Père Venu de L'enfer #00

A day like any other. A day like any other, with no real foreshadowing. No foreshadowing of the problem that would change Christina Le Strange’s life 180 degrees. A life that, as you can see, was nothing but a pile of lies and insinuations, just to hide the fact of who she really was.

So, who was she? And what wasn’t she really? From that moment on, she was completely unsure of who she truly was. And now she knew she wasn’t one hundred percent human, as she had always believed, as she had been told like a broken record.

She was just a worthless half-breed whom no one wanted anyway. Not even her own biological father... In fact, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure about that. Because no matter how you look at it, Christina didn’t know him and probably wouldn’t have the chance to. Maybe it was for the best, because she would probably spill everything she was currently holding inside of him.

How could he treat her mother like that? As if she were just a pawn to him and nothing more. As if she meant nothing to him. Although she might have been wrong about that, too. So she couldn’t be sure of anything until she met him. Consequently, she shouldn’t have slandered him as vehemently as she was now!

However, was it any wonder she thought of him that way after having not had contact with him for so long? If she had had more contact with him, she would probably think of him differently now, and probably say less nasty things about him. Besides, she wouldn’t have to listen to those stupid comments about her and her mother, as she was now. She had to restrain herself from saying anything to them about it.

„Oh…,” was all that escaped Christine’s small lips as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, which was making her nauseous for a moment, a mirror she had hated to the core for as long as she could remember.

Hoping it wouldn’t creak this time. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it always did when she saw her reflection. Which, as we all know, she preferred not to tell anyone, afraid he’d locked her in a room without doorknobs. And as we all know, she didn’t want that, because then she wouldn’t know the truth!

She sighed again, averting her gaze from the caramel complexion that many a girl would dream of achieving with a sunbed. She didn’t have that problem, because she was born that way. Which, as we all know, she wasn’t happy about, because it stood out from everyone else.

Which was even more enigmatic to Christine. Could it be that her father was dark-skinned, and because of that, her mother couldn’t be with him? She couldn’t allow herself to entertain another possibility, much less even think about it. Even now, she couldn’t say it out loud, she was so terrified of it.

At that moment, she said, „STOP,” and shook her head to clear away those negative thoughts. If her mother didn’t want to talk about it, she couldn’t force her to tell the truth. Maybe one day she’d learn the whole truth, but for now, she could only be grateful that she was allowed to live.

On the other hand, she was very afraid of this truth. Because she didn’t know what she was really like. Most of all, she was afraid that she might actually be adopted. And the mother who had raised her until then wasn’t her real mother at all. Not to mention, she felt, to herself, that she wasn’t dead.

She was alive, but someone somewhere was holding her and had staged it as if it were an accident. She knew she had no proof, only a hunch that meant nothing. Christina found this incredibly frustrating, but she couldn’t help it. All she could do was get angry and hurl insults at her biological father for allowing this to happen.

She lowered her head, feeling the eyes of the rest of the family on her mother’s side. How she sat in that chair as the closest person to her. And the other one next to her was empty, where her husband and father should have been sitting now. Because the car had caught on fire. There was no way to identify the person inside, who belonged to her mother.

And therefore, it could have been anyone, not her mother, as the police and others had determined. After the service, she set off in the funeral procession to bury „mother” in the family grave. This was already unbearable for Christina. Because if it turned out her mother was alive, then who had they buried in that grave?

But she couldn’t say it out loud; she had to keep it to herself. All the whispers and taunts that reached her ears, as if they thought she couldn’t hear them, were enough. She sighed quietly, praying only to get out of there as quickly as possible.

„Let it all end...,” Christina muttered to herself, ignoring what the priest was saying, because he was lying so much that it made her blood boil.

That was because there was no point in listening to him talk about her mother. Even though she wasn’t burying her at all, she was a complete stranger. Of course, if she said it out loud, there would be quite a commotion. So she had to endure it, even though she didn’t want to hear it. Then there was the matter of who would take care of her.

Because, from what she could tell, no one wanted to take her in. As if she were something awful, something that shouldn’t exist. In her opinion, that was more devastating than the words she heard a moment later, which were addressed not only to her but also to her mother.

