Pure shade of darkness with phosphenes were moving about like stars. The brightness concealed behind them became more vivid as Apollo's eyes squinted to see Gab's face examining him. "My goodness, dude. You scared the shit out of me." A recollection of what happened gave Apollo chills but as he scanned the room to realize he was in Gab's place, relief took over.
"I had the scariest dream you could ever imagine." He said in a hoarse voice, but a woman's presence by the door brought back the horror of that implausible memory. Apollo felt very strongly that it happened in real life. He curled up and covered himself with a blanket the way Harry Potter would use his invisibility cloak.
"Relax." Gab expressed. "I would've passed out too like you did because I was scared as hell, but she climbed up and helped bring you down from the oak tree. Can you imagine two people bringing down a comatose person from a tree? I could've broken a muscle there if it weren't for Betha who patiently executed some girl scout emergency tactic. She's not a bad person at all, dude. Otherwise, why would we both be here still alive? Right, Betha?" He wanted Betha to explain things herself so he beaconed to her with a nod, an affirmation that she can speak.
Apollo's gaze went from Gab to Betha who was no longer an old hag. She smiled to him like an angel and Apollo gave away. How can I be scared at her looking like that? But then what if she transforms again? Would I faint every single time? Apollo thought, overwhelmed by the indecisive feeling that was running through his system.
She moved closer and sat carefully at the right end of the bed. "How are you feeling?" She said and carefully reached out to hold his hand. "I'm sorry I scared you. I don't know how I could take that memory away. I must've been the scariest thing you've ever seen."
"Uhm." That was all he could say. Then, he blinked and looked at Gab. Gab tilted his head, signaling him to respond. He turned to Betha again and gazed down at her soft hand. It was on top of his right hand. Her hands were warm, not cold, so she wasn't a ghost. She was human though he was skeptic at first. If Gab's fine with everything that happened, that means she's not a ghost or a monster…or a bad person. "Na…no. Ah…I'm fa…fine. I guess." His stutter was such an embarrassment to his image, but what in the world could he do about his nerves when a beautiful woman that smiles like an angel just happens to transform into an old ugly hag with long pointy nose, lots of warts, wrinkly skin…Apollo shook his head, hoping to brush off the unpleasant thoughts.
She smiled once again, and Apollo felt that he might be able to get used to this. All she had to do was smile and the world was normal again.
Betha, on the other hand, felt awkward, not knowing what to say. "My mom's Irish and my dad's American so I'm half Irish, half like you guys. I was raised here though. Maybe just two towns away from Summerland."
"Okay." Apollo said, contemplating a better way to respond but couldn't think of anything.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Apollo still didn't know how to ask her about what happened. Fortunately, Gab read his mind. "Why don't you explain everything to him like you did to me so he could start acting normal again? He still looks reserved and I'm not used to it." He said with sympathy, running his hands through his hair.
"Yes. Of course." Betha looked relaxed, contrary to how she really felt. "You might've been taken aback by what you saw…"
"I was petrified." Apollo blurted out, then felt embarrassed about it.
"I'm sorry. It's something that I couldn't control. It happens every now and then but not always." She sighed. "I'm a Banshee."
What did she say? The clueless look on Apollo's face was too obvious.
"Have you ever heard of Mothman, The Jersey Devil, or Bigfoot?"
"Maybe?" He said, still not following.
"They're American folklore characters. There is no concrete evidence that they are real. They're just myths. And we also have Irish folklore. We're known for mythical creatures or characters like leprechauns, fairies and of course...yours truly…Banshee." She paused, looking at the shift of Apollo's expression from clueless to attentive, as he gave occasional nods. "Unlike other folk tales or folklore characters, Banshees are real. Well, of course you should know that because you have witnessed it. Books, internet, comics about Irish mythology always say that Banshees are women of the fairy mound or simply fairy women, or spirits proclaiming a death of a family member by wailing, but a big part of that isn't true. Well the shrieking part is true, but I'm not a spirit and I'm definitely not a fairy. I'm human just like you and Gab." She nodded at him. "And we don't just lament whenever there's death in the family. We uncontrollably do it whenever someone from approximately 5 kilometers away is about to die whether it's a family member or not."
"And the transformation?" Apollo asked. He figured, if she was going to be his wife someday, he'd better be ready to know all the facts.
"It's horrible. I know. But it's given. I start losing control when someone is about to die. While in a trance, I get my grey cloak, walk towards a door or window near that person, the fluttering that sounds like birds flying is a sign of a Banshee's presence. From then, we transform to a very old lady with silver hair, although so far, I'm the only silver-haired Banshee, most have white hair. Then we shriek. Once done, we transform back to our normal human form and that's it."
"You mentioned we. How many other Banshees are there?" He asked.
"Oh, I'm the only one here. Everyone I know is in Ireland. I just wanted to be away from there because my parents died, and the house was just too lonely for me to handle. I was taken by St. Mary's Centre. It's an orphanage but at the age of ten, when the house was sold and I got the money from our very trusted attorney and realtor, I took off. And so here I am." Her face looked content and happy despite the woeful story. Apollo didn't want to ask how her parents died because it might strike a painful memory that she had already forgotten, but he placed his left hand on top of hers.
Gab had the same facial expression and sentiments as Apollo did – they were in utter disbelief of what she had to go through as a child, but also glad that she opened up to them as if they haven't just met the previous day.
Apollo remembered the fact that she was outside Luke's window when they saw her. "Where's Luke? Is he okay?" He asked, wishing he was fine but the reactions that she and Gab displayed confirmed that something bad had happened.
"He had a heart attack. He's in the hospital now. You were asleep I think for about three hours. Betha and I called 911 so the rescuers were there just in time. If she hadn't known that something bad was about to happen to Luke, he would've died. Or he probably was really bound to be rescued because we were supposed to meet him anyway. Nevertheless, I think this is all because of Betha. I mean, you would've never asked him to give me a gig because he likes your mom and that makes you uncomfortable."
"What?" It was just an expression. Apollo didn't' really have any rebuttal because he was right. But it was enough expression to stop Gab from saying further more information about the real reason why he ended up getting Gab a gig at Dulcimer.
The night seemed too long considering everything that had happened for the past 4 hours or so. It was almost midnight and Apollo was about to call his mom whom he noticed had been calling him when he checked his phone. He was surprised to see 15 missed calls. "I gotta go home. I think my mom's getting worried."
Betha suddenly looked hypnotized and at first, Gab and Apollo didn't know what was happening because she was too stiff and wasn't responding. "Betha." Apollo called out. When she took the grey cloak resting on Gab's recliner chair by his desktop computer, they instantly knew she was about to turn into a Banshee. They looked at each other and followed her lead as she went outside. She looked weightless, walking the clear pavements. It was good that Summerland rarely had anyone awake late at night. Both gentlemen served as bodyguards walking with her on both sides and Apollo felt kind of cool. but the feeling easily deteriorated as he recognized the familiar path they were taking. They were three houses away from his place. An unsettling sensation went through him as he looked at his mom's missed calls. Is there a reason why she has been calling? God, please don't let anything happen to my mom. This is even scarier than the Banshee encounter yesterday.
Apollo's worst fear happened. Betha stopped right in front of his house. NO, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.