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 Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:09 pm
Dear Diary,
Am I dreaming?
I feel so out of touch with the world right now, like I’ve become detached from reality. It started with practice. I was practicing in the library and everything fell apart…A man appeared, of all things! I know I made the circle defective - I did it on purpose so nothing would come…but he…and IT showed up. That was about the point my sanity started spiraling, I think.
To the ‘it’ which I refer to, it’s…not really solid or anything, it’s more like a wisp. It’s slightly transparent and made up of what looks like smoke although there looks like almost a bit of blood on it’s side. Is that blood? It’s maroon and stationary, no matter which way the thing moves the red to moves with it, a constant variable in the instability that it is. Apparently ‘it’ is also a male. I’ve named him Victor! I’ve always liked that name, you know, so it seemed fitting to christen this creature as such - since that was about all of the say I had in it.
Yes, that was all, for the man that had come with Victor was not happy at all about my enthusiasm and even less happy when I gave it a name. It was like a switch…one moment a gentleman, the next moment a brutal stranger. I was backed into a corner, clutching Victor to my heart. It doesn’t make sense, does it? I don’t know why I wanted the thing since it’d only been a few minutes I was even aware he existed. Still, Avedis looked like he meant business, so it wouldn’t have been right to just leave it there. So yes, we were backed into a corner and I, embarrassingly, called for Maverick.
This was probably not a good idea.
Maverick came, sure enough, and Ean wasn’t far behind. Neither were happy with what was going on and started forcing Avedis away from me as best they were able. Would you believe it though? I just got into reasoning with him when suddenly he flipped! I mean, from becoming calm once more, he drew his own blood in sheer fury with whatever it was I’d said. I still don’t understand it. It was at that point Ben entered and got me away from him…and…Oh..
It’s so hard to believe any of this really happened. I’d think it a dream if Victor weren’t hovering right over my lamp.
Avedis upset Maverick. Maverick insulted Avedis. And then some girl shows up and says she wants m body!!! I mean - literally - wants my body. I think she might have been a necromancer as well, from what I caught from Avedis, so maybe it was for some ritual? Either way - it makes my innards squirm just thinking about it. I actually wouldn’t have minded so much if she hadn’t done something that is COMPLETELY unforgivable.
She kissed Maverick.
My Mav-….Master.
She didn’t live much longer after I got done with her. Or, at least, was dead for a longer period than Maverick had managed. I don’t understand why my assault effected her so much more…
I feel like everything is just coming apart at the seams.
So…I killed her, in a way…meaning she’s the first person I’ve ever lashed out at in such a way. I know I ought to be sorry but I’d be lying if I said that I was.
It felt good.
It felt wonderful hearing her body snap dry and crumple to the ground, even for an instant.
Is it supposed to? Perhaps it’s my sign…how I know this was meant to happen…that I’m supposed to be Maverick’s apprentice. He’s told me nothing of it since what went on, so I worry that he may not even consider me anymore, just for having to have had to call on him.
I hope I’m not replaced…
After I killed her though, the scene reversed. The girl got up, HUGGED me, and vanished - Avedis went with her.
So I now have a manic master, a mysterious mist, a miffed man, and a massive migraine… And a case of alliteration.
I’ll put you away and think of other things for now…Maverick’s calling. So I end it here.
Josie
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:11 pm
Victor was looking extra fluffy today. Even in direct sunlight, Josie could see the grey mass swirling elegantly around the deep maroon haze within it. It all seemed to orbit around that point, save for a slightly darker area that seemed to move as it did to ‘look’ at the world around it. So soft and delicate…Josie pursed her lips for a moment before releasing a little puff of air, watching as even the slight change caused him to drift out of his sunbeam and into a shadow. He didn’t stay there for very long though and could soon be seen again in the sunlight, barely effected by all that it had faced but a few days ago. Avedis…Maverick protecting her…and Ean…the thoughts that should have troubled the two seemed so far away on this lazy afternoon. Rather, all their attention in the world was on each other and the sunbeam that illuminated them both with its warmth.
Josie rolled onto her back and gently reached up, pallid digits barely brushing the fluffy underside of the illusion. There was a sort of emotion through touch, a cool surface like glass or perhaps porcelain…and intent not entirely pure now dulled in this state. It was a familiar sort of feeling that she couldn’t admit to not having had herself, a shudder - not entirely pleasant - ran through her spine before she leaned up and captured him. Victor protested as best he could, pulling and trying to dissolve through her fingers to no avail, he was caught and now at the mercy of the features drawn close to his. He shuddered but lay still, perhaps wondering just what the girl was looking at him in such a way for.
