The Voodoo Bell

Part 6: Chapter 17

17

Once More, With Feeling

I walked down the stone tunnel in mostly darkness. The only light was coming from a small candle that I carried in front of me like a torch. The flicker of the flame made the moisture on the stones reflect tiny beams of color as I passed and I squeezed my human eyes shut to avoid the sting of the reflections. I turned the curve and walked up a set of steps where at the top, the room opened up to reveal the dark carnival tent from my birthday. People were filling the chairs, chatting and laughing with one another, completely oblivious to me.

The grass was dead and crunched under my feet as I started down the main aisle. No one saw me as I walked between the seats, watching the excited faces, listening to the theories of what the show was about. I was invisible. When I finally stepped out into the small area between the seats and the dark stage, the entire room was plunged into silence. I turned around, my green dress making the only sound as it swooshed with the force of my spin. The chairs were empty now. Everyone had vanished. Confused, I turned back to the stage to find it no longer empty. A small orange spotlight had illuminated the center and revealed the main spectacle. A man was there, wearing a red jacket, embellished with golden thread and shiny buttons. He had on a black top hat that reflected the light off it's brim and I couldn't make out his face. I followed the path of his body until my eyes saw that while he was kneeling down, he was also holding an unconscious girl. Her blonde hair was trailing the ground as he bent over limp form. Her arms had flopped abnormally to her sides in an unnatural way, given her the appearance of a broken doll. I recognized her instantly and called out "Lily" as loud as I could, but no sound escaped my mouth. No matter how hard I tried, it was like my voice had been stolen and I could not call her name. The name of my best friend. I pulled and tugged in a fruitless attempt to get to her side, but my feet had somehow stuck to the ground, rendering me useless.

Suddenly, the man paused, his face jerking up to peer beneath the brim of his hat. His eyes fixed directly on me. His face was painted in that creepy black and white voodoo skull makeup and I tried to shrink away from his view, but I was still stuck to the spot. His bright green eyes met mine in a solid gaze that lasted only a few seconds, but seemed like hours. Finally, he broke the connection and I watched in horror as he bent over and bit my beautiful best friend. I knew when he drank her dry. I watched, unable to help as he slowly stood, dropping her unmoving form to the floor as he rose. I heard the thud as she lifelessly hit the stage. Then, I screamed again. This time, my voice was there and the piercing sound broke the night.

I woke with a jerk, sitting up in my bed, still dressed in my green evening gown. The dress clung to my legs, since it was now drenched with my cold sweat. I struggled for a moment until I was able to swing my feet off the bed. Without waiting to catch my balance, I ran to the window and began jerking at the tall, heavy curtains. I needed to open one and reveal the sunny day that was surely waiting outside. Once I had the heavy burden out of my way, I tried to get the window open too, desperate to escape. Of course, it wouldn't budge. It was sealed tight and there was no chance of me getting it to give in my weak state. Finally, I was exhausted, scared, and feeling my defeat creep over me in waves. I slowly crawled up onto the window seat, tucked my knees under my chin and let the tears fall freely as I watched the little sunbeams dance through the glass.

I must have cried myself back to sleep because when I woke the next time, I was curled up on my side, barely fitting my entire form onto the seat. The sun had gone, replaced by cold darkness. I could only see the tips of the forest trees out the window as lighting occasionally illuminated the sky above them. I watched as tiny rain drops hit the glass panes, blown there by the increasingly strong wind. Soon, the individual drops were indistinguishable from one another as the rain came harder, pelting the window in an unforgiving way.