The Moon Lore

How did she end up here?

Running away from a person in a dark hooded cloak, resembling the grim reaper, her death, her end.

The same person that has haunted her for the past two years, the reason for her nightmares,her sleepless nights.

She gasps as a twig pulls the hem of her gown and she stops trying to pull it out of the branch when the steps behind her get louder and heavier. She doesn’t care if this is the last gift from her best friend , wanting to scurry away from this place and never come back. A flowy white dress is preferably not her choice of outfit to die in.

Lorelai’s hand trembles as she listens to the heavy steps approaching her and she yanks the fabric free from the dry wooden hook’s grasp.”

“Is this it? she turned back, rising to her full height to look at them.

All these years of suffering, all that pain, just for her to come at a place like this...

Her glistening eyes roam around the dark sky, through her blurry and moist vision she observes the stars sparkle across the wide velvety blanket of night, laughing ath her miserable situation. A poor rabbit trying to pull its hind leg out of a pointy trap, that’s what she is, right now.

She swallows hard, trying to moisten her sand dry mouth, reason being the chase and fear.

Her body, drenched in sweat and mind in gazillion questions.

No matter how hard she ran, she chased the moon and The person...The spirit... The grim reaper... followed her effortlessly, did not lose her trail just like a predator in the wild.”

And die... like a nobody. Did she go through All the sorrow, pain and suffering for this?

Glancing the distance between them she carefully takes a step back, pressing the moist grass under her muddy boots. The grassy scent fills the air, her nose itches from it, but she sucks in all the air she could.

Another step... and another.

The dark shadow stands still, observing her every move.

“How in the fucking hell?” she mumbles to herself looking across the wide dark forest, no hint of light or hope for her to escape.

The wind whistles, rustling the few remaining leaves of the trees around them, the darkness whispers grimly. A shiver runs down her spine When the person eats up the metre long distance between them in a blink. her body freezes, and she holds her breath.

“Finally,” He whispers, the depth in his voice shakes her body and soul and her eyes widen when his hood slides just enough to reveal his eyes.

The moon shines directly on him, he’s the embodiment of darkness, from the top till the bottom, the robe covering his entire body till the tip of the toe, flowing further and covering the ground around him.

Swallowing hard she feels like a sparrow into a wolf’s paw, she lifts her head, the darkness follows, but like a light at the end of the tunnel, the silver button connecting the hood and the cloak gleams reflecting the bright light of the moon.

Her breath hitches as she raises her vision to his face, his mouth is covered with a darker cloth, perhaps a mask or a scarf.

His eyes glow, zeroed in on her, her lungs burn from the excess oxygen when she gasps loudly. He has breathtakingly sweet poisonous deep emerald eyes.

The same deep green eyes she sees when she closes her eyes at night.

“The key to my death, my temptress,” He gruffs, raising his hand to her cheek.

His touch burns her skin, the leather feels like a log of firewood over her face and she clenches her jaw, involuntarily.

She must be foolish to think holding her breath would make her invisible, that it will make her a speck of darkness.

Lowering his hand to her chin he raises her face, dipping his face closer to hers, replacing the grassy smell with a perfectly serene scent of sandalwood.

His eyes narrow, as he scans her expression , a glint of mischief sparks before he squeezes her chin between his fingers.

“Couldn’t wait for me to finish the ritual?”

His question, imposing. But she stays frozen, trying to breathe.

The sweetness of sandalwood whirls into her body with each inhale, intoxicating her, making her skin crawl with a feeling that she has never felt before, clutching the fabric of her gown. she stares blankly at him.

She doesn’t know what he means, she doesn’t know if this is real.

Considering the way she’s able to feel everything, she doesn’t think this is just one of her dreams. It can’t be. But, if it is... then something is seriously wrong with her.

His grip loosens on her chin and she bites the inside of her cheek. the loss of touch should feel freeing, but it doesn’t. Metallic taste fills her mouth as blood pools from her bite.

Her eyes widen when his hand wraps around her throat. she couldn’t believe his eyes, she was mesmerised by the prettiest shade of green a while ago and she did not know the shiny emeralds could darken into the shade of the deepest mangrove.

“You’re finally so close to me, but you can’t figure out why, no what’s stopping you from getting closer to me,′ his eyes linger over her mouth then back to her eyes “Come searching for me Temptress, carefully look at our surroundings, you’ll find me here.”

His fingers tighten and she feels lightheaded and her lips part.

Before she could say something... anything...

He pushes her into the wide oblivion behind her, her tongue stays tied, still feeling his hand wrapped around her throat but the force of gravity yanking her toward the end feels terrifying.

She throws her hands and legs trying to get a hold of his robe, trying to save herself from getting lost into the void but it was too late...

A loud caw rings into her ears and Lorelai’s eyes jerk open,her vision blurry, her head whirls as multiple images morph in front of her eyes. she brings her hands up, wiping the cold sweat and tears off her face.

“My baby, Lola” Aria, Lorelai’s mother, pulls Lorelai in her embrace tightly in relief. Lorelai looks around herself, the darkness covering every inch of her surroundings, Hexon, their travel guide, lifts the lantern in the direction where Lorelai’s watching.

“What is it? Do you see something?” He asks crouching down to face Lorelai.

She pulls back, shaking her head. Her eyes are still moist from the newly formed tears.

“I told you and you and you not to come here,” hexon grits his teeth, his thick voice and his accent both making it difficult to understand what he’s saying along with that he swings the lantern at them one by one which seems distracting, yet intimidating.

“We’re sorry,” Aria apologises, dabbing her handkerchief over Lola’s face.

“If she died then you’d be sorry to yourself,” the guy sneers before walking down the path, “now don’t stare at my bald head, follow me like Sheeps.”

Dana, Lorelai’s aunt, helps both Aria and Lorelai by giving them a hand to stand on their feet. “I told you it was a bad idea,” Aria glares at Dana who gives a guilty look.

“I just thought it would be spooky and fun,” she helps Lorelai by cleaning a soil spot on her dress.

Just as they stand and start to walk, Hexon glances back at them, rushing and threatening to run away if they don’t follow him sooner.

Lorelai turns her head to look at the dark path that leads to an unknown path, something wavers in the dark, something that has been watching her the whole while and her heart strums inside her chest.

Deep down she knows the liminal vision had more to it and every bit of it was real, something that actually happened.

And she’s determined to know what it is.

If coming back to that spot answers all her questions then she’s willing to do that. After all, she wants to live her life, freely.

And looks like she’s closer to getting all her answers, the nightmare would finally stop and she’d be free.

Strangely her heart aches, not because of her illness but it’s deeper than that.

She did not feel this way even when she was grieving her best friend’s death.

A feeling of losing something important looms over her every night and when her best friend died she thought it would end but it did not.

Which is why she convinced her aunt to visit their hometown, under the disguise of wanting to experience Halloween from the stories her grandmother always told her.

She wants to put an end to it, and the only way to do that is follow her dream. Crazy, but looks like it’s working.