Story A
It’s a windy afternoon. As the breeze gently caresses the face of the rich elites at another lavish party, blissfully unbothered by the suffering of the lower class civilians who are essentially working their lives away to fuel their Witchcraft. Only for them to use it for trivial things, such as spewing hexes at people they don’t like, and using it to stir up drama.
Albrun sits on her porch with a joint nestled between her fingers, zoning out while looking at the rain outside. It’s so light and subtle, it looks as if the rain is ascending as the frigid wind blows across the echoing fields that seem to stretch out for miles, living relatively far away from the suburban area she works in. She looks at the time on her phone, the clock reads 11:23 PM. She sighs and mumbles to herself “Again, another nightshift” She snuffs out her joint as she makes her way into her house. The scent of water mold hits her like a baseball, the large holes in the ceiling don’t help either, being too broke to afford to repair them.
She shuffles through her closet and puts on her same old fast food uniform. She takes her purse. And begins to make her way out of her house to begin her long walk to work. Not having any vehicle, the walk usually takes around 20 minutes. The gentle droplets of water dancing around make the road ahead hazy, as the cold starts to make her face go numb, she clenches her rosary.
“God, please get me through this.”
After a long hard walk, her legs feel cramped. And the first signs of her home town begin to show. Poor people offering up their very life force to the rich elites loitering around for the misery of our people. To the left, there are a group of teen boys shuffling out of a grocery store with bags full of food that they, judging by how well dress they look, definitely don’t need.
Albrun sighs in annoyance, trying to ignore them. Just keeping her eyes on her destination across the street, Skyline Diner. Suddenly, she feels the faux leather strap on her purse snap as one of the teen boys run by with her purse nestled around their chest as they run away.
“HEY! WAIT!” She attempts to run after him. She corners him in an allie before he flies up out of her view. Damnit! She turns away, about to stumble her somber self to work before she hears a scream above her. She turns around as a tall handsome man falls before her.
“Here,” He hands her purse back to her. She feels hot in the face as her hand begins to shake, feeling totally enthralled by him.
“Th-thank you!” she stammers “I don’t know how to repay you.”
“Give me your number?” They exchange phone numbers.
“I’m Niles, you?”
“I’m Albrun” She looks down at her phone, realizing how late she is, Albrun rushes back to the restaurant. She clocks in and makes her way to the back. The manager turns around and slaps her.
“Why are you so late! This is the second time, do I need to dock your pay again?” Albrun holds her head low.
On her silent and brooding walk home. She ponders about the man she met earlier, he’s hot and all, but she only really wants to use him to get a taste of the lavish life that she hopes to lead some day. No more working at a run down shack, for once, a life beyond the lonesome work and sleep cycle finally doesn’t seem so intangible.
She stares ablank at her ceiling, she can’t help but feel as though she’s straying from God. She’s not so vain and greedy at heart is she? But the power, both metaphysical and physical, she could gain from becoming his girlfriend. But is it wrong? Would god look down upon her? All these nights she always wonders and questions the life she’s leading. But not once has she heard the warm voice of the creator she so loves with all her heart. Is he even real? If not, what’s the point of her suffering? And if he is real, why doesn’t he do anything about the craft that opresses the less fortunate. Why are they allowed to use our life force, stress and blood. Why are they allowed to cause chaos just to siphon the very stress they inflict on us? Like pigs rolling around in mud.
She sits on her legs and looks out the hole in her ceiling, she clasps her hands together.
“Please, please god. If you’re real, just give me a sign, any sign, that you love me. Please just let me know what I’m doing wrong? Why won’t you ever just speak to me like how people always say you do?” She looks to her dresser, where another join is wrapped carefully in cloth. She lights it up tries to forget everything…
It’s beautiful out tonight. Albrun finds herself already coveting more and more as she hangs out with Niles. She vividly remembers last night, how they cuddled beneath the stars in the same echoing field she’s looked upon for 15 years.
