Blessed by the Dead

Prologue

The bathtub is full of red liquid and smells foul, I rinse and rinse myself off in it.

The whole house is in a state of chaos, dad is going through the drawers, looking for something mom could easily find for him but she's so stressed and annoyed at him right now that he'll have to figure this out on his own. Mom's entire attention is on my sister, she's making sure that everything is perfect. The hair, the dress and of course, the necklace should sit perfectly on her chest, the big diamond in the middle. We're supposed to be leaving in an hour.

Not even caring about my naked presence in the bathroom, mom walks in, almost forgetting to even spare me a single glance as she looks for the hairspray she loves to drown her scalp in. I always tell her that it's too much, to which she always answers that she's a hairdresser and that she knows better. As she's about to step out of the room and close the door behind her, her head snaps back towards me.

"Hellie. I told you to do that tomorrow! We can't be late for this."

I shrug, now sinking myself further into the red water that smells of ammonia. At first the hair dye was stinging my nose, now that I'm lying in it, it's not so bad anymore.

"I know mom, but I'm leaving the day after tomorrow... Which is exactly why we're rushing the wedding, right?"

She sighs and shakes her head in one of those very recognizable "I'm-so-done-with-you" ways that parents have mastered after years of being disappointed in their children.

"Yes. I remember Hellie. But please, have a move on... You know that staying in that will make your skin red, don't you?"

I smile.

"Yeah, I bet it'll look cool."

She gives me the disappointment phase two look.

"Don't worry though, I have a way to get rid of it immediately."

Shaking her head again, she leaves with the hairspray in hand. That's when I realize that, for once, she wants to use the spray on Linda, not on herself. From behind the door I hear my sister yelling "No!" I snicker. Next thing I know, Linda comes barging in.

"Tell her I look fine like this!"

I stare her up and down, as frustrating it is to admit, my sister does look beautiful today. She definitely doesn't need that damn spray. It's funny really, for a hairdresser, mom sure never cares about our opinions for how we should arrange our hair. Which is exactly why I'm dyeing it now, knowing that I won't get negative remarks from her everyday, considering I'll be away from home. Heading south to Belgium.

"You look like a disney princess that got adapted into a live action remake."

She smiles. This is the closest thing to a compliment I've given her for the past 6 months or so. Maybe 7. She looks down at my submerged body that is imperceptible because of the strong red hue of the water.

"Thanks, Hel. And you look like your periods exploded."

I make a deadpan face at her then mom drags her out of here, insisting that giving her hair more volume would be the best move to make. As if hair styling is all about strategy, like a war game. Well, maybe it is, I'm not sure. As they leave I decide I've had enough of this bloodbath simulation I've given myself so I get up and dry my body, I'd like to look at it in the mirror but it's all foggy. Easy, I tap my finger on the wiper I made and it magically rises, doing the job for me. That's what I do, I make objects then I enchant them into doing things for me. That's what heartcraftsmen do, or what most folk call a witch, which is inaccurate by the way. My parents thought it was a very fun hobby until they realized that it wasn't just a hobby. I'm truly leaving this September, the day after tomorrow, they almost can't believe it and to be fair, I don't think I fully believe it either.