Revenge
Hazel felt her heart drop as she absorbed the Police officers words. She could feel her emotions trying to break free from inside. Disbelief, confusion, and fear screamed to be let out within herself. The man in blue explained to her Grandmother, Nancy as she stood there, numb to the world. Her loving, accepting, and sympathetic Grandfather had kidnapped her neighbors chickens according to the police officer.
Suddenly Hazel’s emotions began to fight each other, trying to become ruler of her body. Confusion had won and proceeded to spread throughout her body, forcing her to snap out of her numb state. “Chickens…?” she whispered as she continued to look at the Police officer in confusion.
The Police officer turned to look at Hazel revealing his name tag, Harper. Mr. Harper’s eyebrows raised up and wiggled like bushy caterpillars only to say with a harsh but welcoming voice “Yes, our reports say that Mr.Whight had broken into Mr.Yoshida’s Barn and attempted to steal Yoshida’s chickens but got himself in an altercation with Mr.Yoshida. Screaming was heard and we were called. We had attempted to restrain Mr.Whight but he resisted and attacked one of our officers. He is currently being held in a cell at the Police station.” Mr.Harper’s eyes slowly turned back to Hazel’s Grandmother.
“Mr.Whight will be charged for breaking and entering, attempted robbery, and assaulting a police officer, you do understand that right Mrs.Whight?” With a chuckle Nancy agreed with the Officer and slowly closed the door. She turned to look at Hazel with a smile but it had a hint of fear, with hesitation, she told Hazel to get her brother.
Hazel nodded and slowly backed away from the now closed door. She turned around and began running towards her brother’s room. Hazel’s socks began to slide against the wooden floor, causing her to slam into her brother’s door.
“HENRYYYYYYYY-!!!!”. Hazel yelled as she jumped back from the blow.
Out of frustration, Hazel threw open Henry’s door only to see him snoring in his bed.
“HENRY”, she yelled again as she stomped towards her brother.
“Henry, you have to wake up.” she said while shaking her brother awake. “It’s important!”. Hazel then glanced at Henry’s night stand and noticed Henry’s glasses peacefully laying on the flat surface, she opened her mouth again to allow words to slip through.
“You ought to put your glasses on, we are going to Jail!”
Henry jolted awake as he heard this, “J-jail?” he asked with fear dripping from his eyes. “What do you mean? What did I do!?” Hazel rolled her eyes as his words danced in her ears. “We aren’t in trouble, Grandpa is. We have to go to Jail to see him! If you woke up at the time you were supposed to, you would know. And I wouldn’t have to explain it to you. As lazy as you are…” She clamped her mouth shut to stop herself. She thought for a moment, as frustrated she was she did not wish to agitate Henry. She opened her mouth again to say, “I always have to explain every single thing you miss. You are very frustrating Henry.” Confusion seemed to take over Henry’s mind as he cocked his head to the side. A weary sigh slipped through Hazel’s lips.
“You know how Grandpa LOVES chickens?” Hazel asked. Henry’s eyes still looked at her in confusion. “Yeah, he always talks about how he wants a chicken but Grandma always refuses and says that it would be too much of a hassle to take care of one.”
“Yeah, and you know how Mr.Yoshida, our neighbor, has chickens?” Hazel asked with more tone and emphasis on the word “chickens”. Realization seemed to take form in Henry’s eyes as she said this. “Wait, do you mean what I think you mean?” “Yep!” Hazel said with a smile.
Laughter exploded within Henry’s room. They began to make fun of how obsessed Grandfather was with chickens. For a second, there was nothing but joy in the air. Nothing but laughter. They both almost forgot about how important their grandparents were to them. They almost forgot how lonely they would become without him. They almost forgot how empty the house would be without him. And they almost forgot the fear they had for him.
In Snowspell town, it’s a serious offense to steal animals from another being, meaning if Hazel’s grandmother did not pay the fines, Steve, their grandfather, would be in prison for a good amount of time. Hazel halted her laughter as she remembered this. She then placed a serious look on her face. She looked through Henry’s leafy green eyes as his laughter came to an end.