“Will you marry me?” Those words echo in her head carefully as she recalls how gently he asked her. Of course she said yes, she looks down at her diamond ring. But she knows damn well she made a fake promise. And thats probably why God won’t talk to her. But the more and more she indulges in fine dining and riches, she seems to not care as much about what god thinks of her. What has he even done for her? At the bottom of her freezing heart, she feels fear and pain for rejecting him as her savior. But it’s none of her concern now. She sprays herself with expensive floral perfume, and puts on her red dress. Tonight, Nile’s is taking her to the club. Usually she would reject going to a nightclub, but just because it’s going to be an expensive rich people type of night club, she can’t muster up the strength to even care. Albrun’s phone buzzes, she sees the text from Niles
“I’m outside right now.” Her expression remains blank as she starts for the door, to her, this feels no better than it feels to go to work. Niles leans back on a Limousine wearing a fancy tuxedo with a large grin plastered on his face. The familiar feeling of humiliation swarms in her mind as she walks away from her rickety old home. She enters in with him. They leave.
The oddly nostalgic scent of water mold leaves her nose for what feels like to be the final time. She can’t help but keep her eyes behind her as her poor old house gets smaller and smaller, as if fading away forever. It almost makes her tear up as if the house is sentient and is being abandoned like a small puppy. They make it to a large bridge spanning across a lake, the water is glimmering under the starlit night. Swaying slightly. She finally looks out the window behind her to see the thousands of cars driving alongside. It’s officially the upper class part of town.
The limo stops at this fancy building with a glass door. Albruns stomach begins to feel as though it’s being tied into knots. Nile’s takes Albrun by the hand as they exit the car.
“I’m gonna be performing on stage for an hour” He says “Afterwards we can do whatever.” She sighs in annoyance. How much energy has be stolen from the poor just to be able to perform little parlor tricks for the shallow entertainment of the wealthy? It boils her blood. People have literally had their life force siphoned so much that they’ve lost their lives for the temporary amusement. There’s so much suicidal and existential dread that feels clumped in her throat.
They enter the bar and they part ways.
“I can’t bare to watch this” Albrun makes her way away from the stage to take a sit at the bar. Ordering some Red Wine to sip on and dwell in her own hatred. She fights all urges to look, even when the bar tender herself looks at the back of the stage going “Woahh” She just sighs and stares at her drink. The performance finally ends after what felt like forever for Albrun, the audience claps and the regular music starts playing again, and the lights dim slightly. She hears the sound of footsteps rushing over to her left, she looks over and sees a couple of dumbasses throwing fire at people. Suddenly, she feels a warm hand on her shoulders, Niles holds out a drink to her. “Want another one?” She sighs and takes the drink chugging it. Niles looks over at the fight.
“Lets go somewhere else, yeah?” Albrun stands up slightly tipsy “Yeah.” He takes her hand and guides her through the crowd and suddenly, Albrun’s in the restroom. She feels a wave of nausea, she stumbles into a bathroom stall to vomit, she exhales slightly relieved. Albrun turns around to wipe her face before seeing Niles blocking the exit to the stall, he takes her hands and starts to take his clothes off, he unbuttons his shirt and he starts to kiss Albrun violently, lowering his hands to unzip her dress. She attempts to fights, “S-stop!” She falls onto the toilet seat and ends up banging her head on the tank lid. Remembering some of the magic Niles taught her about, she attempts to fight her way out of his grip as she channels her fear and anger, imagining it seeping through her skin and channeling itself into fire. Albrun lets out a scream with all the remaining strength she has as flames pour out of what seems to be her skin. He falls back and starts screaming in pain as the seething flames burn away his flesh. She hears footsteps grow closer and closer, she locks her stall and crouches down on the toilet stall.
“Oh god oh god oh god.” Her eyes wander up to the window above the toilet. She takes off her heels and she stands up on the tank lid. She crawls out of the window and she falls out the window.
She looks up at the sky as rain drops start to slowly fall from the sky. She holds her arms trying to keep herself warm as she starts walking home with her mind blank. The road is now mostly empty, it being relatively late at night. The bitter cold and the seething silence drives her to the point of insanity, she screams and falls to the ground while keeping her eyes up at the sky.
“I feel so filthy…” She clasps her hand together.
“Do you hate me now? I’ve murdered somebody, I’m no longer clean. I-I” Her eyes water up with tears as she starts running to the bridge. She rushes over to the end with the same lake they crossed earlier, the rain trickles down on the water. She leans forward on the gate, her tears increasing
“Oh god, guide the ocean to bring me to you, so that when I may arrive, the ocean will have cleaned me of my sins” her blood shot eyes stare down at the infinitely flowing ocean as she stands atop the gate. Her bloodshot eyes look up at the sky as the rain washes across her face. She leans forward and falls, beginning her downward spiral into the ocean.
