Chapter 1: A new start to life…

Marilyn:

I gazed out of my bedroom window, into the world of reality around me. The tree that stood silently next to my window veiled most of the world around me. Its unearthly presence always terrified me, as if something was watching me, observing every movement I made. I shook my head, trying to shake the paranoia out of me. Although the ancient tree shrouded my view, I could still make out that everything looked tremendous outside. I had forgotten how Yorkshire looked like at a summer morning. I glanced back at my traditional clock, which Aunt found at one corner of the attic. Its hand showed it was 6:30am now. Unable to go to sleep due to my lack of sleep these days, I decided to go downstairs. I silently opened my door, feeling the breeze that channelled itself from the passage window into my room. As I tiptoed downstairs, the sounds that could be heard was the faint snoring of my Aunt Rosie, and the creaking sound of the floor beds. Once I succeeded to come downstairs undetected, I entered the kitchen.
The kitchen looked nonetheless the same as it had four weeks ago. The cups and saucepans stood neatly aligned together, whilst the silver cutleries shone with lustre. The fridge stopped humming abruptly, as if the mere sight of me traumatized it. I unfolded the curtains, enabling sunlight to streak through the holes in the curtain, and scatter across the floor. The kitchen began to glisten whilst the sunlight touched each and every surface, resulting with rays of lights being reflected everywhere. I had to squint for some time until I regained control. The wooden table which was older than I stood at the centre of the kitchen with importance. It was significant in this house for it was the only thing that gave us a sense of family and love. A lot of my family and relatives from the past sat around this table, including my parents. I felt tears of sorrow trickle down my cheeks, so I wiped them away, refusing to remember.
I sat on one of the ancient chairs which had carved in designs, specifically designed by my great-great grandmother Lucy. It consists of unique set of spirals, which embroidered the outline of each chair. At the centre of each chair contained a flower which was blossoming, revealing its secret as grandma would say. There were studs around the chair, gold plated, to convey the chair and tables wealth. The table was similar to the chair. It aswell had a unique border consisting of spirals. What I found most mesmerizing about this piece of furniture was the spirals. As I gaze into these spirals, it’s as if I am drawn into it, deeply adoring it, resulting with my being in a trance-as if I could somehow understand.... The fridge groaned, breaking me from my trance.
I stared out of the window, into the oblivion. Unlike my window in my room, here you could make out almost everything that existed far out of this house. The sun stood enthusiastically whilst it illuminated the sky, which blended the dusty orange into a Sapphire blue. Its intense light radiated over me, overwhelming me. It gave a sense that everything was going to be all right. I doubt that. The elongated trees that scattered the field stretched high towards the sky, and its leaves shone with tranquillity and delight. Animals began to sprout from burrows, trees, from the darkness. The tiny brown birds which I was familiar ever since I was little flew towards the bird bath that stood on our garden. They hummed melodically as they showered themselves with water, resulting with my smiling. I hadn’t smiled since…since the accident. At once I felt that the hope and happiness I was trying to protect and conceal were drained away from me.
It’s been a month since I isolated myself from the world. For four weeks, the guest room in my Aunt Rosie’s house had become my room. I didn’t speak to anyone, just stayed in my room. Doctors would come and go, trying to bring me back to this retched world. For days, I ate nothing, for whenever a drop of food fell into my mind, I remembered that my parents were not among us. That they will never taste again. They had died in the car accident we were in four weeks ago, on my seventeenth birthday. Only I survived.
Cole, my boyfriend, and my best friends Rachel and Kate would encourage me to eat, saying that I would look like my anorexic nemesis Caroline, also known as hag from hell. I would use my energy to force a grin on my face, but they weren’t fool. Cole would come everyday, bringing my favourite galaxy chocolate, along with a single rose. Before the accident, I would’ve found that romantic-now? I really can’t give too s***.
Every time I went to the shrink, Mrs Pettiwinkle, she would ask me whether I remembered what happened on that night. Too tell you the truth, I remember absolutely nothing. It felt…it felt like something had wiped that moment from my head, as if it never happened. I concentrated harder, trying to find that little evidence to help them understand what actually happened. But nothing came into my head. Except for that dark terrifying shadow, that zoomed around our car, giving me the heebie-jeebies- before the accident had occurred. I thought it was the deception of the darkness at night. But, when I mentioned it, I was rewarded by being monitored by the doctors for a week. For days, I was constantly being monitored whilst they made sure I was hundred percent all right. I screamed that I was alright, but they ignored me. They knew I was lying. So I decided I best keep this information in me.
Days became weeks. I would have carried on with this monotonous cycle, if I hadn’t heard my Aunt crying her eyes out. She felt that the death of my parents had been so sudden, that it had affected me mentally. I thought wrong. It’s not that the accident hadn’t traumatized me-believe me it did. But it was the fact that at that precise minute, I felt my life flash before my eyes, and realization hit me. What life was I living? I had no idea what I was going to do in my future. For me it was simply fun, fun and FUN!! I took advantage of everything and everyone that was in my life. I guess you can say that it took the death of my parents to make me realize how s***** my life had been. But not anymore…I can’t take it if Rose feels that she’s at fault. For the sake of the family I had, which included my Aunt and her daughter Lilly, I had to stop hiding in the dark. I had to bury the past in the deepest layer of my mind, forgotten forever. I told Aunt I was ready, ready to face the world. Ready to join humanity. Today I was going to start this new life by going to college. It had been one month since I’ve gone to College. I even agreed to do community service for the environment, which I knew Aunt would be very happy about. She was an environmentally friendly person after all. Didn’t know why she even bothered, for as statistic say, as much as we try, in couple of years time, we all would be buried under our own waste. Haha. I could imagine Caroline screaming about her Luis Vitton is getting dirty. Her and her bag…tut tut. Sometimes I wonder about her sanity. Although I was a woman, I was more like a boy. I loved doing boyish things, like wrestling (especially with Cole) or playing games…Oh my God. In over a minute I had been talking just like myself, forgetting the past. I guess I might be getting over it soon…But then I remembered.
How could I have forgotten those dangerous eyes that had stared intently into mine? His eyes were pitch-black, hinted with bright red-as if his eyes were bleeding inside. I remembered his succulent lips which lay against mine, giving me the kiss of life. Whilst I gasped for air, he gave a side ways grin, exposing his canine teeth. I wasn’t scared at all that I was in the arms of a stranger. In fact, I felt safe, knowing that nothing could harm me when I was with him. I could make out the unique intricate spirals which embroidered his upper body. I carried on staring into his eyes, as if time itself stood still. Till he came close to my ear, and his warm breath patted my cheeks. He whispered something which I couldn’t make out…and I found myself in the hospital. I swear to God, (sorry for taking God’s name in vain) I am absolutely sure that I don’t recall anyone taking me to the hospital. I asked how I arrived here, and they only said that a couple who were driving on the same road had seen the accident and came to help. I even asked for him-just by any chance anyone would have seen him. But they said they didn’t see him. I knew it wasn’t my imagination, I knew he was real. But I kept remembering and remembering those eyes, which contained so many secrets that as I remembered I could feel the faint hairs on my back slightly rise. Although no one believed me, I knew that somehow, somehow he knew what had happened on that night.


