Hint: You won't have any idea what's going on if you haven't read Parts 1-6. -m
The instant Ravigie was around the corner, I crept silently through the door and stood by the kitchen table, looking down at the brown paper package. I don't know what I expected, but I felt uneasy. Like the thing was going to jump up at me. Or Ravigie would come inside and beat me for looking at it.
I remembered the courier who had brought it, and the look he had given the shadows. Standing in the kitchen then, I knew that the man had been staring into the eyes of Ambreel.
"Tristessssssaaaaaa......"
It was the voice of the package, calling to me again. Such a nice voice, to be coming from an inanimate object. Before I could lose my nerve, my fingers jumped to the dirty twine knots and pulled them loose, dropping the rough strings on the floor by my bare feet. They tickled a little, being partly on my toes, but I ignored this and slipped my index finger into the wrapping and tugged.
The paper came loose almost of its own accord. My vision grew blurry with shadows and suddenly the package was open. I hadn't meant to open it so quickly, but nevermind that. I was focused now on the feeling that there was someone -- no, not someone, many people -- in the room behind me. I turned slowly.
There were six of them, five of my imaginary children-friends and Ambreel. Their faces were carefully blank as they looked not at me, but at the open package on the table. The electricity of the magic reflected in their faces, making all but Ambreel look born of blue thunderclouds. The children smiled at me, but Ambreel frowned.
"I don't believe this is as good of an idea as you believe it to be," he said as he stepped out of the circle of children and came to stand by my side. He put his hand on my shoulder and I realized with a jolt that this was not my imagination's Ambreel. He was the real one. I could feel his blood beating in his hand. The roughness of his touch surprised me.
"You can't tell me what to do," I said. I glanced at the children. They looked more...real than I remembered.
Ambreel followed my gaze. "I found them wandering out towards the village. I thought maybe you needed to see your work for what it was."
"My work?" I looked up at him with eyebrows pressed together.
"You created them, Tessa. They are yours," Ambreel said, motioning back to the children. They smiled and waved at me as a child waves hello to their friend. "They are real," he added. I don't think I was showing him the level of understanding that he had hoped for.
Yet I did still not understand what he was telling me -- that my imaginary friends had lungs and noses that worked and ten toes and even minds that worked, too. Perhaps I didn't want to understand. It's an awful lot for a child to take in. Magic, omnipotency, responsibility. I didn't want to think about it, so I reached for the package on the table. Even though the paper was gone, it was still wrapped. The inner wrapping was fine white cloth. I spun and spun and spun it over itself, until the cloth was lying in a small pile at my feet, like a cloud.
The children crowded around me, awed and curious.
I was holding a necklace. It was not strange to me; I had seen it somewhere before. But I could not remember where. Ambreel's hand twitched on my shoulder.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked me.
I peered at the necklace. It was made of fine, delicate silver wire wound around white and blue precious stones. Even in the dim light of inside the house, the gems glittered of their own accord. I turned it over in my hands and could almost feel the light running along my skin.
"It was my mother's," I said. Of this, I was sure. I considered it a moment, then opened the clasp and began to put it around my neck.
"No!" Ravigie was at the door, bowling through the children and reaching for the necklace. She even managed to glare fully at Ambreel on her way through.
Ambreel smiled at her, nodded, and turned back to me. "The necklace is your mother's."
The clasp's tiny lever fell into place, securing the necklace around my neck. I felt electric. Power was surging through every inch of me; I could see the jumps of blue light as they ran up and down my arms.
Ravigie began to cry, and the children looked on me with awe. No one said a word. They were all waiting to see what I would do, or what I would say.
The necklace's power flowed through me, pooling in my open hands. I gazed at it, my mouth wide open. All of the creating, the imagining, the magic I had done -- none of it compared to this feeling of elation. I was--
"Tessa?"
I flew through the doorway -- yes, flew -- as fast as I could toward that voice. The children and Ravigie and Ambreel followed me, and we were a small village out in front of the little house. A woman was laying in the dirt of the road, eyes black with fresh bruises, limbs tied with makeshift bandages. Her jaw was swollen on one side, and her clothes were torn and ragged.
