Everything with Malum was just a dream. He was still gone—and never coming back. I had been dreaming this whole time. It’s Friday morning and I was still in bed. In a few moments my eyes would open and I would be surrounded by the comfort of my bedroom walls. Tonight would be a huge disappointment though. My dream got my hopes up for this evening's event, but I needed to accept that none of that was real—just wishful dreaming.
“Grace, Grace. You can open your eyes now, it’s over—we are here.”
That warm, sweet voice was echoing in my mind. I haven’t heard it since my last dream in the moonlit field. Oh how I wish it would keep talking to me, the voice was so lovely. It made me feel safe.
“Grace, please open your eyes. It’s over and you’re safe. Please open your eyes.”
Wow. Now the voice sounded like it was right next to me. This was incredible, but I knew I would regret dreaming about this as soon as I woke up. Alright, I guess it’s time to open my eyes and get out of bed.
I slowly opened my eyes and blinked a few times. What I saw surprised me. This was most certainly not my room. The walls here were a much darker color compared to my bedroom walls. I turned my head a little to the left and noticed a window. Outside the window it was dark, it was still nighttime. Oh great, did I prematurely wake up? I bet it was only two a.m.
I tried to turn over to look at my alarm clock when I suddenly realized I was standing. I looked down—my bed was not there. In that moment it all clicked together, I was not in my bedroom, and I had not been dreaming.
A hand pushed a strand of my hair back behind my ear. I finally had the courage to look up. There he was. My angel. My savior.
“Malum?... what just happened?” I asked softly.
He smiled. “Well, I guess I should have explained what I was about to do before I actually did it. Maybe that wouldn’t have made you so confused after the teleportation!”
I was confused. Teleportation? What was he talking about? That can’t be true. I knew we were standing in the park a few moments ago and now we are in some dark room. This can’t be real. Maybe I was still dreaming. Or I am just going crazy, one or the other.
“I don’t understand. How did we get here? Am I really awake? Or is this all a dream?”
He chuckled. “No Grace my sweet darling. This is real—this is not a dream.”
I stared at him dumbfounded. This was real? What the hell was going on? Was everything he told me in the park actually true? Were deities really living amongst the human race this entire time?
“So you were telling the truth. I—I don’t know what to say. This is a lot for me to take in. I’m going to need a moment.” I looked around the room to see if there was a chair or anything for me to sit on. Unfortunately the room was completely empty, there was no furniture in sight.
He noticed my confusion about the room. “Sorry about the room being empty. I didn’t expect to have any guests over this evening. Here let me get you a chair and brighten this room.”
He raised his hand and a purple cloud of smoke rose up from the ground--in its wake a recliner and a lavish looking lamp appeared next to me.
I was speechless once again. I tried to form words but nothing would come out of my mouth.
He smiled at me. “There is more proof for you. I hope that suffices for now.” He gestured for me to take a seat and I obliged.
The chair was extremely comfortable and having the light allowed me to see Malum better. I was glad to finally be sitting down. I needed a moment—or a few moments—to process everything that has transpired over the course of this evening. There was so much running through my mind that I didn’t even know where to begin.
I decided to begin with one of the harder truths to swallow. Malum returned to Walpole because of me. Did I truly believe him? No, not yet at least. I still wanted to know why he disappeared for four months without telling me or anyone else.
Next, Malum was some sort of God, a deity, a divine being. After the few “magic tricks” he has shown me, I--at the very least--now believe that he was not human. That I could accept now. It didn’t matter to me what he was. He’s back in my life and I wanted him to stay no matter what. I don’t care if he hangs out with vampires and werewolves, it didn’t matter. He was back and I didn’t want to lose him again. I couldn’t lose him again.
Then I suddenly remembered he was never mine to begin with. He belonged to someone else, the blonde goddess—Luxina. A wave of anger, sadness, and confusion washed over me all at once. Was she still in his life? Did he still have feelings for her? Where was she?
