which they take to their Palace in Budapest.
At first Hanzi was so scared that he kept his eyes closed and clung tight to Sarah. But after Sarah having to reassure him that it was all right and Henry’s shouts at him that he was being squashed, he loosened up. By this time, they reached the outskirts of Budapest and had already landed in the forest bellow them. The rain was coming down harder by this time and was starting to turn to snow. Sarah smiled up at the Heavens; she loved snow and hoped that the snow would stay on the ground for a long time. Looking down, she noticed with a secret happiness that Hanzi had not let go of her waist. He eventually did and let go, blushing in the process.
They waited for everyone to land around them and finally made their way towards the palace. The main street was empty, save for them, so they could walk right in the middle of the street. They finally reached the palace at the other side of town and when Dracula pulled out the keys to it, he opened the door and everyone walked inside. Hanzi and Sarah again got settled in adjoining rooms; it was actually Sarah sleeping in her room and he slept in the sitting room across from her bed. Henry’s sleeping spot was her water bowl, which he quickly made a web and spent most of his time there or chatting with Dracula or Sophie.
The next day, Sophie, Nickolai and the rest of their things arrived. The Butler announced that it was officially a blizzard outside, to Sarah’s delight, and requested to Sarah and Hanzi that they did not go outside. Her parents decided to take that day to decorate the ballroom and Great Hall and Dining Hall for the Monster Ball. Sarah and Hanzi helped, but also played lots of pranks on each other. Sarah took a fake skeleton from her Mother’s lab and hung it in the closet where he put all of his clothes in. He answered that with a fake skull on her pillow. Sophie was in stitches half the time for they liked to chase each other around the palace.
On the day before All Hallow’s Eve, it stopped snowing long enough for Sarah, Anastasia and Henry to go out shopping for Sophie’s costume. By this time, Dracula had found an old wheel chair and let her sit in that. He had also taught her how to maneuver around the palace with it. This beat using crutches. Sophie had agreed to go as Sarah and Hanzi’s witch daughter. She seemed excited about the prospect of being able to go to the Ball. Anastasia knew exactly where to find the best costumes for them all. To this Sarah was grateful, for she was at a loss to find a costume to fit little Sophie. They had all told her that they were vampires and Hanzi a Werewolf, which she had already guessed. At first Sophie was scared but Sarah assured her that they did NOT drink human blood.
Her mother seemed to find a costume and accessories for Sophie in no time. They were walking back to the palace in less than an hour. By this time, it was starting to flurry again. It didn’t seem to matter, most of their guests were flying in anyways. Already half of their invites were staying at the Palace anyways. Hanzi was glad that he and Sarah sort of shared her room. It was starting to get a little crowded. That evening all of their guests were going to stay there for the entire weekend because of the snow. Sarah and Hanzi talked until late that night. Neither of them could sleep. Henry had decided to sleep in Sophie’s room and so Hanzi had Sarah’s undivided attention.
“Man, I’ve met so many of your friends and relatives, I’m going to need a list,” he said laughing. Sarah joined him.
“You think that this is bad? Wait till Christmas; EVERYONE comes here to celebrate Christmas,” she replied. Hanzi was a little frightened by that prospect. Her family had decided that he would stay with them indefinitely. He would make good protection for them and companionship for Sarah. Her parents and the guests noticed the chemistry between the young vampire and the werewolf. The next day, was even more hectic than when they all packed up and headed towards the palace. Everyone was getting their costumes ready and making sure that everything was going to run smoothly for the Monster Ball that evening.
Sarah and her mother had Sophie try on the costume the day before and found that it fit perfectly, after Anastasia made a few minor adjustments to the costume. When the girl came rolling out, everyone gushed and fussed over her. Even Hanzi agreed that she looked adorable. He, on the other hand felt like an eejit in his costume. Sarah disagreed to this and thought he looked handsome. Dracula improved the costume a little bit by making a magic staff. He thought that Sarah looked beautiful in her witch’s costume. The hat seemed to frame her pale face. He could tell that her mother helped with the make-up and hair.
That evening, everyone headed into the ballroom. Hanzi escorted Sarah into the room and Sophie rolled in next to Sarah. Henry was sitting on Sarah’s shoulder, at the moment, and was chatting with Sophie. The next few hours were filled with eating, dancing and chatting with everyone. Hanzi stuck to Sarah’s side like glue. After midnight, he took her outside where he could finally breathe. The snow was coming down hard and in huge chunks. Henry had crawled off of Sarah’s shoulder and was resting on the armrest of Sophie’s rocking chair, chatting with Dracula’s cousin, Amelia, about the country where she’s from.
“Thank goodness, I’m wearing my warmest cape!” Sarah exclaimed, wrapping it tight around her. Hanzi laughed. He wasn’t in the least cold but, he was a werewolf.
“This was the most fun, I’ve ever had,” he said after a moment of silence. The cloud-cover was so dense that they couldn’t see the moon, even if they wanted to. Sarah agreed. Bending over, she picked up a snowball and chucked it at his head. She missed and had to duck when he sent one flying at her. They chased each other down the steps and out to the snow-packed courtyard. Sarah was thankful that her parents kept it lit. Giving up on snowballs Hanzi made a lunge at Sarah, knocking her on the ground and sending her hat off in the process. They wrestled around for a long time until, he let her pin him to the ground. This time, he didn’t miss a beat, grabbing her around the shoulders, he gently brought her face down in a cold wet kiss. Her hands moved through his hair and sneakily grabbed a clump of snow and stuffed it on his head. He broke off, laughing and shoving snow down her shirt. Sarah screamed as the snow melted in her back. She got off of him and their snowball fight resumed. Hanzi sent a snowball rocketing towards her, ducking the snowball went right into her father’s face. He had come rushing out when he had heard Sarah squeal. Dracula wiped the snow off of his face and there was a terrible silence. Sarah stood wide-eyed and seemed to Hanzi, torn between wanting to burst out laughing and horrified as to how Dracula would react.
The vampire then did what no one thought he would do and picked up two snowballs and chucked them at Sarah, which hit her in the chest and at Hanzi, which hit him in the beard. By this time, everyone was outside and throwing snowballs at each other. Sophie, Nickolai, who was allowed the evening off and joined the party, Sarah, Anastasia, Hanzi and Dracula formed a team and the rest of the group formed two other teams and were pitted against each other. Hanzi proved formidable, Sarah had a deadly cannon to her arm, Dracula was unpredictable, Nickolai was sneaky, Anastasia mischievous and Sophie also had a cannon arm. If the Mannings had joined and Elway had joined their team, they would be even more deadly. Pretty soon they all grew tired and retired into the Dining Hall for hot chocolate and desert. Of course everyone was dripping wet, so they had to change into dry clothes, especially Sophie. Dracula soon announced that Sophie and Henry were also a permanent part of the Dracula family.
Sarah and Hanzi went to bed that night, knowing that things would get a lot better from then on. And they did. Sarah and Hanzi finally admitted to being in love with each other and got married. They stayed with her parents. Henry found out that his siblings had been living in Dracula’s castle all along and reunited with them happily. Sophie was eventually healed from her broken leg and made a vampire. She and Nickolai eventually got married. Dracula was eventually pardoned by the Pope and was allowed to travel freely and unharmed in Europe. They all lived happily ever after.
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