Which was already beyond her control and completely out of place. It was obvious these people had forgotten where they were. She couldn’t find any other explanation for the words they were currently uttering. Which, as we know, she wasn’t particularly pleased about.

„No wonder that little girl’s father abandoned her, since she turned out to be such a prostitute!,” said the first woman in the crowd, who might have been her aunt, though Christina wasn’t entirely sure she was.

„He probably didn’t even want to deal with her and left her to our care!,” replied another woman, bluntly, as if she hadn’t noticed that Christina had heard her, as if she thought she was invisible, or worse, insane, which was very likely.

„If she thinks one of us will take care of this, she’s mistaken!,” another man replied, his expression speaking for itself, impossible to confuse with anything else.

„Then perhaps I’ll take care of her, considering I’m her real father, and then you won’t have anything to say?,” A voice that didn’t belong to anyone present was heard after a moment.

No wonder Christina froze, as did everyone else in the hall they were currently in. Where was the funeral service, at the sound of those words they’d heard moments ago. No one could utter a single word. All heads, including Christina, turned in that direction.

Where was it coming from, but they didn’t see anyone there? For a minute, the rest of the family thought it was her sick freak and were about to speak up. When suddenly, the room was enveloped in a completely white fog, which then faded to every shade of gray, until it was pitch black.

Therefore, there was no way she couldn’t possibly have done it herself. She was too shocked to move, much less do something like that on her own, something the rest of the family didn’t believe her. Her eyes were a shade of liquid amber, adorned with long, midnight-black lashes.

They focused their full attention, allowing nothing else to distract them. Her cheeks, slightly pink with excitement, were gaining more color with each passing moment. She felt no fear, but instead, complete peace. As if she knew this person intimately, even though she was yet to see them for the first time.

Although she couldn’t be sure of that either, as her memories of her younger years were hazy and unclear. Soon after, a tall figure began to emerge from the fog. With wings a shade of black she’d never seen before. Not to mention the horns that could be seen just beyond the wings.

Everyone except Christina was terrified and began to pray frantically. This began to amuse her somewhat, as she sensed something was afoot and they didn’t want to tell her the whole truth. Only when the fog or smoke cleared could she fully see the figure that had completely surprised her.

And that made her utter the words, „It’s impossible...”, that had been on her lips. Now she was certain who gave her that complexion, but it exceeded her wildest expectations. The silence that followed his sudden appearance could have been cut with a knife.

Everyone present, including the priest himself and so on, stared at him, unable to tear their gaze away. They acted as if they were in some sort of foolish trance, and the only person unaffected was Christina herself. However, the rest paid no attention, as if the girl herself were invisible to them. Which, as we know, was to her advantage, as she could breathe a sigh of relief for a moment.

„Why are you so silent, as if you’d seen a ghost?,” the man who had heard the voice they’d heard earlier spoke up, looking around at the people in the room, pausing briefly on the priest before fixing his gaze on Christina.

„So why was I croaking?!,” Christina thought after a moment, feeling the gaze of the man who had just moments earlier declared himself her father, something she hadn’t expected at all.

Because the more she looked at him, the more certain she was that he was her biological father. The father whom, moments ago, she had wanted to strangle for abandoning her mother and her to mockery, ridicule, and insults. But now she completely lacked the courage to utter a single sound. As if this were the last moment before her end.

She knew how stupid it sounded, but it was the truth. She felt terrible, but she couldn’t take back her words to him. Because what had been said, as we know, couldn’t be undone, whether she wanted it or not. Now all she could do was hope he hadn’t heard those words, but judging by his current behavior, she could deduce that he hadn’t, which suited her just fine.

„Who are you and what are you looking for here!?,” the priest said after a moment, holding out a cross, the words ending in both an exclamation point and a question mark, so terrified was he.

„Who am I? Seriously! I said I was the father of the one you planned to put in an orphanage, treating her like she was a leper! And my name is Cain Le Strange, and I’m Nicole Le Strange’s real husband and Christine Le Strange’s father! And I came here to take her home!,” Unable to understand their idiotic behavior, which almost always irritated him whenever he came into contact with people.

The atmosphere grew even more tense as the man exuded an aura that even the priest couldn’t match. Truth be told, she wasn’t surprised that she was the only one she hadn’t crushed. Perhaps it was because she had not only human blood flowing in her veins, but also demon blood?