The look he meant was one of deep fascination mixed with frustration. Even with the explanation she still had yet to make a revelation as to just what had caused such a sensation…What WAS Victor? ‘Abomination’ No, that didn’t quite fit. ‘Illusion’ Closer, but still not the word that came to mind…Josie turned him this way and that before a notion struck her and she leaned forth, a dainty, pink tongue-tip extending and brushing against whatever Victor was.
Two words that suited him had come to mind.
Cotton candy.
He looked to all the world a big, grey fluff of cotton candy! Josie closed her eyes and concentrated on the sensation, another shudder running through her as he retaliated. Yet, she didn’t withdraw…there WAS something there and it tasted like white chocolate and raspberry tea! Josie pulled away and stared at it for a moment and grinned, clearly pleased although Victor apparently was not. He tasted like white chocolate and tea and was made up of cotton candy. That was real enough to exist and confirm her sanity, so Josie released Victor back into his sunbeam and closed her eyes - drifting off to contemplate other things…but mostly just dreaming of what would happen next.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:16 pm
Dear Diary,
I wish I were a boy and could call you a journal but Maverick says that I’m a girl and so he bought you like this - with the word ‘Diary’ printed clearly on your flat face. I’d never noticed it until now but I don’t like the word so much as I ought to, and will have to reinvent it one day to sound so much less feminine.
Anyways!
Victor and I are doing well, and so is Maverick. My uncle has a slight cold and he’s slightly annoyed that he can’t see what I’m talking to (Victor) but besides that he’s resting comfortably when not waking me up at two in the morning to teach me something. Even though he’s sick, he’s still getting more sleep than I am! Sometimes he gives me night lessons but I have to be awake during the day as well to take care of him and run errands for the house, so I’ve only been able to snatch two or three hours in the last couple of days. I don’t think he knows that I’ve been staying up when he’s resting to restudy everything he’s taught me. He would worry if he knew. Than again he might know and not care…
I’ve only been his apprentice for two weeks now - so we’re only close in the loosest sense yet. I was surprised when he protected me so fiercely from Avedis but after that things returned to normal and I became lonesome again. Why? Well…I can’t leave, you know. I haven’t seen anyone but Maverick for the few weeks up until Victor came, and I haven’t seen anyone since. I think it has something to do with my training. I hope I’m allowed out soon.
In the meantime, Victor has been keeping me company. His favorite spot is by the windows where he can float in a sunbeam until nightfall when we light the fire and he moves to it instead. I’ve noticed he tends to follow me only as far as the nearest sunbeam but at the same time won’t leave me alone - even when I’m in the shower! It’s really embarrassing having him hover just outside the curtain…I’m just thankful he doesn’t have eyes! Even than, he follows me around like a little chick and can be distracting during lessons and such - but I enjoy having him for company. He makes the days go by faster and the nights seem a little brighter.
Speaking of night, I plan to stay up again. I hope Maverick doesn’t find out but I really want to impress him with my progress so I’m determined to stay awake until I get it perfectly. This means I have to pop a few pills of concentrated caffeine but it’s worth it, knowing that one day he’ll smile at me and let me know I’m useful to him. I hope that day is soon or I’m going to collapse! Oh well, what can one more night up hurt? It’s not like I’m going to collapse…
So there you have it sofar. Nothing much has changed around here and Victor is still safe and sound. I think I’ll go play with him some more before I go back to Maverick and my studies. I’ll write again soon!
Josie
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:14 am
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:43 pm
Changes
The girl lay still. It had been two days since Josie had collapsed. Her body had surrendered to the living necessity of sleep whether or not she agreed with it on the matter, which by her recent behavior, she had fought valiantly. Even a student of death was still alive and to live - she needed sleep. However, the sleep was deep. Even her breathing seemed to halt beneath the covers and Maverick had stopped his work several times to assure himself that she was still among them. He was not the only one concerned and although he couldn't see it - Victor had been on top of her since her collapse and watched very carefully.
He himself was not well either. The reverie no longer drifted lazily into the sun to bathe himself in its light. He no longer moved from where he hovered, a fraction of a hair from Josie's heart. That was what seemed to fuel any sort of response now, but what good was it if she was the only one he was at all visible to? The deep hues nestled within it pulsed with agitation, a nervous sort of energy that spoke of things to come - although what was coming was unclear.
In the distance a clock tolled three and the sounds of movement from the next chamber could be heard. The chamber's passage opened soon after, a result of the figure silhouetted within it's frame. It was Maverick again. His pallid visage lacked over enthused emotion but his intentions were clear enough and of concern for his apprentice. In his hand he held a medical kit. He'd come again to see if she would not obey him now and awaken as he wished her to.