Pretty soon the ancient clock which sat at the window sill showed it was 8:00am. I could hear the alarm being set off in my Aunt’s room, followed by Aunt’s moaning. The house was so ancient that that the walls were hollow. You could practically hear everything occurring in the toilet!!! I smiled when I remembered when Cole had came with me to Aunt’s house during the summer, and used the toilet because ‘it was an emergency’ and I could hear him from my room moaning in pleasure and whistling to ‘is this the way to Armadillo’, not to mention the trickling of, ehem, something. When he came out, I and Aunt began to sing it, causing him to turn red. I kissed his cheeks, which immediately cooled down. I did it again…I was coping with the situation already. I carried on thinking.

This house had actually belonged to my great-great-great grandmother Charlotte. Come to think of it, I hadn’t ever stayed in this house, until now. The house was passed on to the oldest daughter in the family, and since Aunt Rosie was the oldest, she claimed the house. I had always asked Mum why she had left the house in the first place. All she would say is that it holds too many memories that were too much for her to cope with. Particularly because Grandma had passed away here, and found dead after five hours. Her death was quite mysterious; because the doctors couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. All could be said was that her time had come. I guess that was true, considering the fact that she was eighty. I understand what Mum means now, since I can’t bear to enter my own house anymore. Aunt Rosie had sold our house to a married couple who had six kids.

Aunt Rosie was ten years older than my mother. Although she was older, it was my mother who had got married first, as she fell in love with my father during a vacation to New York City. Mum would always go on about how Dad had first seen her, and asked for a dance in a party. Classic move a man would take. He had danced with her until the party had finished, and had taken her to her apartment. Mum was fascinated by him at first because he was wealthy, but later on she realized that not a minute went without her thinking about him. To some extent, Mum felt guilty that maybe she won’t be able to love him as how much he does to her, so not telling him she came back to London. She had forgotten that she had told him where she lived, so the next day she was amazed when he was at her front door. It’s was a heart warming moment for her, as he proposed to her, on her door-step, whilst they both looked like they were lifeless. She accepted his proposal, and in a year time I was born. Yippee!! Fat lot of good I was to my parents.

