The warm humid breeze hit my face as Daddy’s harsh words came from behind. I gripped the banister, hoping his anger would dissipate as fast as the waves receding into the sea.

Mommy came onto the patio, her eyes red. She smiled and reached a hand towards me. Sometimes I liked Mommy, other times I felt distant from her. When I wanted attention or comfort it was rarely given and my efforts usually ended with a light shove. Times like this I didn’t think twice about placing my hand into hers, a gesture I always longed for.

She led me into the villa where Daddy stood in the kitchen, his face red.

“We can’t feed them this, this food is shit,” he spat. Daddy was always yelling, it was a thing we all grew accustomed to. He looked at me once with a cold stare and then to Mommy. “Get her ready, they will soon be here.”

Mommy led me into the small washroom where a bath was already drawn. Without a word she helped me undress and bathed me.

“Mommy, why no soap? Where are my bubbles?” I whined, wanting to stay in the tub as long as I could.

She placed a finger up to her lips. “You know Daddy doesn’t like fussing.”

After bathing Mommy entered the room I shared with my sister and brother. On my bed was a white nightgown, laid out neatly.

“Where is Eeyore?”

“Tonight we are having a party and you are going to wear this dress!” Mommy held up the gown and did a little dance. I smiled, if we were having a party I wanted to dress up!

“Will sissy and brother come?”

Mommy shook her head, “It will be past their bedtime I’m afraid. They are too young to stay up for the party.”

I let Mommy dress me in the white fabric. It was loose and silky on my baby soft skin. Not long after she got my little brother and sister ready for bed, giving them a cup of tea before their tiny heads hit the pillows.

I waited in my room, watching the twins sleep as Mommy entered.

“Come to our party darling.”

I jumped out of bed. The twins weren’t invited but I was! This was a party I could go to! I couldn’t wait to play with the other kids!

We walked out into the common room where three strange men and a woman sat. Daddy talked as if they were friends.

“Ah, there she is!” Daddy stood and came to my side. He grabbed my hand and led me around the coffee table. I looked at him confused, Daddy never played with me.

“Wow, look at her eye,” a man with a slow accent said.

“Also, look at her beautiful, symmetrical face,” the woman with a thick accent, like the people around the villa, enthused.

“We don’t care about that, it’s the genetics inside,” a man responded in the same accent as the first.

Daddy told me to continue walking, he said it was some sort of parade. I kept placing one foot in front of the other, traveling around and around the furniture until I caught Mommy’s face.

“I’m hungry.”

“It’s almost time,” Daddy said.

Mommy took me to the kitchen where she had a cup of tea. I looked at the brown liquid and shook my head. Mommy pushed the cup closer and I yelled.

“You know Daddy doesn’t like fussing.”

Daddy was standing in the doorway, looking at me with stern eyes.

I swallowed my pride and took a small sip. The tea tasted stranger than usual. This time it tasted more off than it usually did.

“Drink more,” Daddy demanded.

“You must finish it.”

I looked at the cup. They never made any of us finish it. Daddy took a step towards me and I cringed. In a few gulps, I drank the tea, feeling my stomach flip.

Mommy grabbed my hand and walked me down the hallway where the guests were gathered. They watched me as I entered my room.

The twins were still asleep, unmoved. I laid in bed and watched as mommy left the door cracked.

“Door closed,” I tried to demand but felt the words die on my lips as sleep took me away.

My eyes cracked open slightly as someone moved me in bed.

“Mommy?” I wanted to ask but my voice wouldn’t amplify. A murmur came from the person moving me, a voice I didn’t recognize.

They lifted me into their arms, holding me close to their chest. The stale scent of cigarettes hit me and I knew it wasn’t Mommy or Daddy. I tried to move my legs, kick them as hard as I could, but as my voice had failed me earlier my limbs followed suite.

I could feel our walk down the stairs and through the small crack in my eyes I noticed the world blur around me as we moved.

“Open the trunk,” the voice echoed in the chest holding me close. The familiar sound hit my ears, making me uncomfortable.

They laid me in the trunk and closed the lid with a loud bang. I could feel the vibrations of the car as we moved through the town. Even though I couldn’t move or speak, I could hear a man and woman talking in the car, the same man and woman I saw earlier in the villa at our party.

The car stopped and they opened the trunk. The woman cooed over me, saying I looked like a perfect angel. Again I was placed in someone’s arms, my head bobbing as they walked. The movement stopped. A coldness hit my body as if I was on a cold, hard surface.

The voice of the second man from the party meant my ears. He said I looked dead and the other two raised their voice. The world around me became quiet as I felt their eyes on me, observing.

“See, she’s breathing.”

“Barely, we can’t sacrifice and harvest if she’s dead.”

“Better do it now.”

“What if we skip this and go to the harvesting part?”

Fingers, nice and warm, were at my throat.

“Her pulse is faint.”

I could feel their footsteps shuffle around as they moved. Someone came close, their steps vibrating through my body. They picked me up and began moving once more.

“We can do it all at the warehouse. She’s four, she won’t last much longer.”

This time the car ride was a blur. I slipped in and out of sleep as the movement and isolation of the trunk lured me. Eventually, the car came to an abrupt stop and I was yanked out of the compartment. I could tell a different person was carrying me by the way they handled my small body.

This time they let me fall to the floor. My head hit a bit too hard and the blackness of my eyelids turned white.

As I came back into consciences I heard the whimpers of other kids. There was one to my left, a boy, he was begging. A girl was behind me wailing. In front, I could hear another boy sobbing.

I was not alone.

They bled out my body, took my blood for personal use.

I was not alone.

They cut open my stomach and took my organs.

I was not alone.

They opened my eyelid and removed my eye.

I was not alone.

They cut up my limbs.

I was not alone while the other kids watched their future before their eyes.

I left my body before I could feel pain, but I didn’t cross over until they laid me to rest. I watched as they took my unassembled and uncomplete juvenile body and placed it within a container. The group drove a few hours north of my parent's villa. Ensuring there were enough weights, they dropped me into the sea.