"Mama!"
23 February 2012
28 January 2012
Tristessa's Story, Part 6
Don't forget: There are 5 other Parts to read! Look to the links on the left and enjoy! -m
It was the day after Ravigie noticed the magic written on the palms of my hands. I had bidden my time the rest of that day; I wanted her to let me out of her sight for just a few seconds.
While I waited, I sat cross-legged in the dry, dry, dry dirt in front of our house. There had still been no rain. I licked my cracking lips and wished I hadn't. It almost made it worse to moisten them with the tip of my tongue. Grimacing, I pressed my mouth into a thin line and tried not to think about how dry it was.
A dot appeared on the road about a mile away, and as the minutes passed the dot grew into a blob, then a thing with legs, and finally, a person. A small person. It was one of the children who had thrown things at me when I was trapped in the coop. I sneered at him when he was close enough to see my face. I believe he knew the danger he was in almost immediately.
He stopped when he was ten feet away and stared at me. Then: "I...Ravigie?"
I shrugged and began to pick at my toenails. They were lined with fine dark dirt that I flicked at the boy while he stood there.
"I need Ravigie," he said again, sounding not-so-brave.
"Everyone needs Ravigie," I said and flicked more dirt in his direction.
The boy drew a sharp breath. Obviously whatever his mother had told him to do was more important than his fear of me, because an instant after his breath he was trying to walk around me, into the house. I laughed at him and shut the door by flinging my hand towards it and thinking, "Shut!" loudly in my head. It worked.
The door slammed loudly. Though I heard Ravigie yell in protest from the back garden, I was too much enjoying the look on the boy's face to stop. The whole village would hear about how the girl with the demon's eyes shut a door without even touching it.
I grinned. "Oh, that's not all I can do," I said, standing to my feet. The electricity was tingling in my fingertips. A grayish-blue smoke appeared around my hands, which I closed into fists. This was the shadow that I could see at the edges of my vision. Although the stuff around my hands was lighter in color than the shadows chasing me. I lifted my hands, pointing my palms at the boy's chest, thinking that he would never taunt me again.
And then Ravigie took both of my hands in hers. She was standing behind me, and so she had to reach very far forward to wrap her fingers around my wrists, but then again, maybe I only felt far away. The magic was suddenly extinguished.
"What do you need, boy?" Ravigie asked.
"W-water," he said, still staring at me.
"I don't have any," Ravigie said.
"Neither does anyone else," the boy said. He sighed and looked very, very sad. "Nevermind." He didn't even give me another scared glance before turning around and walking away.
I pulled my wrists from Ravigie's grips and turned to face her, wordlessly.
She eyed me and I could have sworn I was about to get slapped across the face. But instead she said, "His mother just had a baby. They named her Gianna."
I thought of the babies I had known. They were generally cute and smelly. Then I considered the boy, what he had asked for, and his demeanor when he left. "Gianna needs water?"
"Everyone needs water. Without water, we would all die."
"Is Gianna going to die?" I asked.
Ravigie shrugged her thin shoulders. The sallow hollows of her cheeks were proof of the things she was giving up so I could eat and drink goat's milk. "Unless something saves her," she said as she walked back to the garden. Just before she rounded the corner, though, she glanced back at my hands where the shadows and electricity were hiding.
It was the day after Ravigie noticed the magic written on the palms of my hands. I had bidden my time the rest of that day; I wanted her to let me out of her sight for just a few seconds.
While I waited, I sat cross-legged in the dry, dry, dry dirt in front of our house. There had still been no rain. I licked my cracking lips and wished I hadn't. It almost made it worse to moisten them with the tip of my tongue. Grimacing, I pressed my mouth into a thin line and tried not to think about how dry it was.
A dot appeared on the road about a mile away, and as the minutes passed the dot grew into a blob, then a thing with legs, and finally, a person. A small person. It was one of the children who had thrown things at me when I was trapped in the coop. I sneered at him when he was close enough to see my face. I believe he knew the danger he was in almost immediately.
He stopped when he was ten feet away and stared at me. Then: "I...Ravigie?"