Hazel and Henry are twins. That is a known fact in Snowspell. Of course they both have obvious differences such as Henry has inky black hair that seemed to not know which way it wished to part. His hair was frizzy and curled in every direction it wanted to whereas Hazel had dusky black hair and knew where it wanted to go. Her hair was put into two perfect buns on the side of her head, and two long curly strands hugged the sides of her face. Although the majority of the time her bangs did not wish to cooperate.
Even though they are both very different, many people confuse them with each other. Besides the fact they both have the same face structure, the same hair color, the same color of skin, the same freckles, the same eyes, the same height, and they go to the same school, they aren’t that alike.
For instance, Henry loves space ships, astronauts, the color green, strawberries and Science, whereas Hazel loves reptiles, especially the cobras, numbers, puzzles, math, the color orange, and the creamy taste of chocolate. Despite the fact they like different things, they have entirely different personalities too.
Hazel is very competitive, she talks a lot according to her friends, and she even has her own friend group, but her brother prefers to keep to himself and doesn’t really have any friends at school. Although they are opposites, Hazel still adores her brother and she knows he adores her too even though he would never admit it. Like on their last birthday, Henry and Hazel exchanged gifts and bought each other the same thing. Matching necklaces.
Hazel still remembers when she looked at Henry’s reaction to the necklace. They both wore the same face. They both had rosy cheeks, bright green eyes that laughed under the light, and a huge smile that would melt anybody’s heart. Ever since that day, they never took the necklaces off.
Hazel slowly came back to reality as the memory faded away. Still looking through Henry’s eyes she realized that they weren’t the same as before. His eyes screamed of boredom and sadness. His eyelashes didn’t dance like they used to. He didn’t wear a smile of happiness anymore. He looked broken and confused.
Hazel glanced at the necklace they both wore. The silver pendant on the chain cried out to her in desperation. It cried for its other half. Begging her to help it. A smile formed on Hazel’s face as she pulled the thick silver chain that hung around her neck from beneath her shirt and placed the pendant in her palm. The pendant looked as if it once been a whole heart but instead laid lonely in her palm, waiting for its other half.
Hazel placed the pendant right next to Henry’s pendant, creating a whole heart. Her faded pink lips spreaded apart and she allowed her voice to come through. “Remember Henry, we are siblings and I will be there with you no matter what challenges life throws at us. We will be together forever, don’t forget that ever. Now let’s go help and support Grandma, okay?”
Henry’s soft pink lips formed a smile as he nodded his head in agreement. He then attempted to turn around but stopped after realizing what time it was. He glanced out the window to see the rising sun casting a rosy hue across the morning sky.
Both Henry and Hazel gave each other a panicked look after realizing they only had a limited amount of time to get to the school bus. Hyperventilating, they both ran around the house like chickens with their heads cut off. They both attempted on grabbing all their school supplies and stuffing it into their bookbags. Henry, still in his room, was running around trying to put his silky blue school uniform on.
Hazel, with her blue school uniform, hurriedly went to her bedroom to take a “quick” look in the mirror. She looked in the mirror and saw her leafy green eyes staring right back at her. She looked at her scattered freckles and her long black eyelashes. She observed herself in disgust.
She flung open the cabinets beneath the sink to grab concealer and foundation. She began slathering the foundation over her speckled freckles and carefully put the concealer under her eye bags. She then intensely looked at her image in the mirror, unsatisfied she ran out of the bathroom. Henry, waiting impatiently for Hazel, stood by the door.
“What are you staring at?” Hazel mumbled as she ran past Henry and into the living room. With Henry following closely behind Hazel, they both hugged and kissed their Grandmother on the cheek and ran out the door as soon as they heard the honking of the bus.
Hazel’s hands yanked on the rusted cold door knob and swung it open. She could feel the icy air hug her as she forced herself to move forward. Henry, following behind, cringed from the freezing air as Hazel tried to reach the railing on the porch. The ice then attacked her from beneath as she attempted to go down the stairs. Catching herself, she jumped off the stairs and ran towards the bus, climbing up the stairs and plopping to her seat, number 14.