Maverick moved to the bedside within minutes and sat on its edge, laying down the kit and moving through Victor to get at her chest. His fingers worked skillfully to unbutton her blouse and reveal the endowment of her late mother, a tempting offer that the man had no interest in. No time was wasted on idle thoughts but instead in the working of busy hands, the kit opened and a stethoscope taken from the kit. The earpieces were secured and the metal warmed in his hand before he applied pressure beneath the left breast to reveal the apex of Josie's heart where he placed the discus and began to listen.
The sound was slow. Josie's heart was beating steadily at twenty five beats per minute, a sleeping rate. It was improvement. Three hours ago it had been at twenty. That wasn't a dangerous rate but Maverick had desired results that would point towards eventual consciousness, as opposed to this immobile state. The heart had picked up though and only held flaw in her hereditary murmur. It was a sound they all had - and it was the sound that tied them together, the family Arrikanez.
Maverick pulled away and returned the device to it's rightful place, closing it and her attire before he leaned down, a voice that could send thousands to damnation being very soft in her ear. "Josie, wake up." And nothing. Her persisted, this time laying a hand on her shoulder, adding some force to his attempt. "Wake up, Josie. It's past dawn."
For the first time in the two days, a deep breath was taken. Her chest swelled for a moment before a soft moan drifted from her parted lips. Josie had regained consciousness. Maverick shook her again. "Get up, Josie." The man needn't ask a second time. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment before opening, pupilless emeralds focusing as she moved from beneath him, unsteadily pushing herself up. She turned to look at Maverick, a concerned look coming to her. "Where am I? Did I doze off.." "No. You collapsed." The last bit was obviously spoken in agitation, making his displeasure clear. Josie turned away, her cheeks tinted red.
"I-I didn't mean- I wanted to" A finger was on her lips before she could continue. Maverick removed it before moving his hand down to cup her features, forcing her to look at him. "What you wanted was not what I instructed of you, Josie. I expect you to obey me, completely and without question. I will not have an apprentice who cannot meet this standard - so I will only tell you this once. You will never again make me worry for your health in this way. I will not tolerate this destructive behavior."
Josie could feel her throat burning, held back tears. She'd wanted so much to impress him, so why now did he rebuke her so? He gaze fell to the earth before Maverick jerked her attention back to him, his demands firm but anything but cruel. He continued in softer tones. "Do you realize to what extent you expended yourself? This is not a game, Josie, this is death. Remember that. You are MY apprentice - the only one I've ever taken. Never again...Never again will you insult my decision by so foolishly courting what you do not understand. I will not be made to pull you back from death again."
The black..the last moments before it...The weeks before. It overtook her - the memories washing over her as she recalled the waking nightmares she'd witnessed while forcing herself to wake and continue on with her dance with death. She had nearly died and not realized it until just that moment.
Unbidden tears coursed down her pretty features, tracing his hand as they journeyed towards a grave not yet her own. Maverick released his hold only to find himself in her embrace, his apprentice latching onto him. Josie could feel his body tense as she buried her face in his chest. Would he push her away? The moments passed but he did not recoil in disdain. He allowed her there for now, letting her compose herself. The tears subsided as the minutes passed on and the comforting imagination that was his heartbeat resounding through her senses as she turned her features to gaze elsewhere. A hand again found its way to her and guided her off and onto her own then yet suddenly she jerked beneath it as it seemed something else had swept her back up into distress.
Avedis, could it be? Maverick became defensive immediately and looked around to find his foe but there was none to be found. His attentions shifted to Josie as he realized this and wondered to what now caused her eyes to widen so and her cheeks to flush with soft dawn hues.
“M-Master?” “Yes?” Josie paused before pointing at where her own being had rested a time before. Nothing there lie visible to he, but to she there lay a new illusion. Victor, or was it Victor? Seemed to have vaporized and reformed as something new. The phantom outline of an infant…one familiar but stranger than any reality she’d known. “Well, what is it?” The impatient tones seemed to snap the girl out of her daze as from the figure she turned to her master. “Since when did we have a baby?”
That in itself rendered Maverick speechless but the phantom infant which Josie had mentioned now opened eyes wide to behold it’s chosen…and a smile spread upon it’s face.
Victor was becoming, and would be coming very soon.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:50 am
Dear Diary,
So much has changed. As I write to you now I watch the incorporeal remains of, or what was, Victor. He is no longer the wisp I thought I knew but rather a child unknown to me. Yet, even this I cannot say. His eyes don’t allow me that unfamiliarity for I know them, being the eyes of my Master. How could I not know those delicate hues? Victor has become a doppelganger, and more than anything I’d anticipated. How can I not know though? This change is meant to occur, and it’s meaning is clear. I’m going to be a mother.