This was when someone came to help my soul cross. The soul walker told me everything would be fine, and it was.

A boy with blue eyes looks up at me, nothing but fear showing within. I put out my hand and smile.

“Who are you?”

“I am here to lead souls like you over.”

“You-you know what happened to me?”

“Yes,” I say with a kind smile, “because the same thing happened to me.”

The boy grabs my hand and we begin our journey.

“My parents, they were paid. I saw the man give my parents money.”

“Yes, mine were paid too.”

He stops walking and looks at me. “I don’t think I can ever forgive them.”

I close my eyes, putting my hands to my heart. “I have, they live knowing the truth while telling the world a lie. In a way, it kills them a bit more each time they are alone.” I look at him, a fire burning within. “Besides, when the truth comes out I know they will pay.”

#sold #child #trafficking #soul #horror #paranormal #crossingover #kid

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My stomach churned as I waited in the faux leather seat. The scent of “New Car” wafted around me like a foul odor as my hand wrung the steering wheel, over and over again. My eyes darted down the narrow cobblestone drive where no sign of life appeared. Come on... I thought to myself as I glanced at the gray obelisks that surrounded me.

Caroline and Elizabeth pulled up in a dark red car. Elizabeth stepped out of the passenger’s side with elegance. Her blonde hair pulled back into a neat bun, makeup done to fit the occasion and a short black dress to finish it off. Caroline jumped out from behind the driver’s wheel, slammed her door and began bickering with our sister. I watched as her brown hair lightly caressed her features and her dress ruffled in the wind.

Elizabeth looked over at my car and raised her voice, “Oh, it isn’t like you haven’t seen us in three years Lexa!”

It was true, I hadn’t seen them in three years, but on a day like today I wasn’t excited to see anyone.

I slowly pulled myself out of the car and approached my older siblings. After getting through the hugs and physical critiques I took a deep breath and sighed, “Let’s do this.”

We approached a tombstone with “Tucker Eckman” etched onto its face. “Hey bud,” I said softly as I lowered myself onto the grass.

Caroline grabbed my shoulder and squeezed, “We missed you.”

I didn’t feel the presence of Elizabeth, which worried me. Sometimes it was hard to come here and that’s why we did it together. I turned abruptly, startling Caroline, to find Elizabeth a few plots over looking at the ground. I didn’t have to ask her what she was doing, I already knew, but the question was why?

After a few moments, she looked over at us and smiled, as to apologize, then pointed to the headstone embedded in the ground, “Looks like Mom had a visitor, I don’t know who, maybe a fan.”

“God knows we don’t come here to visit her,” Caroline gaffed.

Elizabeth made her way over to Evan’s headstone, “That bitch doesn’t deserve our time.”

I sat there in silence. I felt the same way about our mother, oh god maybe worse if I could, but something had been eating at me. I swallowed my nerves and went for it, “Hey guys,” Caroline and Elizabeth both looked at me, eyes wide, “What... what if Mom was the one that did it?”

I never heard a louder silence happen in my life.

**This is the start of a longer story! I wanted to post this to see some feedback.**

#Prose #Fiction #Thriller #Mystery #FlashFiction #Begining #NotFinished #Fire #Grave #Graveyard

The smoke and haze hung heavily in the sky.

The bloody Queen drew heavy breaths as she studied the scene before her. Lifeless bodies of peasants, criminals, guards, royalty, and fae were slumped together among the blood stained cobblestones. The elegant townhouses in High Court Circle were illuminated red and yellow; smoke billowing from their windows.

As she stood on the castle steps she could see the rest of the poor and rundown kingdom. Her attention went to the north docks and she could see the beautiful battle of elements; ships set on fire as they swayed atop of the bay. She watched in silence as every town on the island burned down. Her sensitive ears listened to the screams of citizens begging for mercy, and smiled.

She leaned her sword against the stone railing and winced. A wound that was forgotten finally made itself known. She cautiously brought her hand to the cut and drew a sharp breath when two fingers fit perfectly into the deep gash, how was she still conscience?

“You will need to get that checked out,” a deep voice came from behind her. Immediately she relaxed. The voice was a comforting sound that could make her feel calm in any situation.

“I’m just surprised I haven’t passed out yet,” she said as she walked to stand next to the fae warrior. He bent over her and studied the wound. As he studied the injury his face stayed stone cold, making no sign of how bad it actually was. When he was finished he straightened himself and shrugged his shoulders.

“Any human would have passed out or died from that, but it’s your mix of elf and fae blood. You should be fine for a little bit longer, but need to seek attention.” He looked straight ahead at the kingdom’s destruction. His eyes looked upon the aftermath. There was a long silence between them, and then he finally turned to her, “You can be taught to heal it when your training is complete.”

She nodded to agree and said, “Is that all you have to say right now?”

His eyes narrowed as he studied her face. He was trying to read her mind but did not prevail, “What do you want me to say, isn’t this what you wanted?”

“It is, but I can’t help but feel as if some innocent people were hurt,” she whispered.

The warrior placed a hand on her shoulder, the only affection he had ever shown her in the months they had been acquainted. “War can have it’s best intentions, but innocent beings are always hurt in the confines of war my Queen.”

A tear ran down her cheek, “This was the place where the lands dumped the criminals, those who hurt others. This was a land that was doomed. I wanted to make it better, start with a clean slate...”

“You did, everyone and everything is destroyed” He cut her off. She looked at the destruction before her. As Queen she wanted a new land, a safe haven. She assumed the only way to do so was to massacre the evil that lived on the island. Now that it was done, she felt as if she made a mistake, one she couldn’t take back.

They stood in silence for what felt like hours. Once again it was broken by the fae warrior. He touched her shoulder once again and this time pointed to the sky without saying a word. She brought her eyes to where his finger directed.