* * *
Henry, staring at where Hazel just was, carefully went down the stairs and followed his sister. He then plopped on the seat next to his sister, number 13. His favorite number.
Henry turned to look at Hazel only to realize she was already listening to music and daydreaming. Sighing he decided to do the same thing and stuffed his hand into his pockets in search of earbuds. His mind started to wander, thinking about Grandpa, and feeling sorry for just leaving Grandma like that. A part of him wanted to go back and assure his Grandma that everything will be okay and that Grandpa can take care of himself, he will be fine.
* * *
Henry’s eyes snapped open when he felt the earbuds being yanked out of his ears.
“Hey Frankenstein! Aren’t you going to follow your freak of a sister.” a voice said from above. Still in a confused state, Henry looked up to see a kid with bleached blonde hair, blue eyes, clear skin, and perfect white teeth that formed a mischievous smile. Henry’s eyes widened as he realized who he was.
Henry jerked his head to the left to see his sister, but his sister was no longer there. He then jumped up from his seat to search for his sister. But he couldn’t find her.
Laughing could be heard around him as his eyes continued to search for Hazel. The boy with the bleached hair grabbed Henry and started pushing him against another boy who looked identical to the first. Soon he was surrounded by all three of the triplets, Fritz, Theodore, and Gavin. They began to insult him as they continued to push him back and forth, but Henry didn’t care. He wanted to find his sister.
Still searching for Hazel, Henry realized that the bus driver was nowhere in sight. No adults. No one to enforce rules. He could feel terror spread throughout his body as words began to spill out of his mouth. Mumbling Hazel’s name over and over again.
Henry began to gasp for air as he tried getting away from the triplets. He tried to shove them, scream at them to stop, beg them to let him go, but nobody acknowledged his cries for help.
He began to jerk violently and let himself get shoved into one of the seats. At this moment he took this chance to escape, he jumped over the seats and crawled his way to the exit of the bus. He jumped over the stairs and ran hysterically towards the woods as he heard screaming behind him.
* * *
Yelling could be heard from a distance as Hazel continued to run. She just had to see Grandpa, just to be sure he was okay. She didn’t want to leave Henry but she didn’t have much of a choice.
She struggled to wake Henry back on the bus, his loud uneven snoring convinced Hazel that he was in a deep sleep. She started coming up with a plan to visit Grandpa without anybody noticing she was gone. As she was trying to attempt this plan of hers, Mrs. Spicer, the bus driver, noticed her trying to get her body through the window.
Shock ran through Hazel’s body as Mrs.Spicer began to chase after her as she ran in the direction of the police station. Adrenaline took over and pushed her to run as fast as she could.
She could feel her hair blowing in the wind as Mrs.Spicer continued to chase her. Hazel’s knees screamed in pain as she continued running, she could hear Mrs.Spicer yelling for Hazel to come back. But Hazel wasn’t going back now, she just had to see Grandpa.
* * *
Henry didn’t stop running. He ran and ran and called for Hazel’s name, but nobody came. As he was running he felt the twigs around him trying to stab him, at one moment he was sure a branch tried to decapitate him, but that didn’t stop him. The adrenaline in his blood forced him to continue running. He couldn’t stop, what if Hazel was in trouble, what if the triplets did something to her.
Henry jerked his head back and forth to throw these thoughts out, he began to comfort himself, telling himself that she was fine, and that she probably took a short cut to the school. At this moment, a root from a tree grabbed his foot, yanking him down, forcing him to slam into the dirt below him.
* * *
Hazel began to slow down to a jog as the police station came into sight. Excitement glowed within as the police station became closer and closer, she almost forgot Mrs. Spicer was chasing her. Almost.
Hazel jerked her head back to see Mrs. Spicer angrily running towards her, she jumped in fear as adrenaline took over her body. She twisted around and began to sprint towards the police station. She didn’t want to stop, but the universe had other plans for her. The uneven sidewalk forced Hazel to come one with the ground.
Pain shot through Hazel’s body as her knee skid across the rough, poorly made, sidewalk. Her nose screamed in pain as gushing blood poured out. But her nose wasn’t the only one screaming, she began to shriek when she saw blood splattering against the ground.
