They would always point in her direction, sometimes they would laugh, other times they would run. They called her names behind her back, but usually quieted when she would enter the room.

Ella Bedford was only five at the time, but her time spent at Raven-town orphanage, she could never forget. She never really meant to bring harm to the other kids. It was just the fact that every time she was around them something bad would happen. Like what happened to Edward Fitzgerald. He was just shy of being two years older then herself.. He stood with a few friends and started to snicker, Ella over-hearing him, heard him comment on her un-brushed hair. She crossed her arms and listened to them further insult her. Her arms grew tighter together, her face grew warm, and her eyes grew moist. One minute Edward was standing there, and the next some glass from the sconces above him burst, and scattered over poor Edward. The sight of blood dripping down his face and arms made her queasy. When one of the elders ran to him he pointed at Ella and screamed, “She’s a witch, she did this, I saw her,” he yelled. The elder looked at her and shook her head. Of course, she could not believe that a young girl could possibly shatter a sconce from where she had been standing.

She could remember other similar moments, like when she would lie with her mind. She had this way with making things seem different then they were, like when she snuck into the kitchen for a late night snack and Rose Collins caught her in the act. She had chocolate all over her face to prove she was guilty. When Rose returned to the kitchen, the mess that Ella had left was gone. Although; Ella was standing right in the spot she had been before, both Rose and the elder searched around the room for any sign of her and the missing chocolate, they could not see Ella nor the chocolate wrappers on the counter.

For Ella Raven-town orphanage was a cold and dreary place, and without friends, it made it seem colder. The stone walls had cracks in them allowing any kind of heat to escape quickly. The atmosphere was dark, hallways lit by only the faintest of candle light. The main rooms had high hanging chandeliers and sconces on the walls, making them slightly brighter. All of the bedrooms had windows or what once were; are now covered with black metal bars, and remained un-cleaned and hard to look out of. Without clean windows, Ella anxiously awaited the moments when the elders allowed them outside to play. Although Ella never had anyone to play with, the fresh air kept her sane-well almost.
The night she was “rescued” from Raven-town was a night right out of a horror story. A storm had brewed in the late afternoon, thunder rattled the windows, and hail pounded against the door. It was strange weather for mid-march, but nothing surprised her anymore.

At only five, she felt as if she were older then the rest of the children, and had an easier time understanding things then most kids her age. It was almost as if she were ten, stuck in a five year olds body. The adult conversation outside her room that night convinced her that she knew more. She sat to the right of the wooden door and listened to one of the elders speak with a strange man. The elder was attempting to discourage the strange man from wanting her. She said things like, “She is a special case, and is not up for adoption.” Then he would only respond with, “but she is the one I have been looking for.” It went on like that for what only seemed like hours, but was truly about twenty minutes. The elder knocked quietly on the door.

“Miss Ella,” she opened the door and leaned her head around before stepping through the doorway.

Ella carefully made it seem as if she was not there. The strange man began to push the elder into the room so that he could see for himself.

“Miss Ella is not here at the moment, perhaps maybe the dinning hall,” the elder said attempting to escort the man out of the room.

It was almost as if he had known she was right there beside the door watching them. He turned his head and their eyes met. Ella’s heart raced with fear. Even though she could barely see his face under the large top hat on his head, she could still see his almost golden eyes staring through her soul. A chill ran up her spine as she watched the elder shove the man out the door. It took Ella a few breathless moments before she let herself go. A strange feeling about the man over whelmed her.

The night sky continued to light up the dark room, Ella lay under her covers counting the seconds between every flash and boom. The storm seemed scarier then before, and never once had she remembered being afraid of a little storm. Footsteps began to threaten the space outside of her room. She could see a shining light flickering from the space between the door and floor. It was quiet, and did not seem as if more than one person was there.

Her door was open, and the person did not even knock. Under a certain age the kids were not aloud to lock their doors. She once again made herself un-seen, and kept the covers over her head as well. The person shut the door quietly and began to search the room.
“Miss Ella is it?” the voice questioned.

She quickly recognized it as the man from earlier. Her heart raced again, and her hands began to shake. She kept feeling as if her disappearing act was slipping. She could feel herself moving under the covers, and noticed a quick change in the direction the footsteps were going. They headed straight for her. She tried so hard to keep her cool, but the force that kept her invisible was fading fast. Suddenly, the blankets were torn off her and standing there holding a candle was the strange man from earlier.

“No need to be afraid my dear, I am here to help you,” his voice had an edge to it.

“How can you tell me not to be afraid, I cannot even see your face,” she responded.

“You don’t have to see my face to know that I am like you,” he added.

“Like me how?” she asked.