The clouds began to make a vortex, sucking in the smoke and air. To the Queen it looked as it the heavens were calling all the souls into the clouds, to take them away from the Hell she had created.

Image Credit Link:

http://www.vikatan.com/news/spirituality/79263-a-journey-to-the-hell-one-story-one-moral---3.html

 I tried to be happy once, but mother wouldn’t let me. When I was twenty-three the boy I was going with proposed. It was the most magical thing that happened. He walked me into the park at dusk, saying that he wanted to talk about his day, and then we stopped on the arched bridge and he popped the question. With no hesitation I said yes, blubbering the word as I cried.

Immediately we went to Mother’s, to tell her the news. As he broke the news to her Mother’s face went from happy to mad. She slapped him hard, right on the cheek, and told him to get out.

That was the last time I saw him, that was the last time Mother let me do anything on my own.

Since that night twenty years ago I’ve been locked in my room. She only lets me out to eat, shower, and to help her get around the house or run errands. Mother never lets me speak for myself. In public, when I am asked a question she speaks for me.

In a way I have lost my voice.

Mother said she didn’t want to loose me, that she wanted to keep me safe from all the men in the world. Daddy cheated on her. When I was little he packed his suitcase and said, “You keep me trapped when I want to be free.” He slammed the door shut and never came back.

Now I understand why Daddy left. Mother wants everything for herself, even her family. She doesn’t care about anyone, that’s why she did this to me.

Everyone said I should be in magazines, that my face was a painting. I was telling Mother that I could model and put the money towards the household. Her reply was picking up the kitchen knife and slicing my cheek.

The scar stares back at me, and the dent in my lip yells at me, do what she did to you.

But, I couldn’t. Mother is a lonely soul that needs companionship. This is what daughters do, they take care of their parents in times of need.

But, people do that willingly. They are not forced into a room and only allowed to go where the parent goes. I am not six years old.

The clock dings and I look at its face, six o’clock. This means it’s dinnertime and mother will be up to unlock the door. Three minutes go past and the key jangles in the lock, then the doorknob twists.

“Okay sweetie, time for dinner,” she says it as if I am a dog waiting for food to be put in a bowl. Slowly I rise from my vanity and follow Mother down the steps.

Tonight’s dinner is steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. Mother always is elaborate at cooking, it is the only quality she has. She sits down across from me and begins to talk about the television shows she watched. This is the closest I get to watching, only books occupy my room.

“Mother, I want to go get a clean fork, this one has specks.” I say with a wobbly voice. She makes me nervous, and the stare she is giving me makes my stomach churn. Right when I think she will insist on getting the utensil, she allows me to walk through the kitchen door.

I open the drawer and I see it. It’s staring back at me, telling me to touch it.

The butchering knife is so clean, shiny, and sharp. Before I can think I grab the handle and slam the drawer shut.

I walk into the dining room where Mother continues her conversation about television shows. I say, “Uh-huh” in agreement. She doesn’t feel me when I walk behind her, doesn’t flinch as I put my arm around her neck, says, “Darlene, what are you doing!”, before I drag the blade across her neck.

She’s now choking up blood. I see it pouring out of the cut and trickling from the corners of her mouth. This isn’t enough for me. I want more. I want her to pay for the pain she has caused.

I take the knife and hack the cut. The knife goes farther in then I expect, I feel the crack of bone vibrate trough the hilt. It’s like cutting a chicken thigh in half.

The feeling is good, tempting, addicting. I lay her hands on the arms of the dining room chair. One by one they are chopped off, falling to the floor followed by a shower of blood.

Now I am laughing, I can feel the blood on my face. Mother has now paid; she got what was coming to her. I take a few more hacks and drop the weapon. Then I fix Mother’s body in the chair, crossing her legs and folding her hands onto her lap. Her head is barley on, so I position it the best I can.

I sit down and sigh with relief; no blood has touched my food. I take the steak knife and begin to eat. Looking at mother with a mouth full I say, “I’m free now, just like Daddy, I’m free.”

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 I watch the blue illuminating lights go up as time passes. Every time the numbers change on the clock face I think about the events of the previous day. Almost twenty-four hours ago my manager called me into his office. I knew what was coming, a termination discussion for the “odd” things that have happened while I was out on the job. Whenever a client made me angry, or even said something that drove me nuts something strange happened; like a bottle falling from a shelf and crashing onto the floor, or the lights in the room flickering on and off.

I never knew it was my fault until Mr. Dorsey called for a private meeting. He began his long speech about how I was a smart girl, but didn’t seem to fit well with the company. As he went on the lights began to flicker. He then proceeded to tell me that clients were frightened of me and specifically asked to not have me. When he informed me that I was being “let go” all of a sudden the lights went completely dark throughout the whole office. A spark came from one of the fixtures in the room where my termination was taking place and flew onto a stack of papers. Smoke began to rise, soon followed by a burning flame ready to engulf everything in its wake.

I left the building, leaving my things behind. I wanted them to burn down with the office, just like how my anger was burning inside me. As everyone filed out of the building I heard a roaring flame from behind and turned to see the building being quickly engulfed by the small fire.

“It’s like some sort of magic... some sort of magic that you caused,” yelled Mr. Dorsey in my direction. I walked away from the fire engines and people yelling, not even considering what the manager said.

It wasn’t until now that I thought about his comment earlier. Through past experiences, and my anger problems, I have seen a pattern of strange instances happen. The extent of my anger showed in the severity of the strange event. Today was the best example, I was angry at being fired for things I cannot control. My anger escalated to its highest point, and the flames reflected how I felt.

The blue lights staring back at me showed three in the morning. I sighed and turned away from the clock. I closed my eyes tightly; wishing sleep would take me away.

Tink, Tink, Tink.

I sighed to myself; the extent of my exhaustion was causing me to hear things.

Tink, Tink, Tink.

This time the taps were louder. I sat up quickly and studied the dark room. Nothing was there, and the television showed a black screen. I fixed my blanket and turned to look at the clock again, three fifteen.