Tears streaming down her face, she tried to stand up, but her knees could no longer stand the pressure and gave out, causing her to hit the sidewalk again.
* * *
Henry jolted up after getting a handful of dirt forced down his throat. He began to look at his surroundings, dazed. He could feel the dirt still hanging desperately on his face as he attempted to stand up.
His legs wobbled in shock forcing him to grab onto a tree for support. He glanced at his surroundings again, the thick brown trees seemed to dance around him. His green cat-like eyes landed on his hands.
His hands were shaking against the bark of the tree. He saw the familiar deep dark purple at the end of his hands and the unfamiliar smear of dirt. He looked at it in disgust.
He began to wipe the dirt off his hands against the beautiful blue of his uniform. Before his hands could protest, he shoved them in his pockets. He was tired of looking at them.
A deep and husky voice from behind could be heard, echoing. “Excuse me?,” the voice had said. Henry jumped in fright as the voice reached his ears. He whipped around, stumbling backwards as he tried to face this mysterious voice.
A 4 foot little girl looked up at Henry with an odd smile. The child had milky white skin and two small hazel eyes that glimmered in the sunlight. She had light brown hair that was put into two perfect pigtails, and she wore overalls that laid over top of her black sweater.
She quickly snatched the sleeve of Henry’s blue uniform before he could fall backwards.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you! I just heard you yelling earlier and I was curious”. The girl said as she tried to steady Henry.
The voice sounded different than before. Henry noted. A few seconds ago, Henry heard a rough and deep voice, a man’s voice. But now he hears a beautiful upbeat gentle voice. Whose voice was that….? Henry thought to himself.
Henry began scanning the area with his eyes, he was looking for someone, anyone who could have spoken before the little girl.
“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself yet. My name is Zaern, but you can call me Z!”
Henry’s eyes immediately snapped back to the smiling little girl, Zaern. He forced his eyes to look at her hand that seemed to reach out to him, waiting for him to grasp it.
He then pulled his hand out and reached for hers shaking hands, “My name’s Henry….. Henry Whight..” Henry said as his voice trailed off.
“Nice to meet you Henry Whight!” she said with a little squeak at the end.
Her chocolate eyes glanced down at Henry’s hands and sparkled with excitement. “Wow! I have never seen a witch before! You are a witch right! Right! I am pretty sure only witches have purple and black at the end of their fingers and toes, at least that’s what mommy says! Woah do you have it on your toes too!! That’s so cool!! I wish I had purple hands″, she yapped as her grasp on Henry’s hand became stronger and stronger.
“Yeah….I guess…” Henry said as he winced at the pain that now grew in his hand.
“Oh sorry, was I hurting you? I didn’t mean to. I am very sorry. Mommy says that when I get really excited I start misbehaving,” she squealed as she let go of Henry’s hands.
“Anyways, who is Hazel? That was the name you were screaming earlier correct? I believe you said something on the lines of….” she made a motion with her hands and placed them around her soft pink lips to make her voice louder, “HAZEL! HAZEL WHERE ARE YOU!?”
Henry flinched as Zaern continued mimicking him.
“Yeah just like that, You were scaring the deer away by screaming like that. Is she lost? Did you lose her? Is she a doll?”, she questioned with suspicion.
“N-no…she’s not a doll….” Henry whispered as he tried not looking at the girl. “She’s my sister..” he said, glancing back at Zaern.
“Ohhhhh, so you lost your sister? Doesn’t your sister know how to take care of herself? I think you’re looking in the wrong place because I haven’t seen any sister wandering around here.”, Zaern said, leaning to the side. “Did you fall or something? You have some ummm mud on your cheek.” Zaern said, chuckling.
“Oh…yeah….” Henry said as he used his sleeve to wipe off his face in embarrassment.
“Earlier you looked like you were running from something, or from someone. It almost looked like some sort of monster was chasing you. Why were you running and screaming like a maniac? You scared all the animals away you know?”