“Can you do special things that no one else can? Like make yourself seem as if you are not there. Or break things when you get angry or sad. I can help you control it, let me take you in and teach you the proper way to use these gifts,” he said.

“How did you know I could do those things? And they aren’t special, I heard the elders talk at night, they say I am a spawn of the devil.”

“The devil huh?” he chuckled softly.

“No, no my dear, you can learn to control the gift so that you do not follow in those ways. As I said let me help you. I can also tell you that there is a place young Ella. A place where everyone is like us, but in order to get there you must possess a key. Only certain people with our gifts can unlock the doorway. It is you, you are the one Ella,” he tilted his hat up just slightly to where she could see his golden eyes again.

“I am not supposed to go anywhere with strangers,” she politely added.

“I am not a stranger Ella. I am someone that should never have given you up. It’s me, your father,” he held out his arm to her and rolled up the right sleeve of his suite.
Ella looked at the man’s wrist, and just below his thumb on the underside of his wrist was a brown birthmark shaped like a small star in the night sky. Ella’s eyes grew wide, and her stomach twisted.

“I- I-.” she stammered.

“I have the same,” she spoke as she turned her wrist and pulled up the white sleeve of her nightgown.

The man took her by the hand and pulled her out of her bed. Ella allowed him to do so. Once she was standing barefoot on the cold hardwood floor, she looked up at him.
“Now pack some of your things we must leave now,” he looked towards the door, and then back down at her.

“Go now, “he shoved her forward. “Before the elders come, hurry now,” he spoke quickly.
Ella obeyed the man, still too unsure to call him father. She hurried as quickly as she could, packed a few dresses and under garments, and then belted the suitcase shut.

“Now we mustn’t make a peep, we must hide ourselves. You seem to be pretty good at doing so,” he told her.

All Ella could do was nod her head, her pigtails bounced against her face as she did.

“Okay Ella, ready?” he looked down at her once again.

“Mm,” was all she could muster.


***
Darkened bedrooms and hallways still haunted Ella; it had been as if she had never left Raven-town. Truthfully, she had no idea where she now resided, all she knew was that it rained almost every day, and barely anyone filled the cobble-stoned streets outside her window. The house she was in was old, that much she could tell. With every footstep, the floors creaked with pain. She sometimes felt even more trapped here then she had in the orphanage. The only thing she enjoyed was not having kids mock and laugh at her. It was quiet most of the time, but aside from the relief of being made fun of, she felt lonely and still very un-happy.

It had been at least five years since she had been here, but for some reason she noticed no change in appearance for herself. By now, she should have physically looked to be around ten. However, every time she looked in the mirror she still looked like the five year old she was when the strange man came for her. Several times, she had asked why she did not look grown up, but the man never had an answer for her. He would ignore the question and move onto another subject.

To her he still was not a father figure. Everyday he drilled her with exercises to relax her ability. Nothing seemed to work, every time she would feel the slightest bit relaxed all chaos would break loose. So far, she set fire to the dinning room, blew out several windows in the basement, and nearly made the roof of the garage collapse in on them. She was really starting to believe she was the spawn of the devil.

On some occasions, the usually quiet home turned into something a bit more livelily. The strange man would have guests come to the house, until all hours of the night. He told her not to come down from her room that she would be aloud to join them when she got older. However, she knew that she could not just hang back and listen to the adults downstairs having a good time, while she was lonely. Without trying to attract too much attention from the man, she would imagine herself older. Looking in the mirror at, she would picture a taller version of herself. She kept her hair the same, raven black, but made it shorter around her chin to give her an older appearance. Tonight she wore a long black A-line dress, which dipped down her front, where she also imagined her chest to be just enough to peak out slightly, but still look classy. She changed her eye color from regular green, to adding a hint of yellow behind them. Once satisfied with her appearance she headed down the stairs quickly in fear he would catch her.

The guests around her one by one stared as she entered the dinning hall. She did not let it bother her in fear that she would be forced to reveal her identity. At the head of the hall a band played jazz music, they were all dressed in fancy tuxedos and the two woman singers wore black dresses that sparkled from the lights above. Some guests were dancing, while others lingered behind them deep in conversation, and snacking on hors d'oeuvres.
Ella attempted to make her way up front; she could see the crowd begin to gather near the stage area. Some stopped dancing, while others finished out the song. Off to the left side of the stage she noticed him standing there with his arms at his side, and a note in his hand. The band continued for only a few seconds more, the crowd clapped, and then became silent. He walked across the stage, as the male lead of the Jazz band stepped aside. It was almost as if he bowed at him before stepping away. Ella watched in awe as he stepped in front of the microphone. She had never seen him look so-almost normal. His tuxedo looked well pressed and a crimson colored tie hung around his neck. He no longer wore his hat, showing off his shiny baldhead. He stared off into the crowd with his golden eyes.

