The Wolverine & The Black Cat

24 // Fairy Tale Gone Wrong

C H A P T E R   24 :   F A I R Y   T A L E   G O N E   W R O N G

❝ If you're afraid of wolves, don't go to the woods. ❞

– Russian proverb

"Nowhere to run boy, run, come here right now
Here right now, here right now
There's only one thing that I wanna feel right now
Feel right now, feel right now 

You all over my skin, I'm anxious
Paint my body boy, I'll be your canvas
Don't talk to me, just show me your talent
Your talent, oh

One look and you're mine
Keep your eyes on me now
'Cause when the stars align
You might bring the beast out" 

That night I found Lewis lying down on the bench in the center of the mansion's maze. He wasn't smoking; just looking up at the stars, one arm crossed behind his head. He seemed so peaceful; I thought about turning around so as not to disturb him, but then he spoke.

"Is it better to gaze at the stars or at me?"

I kept quiet, observing how he hadn't moved or stared at me. His chest rose up and down in a steady pace; I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up sleeping here more than in his own bed. The full moon was bathing him with its untainted light; surrounded by the tall bushes, Lewis was locked on a world of his own, to which he had just invited me in.

"You're closer than the stars." I answered, walking towards him. My tone was but a whisper in the quiet of the night. It was chilly, and to warm us up Lewis made a flame erupt from his fingers when I got closer. "But sometimes you seem so far away."

"I feel far away." Lewis said, straightening himself up to make room for me. I sat beside him, watching him play with fire. I wanted to touch it, see if I got burned. Lewis noticed it and brought his fingers closer to me. Hesitantly, I made mine hover over the flame and then brought them down slightly. It was like shoving a gloved hand inside an oven.

"It doesn't... it doesn't hurt." I was amazed. "It's just warm."

"Fire is like people. Too much and it's destructive. The right dose and it's wonderful." Lewis rose his hand to his eye level and looked at me through the wavering flame. Behind it his eyes were flickering. "You're my right dose."

"You know you can come to me more often." I smiled sincerely at him.

Lewis snapped his fingers in front of my face and the flame disappeared. His smirk was a blend of banter and depth.

"I don't want to get addicted to you."

Lewis was the kind of friend that fit in your soul like a glove.

"Well, I'm healthier than cigarettes."

Lewis shoved his shoulder against mine playfully. We turned silent and I tilted my head up to the sky. Next time I was going to bring my sketchbook to capture it. It was very alluring anchoring to paper something that always moved and never stayed. That you could always see but never reach. I couldn't help but realize that if the sky was beneath us and not above us we would not crave it as much.

"I like how the sky doesn't wait for us." I broke up the silence, my ears cradled by the soft rustling of the leaves. "How it just keeps going."

"Yes." Lewis agreed. "It's like our mind. It never waits for our feet. Even when the body's trapped and immobile... the mind goes anywhere."