"My dear, sweet Valerie. How I deeply wish to see you grow into the beautiful, sophisticated woman you will become. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I am left with no other choice but to leave you and your father behind in this damned, wretched world. Other-worldly dangers follow me wherever I go, so I must leave. My life has been nothing short of a cruel curse, and I pray you will not inherit it from me. Remember to always listen to your father. He is the only person in this world you can trust. When the night becomes bleak, remember that you are not alone. You have your family, your friends, and most of all you have God. Pray to Him to give you strength, and do not turn your back to Him the way I did. You are destined for extraordinary things, my child, for your father and I are no ordinary people. Do not ever forget where you come from. Love forever and always, your mother."
Hawkins, Indiana. What a town. I guess my very first memory from there is my 5th or 6th birthday party, but I can't remember which one. What I do remember are the people who were there. My dad, of course, was standing right next to me near my birthday cake. He was tall with shoulder-length dark brown hair and a stache to go with it. He looked very young for his age, a 40-something year old man looking like a vital 20-something year old man. And then there was Uncle Kaet. Well, his real name is Kaetenay, but I always call him Uncle Kaet for short. He was a Native American, and I never questioned how we were actually related. He had greying hair and looked aged. The contrast between him and my father were stark.
My two best friends were also there, Nancy Wheeler and Barbara Holland. I call them Nance and Barb for short. Oh, and how could I forget? Nancy's cute baby brother, Mike, was also there. He was such a cute, fat, little baby. Always drooling and always smiling. I used to think Mike liked me more than Nance because he followed me everywhere I went. I always fantasized having a baby brother like him. But I was meant to grow up alone.
Late in the night, Nance and Barb left with their family. Uncle Kaet lit his incense candles in the living room like he always did every night. They were used to ward off evil spirits, or that's at least what he believed in. He prayed in his native tongue as he walked with the candles in his hands, thick smoke rising in the air. I followed behind him, chanting with him and holding my own incense candle that dad lit for me because I believed in it, too. We walked through every floor, every room, every nook and cranny in the house chanting in that foreign language. We ended the chanting in my room, and I put the candles on my desk. I climbed in bed, and Uncle Kaet put aside his candles, too. "Did you enjoy your birthday today?" Uncle Kaet asked as he sat at the edge of my bed.
"Yes, it was a lot of fun. I love playing with Nance and Barb. And Mikey too!"
"Yes, they are good people," Uncle Kaet replied smiling. I could see his wrinkles clearly over his eyes and mouth even in the dim light, and embedded within his wrinkles was a look of concern.
"What's wrong, Uncle Kaet?"
"Nothing is wrong, child." Before I could pester him about it, I saw dad knock on my door. Uncle Kaet gave me a smile and left my room so that my dad could take his spot on my bed.
"Hey, sweetheart." I loved the way dad smiled at me; it made me so happy. No one's smile, not even Uncle Kaet's, made me feel happier than my dad's smile. It just made me feel like no matter what bad things I did or even dreamed of, he would always be there to love me and protect me. Maybe it was because he was trying to make up for my mother abandoning our family, or maybe it was because I reminded him of her so much.
"Dad, can I play with Nance and Barb tomorrow? They said they wanted to go to the park."
"Yeah, of course." Dad took a moment to look at me. I could see sadness in his eyes. Did I remind him of my mother again? Long, curled raven hair that looked beautiful untied and tied, especially in a bun. I had never met my mother, but I'd hear stories about her. A few from Uncle Kaet and much less from dad. I guess it pained him to talk about my mother. I know he loved her very much.
"You look like Uncle Kaet when you do that, dad."
"When I do what?" he asked snapping out of his own thoughts.
"When you look at me like that. Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong," he answered with a fake smile. I could tell it was forced, and I was such a naive kid to have accepted that as a reasonable answer without thinking twice. "What about you? Are you worried about having more nightmares?"
"A little bit, but if I get scared, I'll just pray to God. He'll make me feel better like He always does."
"Like always." Dad looked at me for a quick moment as if he wanted to tell me something, but all he did was give me a kiss goodnight. Maybe he wanted to tell me how much I reminded him of my mother. Brooding eyes that could make or break souls, pale skin with a hint of blush in my cheeks, keenly observant to the point where one could say clairvoyant, a mysterious and formidable beauty filled with vast secrets and inescapable danger. A figure one could never forget. Or at least that's how Uncle Kaet described her. I could only imagine how she really looked. "Come on, let's pray."
