Fiction | Short Story | Paranormal
I looked at the moon tonight, and it was as golden as the ring I got as a gift from my grandfather’s girlfriend, only there was no ruby in the center of it. It was supposed to be my birthstone, but they got it wrong.
The moon appeared almost translucent, the swirl of distant particles obscuring it in places. Striking against the black of the night sky, even the stars didn’t stand a chance against that moon.
Earlier, as the sunset fell, I watched the putrid pinks and oranges blend across the sky, eventually giving way to the night sky and, more importantly, the moon.
The clock said 8:31 PM, but in winter, it might be the middle of the night; our sense of time is so distorted. My eyes fell back on the clock, still 8:31 PM. Time moved so slowly when you were waiting for something,
He was calling me at 9 PM – on the dot, he said. My cell phone sat silently beside me. Quiet, unsuspecting of the conversation to come. Much like the moon tonight, my thoughts swirled around in my head.
How do I tell him? He deserves the truth. Will he still trust me when the truth comes out?
I sighed, my eyes back on the moon. Midnight tonight would change everything, and he deserved to know before then. I didn’t want to surprise him; that just wouldn’t do.
Surprises didn’t go well in our family. My mother had the scars to prove it.
I stood stretching, taking in the clock again. 8:42 PM, I should do some stretches. Sometimes, Yoga practice helped on the full moon. Midnight was coming quickly, and I needed to be prepared.
My mother knocked on my bedroom door, “Jenna?” She looked at me, now standing in Mountain Pose, getting ready to roll down to yet another yoga pose. “It’ll be okay.”
“And if it’s not?” I answered, folding my body inwards in my next pose.
My mother didn’t answer, but her eyes flickered like fire, the pupil growing in size, before shrinking back down to its more humanlike state. “You know what happens then.” She warned. “Be ready.”
I nodded, “I’m always ready.”
My mother closed the door, leaving me to my Yoga, my thoughts tripping over one another. I wasn’t ready, no matter what I told my mom. Nothing prepares you for the first time you tell the truth.
8:49 PM.
My heart thudded in my chest. He would call, I’d invite him over, then I would tell him. It would be okay – or it wouldn’t. There was no in between.
My family would make sure of that.
The lack of curtains on my bedroom window meant I had the clearest view of the night. I stopped stretching, turning off the light in my room so I could see the moon better.
It really was wild tonight.
Shades of yellow, even specks of amber, caught my eyes.
Wolves were said to love the moon, but my family loved it more. At midnight, something would come alive in me. Something I couldn’t quite name, and then I would forget everything except for the smells around me. My eyes, breathing in the darkness, would see better than they ever had before.
8:55 PM.
Five more minutes until he calls. I repeated my mantra.
Invite him over.
Tell him the truth.
Make him stay.
If he didn’t want to stay, well, I had provisions for that. Under my bed lay two silver cuffs, a chain running between them.
If he didn’t want to stay, my father had already decided his fate.
Invite him over.
Tell him the truth.
Make him stay.
8:59 PM.
One minute left.
My phone rang. “Hey Joe. Look, I was thinking, you should come over tonight…”
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