“Ladies and Gentleman welcome and thank you for joining me at my 1000th year celebration.”

No one seemed phased that he said, “1000” except for Ella. She continued to listen.
“I know it has been five-hundred since our last gathering, but this one will be our most special. Although I can’t say we will be able to enter our world this year, I have found a someone special who will be able to help us enter again.” He stood tall and proud, as many of the guests clapped their hands, and spoke in soft whispers to one another.
“I cannot give away all of my details yet-,” he went on.

“I have never seen you at one of these before.”

Ella looked next to her. A young boy that looked around the age she disguised herself as stood close to her. His arm brushed lightly against hers. She stepped away as she felt her face heat up with fire. Trying to keep her cool, she took in a deep breath before speaking.

“That is because I have never been at one… before,” she stumbled.

The boy’s cheeks lit up, as he smiled at her. From where she was standing she could really only glimpse at his profile. He stood with his chin tucked outward, and his neck stood tall on his shoulders. Like everyone else, he wore a black tuxedo. The blonde hair on top of his head was slicked back, and from where she stood, she could tell his forehead was huge. He was also much taller than her disguise.

“Well then welcome to the group. How old are you? Let me guess not a day over a hundred.”
Ella took another side-glance at him, and then turned back towards the front. She could hear the man mumbling into the microphone. With this boy speaking in her ear, she could barely understand what was going on up front.

“A hundred…” she started seeming confused but then quickly after a weird glance from the boy, shifted her emotions.

“Right, yes, just barely 100,” she looked to him for reassurance that it was the right answer. He nodded.

“Ah, well I am not much older; this is only my second gathering. I am a few years over five-hundred. Was only a boy when I came to my first.”

Ella nodded, just as everyone in the room clapped again. She almost screamed at the boy next to her as she watched the man exit the stage. The lead jazz singer spoke into the microphone and the band began playing again. She felt so angry that she missed the entire speech. Carefully she kept her eyes glued to where he had walked off.
“Are you okay Miss?” the boy questioned.

“What?” she asked, moving her head back and forth to follow him through the crowd.

“Your name, I asked you your name,” he said.

“Oh, my name, it’s uh- Mary,” she lied.

“Mary, so nice to meet you, my name is-,”

“I am sorry but I must be going,” she called to him, as she began walking towards the front. She did not hang around to see if he had anymore to say.
Quickly, but quietly she raced to find him. She had a feeling that the world he mentioned was the one he described to her. She also wondered if that someone special he spoke of was her. If it was her, she wanted to know all of the details. She hoped that when she found him, he would be answering questions from the guests, and maybe she could get some answers. So many questions lingered in her mind, and she had to find the answers, even if it meant him discovering that she disobeyed his orders.

*****

It was just a nightmare, she repeated over in her head. There were still several hours before sunrise, and Ella could not fall back asleep. Her nightmares plagued her, consisting of the man sleeping only a few doors away, and the strange boy she met earlier in the night. She dreamt of the place the man spoke about, the one where only people like them could go. Except things did not seem right, it was as if a dark force had taken over, and anything good was vanished from the world.

The rain and thunder outside was not helping. As the lightning flashed her room would light up, and normally lightning did not startle her. However, there was something different about this storm, something eerie and not right. Every time a flash of lightning tore through the sky, she could see the strange boys face in the corner of her room. She knew it could not be real, and after the first couple of times, she closed her eyes tight. Sometimes, that made it harder and scarier for her and she had to open her eyes.

At least an hour had past and she was still seeing him, but as that hour progressed slowly, the face moved closer in her direction. The image was so quick that all she could see was his face, and no body. She could feel her hands warming as she clenched the edge of the blanket it her fists.

“Give me the key.”

Her heart pounded quickly and goose bumps grew quickly on her arms. The boy, it was his voice, not only was she seeing his face, but hearing his voice. This new discovery made the nightmare of real life worse.

“What key?” she wound up saying out-loud.

“I must have the key,” his voice said again.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she responded.

“Yes you do, you are the one. The one that the leader spoke of,” his voice sounded more eerie every time he spoke.

“Look, I am new to this whole thing and know nothing, so leave me alone.”

Her voice quivered more with each answer. As a strike of lightning brightened the room, she tried not to look. Unfortunately, there was no avoiding this one. The second the room lit up the boys entire body appeared in front of her.

“Go away,” she cried raising the blankets above her shaking body.