Dad and I got on our knees on the ground next to the edge of my bed. We clasped our hands and closed our eyes. We started our daily prayer in Latin, a language dad taught me ever since I learned how to talk. When we were done praying, he walked to the incense candles and was about to blow them out, but I stopped him. "Dad, wait. Can we keep the candles like that?" Honestly, I was terrified of having more nightmares. They were getting worse by the week, but I didn't tell dad how I really felt. I didn't want to worry him.
"We don't wanna end up burning the house down, now do we?" I chuckled and watched dad blow out all the candles. He always had this charm about him that could even make men swing to him. "Get a good night's rest, Val. You're gonna need it for the park tomorrow."
"Alright, dad." I tucked myself in bed.
"Goodnight, baby girl. I love you," he whispered as he walked out of my room.
"I love you, too, dad," I whispered back as the darkness slowly crept around me. I kept my eyes wide open, but no one can stay awake forever, especially a little kid.
I always had nightmares. Every night. I always dreamed of this quiet world. And it was dark. Dad used to tell me that Hell is a place where God banishes evil people's souls to. Well, this world kind of felt like that. Except there were no human souls or even humans at all. Only monsters. These ugly, weird-fleshy monsters with no face, and they fed on blood. A sort of...vampire-like monster. And it definitely wasn't some transparent soul like a ghost. It was real. I could feel its presence was very real and tangible. It always fed, and it could always smell me. I run and run, but the monster is frighteningly fast. Before it can catch up to me, I wake up in cold sweat.
It never felt like these nightmares were just a part of my imagination. It felt so real, and I thought a lot about what I saw. Maybe there was some kind of subliminal message behind the dreams. I suppose you could say I was right. After all, I was - and still am - clairvoyant. Well, to a certain degree I am.
Anyways, when I turned 10, that's when my life flipped upside-down. My birthday was on a full moon that year, and I was home with the babysitter. Dad and Uncle Kaet always left once a month on the full moon to the mountains. They said they go to hunt animals, but I never believed them because they never came back with any souvenirs.
I was sitting on the couch watching TV by myself. The babysitter was using our phone to talk to her friends when I felt this strange pain that started in my head. It was a pain I never felt before, the most painful, aching pain. It felt like my bones were cracking inside my body, as if they were breaking and rearranging themselves. The pain was immense, and to this day I don't remember the rest of that night.
I woke up in my bed late in the morning, and I could hear dad shouting at Uncle Kaet from downstairs. "This is all YOUR fault!" Dad screamed angrily. It frightened me hearing how upset he was. "You...you cursed my family."
"And have you already forgotten what YOU'VE done to MY family?" Uncle Kaet responded calmly yet sternly. My dad didn't respond, and I didn't understand. Dad hurt Uncle Kaet's family? But...what family? I thought we were his only family...I couldn't help myself. I became curious. I wondered if dad was saying something back to Uncle Kaet because it was quiet. I crawled out of bed slowly, still aching from last night.
I quietly walked down the hall from the second floor, and I heard dad respond. "What can I do? How do I..." Desperation. It was the first time I ever heard it in his voice, and it certainly wasn't the last.
"Stop the transformation? You can't. You know that."
"No, no bullshit! There has to be SOMETHING. Anything." Silence again. "The doc...the doctor!" Dad ran to the phone, and there was silence again. He was dialing. "Doc. Is that you?...It's Ethan Chandler...Y-Yeah, yeah I'm doing okay. I, uh, have a favor to ask of you. My daughter...she's...cursed...no, no, not like her. Like me...yes...is...is there anything you can do for her? Any...medicine or...I dunno some science stuff that you're good at...Please. There's gotta be something you can do. Or maybe you know someone else who can help her...R-Really? Okay...yes, anything...Okay, we'll catch a plane to London today. Should we meet at the old man's chateau?...okay, I'll see you then. Bye. And thank you, doc. I owe you one."
"What are you planning to do?" Uncle Kaet asked nervously.
"I'm taking her to London to see a doctor. We leave today."
"Will you come back?"
"I don't know." I heard footsteps by the stairs, and I rushed back into my room and in my bed. I pretended like I was still sleeping, and I heard my door open. "Val, Val, wake up now." Dad opened the curtains with one aggressive swoop, and I immediately looked at my father with clear eyes as I sat up.
"What's going on, dad?"
"We have to go to London. Get dressed and pack up."
"London? But why?" I asked getting out of bed.
"Because I said so," he snapped at me. "Now wash up and pack NOW." I knew dad wasn't going to hear another word of it, so I immediately did as told. I was frightened. I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't even have time to think about what I was leaving behind in Hawkins. All I could think about was what was happening. Dad rushed me, and I saw Uncle Kaet in the car ready to drive us to the airport. I went in the backseat of the car before dad because he was packing the suitcases into the trunk.