Victor has pained me though. Does no one believe me of his existence? Though I’ve begun constructing a bassinet for him, my family doesn’t understand that I’m serious. They don’t see, to realize that this is not some figment of my mind and that Victor is solidifying before me! With every moment that passes I know it. At first it was his eyes that bored into me with such innocent intensity and then his skin that gained luster. More and more things are changing and that change is approaching faster than they have time to comprehend.
I won’t be caught off guard though. I’ve set aside a part of my room to compensate for not having time to make the child a nursery. A few meager things are there yet but once he does pop into existence, I’m sure Maverick will allow me to use the spare supply room to keep him in. I wonder what I’ll do with it…
I’m sure Victor has it planned though. He came with his own attire and manner, a sweet lace robe shielding him from whatever force has begun to make him real. Is he gay? Perhaps. It isn’t an odd occurrence in my family, so if he does become such than at the least I won’t be found off guard. Yet, that’s a bit of an early assumption. I think I’ll stay rather to the task of decorating than his dating plans.
Even then, I’m ahead of myself. All that needs doing is waiting…and I know that it won’t be very long now.
Josie
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:50 am
Of Babies and Bustiers
“Kiiiiiiiiiilllllll….” It was the only word the bra had uttered that afternoon. It was the only word the bra had EVER uttered. A substance akin to tar had spread over the once amethyst hued fabric and in its entirety seeped through the fibers until there was nothing left of the original article save for the shape. What it was now…well…A disaster. - for that was the only word suited to describe just what had happened. “Kiiiiiiiilllllllll….” “Deeaaaattttthhhh” “Agony….” The bra was joined by its kin, they had been amassed together and continued to cry out, becoming louder as Josie and her aunt approached. “So this is it, huh?” The woman who had spoken was Josie’s aunt, Amber. For everything that Josie was - Amber was not - polar opposites that somehow managed to get along despite their different professions.
The woman picked up a particularly pungent looking piece of the pile and shook her head. Josie moved to her side and watched the shirt writhe within her grasp, obviously perturbed at having been lifted into the air. The girl chuckled nervously. “Ehehehe…it was an accident?” Amber dropped the shirt and looked to her niece, arms crossed. ‘Accident’ was completely an understatement for the feat that Josie had attempted to execute and sorely failed at. The still moaning clothes were the result. “Yes…an accident. You do know that I could just burn these and be done with it, right?” The look on Josie’s face was priceless. Amber knew it had been one of her favorite outfits but the lesson had to be learned, at least to this degree. Amber chuckled softly and reached out to stroke the girl’s head. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to burn them. We ARE going to cleanse them though.” “Thanks, Amber…I don’t know what I’d do if Maverick found out. So..” Josie looked towards the clothes, “How are we going to get rid of the gunk?”
To this Amber motioned to a cauldron placed on the other side of the room which Josie noted that Victor had since hovered over towards, as though drawn to the steaming liquid. Amber, being unaware of the babe that hovered dangerously close to the cauldron, elaborated. “Holy water. It’s the only thing that’ll get THAT out of your clothing. Just pick them up and dump them in and they should be good as new within a few minutes. I’ve already set the fire underneath - so I it should be warm.” “Right…just throw and go. Got it.” Josie’s lack of rapt attention was a bit worrisome to Amber but having other things to do, she nodded at the crude summary of the task and began to leave the chamber. “Yes, just throw and go…I have to go help Damien with dinner now so I’ll be in the kitchen if you have any trouble.”
Once alone, Josie began to gather the articles of what had been her robes. Not that this was very easily done for it seemed that they had sprouted teeth and eyes (which looked rather comical upon the bra’s cup) and now began to fight against their mistress for every little bit of their worth. Soon, Josie found herself swearing words inaudible in Juridian as blood seeped from scratches that well lined her arms and face. The clothes were NOT happy and neither was she! As the ivory canines dug deep into her flesh once more, Josie had enough of attempting to reasonably gather the pile. She ripped the lingerie off of her in a huff and threw the clothes as hard as she could at the cauldron and to their damnation.
A second would pass before she also realized that in her rage, she had completely forgotten “THE BABY!!!”
The clothes struck what should have been intangible. They ensnared around what shouldn’t even exist and dragged it, him, screaming into the hot liquid. Panic surged over Victor within seconds and the infant wailed in pain, fear, and confusion as he began to sink - his world slowly going black before something seized his tiny frame and ripped him bodily from the thickening ooze. Victor continued to scream as water again struck him, a splash pulsating through the air before the gentle sizzle filled his senses. It all meant one thing.
