Coming of Age (on hold)

Coming of Age -- Chapter 10

Sorry it's been so long. I've basically been gone the past two or three weeks and couldn't write but I'm back now! So this is the chapter that things finally start to get interesting, or at least in my opinion. I'll try to update soon. Please enjoy, comment, and vote! :)

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            I was in a valley. Trees circled around it, seeming to stretch up endlessly. The sound of a small stream could be heard far off in the distance. The sun glowed down, making everything shine with a gold glow around it like it was heaven. I smiled as I observed it. It was beautiful.

            That’s when I realized I wasn’t alone. I looked over. An old woman with wrinkles that looked like she could be as old as time itself sat crisscrossed in the middle of the field. Her lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear any words coming out. “Hello?” I called out. She didn’t move, didn’t flinch.

            I walked forward to get a better look. Wrinkles sagged off her everywhere. She was dark skinned, reminding me of a Native American. A giant gold necklace hung down with a crystal, gold skull at the end. One eye of the skull was green and the other black. It almost appeared as it stared at me. I looked up at two giant gold hoop earrings that touch her shoulder. Rings cover all her fingers and bangles allow no skin to be shown on her arms. As she twitched rapidly, they jingled softly. Her dress was all white and looked somewhat like a sheet. The sleeves went down to her elbows. Something about her reminded me of a voodooist.

            I took a hesitant step closer. There was something about her—about everything—that was just off. I didn’t trust it. “Hello?” I called again. I noticed her eyes were tightly shut. I kept making my way forward at a slow pace. I could hear her muttering things now, quick and sharp under her breath. “Excuse me,” I tried one more time.

            As I got closer, she began to shake violently, her voice getting louder and her words getting faster. I gulped and kept creeping closer, despite my instinct to flee. I suddenly realized she wasn’t just saying words, she was saying two words. “One morietur,” she repeated over and over, getting louder and faster. I could feel in the air that something wasn’t right. It felt dark and dim, like the forest floor with no light.

            I neared her body and she began to convulse. I kept stepping closer and closer. By now I was wanting to run away screaming, but my legs kept going without my willing them. I blinked and when my eyes open she was standing right in front of me. Everything had suddenly gone silent.

            The woman’s eyes were wide. From rim to rim, they were completely black, coated and glossy. She was shorter than me, yet she was hovering in the air, eye level with me. Her mouth was open wide as if she was screaming. She looked frozen in time. Panic rose in my throat and I was going to either scream or puke, but I couldn’t move. Suddenly she began screaming. Though her lips weren’t moving, sound was coming out. “One morietur, one morietur, one morietur, one morietur.” It rang in my ears as if it was inside my head.

            Suddenly as if time released, I fell to the ground and she disappeared. I clamped my hands over my ears and began to sob. The words still repeated loud and clear in my mind and they wouldn’t go away. It took me a minute to realize this time they were in English, not Latin like the woman had been speaking. “One shall die, one shall die, one shall die, one shall die.”

            I woke up shaking my head back and forth so hard my neck hurt. “No! No!” I cried as I shot up. I was drenched in sweat and my whole body was shaking rapidly. I probably looked pale as a ghost. My hands were digging so hard into my fists that I was bleeding. Tears were streaming down my face silently.