Tink, Tink, Tink.

This time the sound came with the same intensity as the previous one. It took me a second but it mirrored the sound one would make tapping on glass. I turned my head to look at the only window in the room. My eyes squinted as I saw a little human figure in the bottom right corner.

“My God,” I said to myself, “I really am going crazy.” I sat still looking at the figure that was now waving its hand for me to come closer. I thought it best to stay in my bed and fall asleep; but I shrugged off that thought and decided that if I was crazy I might as well go out with having a good story to tell people in the hospital. I let my feet hit the cold wooden floor and walked slowly to the window. As I approached I saw that the small person had light yellow tinted skin, like a daffodil. It was wearing a little hat that looked to be made of an acorn shell. Its dress was made out of leaves, with a small stem wrapped around its waist for a belt. Wings extended out of the figure’s back. They were clear, with a white light illuminating each wing.

I opened the window and the figure bowed, “Hello fire starter, my name is Aurora and I am here to guide you home.”

I looked into the small catlike eyes that stared back at mine. They were twinkling like the stars in the sky. Clearing my throat I said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her wings began to beat faster. They picked her up off of the windowsill and brought her into my home. I watched as sparkling dust fell from the wings onto the floor. She was coming closer to me, closer then I’d like to be, but for some reason I couldn’t move. She landed on my shoulder and crossed her tiny legs, “You know you are different from the other humans, and I am here to help with that.”

Without hesitation I replied, “How can you help? You are just a figment of my imagination.”

The small lady frowned, “I knew getting you to come home would be hard, but not this hard.” The wings brought her to hover in front of my face, when she was at eyelevel her squeaky voice began to explain, “You are not a human my dear, you only wear this form for protection. It has recently been brought to my attention as your watcher that you need help to control your emotions and powers. I am here now to take you home and to teach you the ways so that you might save us.” As she ended the explanation I could see her bright eyes turn dull, they now showed sorrow. Her high-pitched voice became monotone, “You are the last hope for the fairy world, we need your help princess.”

My mouth dropped, Princess? My mind was sure having fun going off the deep end, I couldn’t even write this in a book if I wanted to, my creativity was non existant. I began to shake my head, “No, this isn’t real. This is all just some game my mind is playing on me!”

The fairy now showed red in her eyes, anger. She placed her hands out in front of her and began to swirl them together. She spoke a language that I did not understand. As she chanted it sounded like an old song, every word stuck to a beat that she was playing in her head. Shimmering dust started to come towards me, I looked at my hands and noticed that my whole body was shining. When she stopped talking in her fairy language she nodded at her work with a smile. “Now,” she said, “you will believe me, we are going to the Violet Lands.”

With that my world went black and I felt myself hit the wooden floor with a thud.

My conscience awoke to the sound of voices. I kept eyes closed, not wanting the doctors to know I was awake. I knew where I was, in a hospital, about to be sealed off from the rest of the world. As I tried to act out my last moments of sobriety I listened closely to the doctor’s conversation.

“Hopefully she understands how important this is,” said a deep voice.

“I hope so too, she’s now in her true form, it should be easier.” The voice that spoke was high pitched and squeaky, just like the fairy from before.

“Well we must wait for her to wake up to fully explain,” the deep voice got closer. I sensed that someone was over me, looking down at my face. I kept my eyes closed, wishing they would go away and leave me alone.

“Emery, I think she is awake. The way she’s squinting her eyes is what she was doing earlier before I got her attention.”

Shit, I thought to myself, that bitch gave me away. I opened my eyes to see the fairy from earlier standing against the wall. She was now a normal size and I could see her face better. She was short and thin; her nose came out to a point right above her thin lips. Her eyes were still cat like but now their color had changed back to a liquid gold. Now I could see her hair, a dark pink shag that reached the bottom of pointed ears.

“I knew you weren’t sleeping,” she said. Her gaze broke away from me and went to the one she called Emery. I followed her eyes to look at the blue fairy that loomed over me. His skin was a cream colored blue and unlike Aurora he was muscular. He also wore clothes made out of leaves, and a jacket that seemed to be woven vines. The eyes that looked down at me were circular and purple. They did not sparkle like the other fairy’s, but they were highly captivating.

“Hello princess Luna,” Emery smiled, “I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.”

I sat up a bit faster then I should have and immediately felt dizzy, but this didn’t stop me from saying, “This isn’t real, you guys aren’t real.”

Aurora sighed and looked to the blue fairy, “See Em, I told you she was going to be stubborn.”

Emery moved back a couple steps. He did not have wings like the girl, in fact I couldn’t see any. His arms folded across his chest, “And why aren’t we real? You’re looking at us now, correct?”

Aurora was trying to conceal her laughter, but I could tell that this was all a big joke. “Fairies aren’t real. You are just something my mind made up to deal with all the bad shit that’s been happening. I’m going crazy.” With that Emery began to laugh. He doubled over and held his stomach.

After a minute of uncontrollable laughter he composed himself and spoke, “Yes, humans do not think we exist, but that is our doing. Human’s used to hunt and kill our kind, so we put the idea in their brain that we didn’t exist.” He walked over to a mirror and picked it up. “I don’t blame you for not knowing the truth, but you were concealed in a human’s body to be protected from the Rubies. A lost princess you are, but now you are found.” Now he was standing in front of me, the mirror against his chest. He grabbed my hand and put it around the wooden hilt of the handheld looking glass, “look for yourself.”

His grip released and I turned the reflective surface to my face. What I saw made me gasp. My skin went from a creamy white to a soft pink. Once brown eyes had turned into turquoise with a glimmer. My nose was still small and round and my cheeks remained full. I brought my hand up to my ears to feel the small points that now shot out of my long dark pink hair.