I shrugged and began to pick at my toenails. They were lined with fine dark dirt that I flicked at the boy while he stood there.
"I need Ravigie," he said again, sounding not-so-brave.
"Everyone needs Ravigie," I said and flicked more dirt in his direction.
The boy drew a sharp breath. Obviously whatever his mother had told him to do was more important than his fear of me, because an instant after his breath he was trying to walk around me, into the house. I laughed at him and shut the door by flinging my hand towards it and thinking, "Shut!" loudly in my head. It worked.
The door slammed loudly. Though I heard Ravigie yell in protest from the back garden, I was too much enjoying the look on the boy's face to stop. The whole village would hear about how the girl with the demon's eyes shut a door without even touching it.
I grinned. "Oh, that's not all I can do," I said, standing to my feet. The electricity was tingling in my fingertips. A grayish-blue smoke appeared around my hands, which I closed into fists. This was the shadow that I could see at the edges of my vision. Although the stuff around my hands was lighter in color than the shadows chasing me. I lifted my hands, pointing my palms at the boy's chest, thinking that he would never taunt me again.
And then Ravigie took both of my hands in hers. She was standing behind me, and so she had to reach very far forward to wrap her fingers around my wrists, but then again, maybe I only felt far away. The magic was suddenly extinguished.
"What do you need, boy?" Ravigie asked.
"W-water," he said, still staring at me.
"I don't have any," Ravigie said.
"Neither does anyone else," the boy said. He sighed and looked very, very sad. "Nevermind." He didn't even give me another scared glance before turning around and walking away.
I pulled my wrists from Ravigie's grips and turned to face her, wordlessly.
She eyed me and I could have sworn I was about to get slapped across the face. But instead she said, "His mother just had a baby. They named her Gianna."
I thought of the babies I had known. They were generally cute and smelly. Then I considered the boy, what he had asked for, and his demeanor when he left. "Gianna needs water?"
"Everyone needs water. Without water, we would all die."
"Is Gianna going to die?" I asked.
Ravigie shrugged her thin shoulders. The sallow hollows of her cheeks were proof of the things she was giving up so I could eat and drink goat's milk. "Unless something saves her," she said as she walked back to the garden. Just before she rounded the corner, though, she glanced back at my hands where the shadows and electricity were hiding.
11 November 2011
Tristessa's Story, Part 5
Follow Tristessa through her mother's disappearance, bullying, and the mysterious appearance of the shadow-man in Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Satisfaction guaranteed! -m
I couldn't stop thinking about Ambreel-the-shadow-man, as I called him in my head. I began to imagine conversations with him while I was doing my chores. And then I imagined that he brought friends with him, children I might have known while living between the stone buildings in my life with my mother.
I loved imagining the children. They were sweet and helpful and aided me in sweeping the floor and cleaning out the chicken coop, and they talked about nice things like hot baths and clean toes and dresses that fit instead of hanging on my skin and bones. Every day I thought of them, they grew clearer in my mind, even gaining personalities and quirks. I loved the feeling of creating something so useful, and I relished the feeling of electric power I had whenever I was talking to them.
Ambreel was a gentleman and walked with me around the perimeter of the house after Ravigie decided I was allowed to venture there.
"How are you today, Ambreel?" I asked.
"I'm just fine, Tristessa Dellatierre," he said, using my first and last names, which I had almost forgotten existed.
Thinking of that, I asked, "Do you know my other names? I know there are others."
Ambreel shrugged his shadowed shoulders and I felt electricity tickle my palms. "I am in your imagination, Tristessa. You'll have to remember your other names for yourself."
"Thank you, Ambreel," I said. Turning the corner, I almost ran into Ravigie.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked forcefully. The smoke fled to the corners of my vision and the power stopped tingling in my fingers.
"Nobody," I said truthfully. I was talking to shadows and my own imagination.
Ravigie sniffed as though smelling the air and kept her nostrils wide. "You're lying," she said. "I can feel his magic. Where is he hiding?" she added, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards her. I had to stand on my tiptoes so that her vise grip wouldn't break my arm off.
"Who?" I asked as innocently as I could manage.
