While you were asleep, a monster would hide under your bed and steal your soul at night, some people said. In return for your soul, he would trap you inside of a necklace for eternity. The next person to find it and put it on would become possessed at one point by Lucifer himself. It's funny, I never believed the story. I always laughed at the thought. I never believed in silly superstitions such as ghosts or murderers that are made of terracotta soldier remains.
In the 7th grade I was given a picture by my friend that had a baby blue faded green necklace with pure silver surrounding it. Behind it in the backdrop there was a message written in seemingly working organs from a body and fresh blood saying, "You are next." I just ripped it up and trashed it, laughing like an insane person. 2 years later my family moved to a small place in the country where it rains all of the time. The town was called "Cloudson," after it's strange weather patterns.
It was a very nice rainy bleak day when we finally got to our house. It seemed small, but was pretty large as well, if that makes sense. It looked like a bright white and cream Victorian. Our house had a large, non-polluted, clear lake where we could go swimming in the summer. Holy Jesus, I thought to myself. On the inside were a black marble staircase, baby blue walls, and a cream rug.
I climbed up the staircase. I reached the top, and all there was were two small doors. I went through the burnt door rather than the pink door, but I have no idea why still. I felt cold, but the door still felt a bit "just put out." (Warm.) The hallway had no windows and no lights. It was large, and I Walked straight ahead for what seemed like hours, and a light appeared before me. I stretched my hand towards it. It was a lavender door. I opened it, and immediately regretted it. For a second. Neon lights shone in my face and on the faded navy walls. The floor was made of black marble. A velvet red couch sat next to 2 neon bean bags. An emerald statue of a Unicorn hung over a small jade colored staircase.
Everything was on a marble platform, including my oak wood dresser. Something didn't feel right, though. I walked over to this beautiful green and silver plated necklace on the oak wood dresser. I examined it. Green Aventurine, I thought. I put it on for a second or two, and my skin seemed to start to burn. Like the necklace was possessed. I immediately threw it across the room part of me hoping it would shatter. No, it decided to retract before it hit the wall. I paid no attention, trying to see how badly I was burned. The necklace flew through my hand and neck at the same time, blood and guts flying everywhere. I just laughed. I don't know why, either, I just could not feel the pain. I looked down. My neck and hand had healed. But to my horror, my neck started to burn again. I reached my scarred hand up. The pendant had melted into my skin, as if to blend. All I could feel and see was fire. So much screaming. I blacked out.
I woke up to my sister's worried face. She looked like she had cried earlier that day. "I found you on the floor," she croaked. "Are you okay?" I looked at her in dismay. All I remembered was walking towards the necklace to put it on. "Where am I?" I tried to ask Cassi whatever happened, I could barely speak. "The hospital. When I found you, you were on fire." I tried to sit up. I couldn't. "I…. What? All I did was walk towards a necklace!" Cassi started to tear up. "Think again. You have a security camera in your room. I saw what had happened. It happened a month ago. I thought you were dead, Val. I thought you were dead and not coming back. You are the only family I have left and-" She stopped. "Val…. Your eyes." I stared, confused. "What about them?" "What color are they usually?" She looked worried. "Chestnut brown, I think." "Um, no they aren't…." She croaked, choking back her tears. "They're blue."
"Take me to a mirror please!" I yelled. She grabbed one out of her purse. They were blue. My hair seemed to stay dirty blonde though. "Why are they…. How did they turn fucking blue?" I felt tears stabbing my eyes. I couldn't get rid of them, though. "Like mother's," Cassi said.
Back when Cassi was 12 and I was 8, we would go into the woods, go on literal adventures. She got her nickname from her real name. She's named Cassiterite, after the crystal gem of "death," mom said. Dad had left us after I was born. Cassi has no memory of him. Our mother died on our 14th and 10th birthdays from Lung cancer in 1990. From then on, Cassi's gotten thousands of jobs to take care of me. I'm 16 now, as Cassi is 20. We've moved to more than half of the states in my 16 years. I'm called Val, or Valéry by friends and Cassi. My name is forbidden to mention unless in life/ death situations. Cassi's full name is Cassiterite Melody Chorde. My full name is Valairessa Luna Chorde. No one says my middle or last name, nor calls me Valairessa.
So when Cassi appeared above me after the accident, my memory came flooding back of my childhood. It was a good time, before Mother had died. Now Cassi and I were alone in the world, just a 16 and 20 year old girl. It was hard, especially after the incident with the necklace.
"Cassi, can you get me some pudding?" I asked her. "Sure, chocolate or vanilla?" She asked, walking out the door. She paused. I gave her a death stare. "Fine, ok yeah, chocolate it is." As she walked out of the doorway, she yelled "This is why I love you, Val." I love you too, I thought to myself.
A sudden pain shot through me, from nowhere. The necklace itself had already changed my eyes, but now my hair was fading to a bleak green and the tips faded to blood red. As the pain got worse, I looked at my hair. The colors were changing right before my eyes. Cassi walked in, and dropped her pudding. "Oh my god! Valerie, what the hell is going on? Your hair is changing!" She was wide eyed. I felt a surge of power run through me. "It is?" I asked sarcastically. I couldn't see. I felt no emotion, no pain, no love… nothing but anger, hate, and trust. I didn't know what to do. "Um, Val? What's happening?" Cassi yelled. I seemed to pull away from the world, taking Cassi with me.
I woke up, Cassi lying by my side. She yawned. "Where are we?" She asked. We sat up, confused. We were in a bright room. It was yellow, with yellow rugs and cream bed spreads over the mahogany beds. I got out of the bed. The rug felt soft and warm, kind of like a banana split or something. Cassi followed me down the red hallway outside to a large neon blue and dark purple door. Cassi opened it. Inside were tie dye chairs and a large oakwood desk. "Good Morning ladies. I'm glad to see you are finally awake. How did you two sleep? Well? Excellent? Like a queen?" The voice came from an intercom overhead. It was slightly hidden, behind a tie dye curtain. "Um, Excellent?" Cassi asked, unsure what to say. The bright sun shone through the stained glass windows, making the necklace burn every time the sunlight hit it. It was weird. I closed the curtains, and the burning stopped. "Oh, well. I guess you finally got me!" A woman wearing the brightest clothes ever came out from behind a small counter. She came up to Cassi. "Here, have some food. You must be hungry." Cassi made a face. "Yeah, um, no thanks." The woman came up to me. "Oh, what a lovely necklace! It seems as though you are VERY attached to it, hm?" Her voice sounded slightly seductive. "No." She walked off. Behind her counter, that is. She grabbed something. I immediately jumped in front of Cassi. "No! What the fuck! Dude! Why-" She chucked a knife at us. My necklace reacted to it. It glowed. I caught the knife in my hand, took it out, and my hand healed immediately. The woman sneered. "So, you have the necklace? May I have it please?" Cassi nodded. I tried to take it off. The woman had an extremely desperate look on her face. "It's not coming off…. You let the actual gemstone touch you, didn't you?" I shook my head. "Y-Yes?" She waved her hand at me, and I flew to her side. She looked at me. "Look at me, child." I looked up, as a mistake. She had grabbed a knife and stabbed me in the head and the eye with it. I blacked out, hearing Cassi scream, "Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"