"Child, you listen to your father, do you understand?" Uncle Kaet said looking right into my eyes.
"Yes, sir," I replied with a nod. He sighed heavily as my dad got in the passenger seat. Uncle Kaet drove us to the airport, and the drive was deadly silent. No one spoke. When we arrived, dad asked Uncle Kaet to take care of the house while we were gone. Uncle Kaet nodded without a word and looked at me one last time. I saw sadness in his eyes, almost out of regret. He drove away without saying a word, and dad and I got ready to board the plane.
It didn't hit me that we were leaving the country until we were actually inside the plane and sitting in the seats waiting for take-off. "Will we ever come back to Hawkins?" I asked dad looking up at him. It finally hit me that I was leaving my whole life behind. My friends, school, Uncle Kaet...
"I don't know," he answered looking right back into my eyes. He was telling me the truth.
"I didn't even get to say bye to Nance and Barb," I replied sadly. I was going to miss my best friends in the whole wide world, and I couldn't even give them a phone call.
"I know, sweetheart, and I'm sorry about that." He paused for a moment to end the conversation, and then he leaned down to me to talk quietly. "Look, Val. I'm going to be very serious with you right now. Can you try to...understand?" I nodded, unable to speak. My eyes and mouth were wide open, halfheartedly anticipating and halfheartedly afraid. "We're going to London to see a doctor."
"Where's London?"
"In Europe. It's across the sea."
"Who's going to see the doctor?"
"You."
"Me? I'm...sick?"
"Yes."
"But I don't feel sick."
"I'll tell you more when we get to London, I promise." Dad held my hand warmly in his. It felt like he wanted to say more, but he didn't. He faced forward once more and didn't let go of my hand the whole plane ride. London, I'd never heard of this place before or even knew of its existence till a couple hours ago. It was foggy, smoggy, overcast? I couldn't tell the difference. It just wasn't sunny the way it was in Hawkins. Dad caught a taxi for us and we drove in silence for a while. "We're going to the place where your mother used to live." I looked up at my dad. My mother was never in the picture ever since I could remember. Dad never talked about why so I assumed she broke his heart when she abandoned us.
We finally arrived to the largest house I ever saw. It was like a prince's castle, the kinds of grand places you'd see in grand movies. Dad led the way into the chateau through the front doors. I couldn't believe he had a key to this kind of place. We stepped inside the grandiose house, and it was absolutely magnificent. The stairs, the high ceiling with chandeliers, the vastness and history locked away in the house made the moment surreal.
"Doc!" I heard my father say. I looked to my right and saw a very old man standing there. He had no hair but I could tell it was supposed to be white/gray. He was really skinny, kind of like a skeleton. No beard, no mustache. He also looked really tired, almost as if he hadn't slept in a couple of days. Was he possibly feeling tired because of me and my father's abrupt appearance? And there was another man next to this old one. He was still old but much younger than the skeleton. Maybe late 30's, 40's? The old man must've been like 80, maybe just hitting 90? I watched my father and this old man embrace.
"Unbelievable," the old man said to my father looking at his face with utter astonishment. "How..."
"No time for that now, doc. So where's this friend of yours you were talking about on the phone?"
"Ah, yes, Dr. Jekyll. He's at his lab. Working on another experiment I suppose. But uh, first may I introduce Mr. Lyle's son?" Dad looked at the younger man, ashamed he didn't acknowledge the stranger sooner. Dad always had such great manners.
"I've heard a lot about you from my father, Mr. Chandler," the man said ecstatic as he put his hand out for a handshake.
"Hope not too much," dad said shaking Lyle's hand firmly. "And what's your name?"
"Ethan Lyle, sir." Dad and the doctor looked at one another, and they knew they were thinking the same thing. Ferdinand Lyles, this man's father, always had a liking to dad ever since they worked together on past projects.
"So, this friend of yours?" Dad turned his focus back to the doctor.
"I uh...frankly, I haven't been able to get in contact with him for quite some time now."
"Then we gotta go to him. Where's his lab?"
The doctor scoffed with amusement and said, "Mr. Chandler, forgive me but some people have aged with all this time that had gone by. Bones have gotten weaker, you see."
Dad had no response to that. He turned back to me but saw that I was still in utter fascination with the house. He looked back to Lyle and asked, "Do you have kids?"
"N-no, sir."
"Can you take care of one for a few hours?"
"I...I suppose I can."
"Great. Keep both eyes on my baby girl."
"Yes, sir."
