That night, Darlene tossed and turned in bed. The last time she checked her cell phone, it was past eleven. She couldn't go outside for fresh air. What if the wolf appeared again?
And the beefy woman in the chef's uniform kept crawling back into her head, keeping her from falling asleep.
Finally, she leaped out of bed.
Opening one of the windows, without turning a light on, and drew a huge breath of fresh air. She saw a dark and mysterious figure leaning against the thick trunk of a tree opposite her room.
A small bright red circle appeared, every now and again. Whoever stood there, smoked.
"Are you going to keep on peeping at me, or are you coming down?"
Darlene recognized the deep voice, but wasn't sure. She smiled when the woman came out of the darkness and stepped into the light of a nearby lamppost. Yes, it was her.
"Well, are you coming down or do I have to come up?" Sandy asked and looked up to the open window. The tip of the cigarette turned bright red again as she drew from it. She blew a cloud of gray white smoke in the air and smiled.
"I'll be down in a minute," Darlene said and shut the window. She put on her pants and sneakers and headed downstairs.
The air was warm and humid, but cooler than inside the room.
It was mid-summer in South Africa and Pretoria was one of the cities that could get very hot during summer.
Sandy stepped back into the darkness again and watched as Darlene made her way over the grass terrace, approaching her. She smiled and a tingling feeling rushed through her body. "I'm here," she said, when Darlene stood still. Looking for her.
"Why do you hide out here in the dark?"
"I don't want to turn into a werewolf if the rays of the moon catch me."
Darlene giggled. "Great, then I'm safe. If you were one, you won't be able to hide from the moon, you would turn anyway."
"Oh, well then I reckon I'm not one. I thought you would only turn into one, if you looked into the full moon."
Darlene looked up to the sky. It was a full moon two days ago.
Her whole body shivered. She ran her hands up and down her arms, covered in goose bumps.
"Are you cold? I have my jacket here."
"No thanks. It's just. The moon… And the thought of werewolves."
Sandy glanced at her. "So you believe in werewolves then?"
"I don't know. Maybe? I want to tell you something, but promise you won't laugh."
She promised and listened to the story Darlene told her about the wolf she saw fifteen years ago and again, two days ago.
"Why do you think it's a werewolf?"
"She's bigger than other wolves, with long pointy ears. And I noticed she has no tail." She kept from mentioning the wolf was on top of her.
"Then we better get inside. Don't want her to tear us apart." Sandy slightly smiled as she took Darlene by the elbow and guided her to the front door.
When they stepped into the lobby, Sandy locked the door and placed her hand again on Darlene's elbow. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked and kept on guiding her. This time towards the kitchen.
Darlene watched her every move as she took two glasses out of the cupboard and opened the fridge to get the cool drink.
"You don't remember me, do you?" Sandy asked.
"No, I don't."
"Short. Fat. Ugly little girl."
"Oh my gosh! Sandy from school? Aunt Susan and Uncle Donald's daughter?" Darlene covered her mouth when Sandy confirmed with a nod. "Look at how you have grown! I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I meant you're all grown up now."
Sandy burst out laughing. "I know what you meant. My parents couldn't believe it either when they saw me for the first time in three years."
The two of them moved into the lobby. Blabbered like old friends and didn't notice how the time passed by. They only realized it, when some of the kitchen staff arrived for duty.
"Oh my, look at the time. Don't you have to get dressed for work?"
Sandy laughed. "No, I'm off today. My mother is standing in for me."
"Do you want to go to the farm with me? Gramps will be delighted to see you."
Sandy agreed eagerly. "That could be fun, but it has to be after breakfast."
Darlene nodded and jumped up. "When is breakfast served?"
"At eight."
"Great, see you then." She jogged upstairs to her room on the first floor. Shut the bedroom door behind her and flopped onto the bed. It's quarter to six she could get an hour and a half's of shut-eye.
Her eyes shut immediately when her head hit the pillow. Soon she dreamt about Sandy, the farm and Lupa standing in the moonlight waving at her.