Tales of a Moonlit Night 1: Alone and Scared [EXCERPT]
It's really dark in here. Why is it so dark? I don't know what time it is… It must be night time.
It's dark and I'm alone. Ziz seems to be sleeping in his tank, and I don't want to disturb him. So, I merely curl up in the blanket and stare out into the darkness. Pulling the covers over me more, I realize it is cold. It really must be night, since it's rather warm in the daytime. And isn't darkness always associated with night? Cold, cruel night with no lights shining, nor any hope to be seen.
Why am I here? Sometimes I wonder that, and wish I knew. In this deep darkness, for what reason am I here? I sigh a bit at the moment I realize my thoughts have been spoken aloud. The voice—mine—makes me sick. I've heard it so often that I do not wish to hear it anymore. The only other voices I have ever known are Mother's, and…
When will Mother come home? I want her to come home. I want to see her, and hug her, and feel the warmth of her body to forget the cold around me. I want to hear her voice telling me stories of fantastic old days with music-boxes and magic, gods and science. The old days of princesses in castles, and heroes of war. Well-known dukes and scary warlords, or women who single-handedly destroy whole families, or even cities. Hearing her speak of such stories, though of course they could never be true, is always so nice. And so is her warmth, and that gentle scent of paper and ink that's always around her.
I miss you, Mother. I'm being a good girl – The best ever! I'm not complaining too much, and I'm keeping an eye on how much I eat. I can even kind of sew my clothes if they get holes! So, please come home soon. I miss you so much.
I think that over and over, feeling my face heat up and my eyes sting. Before I know it, the coldness on my cheeks is broken by small lines of warm dampness, and I wipe the tears away. My breath shudders, and I continue to stare into the darkness. For a second, I see something flickering. However, I am all alone in this darkness. There cannot be anything there, surely.
Mother, come home! Soon, please! I'm scared! I'm really, really scared! Please come home!
My thoughts are answered with a creak nearby, however it's only the bitterly cold wind pushing against the walls of this abandoned house. I suck in another breath and curl up, pulling the thin, yet oversized blanket over my frail body. My chest hurts, right where my heart is. When I peek out again, I swear there's a flicker once more. This time, I try to focus on it as much as I can. It becomes clearer and clearer.
Glowing red eyes, a small body. It looks like a cat, and my suspicions are confirmed when it comes closer. I can't make out the colour, but I think it's red and has some kind of necklace on. However, the cat looks awfully mean. It laughs at me in a hissing voice and jumps, yet vanishes before it can reach me. Even so, I jerk back and hit my head against the wall behind me.
The sharp pain spreads quickly, throbbing with each quick beat of my heart. Now, I struggle to breath as I continue to stare out. A woman with green pigtails comes next, with the exact same red eyes. She's cackling and holding bloodied babies, proclaiming that they're dead before vanishing in a burst of flame so realistic, I lean in to try and catch it's nonexistent warmth.
I close my eyes for a bit, shivering even more in the cold night. When I open them again, more sights greet my eyes. These strange spectres are more monster than human, with horns and wings and bloodied claws. They crowd around me, laughing and cackling. The words are easy to hear – too easy, and I wish I couldn't hear at all when they speak in those screeching sounds.
"You stupid child!"
"You're one of us!"
"If you're going to sit there pathetically, just die!"
"You don't even have the guts to reply to us!"
"Stop whining, a lot of people would kill to have as much as you!"
"Stop wanting everything! You can't have it all!"
These comments, somehow, do not faze me as much as the next one does. "You will soon have your revenge."
And then, they are gone and I am left in the darkness once more. I am glad for it this time, my ears still ringing from their words. Even though I can't see, I can certainly feel the room spinning around me. Slumping to my side, I shiver harshly and begin to cry. When will Mother come home? These dark nights scare me greatly.
There's a small clicking noise, and I jerk up ready to stand and run to another room. However, it is merely Ziz clicking in his tank. With a light sigh and bitter laugh, I reach over and pet his outstretched tentacle.
"Go back to sleep," I mutter, and he does. I don't want Ziz to see me crying, so I bite my knuckle to muffle my voice better. It works for a few minutes, and then I inch towards a corner of the room with my blanket and sit there, taking deep breaths.
…Please come home, Mother. Please, oh please. Come home and tell me that what I'm seeing and hearing isn't true. I'm asking for a lot, I know, but please. It's cold, and my heart is aching as I wish to cry. I promise I won't get in your way, or do anything bad. But please, please return soon. I still have a lot of food, I guess, but I have little of your love.
I'll continue to wait for you, I promise.
…
"…Abandoned…" The whisper reached my ears.
A/N: Hey guys, Chi here! Thanks for reading! I still have 6 planned chapters left; and that's just for this story.I have three more planned ones afterwards, which will tell more about Nemesis's life! However; I've been busy, so it's hard to find time to write. I even just got accepted to college today! And I have exams soon, but I swear I'll finish this! Much love and kindness to all who read! And be sure to check out the fic 'je ne regrette rien' by Densetsu-no-Maguro and tell us which you like best!