“Not until you give me what I came for,” his voice deep and angry.

She could feel him getting closer, even from under the blankets she knew there was no stopping him. She knew what needed to happen, it could only happen if,- it was too late in that moment the covers were ripped from her hands, and she let out a scream that could be heard for miles. He stood directly over her, and she could feel his warm breath pressing down on her, making her feel small.

“How, how are you doing that?” she questioned.

“Doing what?” he asked back.

“Appearing and then disappearing?” she questioned.

“I am just like you,” he replied.

“Just like me, no, that is impossible. You have a dark side that I can feel, and it is far worse than what I can do. You are nothing like me.”

“Who cares what I can do, there is only one thing that I want, and you have it, and will give it to me,” his voice echoed in the room.

“I don’t have what you want,” she said again, backing up into her headboard.
His face was so close to hers, she could barely breathe.

“Give me it now little girl, I am not the only one who is going to come looking, so if you just give it up now you won’t have to worry.”

Just as she was about to cry out again, an idea sparked in her brain.

“I have your key,” she spoke while biting on the side of her cheek.

“That is what I thought, now show me where it is girl,” he backed away slowly and scanned the room.

Ella stood up once he was far enough away. She closed her eyes took in a deep breath and pointed towards the closet.

“It’s in there. There is a secret crawl space behind the ugly wedding dress. You will find a box, and inside of it is the key,” she opened her eyes with that image in mind hoping it would give her time to run.

“Then go get it for me,” he said while opening the closet door.

“Um… I…”

“Are you lying to me girl?” in a flash of light he was in her face again. He had to lean down to even get close to her.

“No.”

She had to be strong, and could not let him see through the illusion.
“Then go get it for me.”

His hand touched her shoulder with force as he led her towards the closet. She looked back at him as he pushed her into a rack of clothes.

“Go on,” he pushed again.

Ella sighed; she knew she could do this, she felt confident enough in her ability. Carefully she knelt down and crawled to the back of the closet. Sure enough, the ugly wedding dress was draped over her, and the tiny crawl space was revealed.
“What’s taking so long girl, get a move on it,” he yelled.

The small door creaked as she opened it. Everything felt real, like it was actually there. She knew that if she could convince herself, she could convince anyone. Her mind formed the small box she mentioned. She reached forward and was able to hold it in her hands. Slowly she backed herself out of the small crawl space, and then backed out of the closet, bumping into him.

“Here,” she said.

Ella stood up, and handed the boy the box. To her the box and everything about her illusion seemed real, she hoped it could buy her some time. She did not even have time to say another word to the boy before he disappeared.

Quickly she ran out of the room and down the hallway, which was lit by candle’s flickering on the wall.

“Father,” she called.

She hated calling the man that, but it was an emergency, and she had no other choice.

“Father, father wake up,” she yelled again, this time pounding on his door.

His door flung open as he stood there in a blue bathrobe staring down at her.

“Ella please there is no need to be afraid of lightning for goodness sakes.” He crossed his arms.

“We have to leave, someone is out to get me, and I can only trick him for so long,” she spoke quickly.

“You must be dreaming again, there is no-,”

“Why you little…”

“See I told you,” she called out to him.

“Hurry get behind me,” he nearly yelled, pulling her into the doorway.

She could hear the boy screaming as he ran down the hallway, while the man just stood there. He looked as if he had been concentrating, and a second later a flash of lightning struck and he was in front of the door.

“Ella, you must go, get out of here. I will find you, but for now, you must run. Hide yourself,” the man yelled.

“But-,”

“No, you must go. Now!” he yelled.

Ella had no idea what to do; it took her a few minutes of panic, as she heard the door slam and shuffling in the hallway. From the hallway there were sudden explosions and lightning, that is when she knew she had to leave. Quickly she disguised herself, not as the same person she had been that night at the gathering. This time she hid herself behind long blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a dress only rich folks could afford. She remembered that this room had a real secret crawl space, and quickly dropped down on her knees, just as what sounded and felt like a bomb exploded in the hallway.
She did not look back as she lifted the cover of the door and slipped through it. After only a few moments, the explosion sounds disappeared, and the only noise she heard was the sound of her own breathing.

Ella had no idea where to go; she just knew she had to get far away from this place, knowing she could never return. She hoped this disguise would last her a while, or at least help her get away without being noticed. It took her a while, but she finally was able to stand up, it looked as if this passage way led to the sewers. She felt lost, but knew it was better than being found. Quickly, she trudged through the goop below her feet and attempted to find a safe place, although she knew it would not be for long, that someone else would find her, it was only a matter of time.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 02.02.2012

Alle Rechte vorbehalten