Seeing what she’d done, Josie had lunged at the cauldron and began tearing through the clothes until the now inanimate objects revealed what she’d known was coming all along. The baby - her baby - which she grabbed from the depths…only to fall in herself and knock the cauldron over and onto the fire, extinguishing it. Now she sat inside the overturned cauldron, cradling Victor to her sopping wet bosom, and completely unaware of her family members who, having heard the din, rushed in. Only one thing registered in her mind as she stared at the wailing infant.
She was a mother.
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:27 pm
Dear Diary,
Can you believe it? I can’t - not really - but here it is. I write to you now while sopping wet. I also write to you as a mother. A mother of WHAT I don’t know.
Make no mistake - I know it’s a baby. I’m not quite that foolish.
But how? What? WHY? All I know is that he sort of looks like Maverick and he’s now resting peacefully in his little bed. I’m really glad now that I’d thought to make this ahead of time! It’s about half a foot deep and lined with old odds and ends of lacey curtains, dress scraps, and other things that are more feminine than I’d particularly care for - yet, it suits Victor perfectly. Now that he is solid, I’ve found that his attire is curious. It kind of looks like something they would have put a baby in in the early 18-1900s. Strange, isn’t it? That’s not all that’s strange though. Poor Victor…I think he has a fear of water now.
Every time I’ve tried to wash him off or do his clothing, he starts screaming uncontrollably until he is completely dry as a corpses’ bone. Not even a little moisture can come near him or the child starts screaming and writhing like he’s about to die! It seems that bath time is going to be more than a little problem with him. I can’t help but blame myself for his insecurity around water.
I wonder what else I’ve already done to the poor child.
Oh! He’s waking up now. I’ll write again when I have the time. Until than, farewell.
-Josie
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:11 pm
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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 3:59 pm
The day was young. The early morning mists that often settled over the silent fields that lie between the castle Arrikanez and Maverick’s domain had not yet yielded to the molten rays of the sun as the awe inspiring orb slowly began its ascent into the sky. A pair of eyes watched the glorious sight, one set wider than the other for the innocent wonderment as the massive sphere tinged the dark plains with hues of reds, pinks, and soft gold that faded languidly into the softest hues of powder blue. It was Victor’s first sunrise and it was also time for he and his mother to retire. Josie had been at it again. The girl tenderly embraced her child tighter to her bosom, allowing him to absorb the sight a few moments longer before a cascade of ebony streaked chestnut fell before him, a curtain of her tender locks that spilled as she bent her head to nestle into his dark mane. “Time for bed, sweetheart…we’ll see the sun again after a good, long sleep.” The whisper didn’t seem to affect the child at all as still he lay silent against her, taking in the lingering portrait of the sunrise.
Josie shifted his weight gently to one arm and withdrew the other, reaching up to close the curtain before turning into the chamber. The room was still littered with the night’s workings. Pens and parchments lay scattered over a mahogany desk at the northwest corner whilst underfoot the remains of charcoal runes were still etched. Still more was the pool of magical moisture that had, at some point, spilled over the rim of a massive, cast-iron cauldron. This was of having had to tend to Victor during her work that the mixture had spilled but the girl wasn’t terribly bothered by the incident and daintily stepped over the din and fuss and towards their beds.
She paused at the infant’s bassinet and gently lowered him into the navy sheets. A smile formed on Josie’s features as Victor raised his small hand up towards her, noiselessly begging to be picked up by his mother. The gesture, albeit adorable, was to no avail. Josie only leaned down to kiss his forehead before drawing up the covers around him and closing the small curtain that dangled around an outer canopy. Darkness consumed Victor’s tiny form but in this, the overwhelming hours of candlelight and lamps that had been lit until just an hour before dawn had not allowed him this same comfort. The deep, cool shade was to him a great comfort, so thus the darling blue orbs fluttered closed and Victor slept. The girl couldn’t help but smile at how easily manipulated the young child was when the setting was right.
Josie didn’t dwell too long on it though and soon abandoned the bassinet for her own bed, crawling ontop of it and plopping her full weight into the downy depths. The entire world around her seemed to melt into a blissful sea of unconscious tranquility….before the entire thing was shattered, the sounds of stirring recognized before a child’s wail. Josie opened her eyes and pushed herself up, slightly perturbed but being more concerned for Victor than herself, she got up and quickly closed the distance between the beds. She picked up Victor and swiftly began shushing him, bouncing him up and down as she continued her trail of understandings to the door - now having realized that a knock had woken the child, and thus someone must be behind it. Once she’d gotten Victor to quiet down for a minute, Josie shifted him to her hip and opened the passage. What she saw was of the like the girl had, until now, been fortunate to have never seen.
