Phantom Chained

Epilogue. Elm.

In the dim glow of the nightlight, Clara's face looks exhausted and somewhat childish. I examine it closely to confirm if she is sleeping.

She is.

But how deeply?

Looks like she has practically passed out. Even the resounding snore of the woman on the lower bunk does not disturb the serene puffiness of my mistress' parted lips... damn her... Her blush gently fills her face with a field of freckles while her eyelashes tremble lightly, casting thin shadows over her hat that she pulled down, accentuating her oval face. Rafael and Sandro would've already started a duel with paintbrushes to see who best portrays this fragile form on their canvases.

She leeched so much energy that you can't tell her apart from a living human anymore. All thanks to me!

Poor, pitiful me! Clara has plans, you see, and I have to put all the work in!

I need some fresh air, to think and gather myself.

I pass through the wagon's roof and let myself relax, mixing with the brisk air. The train rushes through the night as I race the moon like a flying kite exactly one thousand steps away from the center of Clara's spine. That's right, my mistress kindly increased my private space tenfold, and I almost burst into tears from such angelic benevolence!

I noticed a weird thing lately... My level of hatred towards Clara is steadily decreasing and I have to often remind myself about my life's wish to end this bitch's pathetic unlife. Maybe it's because she went from being the ugliest creature I've ever seen to the prettiest, or maybe it's because I always move from one place to another with her. The fact that our route depends on her whim makes it only more interesting. There's never a dull moment with her. So what if our next destination is some seedy Helsinki instead of Florence? After a hundred years sitting in a coffin, the world seems wonderful in its every form! I am also once again complete, in my full form!

My happiness pierces the night with a banshee's wail. As it turns out, you can feel happy and lively even attached to a chain.

I laugh as I remember my girly's surprised cry; "Elm, those fireflies are flying at you!"

It still amazes me how we even found the place of my last battle with the deadman. The girl managed to rip me out of the necrolight, and I definitely underestimated her, and then insisted on us returning, but I lied to her and went on to search. And found it! Ah, what a sight! I shake in excitement every time I remember it.

They flew at me like thousands of fireflies; my lonely lost pieces of 'me'... they flew, crawled, jumped and landed on me into a shiny blanket... permeating, filling and restoring... tickling, warming and fading into a touching silence. I swear that I have never experienced such happiness as when I finally connected with 'me' in all its integrity. I then flew with freedom, with the girl under my arm, piercing the astral plane like a shining falcon.

Need I remind you that beyond the plane was Clara and the chain?

Although, its better than the pointlessness of necrolight. And I almost lost myself there... once again, huge thanks to my girly. The poor sod told me all about how she was scared out of her mind sitting in front of the fading fire, seeing only blurry forms in the smoke. But when the story was rearing its end and the mirrors appeared, she heard my protesting cries and understood that there was no happy end. According to her, she tried to help and nothing worked until she repeated the little ritual with the coal. She held it tight, and then she could tear into the necrolight, where I was already half-gone.

Bloody wraiths! I never want to have anything to do with them ever again.

The most important thing is that I am whole.

And I have a teeny secret, hehe... nobody knows that 'we' came back with a prize, loot, gift from the defeated. The thingy didn't disappear anywhere... good thingy, it's not with me, inside me... shining, hiding, promising... I am decoding it, understanding it... and when it's all clear and I have its power in me...

Then it's all over, he-he.