The night after Gram's funeral I laid awake upon my bed, just thinking. That's all I really could do. After all, lying in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar home makes it even harder to sleep. After Gram died, the village elders found me a new home with one of Gram's friends. My thoughts raced. Father Death was still running through my head. I wondered how he really looked. Was he like the pictures painted on the wall of Sally's Saucy saloon? I just can't imagine that he is so cliché in his looks. Maybe he doesn't have horns. Maybe his hair, long and black, defies gravity. I can imagine it growing tangled and matted, out of his control to give him a dark image. His grey tented skin gives him an almost dead look, as his bony hands pull your soul toward his equally bony chest. Alas! Right before he can take your soul to the Heavenly home of our Father, Mother Earth reaches her glowing, tan hand out snatching you away from death at the last moment. His face would turn feral until he saw just who it was who took away his client. His beautiful wife's hair would fly out in all directions, much like his own, gently caressing his face. He would laugh, stating that he would win the next time and swiftly faze away in a blast of dark energy.
I turned in my bed, my eyes slowly closing as sleep welcomed me into its warm embrace. My world turned black, slowly bringing me into a world far away from the safety of my bedroom. A world of light and darkness, of nature and death. A world I like to call the Neta-realm because it reminds me of the stories I have heard of the nether realm, yet still has the beauty of Valhalla. It is a world I have dreamed of for many nights. Gram used to tell me it was my Sioux blood that gave me the power to see into this world, that it was real, that I didn't make it up. Soon I was out like a light, lost in my dreams.
In my dreams, the world was overflowing with souls. They seemed lost as they looked around the vast landscape.
"Hello? Do you souls need help?" I called to them over and over, but it's as though they were looking right through me. I turned my body around and around, searching for whatever it was that had the souls confused. At last, I spotted it, or should I say him. A small boy sat on top of a stone wolf. His head was tilted downwards and small hiccup sounds could be heard. I made my way over to him, dodging animal-shaped rocks, and person-shaped trees. The closer I got, the more his form seemed to become more and more blurred. He never once looked up from his crying, even when I sat right next to him upon the massive wolf.
"Kid? Are you OK?" I reached my hand out toward his white head of hair, aiming to pet him to calm him down. His head whipped just when my hand reach his head. Everything happened in slow motion. His face contorted in fear, his small hands, clutched tight to his chest, trembled. I whirled around when a cold hand was placed upon my shoulder. Behind me was her. The evil of evil. The green witch. Her long, green hair was breaded into a complicated half bun half pigtail. Her emerald eyes narrowed at me, giving me a once-over.
"Dear child. Just what do you think you are doing with my boy?" Her dainty hands curled themselves around my scalp, pulling me up to her eye level. Which, might I add, was an impressive nine-feet-tall? The boy grabbed onto her arm, pleading with his eyes to release me. I was in shock I couldn't talk. If this was the Green Witch, then the boy had to be Howahkan. What was I supposed to do? She was and forever will be the most powerful sorceress on this planet. She gave the boy a hate-filled glance, tightening her grip on me before dropping me to the ground. She scooped the small child into her long arms and covered him with her golden cape. If I had not heard of her sadistic ways, I would have thought her to be the boy's mother.
"Leave child. Never lay eyes on my boy again." She gave me one last glance before making her way through the forest of person-shaped trees, crushing the singing flowers under her bare feet as she walked.
I woke with a start, jumping at the lasting tingle of my scalp. I could still feel her fingernails, sharp and blunt, digging it to my skin. I could still see the boy's eyes, begging for her to let me go. He looked so scared. God only knows what she was doing to him at this very moment. With that thought, my world once again went dark. I could hear voices, horrible voices.
The sound of whipping followed by the screams of a child.
"Boy, do you realize what you almost did? " More whipping and screams. "She could have been sent by your father to find you!" I could hear more screams and the sound of the wind beating against metal, most likely trying to help the young boy any way it can.
I woke once more, this time to the screeching of my alarm clock. I panted and wheezed trying to regain my breathing pattern. I didn't know anything about what was truly happening, or if it really was, but I knew this much: that boy need help and I might be the only one who knew. If only I could have seen as well as heard what was happening. Maybe I could be of assistance. All I could do now was get dressed and prepare for school.