Now my hand was shaking, the mirror began to sway. I could now feel the nausea from before getting worse. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Before I knew it the mirror was crashing to the floor. I felt strong hands on my back and the deep voice asking me if I was okay. The hands lowered me gently onto the bed. I lay there taking deep breaths for a few minutes and then opened my eyes. Earlier I found it so difficult to sleep, but now my body craved it. Emery was looking back at me, concern showing in his eyes. Even if this was all my imagination, I guess I could have fun and play along with it.

“So what is this about being a lost princess,” I asked, waiting for my journey to begin.

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 They say that you will never forget the first person you see pass onto another life. In my experience, I believe this is true. I remember the exact date, time, and second of my first death. I also remember the reason, life expiration, or, old age. It wasn’t even a full first day on the job when I witnessed the event. It was peaceful, like watching a leaf dance in the wind. The man was elderly, about seventy years old, lying on a bed with his family watching closely. Adult children and an elderly wife wept as the man’s eyes got heavier. He told them, “Don’t worry about me, worry about yourselves, that’s what you can do.” Even though everyone around this man was sobbing, he held onto a smile as the soul detached from his earthly being. He was, and still is, the only person I have seen slip into the afterlife with a smile.

This image of my first passing plagues me as I watch the girl in front of me fight for her life. That first soul I greeted died in euphoria, but, looking at this girl shows a different side to the story.

I am seated on a very old sofa. It is yellow in color, but I’m not sure if that is due to the object’s age or if it was manufactured with a hue of urine. The trailer in which the girl lives is nothing out of the extraordinary. I have been in nicer places, but it doesn’t matter where you die, you will always end up crossing over to the same place. The walls of the trailer are white, or were I should say, now they appear to be an off white that only cigarette smoke can produce.

I am watching as the girl shreds the brown shag carpet that lines the living space, her brown hair mixing with the filth of the rug. Blood dripping down her face contrasts against the chalky complexion she inherited. She is yelling for help, but little does she know that no one is going to save her.

The man she brought home from her usual outing at the bar is hovering over her. He has a gun in his hand, the weapon he has already used to bash her skull. His steel toe boots are in the small of the girl’s back. He is highly amused with the distress he has forced upon her, laughing like a manic.

Dark curls cling to his tanned skin. I watch as he takes his body and shifts all his weight onto the foot holding her against the floor. He is not a slender man, and it took nothing for him to produce the crack of her bones that echoed off the stained walls.

The girl’s light brown eyes became big and stared right into mine. The pain shot through her expression before she let out an excruciating scream. The body went limp, surrendering to the pain caused by the abuser. The curly-haired man was now changing his position to stand at her face. He knelt down and grasped her chin, tilting her head up to peer into his eyes. She let out a sound of pain and tears began to stream down her smooth cheeks.

“This is what you get for fucking every guy in the town and then denying me,” the man said calmly. He stood up and let her head drop to the floor. He took two steps towards me and turned around to face the victim. The gun was aimed at her head, a clean shot for sure.

“P-pl-please,” she begged but it seemed that he had already made up his mind. The gun made a click, and there were only a few more seconds of sobbing until a bang echoed through the trailer.

As soon as the trigger was pulled he gathered his jacket from the other end of the sofa and darted out the screen door. The only sound left to be heard was the slam of the door and softening footsteps of the killer as he got away.

I looked at the lifeless body that was now being surrounded by blood. I scooted to the edge of my seat to get a closer look, Ah, I thought, here she comes. As I looked at the body’s outline a faint white light began to illuminate the figure. Slowly it became brighter, showing that the soul was pulling away. In another minute her soul had fully detached and she turned to look at the form she was leaving behind.

I gave her five minutes, which she used to look at the mundane form in silence. Slowly I approached her, reaching my hand out to touch her shoulder. Before I could offer her comfort she spoke.

“I know you were there watching the whole time.”

I quickly put my hand down. She turned and looked me in the eyes again; those light brown eyes, which were so dull in the human world, now gave an angelic light.

I looked at her curiously, “You saw me?”

“Yes,” she said, “I thought I was hallucinating, or just seeing things. I knew I was in danger the moment I told that man no.” She tilted her head to the side and put a finger under her chin. “Why didn’t you save me?”

I let out a chuckle. I have been asked that many times and always found it to be a silly question.

“You cannot save anyone or yourself from fate,” I said.

She nodded in response and broke our gaze to look at the body. I reached out my hand, the skeletal frame reaching to comfort the girl once again. Now she was studying my hand.

“The Grimm Reaper really is all bones, isn’t he?”

She took my hand and I gently lead her to the afterlife, knowing that she did not pass into this realm with a smile.

Cover photo credit:

http://thewindowofthesummerhouse.tumblr.com/image/159810455108

 Exhaustion took over my being as my hand touched the doorknob. I sighed to myself, only a few more seconds until I’ll be passed out. Slowly I opened the door and was greeted by creek of the old rusted hinges. I looked into the dark void that was my bedroom at two in the morning, an enveloping blackness that ate up the color of the usually bright blue room. What was left in the darkness’ wake were the outlines of furniture that stood lifeless in the room.

Only a few steps from where I was standing was my bed. I did not feel the urge to turn the light on and to bring light into this dark space. I shuffled to the bed and fell face first onto the mattress. Yesss, I moaned to myself as my shoes plopped onto the floor. I breathed in deep, the sheets smelled of a cheap floral scent, clean. Slowly, I pulled myself up onto the pillow and let the heaviness of my eyes take over. Lying here so still, so peacefully, so quietly, about to let sleep take me away...

My eyes opened quickly, was someone just tugging on my clean sheets? I quickly dispelled the tricks my exhausted mind was playing and snuggled back into comfort. Again, I slowly began to drift off to the land of my subconscious when a scratching noise came from behind me. With the noise came a more abrupt pull of the sheets from the opposite side where I slept.

Fully awake, my body allowed me to use the last of its energy to sit up. I looked around the room and only saw the silhouettes of the furniture that barely decorated the room. I stayed up for a few more minutes and was not disturbed again. After coming to terms with being tired and not thinking clearly, I wriggled myself back under the sheets.

