Everything was so quiet. So peaceful. The field of flowers surrounding me was illuminated by the shining moonlight from above. For a New Hampshire fall night, the air was mild. Not too hot or cold. It was just right.
I wonder how I arrived at this beautiful place. The flowers seemed out of place for this area. Even in the dark I could see their variety of colors. Blue, purple, yellow, even some red ones. I rarely ever see some of these colors in this area.
I was certain that I was not in Walpole anymore. Ironic.
My body started walking without me telling it to. Something was calling to me, and deep down I knew that I needed to find out what it was. The grass on my feet was soft and smooth. I felt the flowers brush over my shins, it tickled a little. I didn’t mind though. I kept walking forward, not knowing where I was being led.
The field was huge. There didn’t seem to be an end in sight. No trees, no mountains, no rivers. Nothing was nearby or off in the distance. All that I could see was the flowers, the stars, and the moon above. If I knew I wasn’t dreaming, I would probably be a little nervous, but right now I didn’t care. My whole being was in a state of bliss. Nothing could bother me here.
After walking for who knows how long, my body came to a sudden stop. I turned my head and looked around-nothing was there. Strange. Why was I stopping then?
Suddenly I felt a chill in the air. Something was wrong. I was allowed to panic now. I tried running, but my body was frozen in place. I thought this was a dream, not a nightmare. I heard a laugh coming from somewhere. This was getting scary.
“Who’s there?” I called out trying not to include the fear in my words.
“Grace...Grace…” the eerie voice whispered.
“What do you want? Why am I here?”
The evil laugh was back. It was high pitched, like it was coming from a girl. “I don’t want you here stupid girl, I don’t even know how you got here. Leave. Leave now. Run away and never return.”
I wanted to take the advice, but my body was still frozen in place. I didn’t know what was going on.
I could feel the air turning colder as the voice grew angrier. It began to snow.
“Leave now, you are not wanted here. You are only a burden. I will not allow you to ruin everything we have worked so hard for!”
I was terrified and had no idea what was going on. There was no way to escape. I was trapped here.
My voice began to shake, “Please… no. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want from me. Let me go please…”
I could feel the tears coming on. Crying was something I rarely ever did. Or at least, I tried to never cry. To me it was a sign of weakness, but at this moment I didn’t care. This situation had me horrified.
“Please, let me go. Help, help!” I tried shouting but the words barely came out in a whisper.
A false sense of safety, quickly torn down by god knows what. This was no dream. This had been a nightmare from the start.
A warm voice suddenly called out to me. “Grace.”
Something was so familiar about the voice. It felt comforting. I needed this voice to keep talking. I needed to hear its words again.
“Grace. Wake up. Be strong. Wake up.”
The tears began to recede. “I’m trying. I’m trying I swear. Help me out of this.”
“No! Stop this! Stop her!” The evil voice screamed. It was furious now. The snow fell heavier now. This was becoming a blizzard. All of the flowers began wilting.
No, no don’t die. You’re too beautiful to die.
“Grace. Wake up. Stay with me.” The warm voice sung.
“I’m here. Help me!” This was becoming too much to handle. It felt like I was going to fall over and pass out. If only my frozen body would let me.
Suddenly the field was engulfed by a dark, purple cloud of smoke. It was everywhere. I couldn’t see anything. I heard yelling somewhere off in the distance. Then a flash of light. It was blinding. My hand allowed me to cover my eyes. It was too much.
The light quickly vanished and when I opened my eyes the field was back to its former glory. The flowers were perfect. Their vibrant colors showing once again. The night sky above me was as bright as ever. It was as if nothing even happened.
I could feel my body regain its senses. I was in control again. Thank goodness. I slumped down onto the soft grass. What the hell just happened? Why am I still here?
I looked around for the voices I heard. There was still nothing. The field had been as empty as it was when I had arrived. What was going on?
“Grace” The warm and calming voice spoke to me again.
“Yes, I’m here. Where are you?” I cried out.
“I’m with you Grace. I am always with you. Wake up now. Wake up for me.”
I began to stand up, but the earth beneath me crumbled, and I began falling down into the deep, dark, abyss once again. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.
