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Monday, January 10, 2011

CALL ME ... FALLEN


I ran my tongue over my needle teeth and decided to give this addled human fair warning.

"Call me Fallen."


Suddenly she looked as if she were about to cry. "Oh, I know you think me slow. And I am. But I still know that faeries are dangerous."

I stiffened, and she waved a weary hand. "Don't worry, Fallen. No one else sees you like I do."

I closed my eyes. How truly unique. The only one in this generation who could see me as I was. And she was a lunatic. How utterly fitting. It was a situation that screamed to be rectified. I shook my head. No. To yield to my nature towards a mind-bruised waif was beneath me.

And unimaginative. Clover mistook my frown for worry. I wagered she made many such mistakes.

"Actually, Fallen, I don't think any of the doctors paid much attention to you. I mean, the way you looked when you came in. I didn't think you were going to make it. That hit-and-run driver must've been going ninety."

She shook her head in wonderment. "How does a faerie get nailed by a car anyway?"

"On purpose I would wager. My memory of the incident is denied me."

"On purpose?"

"Do you think me an ungainly cow that I could not elude a bulky vechicle of steel?"

She pouted. "I am not an ungainly cow."

I sighed. "Do not make the mistake most mortals make. It is not all about you."

"I thought you were my friend."

I drew in a breath and my temper. I kept forgetting the girl was addled. "Clover, you are thinking of me in human terms. That is a fatal mistake. Nor I am fae or elf or sprite. I am Tuatha de Danann."

She squinted as if trying to see my words in the air. "Which is?"

The door flung open before I could speak. A mass of muscles masquerading as a man strode in. Clover looked terrified. I could taste her fear. It was thick in the stale air. What was going on?

I sniffed. The human smelled wrong. His eyes blinked too often. Clover started to edge away on her bed whimpering.

My eyes became slits. Was he the one who had fondled me? I felt the fury rise cold within me. I looked to his fingertips. They were not smoldering. He was not shrieking in agony. No, he was not the one. Then why was the field mouse so terrified of him? And why did he move as if his body were some ill-fitting garment?

He even moved his eyebrows oddly. As if something else should have been sprouting there instead. I watched fascinated as they quivered as if alive.

"So patient Jane Doe is awake?" The words came out frail and wet as if from a throat unaccustomed to forcing out air to make sounds.

I smiled, running my tongue along the edge of my sharp teeth. "Doe, a female deer."

Clover giggled despite her fear, "Ray, a drop of golden sun."

I nodded to the blank-faced doorstop of a human. "That is your cue to say ‘Me, a name I call myself.’ By the way --"

I smiled like a wolf. "You can call me ... Fallen."

The human not only looked a bull but obviously was as smart as one. He seemed bored to distraction. I thought about making that bored to death. Then he noticed the small hole in the thick window.

"Th-That's impossible! That glass is unbreakable."

I smirked. "Obviously."

"Oh, a smart-ass, huh?"

"Unlike you, my brains do not reside where I sit."

He turned to the window again and muttered, "That glass simply cannot be broken. How did a hu --"

He stopped and glared at me as if I had somehow tricked him. I ignored him. I studied the glass with all my senses. I went cold deep inside. He was right. On a level which cannot be put into human terms, it was a solid mass. I should not have been able to pierce it as I had.

Unaided that was.

I murmured, "Gaia as well as Abbadon?"

His eyes dismissed me as if I were bad meat. And for all I knew that was exactly what I was to him. He turned and walked in his odd way back out of the door.

He muttered under his breath, "What do they expect us to learn from the insane?"

He spun about. His eyes reflected the dim light in the room like a snake's ... but without as much warmth.

"Group therapy is at midnight."

Clover whimpered, "Not group therapy."

I smiled. "Midnight. My favorite time of day."

He closed the door behind him. At the sound of the bolt slaming home Clover shivered. Words penned by Kyoski came to me.

The snake slid away,

But the eyes that glared at me,

Remained in the grass.

Clover turned her own hollow eyes to me. "W-Who is Abbadon?"

This time it was I who shivered. "When Question warred against Answer, he was Question."

"Who won the war?"

I grew cold and looked inward into my own darkness. "The jury, as you humans say, is still out on that."
***


15 comments:

  1. Very tense and menacing and dark....and yet she struggles. I hope, this once, she wins.

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  2. Wow.. that was intense.. I loved it as usual. I actually got chills :)

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  3. Words Crafter : When your worst enemy is yourself, "winning" can often be painful. Thanks for enjoying the story, Roland

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  4. Writing Nut : That is very high praise indeed. It put a nice end to a hard day. Thanks, Roland

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  5. So intense and menacing, compelling too - I really enjoy reading your work, the writing is wonderful.

    There is a blog award for you over at my blog.
    www.margobenson.blogspot.com

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  6. "ungainly cow" from a descriptive point of view of a faerie is offbeat somewhat, but since you had named her "Clover", it was expected. lol.

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  7. Margo : Thanks so much for the nice words on my writing. And even more for the award. I'm heading to your blog now. Have a great Tuesday.

    Imagery Imagined : Fallen tried to correct poor Clover's thinking. She thinks of all humans as ungainly cows since all Sidhe move as if they were grace given form. Fallen thinks of Clover as a tiny field mouse, tiny and terrified of everything (sadly, at the moment with good cause).
    Thanks for enjoying Fallen's tale.

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  8. Can I just say how much I love Fallen's story?! I could hang out with this chick all day. Thanks for the chapter!

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  9. I think there's something about this story that makes me think about dark medieval Russian novels.

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  10. Roland, I must have misread your previous posts re: Fallen, and thanks for clarifying. A good read and looking forward to the movie "The Rite"... I'm not a fan of horror movies, but since I'd started reading your posts, I'm becoming a fan. Have a good day.

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  11. I love the picture you chose to go with this one, its almost how I saw fallen, and since you posted the picture- its how I see her now LOL. As I was reading I can picture her reactions, she is so above this, she talks above humans, talks above others. I love how you have created her and how she is falling into her own more and more.

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  12. So when can I read this from beginning to end? Really, I Love This Story.

    Love the name Clover, very Angelina Joli from The Good Sheppard.

    This is an awesome description:

    mind-bruised waif.

    J

    Oh, yeah: you have an award waiting at my blog.

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  13. ...well done, Roland.
    Penning drama is your calling. And yes, Clover "reeks" of originality. I laughed out loud at your comments on my blog last evening...had a feeling you'd enjoy experiencing The Dude, having read some of your own references to the classic:) I'm here to abide when needed.
    EL

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  14. Heather : Thanks for enjoying Fallen's tale. She would make for absorbing company!

    Olga : There is certainly a dark Old World atmosphere clinging to our bruised Sidhe. Thanks so much for liking my tale.

    Imagery Imagined : It is the rare horror tale that entertains me. I must have a heroine or hero to root for that gives the darkness a fight to remember. Thanks for commenting and reading my tale with enjoyment.

    Summer : Fallen has seen so much, endured more than most could and retain sanity that it shapes her thinking about those around her, flitting about her like short-lived gnats. Your liking of her tales means more than I could say.

    Jodi : Thanks for the award and even more thanks for enjoying Fallen's story. It is going to be record-breaking cold tonight, so of course, my blonde co-worker is now sick ... again. So I will have to race off into the night all night. My going to your blog to say thanks will have to wait.

    Elliot : I really laughed and enjoyed your post yesterday. I'm so happy you enjoy my tale of Fallen.

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  15. Another fascinating insight into Fallen's pinned up world.

    I like the way you balance her with the timid Clover.


    Nicely done, Roland.


    Michael

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