Lying on my back, I peered at the white ceiling that was now turned black. What will I tell everyone tomorrow, I asked myself. After deciding to tell everyone that didn’t know the truth that, “it was a mistake, that isn’t what happened, she’s lying,” let me take the load off of my shoulders. With that I rolled onto my side to sleep again. What I saw on the edge of my bed made my exhaustion disappear.

What I was staring at was a large claw. The dark, bumpy hand with long nails began to grip the sheet. I sat up quickly, pulling the sheet back so the hand wouldn’t take it off. As I looked at the dark claw I noticed that long pointed ears began to rise behind it. What followed the ears were a face with deep black eyes, the same bumpy skin, and a mouth with thin sharp teeth sticking out.

“I have come for you,” the being said with a wicked smile. I looked into its eyes, speechless. I knew that my exhaustion was causing me to hallucinate, but that didn’t make up for the fact of being scared shitless.

I cleared my throat, “I-I...uh... I don’t kn-know what you’re talking about.” The monster blinked it black eyes at me, as if to indicate I was stupid and it didn’t have time for my shit.

Quickly it hopped onto the bed. It had a small body, too small for its massive head and hands. The thing put its hands together and began to tap its claws. A big, demonic smile appeared on its face, “Oh you know. You know what you did and why it is unforgivable. I am here to make you pay for the suffering you caused that girl, prepare yourself.”

I swung my legs over the bed and pushed to get up. The escape didn’t last long, the next thing I felt was a burning sensation throughout my veins and then everything went black.

Photo credit link:

https://68.media.tumblr.com/0fbdbcc66a77736d8ff236f54c276283/tumblr_oj96wtW2nT1twbppvo1_500.png

On a bone-chilling night in 1881 a crippled baby boy was born with no ears and a useless right arm. As the midwife delivered the babe she shrieked with fright, her eyes had never seen such a being in her life. She informed its mother that the monster could be gone in no time at all, and the villagers would be told it was lifeless when it came into the world. After hearing this mother insisted on seeing her first-born child. The midwife advised against meeting the baby, but the mother’s anger flared, “How dare you want to kill my baby! Is it because I am without a husband? No one in this village wants me to be happy!”

To calm the woman, the midwife grabbed the babe and gently placed it into his mother’s arms. She expected the new mother to reject her son, but his mother looked at him with loving eyes and began to hum him a song. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as his name left her lips in a whisper, “Samuel”. After holding her son for what seemed like hours the midwife came to take him away, but the young mother refused. “I will raise him by myself,” she whispered to the boy, “God wanted him to live, and he shall. You will not take him away.” The Midwife began to disagree with the young lady, but her decision was made. “No! God made him strong and he survived. If God has made him strong he has also made me strong. I can raise my son, without a man. I will be a strong woman because God has willed it. I will protect my son.”

With that, the midwife was done fighting and told her the truth; the boy wouldn’t make it to his first birthday. Due to his condition it would be miracle if he lived to celebrate his first year on this earth. When she informed the mother tears began to show in her eyes. The midwife left and wished the small family good health for as long as they both lived, and the small family began to live their life in the small village they called home.

For the first few months of the boy’s life no one in the village bothered with the family. Samuel’s motor skills slowly developed and his mother’s love grew stronger every day. When the baby reached his half birthday the villagers began to come around and harass the family. The village’s people wanted to see what the “monster baby” looked like and to shame his mother for not being married. They also came around for another reason, to blame the baby for the recent happenings in town.

Since the boy had come into the world a sickness plagued the village. The sickness made everyone bedridden and unable to work. The villagers noticed that everyone was sick except for Samuel and his mother. Women claimed that no babies had been born in the past six months that Samuel had been alive. Men complained that there was a curse on the town that stopped visitors coming to the village to buy goods, and it started around the time Samuel was born. The last complaint the villagers made was seeing weird ghostly figures at night, sometimes watching them sleep or trying to hurt them in their own house. The boy’s mother ignored their accusations; she thought they wanted someone to blame so they picked the defenseless little boy.

Six months had now passed and the happenings in the town didn’t get any better, but seemed to get worse. The villagers were uneasy. People were now dying from sickness, children were still to be born, not one visitor crossed the village line, and villagers now began to see evil spirits instead of ghostly figures. The village elders called for a town meeting and didn’t invite Samuel’s mother. The village discussed what there was to do about the recent happenings and how to solve them. They linked the events back to the “baby monster” and decided that the only way to solve their problems was to get rid of the baby and restore peace back to the village.

The baby’s mother was very happy about today, it was Samuel’s first birthday. She showered him with love and affection. The mother decided that it was time to walk thorough the village with her son. He had survived the first year, defied the odds. Due to this she wasn’t going to let the village hurt her miracle child’s feelings, she wanted them to see just what a miracle he was. She was prepared to let the villager’s comments slide off her back, but to her surprise no one made a comment. When the day was over Samuel and her went home and got him ready for bed. As she was telling him a bedtime story all she could think about was how the villagers didn’t say anything to her, but gave her sympathetic looks.

An hour after she put Samuel to bed there was a knock on the front door. The mother opened the door to find the whole village on her front porch. She looked at their stone-cold faces, not one face reflected an expression. The man standing at the front of the group asked to be let into the house and he shifted his stance. The mother dropped her gaze from his face to his hands, which were gripping an axe. She moved her eyes up to his face; his expression didn’t change as he repeated the question. She then looked to the hands of the mob. In every hand there was an axe or a knife. “No,” she whispered. The man took a step towards the doorway and she sprinted to her baby. As she was running to him she heard the footsteps of people filing into the house. She grabbed Samuel quickly from his crib and put him to her chest.

The man from the door was now standing over her, “Put him down”, the deep voice demanded.

She began to scream, “NO,” and her body went down on the floor as she clutched Samuel to her chest, the baby started to cry. The man gave them no mercy and with two swings of his axe the mother and baby were both silenced.