----------
I woke with a start. I looked around slowly. My body fell out of the chair I had been sitting in and I had fallen to the ground. What happened?
I tried getting up but a hand held me down.
“Get off of me, I’m fine.” I grumbled, still trying to stand up.
“No Grace, you’re injured. The back of your head is bleeding. Stay down until we can get you a first aid kit.” “Malum spoke with intensity.
I wanted to argue but I held my tongue. Arguing doesn’t get me anywhere half of the time anyways. It only makes situations worse.
I sighed and tried to remember what happened. How had I fallen out of my chair? I didn’t drink anything tonight, and usually I’m not a clumsy person. So how the hell did I -
Oh. Yes. I remembered now. It all rushed back to me. The sudden appearance of the goddess, waltzing in to ruin my life. The short conversation. The kiss. That damn kiss.
Anger began to rise in me. How could Malum lie to me? How could he be my friend and keep this from me? He had been with someone else this entire time? What the hell is wrong with him?
“Malum.” I whispered softly.
He stopped talking to Autumn and the others who had apparently rushed over to check on me after my blackout situation. “Grace, what is it? Are you feeling worse? Should we call an ambulance? Laura hasn’t gone and gotten her mother yet, she wanted to see if you were---”
I cut him off. “Malum who the hell is she?”
He looked startled. He didn’t expect me to ask this question, at least, not right away. Well too bad, Malum. Too bad.
“Malum answer me.” I tried keeping the anger inside of me. Don’t let it out yet Grace, don’t do it yet.
Malum sighed and looked down. Contemplating what to say next. “Grace I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner. This is my girlfriend, Luxina.”
He motioned over to her. She had been standing in a corner texting on her phone. Obviously she did not care about my current situation. Not like I cared anyways.
She glanced up from her phone after hearing her name. The she devil walked closer to us. “Babe is she awake? She’s not badly injured right? I don’t think I can deal with any super over the top drama at the moment. It’s not good for my skin.” She said while twirling her hair.
“I don’t think we will need a hospital. Unless I’m getting ahead of myself. Grace, can you stand up. We need to prop you up somewhere so I can get this ice pack on the back of your head.”
I was looking around at the other party guests. Luckily for me, most of them went away after they noticed I had woken up. I hate this kind of attention. I’m sure I will be the talk of the school on Monday.
I grabbed the ice pack from Malum’s hand and applied it to the back of my head. Ouch. It was a little sore. Damn hardwood floors.
“I don’t need your help Malum. Why don’t you leave with Luxina? She was obviously worried enough about you to come and find you.”
Malum look defeated. He had his head hung down. I didn’t care. Let him feel guilty. That asshole.
“Grace, I’m - I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say or do, I was trying to break it easy to you, but obviously that didn’t happen.”
“Obviously not. Whatever. Just go.” I tried to sound strong and firm. But I really hated being separated from him. I hadn’t told him how I felt about him yet, but at the very least he knew I was hurting.
Luxina decided to chime in at that point. “Well she is obviously fine. Let’s go Malum. We don’t have all night. Maybe we can get some food on our way back. I’m starving.”
Malum looked over at her, “All right, I’ll meet you at the car.”
She smiled at him and nodded. As she was passing by me I felt a freezing cold breeze come from nowhere. None of the doors had just opened, the AC wasn’t blowing. Where did that come from?
Luxina stopped in front of me and patted my shoulder. “Feel better Grace, it was nice to meet you.” and with that she walked out the door.
After she left Malum stared into my eyes. I noticed that his eyes were golden again, my two radiant suns. Well, not my radiant suns anymore. Not my Malum. He never was. He never will be.
I slowly got up and Autumn came rushing over. “Grace don’t stand up too quickly, you’ll get hurt again.
“Thanks Autumn, I’m fine. I swear.” I gave her a soft smile.
“Grace, I’ll see you Monday. Okay?” Malum started walking closer to me, like he wanted to say something else, but he stopped halfway. He put his head down and walked out the door.
Halloween had officially been ruined.
ns 15.158.61.55da2
