Lost In The Country of Samhain Hallows

 

Lost in the Country of Samhain Hallows

Run!

             She didn’t think about where she was going.

                                  She just wanted to run far away from home.  It didn’t matter where.

     She just had to get away from it all.  She ran from all the people who spoke about her in third person, even when she was present in the room.  

     Now, she was running from the new place that she had built up to be her “sanctuary.”  She could hear the heavy thudding of the boots of her pursuer coming closer.  The thudding was in sync with the pounding of her heart.

      She reached the gate from which she had entered this place and pulled at the latch.  The wrought iron did not budge.  She attempted to squeeze between the rustic bars to no avail. 

     “Rina!”  A male voice that had become familiar called right before he grabbed her, and held her firmly by the shoulders.  He turned her to face him.  She hated how her name sounded coming from him, how it caused her heart to skip a beat.  She squeezed her eyes shut.  She did not want to face the young man who shook her world.  She did not want to peer into his charcoal eyes that pierced her soul.     

     In the short time she’d known him he’d made her want to give up everything she knew about herself.  Even though he did not make it clear how he felt about her, she wanted to stay in this strange land because of him. 

      She shook her head violently.  But, seeing him with her.  She couldn’t compete.  Besides, she felt homesick.  All her life she had been passed from foster home to foster home, and all she wanted now was get back to her foster parents and siblings.  She’d spent nearly a year at her current home-longer than anywhere she could remember she’d been.  It was the day before Halloween.  She wanted to dress up and go Trick or Treating.  She was fourteen years old, almost passed the age to Trick or Treat any longer.  She didn’t want to wait another year to do it! 

     This strange land was like a perpetual graveyard.  No color, cold, and cloaked in mist.  Her thoughts were broken when she was suddenly pulled into an embrace.  Strong arms tightened around her and she tried to push and squirm her way out of his hold.  “Don’t, Koen!”  She protested.  “No?”  He questioned.  He caressed the back of her head and she buried her face in his chest.  Her arms relaxed at her sides.  If she struggled any harder, tears would just come pouring out and she would end up looking like a bumbling fool.  Maybe if she calmed down he’d release her and she could escape.  It’s all she ever wanted to do any way.  Escape.

     “You cannot leave Samhain Hallows.”  He stated.   She leaned back to look up at him and cried, “Why not?  I wanted to come here! I can leave!”  “No, you cannot,” he repeated.  “You’ve eaten the food from here.  It is part of you now.”  Her eyes widened in realization, recalling the tasty candied apples she just couldn’t resist.  Sweets were one of her many weaknesses.  She narrowed her light blue eyes and frowned before she responded. “Then, I take a part of this place with me when I go.  This place doesn’t need me.  Your Pumpkin King should just let me go.  This is not my home.”

     “I have orders to bring you back to the castle.”  Koen stoically stated.  “Is that all?  You’re just following orders.  Do you even want me here?”  She asked.  She sighed heavily and leaned her body against him.  This country was cold and windy, but Koen emitted warmth.  The feel of his rough hands on her bare shoulders made her shiver.  She was only clad in a silver mesh evening gown that wasn’t even hers.  Prior to running out of her quarters, she had looked at herself in the mirror and hardly recognized her reflection.  Her skin was pallid, her bright blue eyes seemed more gray, and her wavy golden hair was done up in pigtails that made her scalp ache. This place was changing her.  She felt like she was losing herself, and she had to get out.