"It was only a dream. Just a dream." I slowly crawled out from under my covers, making my way to the bathroom. I need to get my head together. Today was the day Howahkan is supposed to show himself. I need to focus. As the water from the shower rained down, I listed all the things I would ask if he really did show himself.
Who are you? Really?
What happened while you were held captive?
Do you need my help?
Why?
Who is the green witch?
I finished dressing as fast as I could and made my way to Sally's. It was our regular hang-out location. Alden and I meet Dolly here for the first time and ever since we made it a must to meet up every morning at 8:00 A.M. Since our schooling was private, it didn't start until 10:00 A.M inside the old Baptist church. I remember when my Gram was still alive, we would always eat her. Dolly's aunt, Arden, was a good friend of Gram's. Gram's the one who told her the story of Howahkan, death, mother earth, and of the green witch.
I blinked back tears. Thinking of her so soon would only fill my head with worry and sorrow. I can't afford that today. I turned my head, scanning for my friends. They weren't at our table which means I got her first. No surprise there. I'm usually the only one on time. I used to mock Alden about it. Calling him the white rabbit. One time I even bought him a pocket watch and tweed coat, just as a joke. He didn't like that so much. I still don't know exactly why. Something about his family. I finally ended my musing when I caught sight of Alden and Dolly jogging up to meet me. They must have met each other on the way here.
Alden gasped breathlessly as he skidded to a halt beside me.
"Made it." Dolly cheered halfheartedly, weakly raising two fists in the air. Man, was she out of shape. Poor thing couldn't even run a few blocks if it would save her life.
"So?" I asked, nudging dolly in the side. "When's the memorial start?"
"Eight o'clock! Super early if you ask me, but I hear Death makes twilight look like midnight. With all that fog rolling in; Creepy! If you ask me, he could make noon time look like midnight. " She hid her face behind her bright pink purse, her chibi key chain hitting her in the nose.
"But think about it, Dolly!" I couldn't hold back my excitement for another minute. "We might be able to see Death!" I could have sworn the eyes on Death's picture flashed a blood-red gleam, but I chalked it up to the lights glaring of the Chandelier.
Both Alden and Dolly gave me a look. One that you may give some escaped asylum patient who said they were gonna be your admirer, AKA, stalker. Basically, I weirded them out.
"You want to see Death?" Alden questioned my sanity, drawing out the word want. Apparently, that word needs extra attention. I must have really sounded crazy. Even Dolly looked freaked out, and she listens to creature features.
"Let's just order our food. Dolly looks like she gonna faint and I don't want you to call those 'nice men and the bright white coats' to take me away." Alden smirked and Dolly called over a random server and our day began. I wish time would move faster. I feel like something gonna happen. Something bad.
Let's just hope the green witch doesn't make an unexpected appearance at the memorial today.
The day was relatively eventful, we ate and went to school. Just like every other day that we have ever had. I really didn't think anything was gonna happen. Boy, was I ever wrong.
I sat in my mythology class and listened with awed raptor. I can't help it. We were studying my favorites, Nordic mythology. The teacher was covering the realm of Helheim, the realm of the goddess Hel aka, Loki's daughter. He showed us a picture of Hel on a large screen that looked odd being in such an old-fashioned classroom. My head tilted to the side as I examined her. The other kids were whispering about how creepy she looked, I totally disagree. She had a grotesque kind of beauty about her. Like someone had clipped an angel's wings and dipped her into the lakes of fire themselves, but never tarnished her radiance or distinguished her glow.
It was weird. The longer I stare at her image the more she begins to look like Howahkan. Her figures warped and morphed until all I saw was a drawing of Howahkan. Then, all of a sudden, my vision blurred and darkened at the edges. I blinked, trying to clear my head. Every blink of my eyes, something changed. The table that once held all of our homework was replaced by a large collection of knives. Where there was once a blackboard, a large cracked mirror sat, covered in what looked to be dried blood.
Sweat was pouring from my body, I blinked one last time and held my eyes shut tight. This has to be a terrible dream. A nightmare. Gram used to tell me to count to three slowly. If I was still seeing what I was seeing it was real, if not it was all a bad dream. My hands came up to hide my eyes even further and I began to count.
"One."
The noises started.
"Two."
I could hear the whips soar and the knives clank. The chilling laughter. The cries of anguish.
"Three."
Everything was silent.