“Malum what happened to Luxina? Is she still around or did you leave her in the dust too?”
Malum’s eyes glanced down to the floor, a guilty look shown on his face. “Grace, she came with me when I left. We were still together, but things have become...complicated. Very complicated.”
I was dumbfounded. “Complicated? What the hell is that supposed to mean? It’s a simple question Malum. You two are either still together, or you separated. Which is it?” I was filled with anger now. I thought he was finally telling me the truth about everything, but it seemed like there are still secrets that he’s keeping locked up.
“It really is complicated. I am not lying. I’m sorry that I am making this difficult. That is not my intention. You deserve to know the truth about her as well. So I will share that with you—even though I probably shouldn’t, but I don’t care anymore. I’ve already broken the rules so there is no point in stopping now.” He flashed a quick smile. God how I loved his smile. It was perfect—like the rest of him.
He lifted his hand and the same chair I was sitting in appeared next to him. He took a seat and we were now sitting across from one another. My eyes looking into his.
I gently pulled some of my hair out of my face and behind my ear. Trying to look professional as possible because who the hell knows why.
“Okay Malum. Spill the beans. Tell me everything about Luxina.”
He nodded his head. “Yes, of course. Where to begin, where to begin.” Briefly he looked down at the floor—lost in thought, then he snapped his head back up and I could tell he was ready.
“So as you already know, I am the personification of evil. I am everything that is horrible, morbid, and destructive on this planet. I was created this way. My purpose is to cover this world in darkness and make sure the veil that blankets the Earth never rises. However, as you know with most legends and fairytales, there are always two sides of the same coin. There is the hero, and there is the villain. That applies to me, as well as Luxina.”
My head was spinning once again. Even with me sitting down I thought I would fall over and pass out. So there is more to Luxina than meets the eye. That surprised me.
“Okay wait. So you’re implying that Luxina is the hero? The good guy. She’s the light and you are the dark?”
He smiled and nodded his head. “Very good Grace. You catch on quickly. Yes, what you said is true. She is the personification of light. She is everything that is good in this world. Everything pure, happy, and joyful. We are complete opposites. She was created to stop me from fulfilling my purpose.”
I nodded. It was beginning to make sense. There are always two sides to everything. Two sides of a story, two sides of the same coin, and two sides of life. The good and the evil.
Malum twirled his hand and a glass of water appeared on my arm rest. “I thought you might want some water. You look thirsty and I know this is a lot to take in. Please take a moment to collect yourself. There is no rush. I will gladly answer any of your questions Grace. I am done hiding things from you.”
I lifted the cup and let the water flow down my throat. It was refreshing and it was definitely helpful. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I had become.
“Thank you for the water. Okay so back to your confessions. If you’re supposed to be so bad and evil, then why have you been so kind to me? Well, kind for the most part. It will take me awhile to get over the fact that you just up and left.”
Malum’s face was filled with pain. He looked upset. Crap. I didn’t want to make him upset. Yes I wanted to make him feel a little guilty, but I didn’t want to hurt him.
He sighed and then started speaking again. “Again, I apologize for leaving. I truly am sorry. It was for your own good though Grace. When you and I first met I had no idea who I truly was. I did not know that I was evil. I didn’t realize it until the night of Halloween. You see, after you passed out at the party, your mind subconsciously entered another realm. My realm. The realm of Oblivion.”
Malum knew about my dream. How? He wasn’t there. It was only me. Physically at least. There were the two voices, and the two different clouds of smoke...and then the truth suddenly hit me.
“Wait you were there in my dreams! It was you. It was your voice. I didn’t recognize it then, but I do now. You were the purple cloud of smoke. You told me that I was special and that I would know everything. I guess I should also thank you for saving me that other time as well.
He nodded. “Yes, that was me. Kind of. When you were dreaming I was there, but not completely. Only part of me was. Halloween night I somehow rescued you. I did not know that I had until after I left the party, the memory came rushing towards me all of a sudden. I don’t know how it happened and it has bothered me ever since.”