The baby and his mother were buried together in the village cemetery. The headstone’s inscription read, “Here lies beloved young mother and baby monster”. Soon after the burial everyone in the village recovered from the sickness that plagued them. A few weeks later visitors began to wander back through the village and the reports of ghostly figures subsided. A few months later healthy babies began to be born within the village for the first time since the monster was born. Since then the villagers knew they made the right decision, and even if they didn’t, they needed to tell themselves it was for their piece of mind.

Photo credit link:

https://dollymacabre.tumblr.com/post/66915368248/spells-of-life-the-word-monster-originally

Allister watched the seaboard town from his place in the sea. He had been waiting off the coast for hours looking for the girl with brown hair. As he watched the town he could hear the chatter of humans eating at a restaurant that overlooked the beach. From where he was positioned he could not see the people eating thanks to a large boulder obstructing the view. He took extra caution by only keeping only his head above the water, but this proved to be uncomfortable due to the water being shallow and his tail scraping against the sand.

Allister’s annoyance was high. His commander told him to come and to wait for the girl with brown hair. This was the spot he was given, so where was she? He looked to the sky. The moon wasn’t high yet, but he knew he had been here for a half day.

“This shouldn’t be taking this long,” he sighed. In situations like this it was possible that the human changed their mind. This instance didn’t happen often, and it never happened to Allister before in his decades of recruitment. With this said, he knew anything was possible. He started to wiggle back and forth, from sitting in the shallow water his tail had become buried in the muck. Finally, he managed to break free and turned around. He knew that a human changing their destiny was few and far between but it looked like the girl with the brown hair had picked a different path.

Allister began to slowly make his way farther out to sea, where the sandbank dropped off into a bottomless pit. He went under the salty water and looked around. The drop off wasn't far off. He could see where the light blue water turned into ominous darkness. He popped his head above the water one last time so he could move his tail easily, but something stopped him. This time above the chattering and laughter of the humans he heard sobs, and they were getting closer to the water. He picked up his tail and pivoted himself to face the shore. To his surprise, he saw the girl with the brown hair.

He observed her as she walked towards the water. She was holding her hands up to her chest. With every agonizing step she would release a hand from her chest and try to cover her shoulders with the garment that didn’t want to stay. Her brown hair was a mess, half in a braid the other half falling over bare shoulders. He could hear her sobbing and see her small body shake with each one.

As she approached the water line she quickly took a hand and wiped her cheeks, “Not anymore,” she said to herself and finally let the dress release from her grasp. As the dress fell to the sandy shore Allister took in her human form. Her porcelain legs were long and thin and held such beauty to them. Allister stared in amazement as she took her foot and placed it in the water. He studied her feet, the two things that helped her walk on the solid earth, and envied her.

She was now waist high in the sea and her sobs had turned into small tears pouring down her cheeks. She turned to look at the seaboard town one last time. Allister turned his attention towards the humans eating at the costal restaurant. He heard nothing that signaled that they noticed the girl, or if they did none of them wanted to get involved. He turned his attention back to the girl and watched as she turned back his way. Slowly the girl began to slip under the black water. She made no sound as the sea swallowed her whole. Allister watched as air bubbles came to the surface and popped as they expired. Within one minute the bubbles stopped, within four Allister knew the time had come to do his job.

He swam back into the shallow water and saw her body floating on the water’s surface. Her porcelain white body laid face down on the black surface, her arms were outstretched as if she was hugging her killer. As Allister approached her he took in how peaceful she looked, how happy she seemed compared to the sobbing girl on the beach. He gently grabbed her body and began to swim with her to the end of the sand bar.

Allister stopped swimming a few feet from the drop off. He laid the girls body face up next to him and grabbed the shell that hung around his neck. Before he fed the philter to her he looked back to see if he was far away from the town. He did not see the lights of the restaurant or hear the chatter of those dining. With that he put his hand beneath her neck and tilted it back. He brought her close to his chest and put the shell on her lips. Slowly, the green and gold liquid poured into her mouth and over her bottom lip. When the shell emptied he pushed her away and waited for the liquid to take effect.

As he waited for her to wake up he studied her face, she was a young girl, maybe eighteen, with fair skin. She had full lips and a tiny nose. Allister blushed at the thought of her being pretty, but didn’t have time to think on it because her dark brown eyes shot open. She turned upright in the deep water and gasped for air. She quickly looked around and spotted Allister an arms length away.

“What the hell,” she said and turned to face the merman, “Who are you?”

Allister smiled, “Why, I’m your recruiter, nice to meet you, call me Allister.”

The girl eyed him and began laughing, “Oh my god, this is heaven? I’m swimming with a hot guy. I knew drowning would be the best way to go out,” She put her hand on Allister’s bare shoulder “I’m now swimming with you, are you a model? You have to be, just look at your chest! You are built!”

Allister felt a slight blush on his cheeks but knew he couldn’t let the compliment go to his head; he had to tell this girl about her new life. “No, I’m not a model, I’m a Merman, and you are a Merwoman.”

The girl, who was already laughing, began to laugh harder, “This is too much, am I on drugs? Did someone find me and now I’m at the hospital on drugs?”

Allister found this girl to be a bit annoying now. Seeing her laugh was better then seeing her cry but he also wanted to do his job and move on with his night. “Listen to me. I watched you walk into the ocean and drown yourself. It took exactly one minute and a half for your air to stop coming to the surface and a few more minutes later I recovered your body. When you were walking into the sea you were sobbing and told yourself ‘not anymore’.”

The girl stopped laughing and stared at Allister, “Who are you?”

Allister could see tears coming back to the girl’s eyes. He thought if he could keep her talking he wouldn’t have to deal with a sobbing mess, “I’m Allister, I’m a recruiter for new Merfolk from the Norta community.

“You expect me to believe that we are Mermaids?”