“Sorry…..I was just scared for my sister…I don’t know where she is and I don’t know if she is okay. What if she is in danger and I am not there to help her…what if… she is already dead…and I am too late…” Henry said, squinting to prevent himself from crying.
“What gave you that idea? Why would your sister be in danger? She might just be lost, you know?” Zaern said with pity singing in her voice.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, I should probably get back….”
“Aw, you’re leaving so soon?... What about the triplets, won’t they try to hurt you again?” she said leaning on a tree.
Henry cocked his head at her as her words wrapped around his brain.
“You know…I could help you if you really wanted…” she said with a strange echo behind her words.
Henry looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about? How does she know about the triplets? Was she watching me this entire time? Then why the questions? Millions of thoughts exploded within his brain.
“I’m just saying…nobody in this town respects you or your sister…” she said as her eyes stripped away from Henry. “They all want to control you. They want you and your sister to be picture image perfect. No freckles, blue eyes, blonde hair, perfect white teeth, and pale perfect white skin, they all want you to change for their own selfish reasons. You are honestly an abomination. There is no room for witches in this ugly world. They don’t deserve you or your sister……” Her eyes then jerked back towards Henry. It was almost like she was looking through him. Reading his thoughts whereas Henry was speechless, unsure what to say.
“I say….now don’t get me wrong…but I think we should give them all a taste of their own medicine, dontcha think?”
Henry still stared at her, not knowing what to say or think. He slowly backed up and came to a conclusion that this little girl was a maniac. Probably a cannibal too, he told himself. He did not want to get into whatever shady stuff this girl is into, he was ready to go home, wherever home is.
“Sorry, did that freak you out?” she asked.
Her words that once could be described as honey, now sounded like it was an animal luring him in for dinner. He could feel himself getting lured back to the little girl, almost as if he was under a spell. He did not enjoy this feeling at all, it felt almost as if something was squeezing his organs together, pulsing, trying to get out.
“Here let me put it in simpler terms that your little brain can comprehend.” She then made a dramatic pause and stared deeply within Henry’s eyes.
“Revenge.” she said.
* * *
Hazel’s eyes snapped open as she heard yelling around her. She could feel pain vibrating in her nose and knee. Tears began streaming down her face as her vision became clearer and clearer. She saw Mrs. Spicer yelling in Hazel’s direction but she wasn’t talking to Hazel. Two men dressed in weird outfits surrounded her and began questioning her.
But Hazel could not wrap her mind on the weird men’s words. Thoughts were swarming her head like wasps., So many questions continued to jab at her as they picked Hazel up from the ground.
Her vision began to disappear, everything went black.
* * *
Beeping could be heard as Hazel hesitantly opened her eyes. She was in a hospital bed but she didn’t recall how she got here. A burning sensation shot through her nose as an unusual scent of hand sanitizer flowed in her nostrils.
She observed a cold white railing around her bed and a weird cartoon cat-like animal dancing on the wall. The cat creature had huge claws, sharp teeth, orange fur, creepy sharp eyes and it could stand on two legs.
Terrified of the creature on the wall, she jumped out of bed and ran out. Pain throbbed in her knee but she didn’t pay too much attention to it. She wanted to be home with Henry. She wanted everything to be okay. She just wanted to see Grandpa.
Looking for an exit, Hazel began to turn in every direction, ran up a couple of stairs, and passed many rooms with creepy furry animals dancing on the wall until she finally saw a glass door that led to the outside. She swung open the door making a clang sound and ran out like her life depended on it.
Her thoughts began to twist and turn and began talking about Grandpa, making Hazel run faster as if she was trying to run away from her thoughts. Distracted by her emotions, she seemed to miss the odd opening within the trees.
Left of her was two leafless oak trees that twisted and turned to make a dark entrance in the woods. It had dark gray stones leading into the entrance and orange, red, and yellow leaves hugging the stones. Weirdest of them all, there was a boy with leafy green eyes, inky black hair, freckles that scattered all over his face, and a weird heart pendant with a girl that was much smaller than the boy, smiling creepily towards each other at the entrance.
Henry, not seeing Hazel, turned away from Zaern and began walking out of the woods to head home.