I nodded. “Okay, so at least I am not the only one confused about some of these things. That makes me feel better. Why did you say I was special though?”
He laughed. “Grace I am not perfect. I am still able to be confused too. You are special, very special, but I can’t tell you why at the moment. I’m sorry.”
That was strange. Why couldn’t he tell me? I thought he was being honest with me. This wasn’t fair. I didn’t want my disappointment to show though. I was lucky that he was even telling me so much already. I am sure he would tell me in time.
I smiled. “It’s okay Malum, but are you sure you don’t know how you saved me the second time? That must have been you as well right?”
“Yes it was me. The reason I was there was because even though I physically left Walpole, I was still keeping tabs on you. Mentally at least. When I became attuned with your mind on Halloween, I was able to sense your emotions. Before you ask, no I cannot read your mind, but I can sense your feelings--and I can see into your dreams.”
I knew that my mouth was hanging open. I was flabbergasted. So Malum had other abilities as well. This was cool, but also kind of creepy. Thank goodness he could not read my mind though. That would be embarrassing.
“So you can feel my emotions and enter my dreams? Okay. I can work with that. I guess I should be saying thank you for saving me, twice. How did I end up in that field though? And who did the other, more sinister sounding voice belong to?”
Malum was in deep thought. I hate not having answers to questions. Sure, if there was a good reason as to why I could not obtain an answer then I could accept that, but this was different. Everything about my life had become different. All because of Malum.
He took a sip from the glass of water he must have summoned for himself and then looked into my eyes again. How I loved his golden eyes.
“To be honest Grace, I don’t know how you got there, and I don’t know whose voice that was. I would love to know the answers too. Another thing I have been asking myself is why and how you woke me up from my amnesia. You see, Luxina and I are reincarnated every few hundred years or so. We have a longer lifespan than humans, but eventually we do die. In a sort of way. We don’t stay dead for long. Each time we pass away we are reincarnated. This world is always in need of correction and balancing. However, each time we are newly brought back to life, we are placed under a spell that makes us forget who we are for a few years. It gives us fake identities. This is not the first time Luxina and I pretended to be in love. We are not brother and sister, but neither are we lovers. That was included with this curse.”
Relief washed over me. So Malum and Luxina were not truly together. It was all an act. He didn’t love her. I could feel my heart slowly piecing itself back together. Months of being heartbroken and upset vanished from my mind.
“Grace you somehow broke the spell that was placed on me. Everything about myself came flooding back to me that night. My past, my abilities, and who I truly am. I don’t know if I should be thanking you though. Me realizing who I am made me dangerous. That's why I left. I could not have you around me in case my true nature took over. I care about you too much.”
So he did care. He really did care. I finally believed him. Everything was beginning to make sense. Well, parts of it at least. I was still happy either way.
“So if the spell was lifted for you, does that mean Luxina remembers who she is as well? And if so isn’t that a bad thing?”
He nodded.
“That is an easy but complicated question at the same time. Thanks Grace. Either way I will try my best to answer. Yes, that same night Luxina realized who she truly was as well. However, neither of us spoke about it until I decided to leave. You see, we don’t always immediately try to fight one another. Usually we try to live in harmony, but something always happens that makes us have a fallout. It is our destiny. We decided it would be best if we both left because we did not want to put anyone in danger. We escaped up north to the White Mountains and lived there under the radar for a few months.”
I paused him. ‘What about your parents?”
“Oh yes, that. Well, you see. Our parents weren’t real. They were made up from the same curse that was placed over us. We always have some type of protector, or guide to help us until we realize who we are. Then once the curse is broken, they vanish.”
Well that was strange, but I will have to accept it either way.
“Okay, that's weird, but whatever. So at least you and Luxina don’t have to fight! You're not a bad person Malum. You don’t have to be. You can create your own destiny. You can live in Walpole and come back to school now.”
He smiled. “Oh Grace, I wish it were that simple.”
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