“GOOD MORNING!” The voice came from an obnoxiously chipper man and two younger women who seemed as though they were about to burst with the sheer magnitude of joy thrown into the greeting. All three were dressed sharply in their Sunday best, crisp white shirt and shined shoes, accompanied by loud, flowery dresses and adorned bonnets. The trio beamed up at Josie who now stood staring at them, truly stricken dumb by the overwhelming amount of glee. “G-Good morning?” The girl was able to stutter out a reply only after the group had begun leaning in, baited breath and big smiles all as they balanced on their toes towards her. The man, whom was apparently their leader, wasted no time. He seized the girl’s hand and shook it hard, keeping it up as the women behind him held up books. “GOOD MORNING to YOU M’am! Have YOU ever felt lost? Lonely? As though your very SOUL is in DANGER of the firey depths of HELL?!” “E-Erm wha-” “Than YOU have been BLESSED my sister in Jehovah, for WE bring YOU, THE MESSAGE OF GOD! We were informed of your SATANIC practices here and are HERE NOW to SAVE your damned, weak willed soul! We-” Satanic had been the word to set her off. Josie ripped her hand from the man’s grasp and stepped bodily pushed herself back, slamming the door in the stranger’s face.
Of all the nerve! Josie was livid, trembling elegance torn to the surface by the audacity of the intruders. The child, as if sensing the aggression that now surged through his mother, softly whined into her bosom. The emotions churned on for a few minutes more before Josie looked down at Victor and again began her quiet comfort, taking him away. However, thought she the end of the interruptions, she would soon be bitterly disappointed. As Josie again moved to the bed and lay down her babe, three sharp raps resonated from the window pane. “M’AM!!! M’AM!” Josie looked up and her jaw promptly dropped. There in the window, again the strangers! One man and two women, their massive bulk now blocking any light that dared venture in through the translucent glass structure. Josie ran to the window and pulled open the curtains. The scene was not a pretty one. The flowery bonnets of the women now lay askew, the pudgy cheeks of their owners pressed so hard to the glass that steam formed where their turned features ended. Only the man faced it fully with wide, adoring smile still plastered onto his rosy features that parted the ivory walls of his smile as he called, “M’AM! We’ve come only for your soul!! THINK of your b*****d CHILD!”
This had to be a nightmare, it had to be! Josie closed the curtains and grabbed Victor from his bed, ignoring the wail he sent up as she hurried from the room to seek shelter. Just outside, the relentless sounds of her followers were audible. The three hurried just beyond those walls, they hurried after them as wound hounds…hounds that had been injected with an overdose of prozac. Although she knew it to be fruitless, but Josie turned, facing the sound that would soon hurry by her to the next window. “Leave me alone! I’m not interested in whatever it is you’re selling!” Their reply in itself was surprising as the muffled tones worried away at the exterior of the home, “We’re only selling SALVATION, M’am! Just open the door and let the LIGHT in to your heart!!!” A bang on the door followed, one of the trio apparently having branched off to try at it again. Josie didn’t answer it nor the pair but clutched Victor to her and ascended the stairs. Surely they would fine their match there! The voices faded the higher she climbed. It was there she sought refuge, quiet, and above all else - a room of war. Josie tucked Victor into one of the spare bedrooms and moved to the far balcony to asses her situation.
The three had now split up. The man was now circling the perimeter of the home while the women moved in shifts to check at the doors and windows of the lower level. Josie continued to watch them for a good fifteen minutes, realizing then that she would eventually have to deal with her overly persistent guests. They wanted to bring the light into her life? Fine. A feral smile twitched at the corners of her lips, a sinister premonition to what was soon to occur. Josie slipped inside once more to check on Victor, finding him asleep where she had left him. The child would be safe here so Josie turned her attention towards the wardrobe and set to her task. Soon enough, the front passage to the home opened. The pastor and his disciples paused in their incessant trek and hurried to, their smiles growing even wider, if at all possible, once they saw what awaited them. There she stood, dressed all in white, a pretty flower tucked behind her ear. “WELL! Sister LOOK at YOU! Have you finally decided to allow the beautiful LIGHT into your heathen devil lifestyle?” Josie could feel her hackles rising as he again saw fit to drag her into the likes of the devil, but her sweet smile remained by sheer force of will. She batted her eyelashes prettily at him before stepping back inside for a moment, returning soon enough with what appeared to be a freshly baked pie. “Oh indeed I have, sir. But First - won’t you and your lady friends accept my humble apology with this pie?” She shoved the pie towards them and into the unrepentant hands of the man. “I also brought a knife!” A butter knife - they would run to the police if anything more. This she too handed over before her features were tinted a rosy pink, the blushing maiden’s folly. “Oh…I forgot the plates! Why don’t you cut the pie and I’ll be RIGHT back..” The trio beamed and crowded around the pie as would naughty children crowd a sacredly pilfered treasure. In their delight, they failed to notice the door close and lock, the softest trace of sound from within. The man cast an adoring glance around his followers and lifted the knife, gently piercing the crust with the tip of the knife. “LORD THANK YOU FOR THIS PIIIIIIEE!!” The last syllable was drawn out, perhaps his last, for the moment the crust was pierced, fire ravaged the mass radius of the home in a massive explosion of awe-inspiring, fruity proportion.
