Clutter

“You thought you are safe with that little girl under your wing?” he let out a throaty laugh. “Stop tickling my bones, silly boy.”

“What do you want from me,” the burning urge receded.

“I came here to warn you. Once the ray of moonlight touches your skin, the inevitable will overcome you.”

“What can I do to stop this?”

“You can’t. This is an ancient curse laid upon your bloodline. All you can do is wait it out until morning comes.”

“That can’t be true. There is no such thing as curses.”

“Then, what do you make of this?”

“I must have made contact with something while I was hunting for wolves.”

He laughed some more, wiping a drop of tear from his eye, “This is not a simple sickness that you can treat with any human method.”

“This is not funny, old man!” I flexed my arms, ready to charge.

“Sit down, dog,” he slapped my nape with the ball of his crystal staff.

He instantly sent me to my knees, “Gah!”

“Good boy,” he scratched my chin like some kind of pet. “Now where were we?”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Listen, boy. I have been watching your kind through the centuries.”

“How old are you?”

“I lost track of my age. I cannot even recall when my date of birth was or who my parents were. All I know was that I already existed.”

“Don’t you get lonely watching your friends die?”

“Do not turn this on me, young man,” he scowled at me like a lion emerging from a deer’s clothing.

“Sorry,” I forced my eyes to the ground and formed a thin line with my lips.

He repositioned himself and that obnoxious laugh returned, “Oh dear, I got carried away. The years must be getting to me.”

I kept my eyes to the ground. I wanted to get away from this demented man, but a powerful force chained my limbs to the ground. I waited until that haunting laughter subsided.

“I haven’t laughed that much for ages.”

“Excuse me, sir, but is there really no way to lift this curse?”

“Your forefathers tried different methods, including taking their own lives. They even went to the extreme of killing an entire generation. Sadly, it was not enough to stop the curse from spreading. In fact, it worsened.”

“So, there is no other way, then?”

He lifted my chin with his slender, brittle fingers, “If there was a way, you would wish you were born female. I’m sorry, boy, but all I could do is watch you from afar.”

I pulled away from his hold, “I think I better get going now. Flor must be looking for me by now.”

“I would suggest that you wait it out until the golden light shines from the east. Otherwise, she might end up as piles of bones adding to the open grave.”

“Yeah, thanks for the tip.”

“This is where we should part ways. I wish you luck on curbing your urges.”

He formed a circle with his staff, enveloping himself with mystic light, and he vanished like smoke. Then the smell of fresh blood mixed with the stale air. I breathed through my mouth and sat by the thickest tree.

Finally, the sun showed up from the horizon. The burning sensation receded along with the excess hair covering my body. This was the only time when I felt my body collapsing. Soon, I drifted into unconsciousness.

I dreamed of my parents looking at me from my place of rest. They cooed and made silly faces at me. Mother presented to me a thick book, pointing at the fine drawing of that particular wolf. It stood proud and magnificent, but I could not understand the words surrounding it.

When I turned my head towards my father, his image slowly changed. A dark aura outlined his normal build. His stubble beard and moustache spread throughout his face. His serene, gentle face became that of anger and hostility.

I stared at him with wide eyes. The woman opposite him stretched a wide smile with quivering eyes. I sensed a dark feeling emanating from her. The wolf in the picture had crimson eyes glinting at me. It was then when I howled from my bed—shaking and disoriented.

“Gosh, Fen! I was looking all over for you. Did you pass out while taking a dump?” I felt human warmth lifting my head.

The dark curtains revealed a bright sunflower, staring through me with burning intensity, “Good morning, Florice. What are you doing here?”

“You kept me up all night, waiting for you. I hardly had any sleep and here you are passed out in the middle of the forest—bare naked.”

“Hey, you already found me like this yesterday.”

“Put some clothes already!”

“But this is all I have.”

“I do not want to keep looking away from you whenever I’m talking.”

“If we could reach my house, I could grab something to wear.”

“You live around here? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“The monster might still be lurking around the area,” I avoided her eyes. “I scouted the forest alone last night to check on my house.”

“Still, you could have told me what you were up to. You had me worried. I thought I had lost my only companion.”

“I promise to do better next time,” I flashed the sincerest smile I could muster.

She squeezed her arms around mine as we walked. Her heat and proximity made my face flush. My heart started rocking erratically. The images of succulent meat toyed with my mind. I breathed through my mouth as I guided her into my house.       

Once we got inside, all was a mess. My pots and pans were in disarray and my spice cabinet was ransacked. My clothes filled the floor like used tissues. Thankfully, I managed to find something I could wear for the meantime.

I let Flor tour my small house while I scrubbed myself with the remaining water I had. I quickly changed and rejoined with her. Her hands ended up on the soft fur hanging on the wall of what was left of my previous hunt. She stared at it with amazement and fear in her eyes.

“Like what you see?” I crept behind her, breaking the trance.

“Gah! Don’t creep up on me like that!” her shoulders jumped.

I chuckled softly behind her ear, “If you are curious, you could just ask me.”

“Are you done?” her tone changed.

“I should probably clean up here before we eat.”

“Let me cook for you. It’s the least I could do for letting me into your home.”

“Okay, but I don’t think I have much to cook with.”

“I will figure something out. You focus on cleaning.”

“Alright, ma’am. I hear you loud and clear,” I saluted her.

Luckily, there was still a lot of stuff I could salvage from the wreck. I urged Flor to push dinner a little earlier since I haven’t had anything yet. I hope I could stay here with her, but I could only hope on that.

After dinner, I asked her to lock the doors while I was out. I also told her I would be scouting for the night and return to her in the morning. She waved me goodbye and planted a kiss on my forehead. My heart rattled like crazy as I walked down the steps.