"Don't toy with me, child. I know his scent and I've heard you talking to him this past sennight. I will not be lied to. Now where is he?"
"He's nowhere," I said. The feeling was gone in my left arm and my calves were burning from standing so tall. "I just pretend to talk to him."
Ravigie looked at me with horror in her eyes. Without another word she dropped my arm to grab my hand. It stung as blood flowed back into the veins. The old woman held my hand up, holding her thumb in the center of my palm and pressing hard.
"Ow," I said. "What are you doing?"
"You're marked," Ravigie said, giving back my hand. I rubbed it and held it safe against my stomach.
"I don't understand," I said, knowing that she meant she could see the designs on my palms.
Ravigie looked at me shrewdly. "Don't use that magic to do anything stupid," she said. Just when I was about to ask another question, she walked away. Like she had told me not to forget to milk the goat. Like what she had just said was the simplest thing.
I cleared my throat and swallowed, letting her leave without a fight. When she was back in the house, I looked down at my hands. Magic? As I looked up again, my eyes drifted over the form of the brown paper package, which was still on the kitchen table. It made me think of the courier who had looked at me with fear, backing away before I had even had time to say hello.
Resolution flooded my mind. If I had magic, then I had power. And if I had power...no one could stop me.
I couldn't stop thinking about Ambreel-the-shadow-man, as I called him in my head. I began to imagine conversations with him while I was doing my chores. And then I imagined that he brought friends with him, children I might have known while living between the stone buildings in my life with my mother.
I loved imagining the children. They were sweet and helpful and aided me in sweeping the floor and cleaning out the chicken coop, and they talked about nice things like hot baths and clean toes and dresses that fit instead of hanging on my skin and bones. Every day I thought of them, they grew clearer in my mind, even gaining personalities and quirks. I loved the feeling of creating something so useful, and I relished the feeling of electric power I had whenever I was talking to them.
Ambreel was a gentleman and walked with me around the perimeter of the house after Ravigie decided I was allowed to venture there.
"How are you today, Ambreel?" I asked.
"I'm just fine, Tristessa Dellatierre," he said, using my first and last names, which I had almost forgotten existed.
Thinking of that, I asked, "Do you know my other names? I know there are others."
Ambreel shrugged his shadowed shoulders and I felt electricity tickle my palms. "I am in your imagination, Tristessa. You'll have to remember your other names for yourself."
"Thank you, Ambreel," I said. Turning the corner, I almost ran into Ravigie.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked forcefully. The smoke fled to the corners of my vision and the power stopped tingling in my fingers.
"Nobody," I said truthfully. I was talking to shadows and my own imagination.
Ravigie sniffed as though smelling the air and kept her nostrils wide. "You're lying," she said. "I can feel his magic. Where is he hiding?" she added, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards her. I had to stand on my tiptoes so that her vise grip wouldn't break my arm off.
"Who?" I asked as innocently as I could manage.
"Don't toy with me, child. I know his scent and I've heard you talking to him this past sennight. I will not be lied to. Now where is he?"
"He's nowhere," I said. The feeling was gone in my left arm and my calves were burning from standing so tall. "I just pretend to talk to him."
Ravigie looked at me with horror in her eyes. Without another word she dropped my arm to grab my hand. It stung as blood flowed back into the veins. The old woman held my hand up, holding her thumb in the center of my palm and pressing hard.
"Ow," I said. "What are you doing?"
"You're marked," Ravigie said, giving back my hand. I rubbed it and held it safe against my stomach.
"I don't understand," I said, knowing that she meant she could see the designs on my palms.
Ravigie looked at me shrewdly. "Don't use that magic to do anything stupid," she said. Just when I was about to ask another question, she walked away. Like she had told me not to forget to milk the goat. Like what she had just said was the simplest thing.
I cleared my throat and swallowed, letting her leave without a fight. When she was back in the house, I looked down at my hands. Magic? As I looked up again, my eyes drifted over the form of the brown paper package, which was still on the kitchen table. It made me think of the courier who had looked at me with fear, backing away before I had even had time to say hello.
Resolution flooded my mind. If I had magic, then I had power. And if I had power...no one could stop me.
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