Only after all the world outside was calm did the door unlock and Josie poke her head into the charred world that lay outside. A pie tin, some shoes, and their book was all that remained. She gingerly picked up the novel and looked it over. She couldn’t suppress a smile. “Well what do you know…I guess it really was holy.” Josie drew in a short breath and exhaled onto the scorched cover, the entirety of what it once was disintegrating at her whim. Josie cast the ashes aside and retreated into her home to seek sleep and the salvation only it could bring.
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:18 am
Dear Diary,
I am doing well. The days have passed quickly since you and I last had time to talk, and I have much to tell!
Souls night has passed already on Juridia. It was alot of fun and I think Victor enjoyed the festivities. I dressed myself as a vampire and I dressed Victor as a black cat! You should have seen how adorable he looked with little cat ears and whiskers. I don't think he was much plussed for his costume, but he recieved enough attention from our guests to keep him content.
Speaking of guests, that's the news I sat down to write about. My uncle, Baron, is considering comming to live with us. I don't know him very well, to be honest. From what I have seen I can tell he's a distant sort. He likes everything just so and doesn't seem as though he approves of people who deviate from his interests.
I'm hoping we get along, for Maverick and Victor's sake. For my sake to.
Anyways, I'm getting into unpleasant things. I have good news!
My dads are expecting! Apparently my abscense hasn't stopped them from their usual routine, so sometime in the comming months we should see some kids! I'm reeally excited about it. I plan to help them prepare for my new siblings after class.
Speaking of - I have to run! I need to prepare for my lessons and see about helping Zael get ready.
I'll write again soon.
-Josie
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 2:54 pm
The Death of a Doll
It was warm. In the darkness of a moonless night, there was warmth. A lamp? Of a sort. A single candle shone through weathered glass, the only illumination in the tiny room. Room? His room. Or was it? The print was dated, a somber gray shade that shifted and twisted itself into intricate illustrations of illustrious imitation. Only a far few pieces of furniture littered the chamber, all of which spoke of a small, tender thing. This was the room of a sweet, little girl. But what had it to do with him? Everything! Everything that he, it, she, was attached to and was and was going to be.
In time.
Time that tolled behind a transparent wall. A circular prison for something that could never be imprisoned. Time. It would be his, all in time.
He could feel his lips, stiff but of darling expression. He smiled, unwillingly at first but then yielding to it as slowly as everything seemed to move. But he couldn’t move. His body and limbs were stiff, even his eyes seemingly riveted in place. The only thing audible was the time. Was it running out? No - the door opened, from a place he couldn’t see, and footsteps came one, two, one after the other after the other until many footsteps filled the room.
He already knew it was the girl.
He already knew what time it was, and without moving he lunged after her precious time that had come to an end. And end! It ended there. A scream torn from some deep, hollow cavity.
The hollow? He was hollow. He had nothing to breath. To be. To live.
To live? He was alive but empty as the scream built itself into an unbearable pressure that seemed to split from his skull and beyond into what he could not see for drowning.
Some one else screamed then. The girl. Then a man…a man? A man in black, with a white buckled collar. It was the man who’d thrown the water. It was the man who now screamed his name and his being. Beelzebub.
That had been what he had been. Been alive. Been hollow. But most of all, just been.
The pressure on his skull was overwhelming now. Glass shattered somewhere. His hand. The pane had shattered and with it, everything ended. His skull split. He wasn’t there to feel it.
All that was there, was a doll.
He was no more.
He was dead.
Victor’s darling eyes burst open from the troubled realm that slumber has transported him to. The water, the dark, the warmth. Warmth. Victor could feel the hot moisture on his flesh, the thick ooze of something that trickled down his face. It was blood. His scar had split, and with it, a part of himself. The babe lay trembling with eyes wide open for what seemed forever before the congealed liquid met his eye and with it left a tear.