“Mermaid is a touchy term, I wouldn’t use that, the men don’t really like it, says it’s bad for their masculinity. Everyone actually prefers to be called Merfolk, more neutral. But, back to what you were asking, yeah, I do. If you don’t believe me lift your legs out of the water. “

The girl did so in a slow manner, as if she still thought this was all a joke. Then, she lifted her tail up high enough to see the fin. Allister studied her fin, it was a mix of purple and gold, a tail he had never seen before. Usually tails were one color that were a variation of blue, green or orange. One time he even came across a purple tail, but ones like that were rare and meant that Merperson had a story to tell.

“Oh – my – god,” she breathed. Then, with a swift motion she flung her beautiful tail back into the water sending a splash towards both of them.

“You have a very unique tail, the colors are something that really doesn’t happen to most –“

“I went into the water to end my life because I didn’t want to live this life anymore, and you... you bring me back to live a different life, why?” Tears now were falling down her cheeks, she didn’t understand, like most people didn’t understand.

Allister sighed, “See the problem with today’s human world is that they forgot about the agreement made with the Sea God. Say all you want about Gods being myths, but every myth has some truth to it right?” He let out a little smile but the young girl continued to pout, so he continued, “Many eons ago the Sea God made an exchange with the humans, he said he would let the humans have fish and sea creatures to eat if he was able to have humans to live with in the sea. Your kind didn’t take kindly to that, thinking the Sea God would just come up and take humans, but after a long debate they made an agreement. The agreement was that whenever a human died in the sea, by killing themselves or an accident, the Sea God could give them a second chance by becoming half human half fish. All of this was for the exchange that humans could take sea creatures to eat. Humans agreed and here we are eons later.”

The girl was just looking at him. Allister felt as if she was looking straight through him, he could tell she was thinking. Finally, after a moment of silence, she asked, “Why did the Sea God want humans to live with him?”

Allister laughed, “Oh no he didn’t want humans to live underwater so he created Merfolk. We can’t live on land and humans can’t live underwater, it’s a nice divide, and I guess he made us because everyone gets lonely.” Allister began to loose his annoyance with the girl, he now found her interesting. She had a very special tail and asked very interesting questions, ones he had never been asked by recruits before.

The girl nodded and pointed to the water beside Allister, “Okay show me yours, I showed you mine.” Allister lifted an eyebrow, this girl was very interesting indeed.

“Okay that’s only fair I guess.” He lifted his fin out of the water also. The vibrant orange of his fin stood out against the night.

The girl gasped, “Wow, that’s beautiful.”

“Honestly, it’s not as beautiful as yours, mine’s just orange. Okay so now we have to go over the rules and where you will be living and asking me any questions about --“

“What’s your story?”

“Excuse me?”

“What’s your story,” she asked again, “Like, from when you were a human. How did you end up here doing this?”

“Oh,” He put his finger to his chin and began to think, “You know what, I can’t really remember how I got here anymore, comes with the dull tail”

“What? You can’t remember how you got here?”

Allister shook his head, “No, it’s part of the transition. You begin to forget your human life as time goes on. It’s quick for certain people, slower for others, but it makes living as one of us easier because we can’t remember much.”

“Oh.” Is all she said and bent her head down to look at the water below.

Allister began to talk about the rules and regulations of the Merfolk. As he explained he could tell she wasn’t listening. At this point he felt as if he was saying the rules just to hear himself talk, so he decided to change the subject, “Why are you here?”

She perked up, her eyes looked at him with a certain sorrow. She sighed, “I used to be very popular. I was the girl in high school with the most friends, always the queen at dances, dating the guy in college,” She turned and winked at Allister, “I always had a special charm that made me the sweetheart of the town. But, despite all that shit, I was the mayor’s daughter. I lived in the shadow of a strict father, always sneaking out, getting caught, getting punished. When I graduated high school a year ago I thought it would be a great idea to move in with my college boyfriend.” She took a heavy sigh and continued with her story, “He had just turned twenty one when I started living with him. At first he would have a beer or two with the guys, then it turned to a six-pack at our house. I was fine with it at first but then he threw the first blow. I forgot to get dish soap at the store, it angered him so much that he hit me right here,” she pointed to right below her eye, “After that the beatings became regular, but around town I still walked around like I was that perfect high school girl with that nice charm, no one knew.”

She started shaking her head. Allister could see the tears beginning to fall into the water again. He lifted his hand slowly through the water, about to reach out and touch her, but he stopped because he realized the story wasn’t quite over yet. She cried for a few more minutes and then took a deep breath.

She smiled at Allister apologetically and then began continued, “There was a week where the beating stopped and I thought it was the end. So I got the courage to tell him I was leaving and moving back home. He was sober when I told him, he cried and apologized and said he understood. He left the apartment so I could pack my things, three hours later he busted in smelling of beer, slurring his words. He then threw me on the bed and told me I could never leave, and that’s when the rapes began.”

Allister clenched his fists. There was no reason for this beautiful girl to be treated in such a manner, at least he knew the Merfolk treated each other with respect and now she was in better hands, but he couldn’t help but feel anger for the way that human effected her. He watched her cry; he didn’t want to say anything until she broke the silence first.

Minutes later she whispered, “Thank you,” and moved closer to Allister. She threw her transformed body over his and embraced him, “I’ve never told anyone and it feels good to get it out, it feels good to have a new start.”

Allister let out a laugh, “No one has ever hugged me during a recruitment, but you’re welcome at least you can start anew right?”

The girl let go, “You’re right. I have a second chance and I’ve been thinking about what you said, how I will forget my human life, and I’m ready for that.”

She smiled at Allister, and this time he knew it was a genuine smile. He reached out in the dark water and found her hand, “Then let’s go start that new life of yours.” He was about to pull her into the depths of the sea when he paused, “Hey, you never mentioned your name and it was rude of me not to ask...”

The girl let out a chuckle and squeezed Allister’s hand, “It doesn’t matter at this point, I think I’ll pick a new one.”

Photo credit link:

https://womeninarthistory.tumblr.com/image/161510676024