Moving on. I could hear Aunt tiptoe towards my room, and open the door slightly. Poor thing, she was still scared to enter my room. But I don’t blame her, considering the fact I looked like a mummified Imoteph from the movie ‘The Mummy’. I gave a little laugh, which froze Aunt on her tracks.

“Rose, I’m downstairs…” I knew my Aunt would be dazed when she saw me downstairs, eating frosties.

“Oh my! Hello lovekins…I didn’t…err…expect that you would be awake now…” I could sense the grin that was dying to reveal itself on her face. I wanted to make her further happy.
“Aunt, I’m going to go outside and walk around the field. Be back by 8:50!” I didn’t stay any longer to see the smile on her face. All I needed to hear was the yelp that exited from her mouth, to tell me it worked.


The field was filled with thin grass grazing quietly, whilst the breeze gracefully grazed by it. At the centre of the field were lavenders, which were planted by my great-great-great grandmother Charlotte. Everyone who lived in this house would always plant lavender for her, to remind us of her presence around us. I walked towards the lavenders, which blossomed out with vitality. I sat at the centre of the lavender bunch, inhaling the deep sensual smell they gave. Grandma had once told me that lavenders use to give Charlotte a sense of happiness and relaxation. I never understood that then, but now I could feel the aroma circling around me, like a gust of wind, lifting me up. I closed my eyes and imagined my self being twirled around in the gust of smell, hovering up the ground…them I saw his eyes. I came out of my trance and began to look around me. “Fool,” I muttered to myself. I guess he was my imagination after all. Hey, doesn’t everyone want to be in the arm of a strong good looking man when they’re weak? Just then I heard something behind me. I muttered under my breath, convincing it was nothing, jus the birds in the trees that surrounded me. I then saw the trees, which now resembled fingers, had elongated towards me, imprisoning me. The sky had turned grey, nothing like how it was before. I could sense tension rising in my chest, whilst I quickly gasped for breath. I heard birds flying away from the danger that was lurking behind me. I knew this part. It always happened in the movies. You look behind and you’re dead. I never understood why they looked back, why they didn’t simply run in the opposite direction. But since I was in that exact position, I couldn’t do anything else, other than twirl around…to see him.

He stood there, arms crossed, staring at me with…confusion? He didn’t even walk closer to me. Again, I felt calm, relaxed. I felt the sun’s ray on my body, warming me. The sky had turned back into its usual blueness, whilst the trees stood like before. I glanced back to see him still where he stood. His eyes were burning with black, and a hint of red. I saw him clenching his fist, as if to strike someone, and then unclenching. I saw the veins that were visible on his arms, dark purple they were, which were pulsivating (my own word, meaning pumping like crazy with blood). Since staring into his arm, I realized that he was well-built. His muscles were not too big, not small but perfect. He skin tone was snowflake white. It was then did I realize that he was shirtless. I admired his upper body, which were embroidered with intricate black spirals. The spirals themselves held secrets. They were deep, as if they were burned right trough his skin. I continued to stare at his spirals-not because I found them thrilling, but because I could interpret them. I don’t know how, I had never seen the language before…language? Did I say language? They were the ancient language a voice said in my mind. Something had caught my eye. Something was at his back, I couldn’t exactly see what it was, but I could see blurriness behind him, that the plants behind him were bent in a rather unusual way. I was sure those plants were completely straight…My eyes shot right back at his chest. I know I should be blushing, staring into the chest of a stranger, but I felt that I could actually read the, that it said something about warrior. An intense feeling began to rush over me, resulting with me gasping for breath so loud, as if I was having an asthma attack. But, I don’t asthma. As I regained full control, and my breathing rate began to steady, an electrifying charge channelled around my body, so fast that it didn’t give me any time to respond. Suddenly, I found myself walking towards him; unable to control my body. It was as if that voice in my head was controlling me. He saw my response, and began to move steadily back. But I carried on moving towards him, and raised my arms in a way to make contact with him. I wanted his red succulent lips on mine. I wanted to feel his chest on mine. I wanted to trace his spirals with my finger, and lick his skin. A sudden burst fell on my face, which felt like a slap caused me to shudder. I froze. I glanced everywhere. Perceived the sky (I don’t know why) and observed the ground. By the time I looked at where he had stood, he was nowhere in sight.