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:54 pm
...And all my days are trances,
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy gray eye glances
And where thy footstep gleams---
In what ethereal dances
By what eternal streams.
And streams and streams, running forever on. The sound of rain is a shallow comfort tonight. Although the lamp burns away the darkness, I cannot rest.
My heart aches for a child’s lament.
Victor is restless and so am I. Never have I heard such a mournful sound, of fright and anger, the mixed emotions of a child not yet even knowing the magnitude of his feelings. I do not know why the rain upsets him so, but I will stay and write until the unhappy toll of his still raw voice wavers and quiet fills us once more.
The gray eye of the storm came over us as noon wore on into a languid afternoon. It had been the palest shade of blue today, but the sky now mourns some intangible loss, it shed bitterly cold tears to cleanse our home. These tears joined by one among perhaps many. Edgar Allen’s words never rang so true as tonight - in these ethereal dances flow what eternal streams...and to my babe I lay thee down, into the darkened dreams.
Sleep well, Victor…for tomorrow’s dawn shall drive you on. The rain is gone, so I bid so long.
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 6:00 pm
When - my - dolly - died, - when - my dolly - died,
I - sat - on - the - step - and - I - cried - and - cried;
And I couldn’t eat any jam and bread,
‘Cause it didn’t seem right when my doll was dead.
And Bridget was sorry as she could be,
For she patted my head, and “O,” said she,
“To think that the pretty has gone and died!”
Then I broke out afresh and I cried and cried.
And all the dollies from all around
Came to see my dolly put under the ground;
There was Luly Lee and Mary Clack
Brought their dolls over, all dressed in black;
And Emiline Hope and Sara Lou
Came over and brought their dollies, too,
And all the time I cried and cried,
‘Cause it hurt me so when my dolly died.
We dressed her up in a new white gown,
With ribbons and laces all around;
And made her a coffin in a box
Where my brother keeps his spelling blocks;
And we had some prayers, and a funeral, too;
And our hymn was “The Two Little Girls in Blue.”
But for me, I only cried and cried,
‘Cause it truly hurt when my dolly died.
We dug her a grave in the violet bed,
And planted violets at her head;
And we raised a stone and wrote quite plain,
“Here lies a dear doll who died of pain.”
And then my brother, said he, “Amen,”
And we all went back to the house again,
But all the same I cried and cried,
Because I’d a right when my doll had died.
And then we had more jam and bread,
But I didn’t eat, ’cause my doll was dead.
But I tied some crape on my doll house door,
And then I stood and cried some more.
I couldn’t be happy, don’t you see!
Because the funeral belonged to me.
And then the others went home, and then
I went out and dug up my doll again.
And when my doll was well dug up, I carved her with some runes.
The others in their carefree while, in turn all dug their tombs.
I smiled again, my doll undone, and watched the crimson setting sun,
And no longer did I cry and cry, for I knew those few would surely die. -Josie Arrikanez
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:31 pm
Dear Diary,
Am I so attractive to the unusual happenings of this world? Today had started out casually enough, you know. I had washed Victor and given him breakfast, studied my lessons, and retrieved my chores from Maverick.
Simple, isn't it?
These things I do every day. I assure that the house is well taken care of and that Victor wants for nothing much, save, perhaps, for attention. And then I go and I do whatever task Maverick has seen fit for me to perform.
Today was only so different in the place I was asked to go. One plane above the cognitive existence of Gaia, there is a place that houses many scrolls considered lost unto our time. Maverick yearned for a particular writing, so there I was sent - into the ruddy red glow of a non-existant, or does it exist? world.
That was where things became strange. I was passing by a shop window when, rather suddenly, a knocking caught my attention. Perhaps Victor was the culprit? No! A doll.
Yes. A doll.
A doll had knocked on the window pane and the doll had unlocked the door to lead me into some strange shop that housed countless, divine dolls which had been crafted by some unknown artist. The artist did not greet me, but instead her student did. She informed me that the doll had chosen Victor to be linked to her very lifeforce, and thus I was entitled to purchase the doll. However, as she went about educating me on the matter, she suddenly stated that I would be given the doll at no charge!
That was certainly a pleasant surprise!
I then named the doll Lilamayi - or Lila - for short and took my leave as a reciept was painted out.
So now I must care for two strange things! A darling boy and his doll.
Victor is rather attached already. He hasn't put her down since we got home! At the least, Lila will keep him company, and also keep him from missing me in the hours I need devote to my craft. She's an unexpected sort of comfort - and I'm glad to write this in my conclusion;
Welcome Home, Lila.
- Josie Arrikanez
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