"And, Ethan Lyle, let me warn you right now. If anything...anything...happens to my daughter...I will kill you." Lyle gulped and nodded, understanding my dad wasn't lying or messing around. He then walked to me and caught my attention.
"Dad, this place is awesome!" I said with a huge smile on my face.
"Yeah, it is. Val, listen. I gotta go meet someone right now, and I need you to stay here with Mr. Lyle." We both glanced at Mr. Lyle, and he smiled and waved his hand to us. Dad shook his head. "Just like his old man." He then faced me again. "Just stay in the house, alright? I'll be back."
"When?"
"As soon as I can."
"Can I call Nance and Barb to tell them where I am?"
"No, no you can't."
"Why not?"
"Because no one can know where you are. It's..." Dad sighed and looked back to the doctor. "Doc...can you give me a moment with my daughter?"
"Of course," the doctor replied looking at me. It was as if I brought him his old memories back of my mother too. I assumed the doctor knew mother because he was a friend of my dad's.
Dad took my hand and led me upstairs. We turned the corner and went to the room in the way back. He hesitated in opening it. He couldn't move, so I opened the door for him. He looked down at me and I looked up at him. I gave him a small smile, and he smiled back.
Dad led me into the room, and it was super dusty as if no one stepped foot in there for years. There was a bed, a small makeup table, and a wooden cross next to the cozy fireplace. It was a simple room. Dad took the first step in, and I followed. He let go of my hand and stood there in the middle of the room, looking around while being flooded with memories of him and my mother. I tried out the bed, and it was comfy. I could feel a presence the moment I touched the bed. It was strong and warm. It made me feel comfortable and at home. Dad came over to the bed, and we both sat at the edge of it. "Dad, what's wrong with me? I don't feel sick."
"Baby...it's hard to explain."
"I want to know everything." He looked in my eyes and smiled. I guess I reminded him of my mother, pestering persistently until we obtain what we want.
"You know how I always leave the house with Uncle Kaet once a month?"
"Yeah. Your hunting trip."
"I go to the mountains where no one can see me. And I...I turn into a wolf. A werewolf."
"What?" Yes, you didn't hear wrong. My dad just said he is a werewolf.
"Your mother...she wasn't an ordinary person either. She...she fought the devil, the real devil, and his brother. She was...a warrior chosen by God, and I was chosen by God to protect her." I was speechless. I couldn't believe what dad was saying to me. Werewolves were supposed to be in cartoons and movies, not in real life. And my mother fought the devil? And his brother? That was never mentioned in the Bible! Blasphemy! Blasphemy? "Your mother was the greatest person I ever met, and I loved her more than anyone and anything in the whole world. She didn't leave us because she hated us, Val. You...you can't even begin to understand the sacrifice she's made for our family. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be alive."
"Is she alive? Is she...here? In London?"
"No, she's not here anymore but this used to be her room. Why don't you check out the house for a bit? She spent almost her entire life here." I looked around the room and couldn't believe this dusty room belonged to my mother. "And listen to Mr. Lyle, alright? His dad is a good friend of ours, so don't give him too much trouble."
"But...how am I sick?"
"Well...you have my curse. That night you blacked out, you transformed into a wolf..."
Dad smelled me from the mountains that fateful night, and so did Uncle Kaet. After decades of constantly transforming into a werewolf during the full moon, dad learned how to control his animal instincts to a certain degree, but Uncle Kaet was better because he was much more ripe with experience. He and Uncle Kaet sneaked back home, unseen by anyone in Hawkins in the darkness of the night. When they got back to the house, they saw me bent over the baby sitter, feasting on her fleshy meat as an animal.
Dad watched over me the whole night until I fell asleep and transformed back into a human at the break of dawn while Uncle Kaet moved the baby sitter's body discreetly to the woods and staged it like an animal attack in the middle of the night. Dad cleaned me up and put me in bed, then he cleaned the house spotless. He was scared, terrified of it all. He didn't know how I'd handle the information, what I'd do if I found out, how I'd feel about his, and now my, curse.
"Is the medicine gonna make me stop turning into a wolf?"
"I'm hoping so."
"I dunno, Dad. I think it's kinda cool turning into a wolf. We could go hunting together then, right?" Dad laughed and hugged me tightly. He kissed me on my head but didn't let go of the hug.
"I love you so much, Valerie. You are my entire world."
"I love you too Dad." My dad let go of the hug to look at me. "So do I really gotta take that medicine Dad? Can't I just turn into a wolf with you?" Dad laughed again and kissed me on my forehead.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, alright? Go ahead and check out the house. But be careful. Don't go exploring too far."