Mel's Writing Blog

As the cold wind whipped around the side of the old homestead, Maggie Burnsford felt at peace for the first time since she had buried her husband months earlier.  That very afternoon, she had had her Tarot cards read by a woman in town.  Even though when she walked into the darkened room, she was skeptical, when she walked out, she was a true believer in the afterlife.  Maggie had tagged along with a couple of friends to get the reading done just for a giggle but what that lady had to say, about things totally unknown to her, somewhat spooked Maggie into believing that there must be something to this afterlife thing after all.  What other explanation could there be for her knowing the things she knew.

When Barry had a heart attack and went toes up on her, the only thing he had left Maggie was a shit load of bills and a lot of heartache.  She had agonized over how to pay off the bills for weeks before coming to the upsetting conclusion that she was going to lose the car, the house, everything.  The house was now on the market and unless she could come up with $16,000 before it was sold, she would lose it forever.

The trip to the card reader had been her friend’s way of trying to take her mind off the problems at hand since none of them where able to help in any other way.  But when Maggie stepped out of the back room in which the readings were done and back into the store, her friends began to think that it was not such a good idea after all, she looked so… spooked.  Hands shaking, hair standing on end and quiet as a church mouse all showing that something was amiss.  On top of that, Maggie was puffing away on cigarettes all the way home and they all knew that Maggie only ever smoked when something was eating at her mind.  And this was something big, they just wouldn’t know how big until a few weeks later.

Flicking her long black hair out of her eyes Maggie had walked into the room to get her reading done and paused a moment to let her eyes adjust to the lighting.  The woman who was to do the reading became very uneasy, fidgeting and jumping at the smallest sounds, like the chair legs scraping the wooden floor as Maggie pulled it out to sit down, making her bracelets jingle like a musical instrument.  The room was dimly lit and smelt faintly of sandalwood that gave it a pleasant and relaxing feel.  The reader introduced herself as Ruby and told Maggie that even though she was there for a card reading; somebody was coming through from the other side that badly needed to speak with her.  Ruby had began to mumble under her breath and Maggie could just make out the words, “Calm down, she is here with me”.  Explaining that the spirit had entered the room so quickly and in such a rash manner, Ruby began to settle herself again, rearranging her flaming red hair.  Maggie knew beyond a doubt that there was no way possible for Ruby to know anything about her or her life, so when she announced that a man named Barry was there with them in spirit, it threw Maggie for a six.

Speaking for Barry, Ruby told Maggie that he had had a life insurance policy, which she would need to find and claim before the sale of the house.  And just like Barry when he was alive, he could not remember where he had put the paper work or whom the company was that he held the policy with, she would just have to hunt for it.  But the thing that really got Maggie believing was when she spoke of their trip away some four years earlier.  Ruby told of how Barry had given Maggie some money to go shopping and told her that he had a headache and needed a lie down, then when she had gone, he went and took out the insurance policy not wanting her to know about it because she would say that it was a waste of money and that nothing was ever going to happen to him.

So now as Maggie stood under a hot shower with the wind whipping around the house she loved, she tried to think of every possible place Barry could have hidden the papers.  He did not have a safety deposit box that she knew of, but then again she didn’t know about the insurance policy either!  Over and over in her mind she tried to work it out but couldn’t come up with any place that she wouldn’t have discovered at some point over the last four years since he had taken the policy out.

While walking in town three days later, Maggie noticed something out of the corner of her eye but when she turned back to see what it was, there was nothing there to be seen.  It had looked like a white light coming from the restaurant that her and Barry used to eat at every week.  Feeling as though something was pulling at her, she decided to stop in there for lunch.  Ordering her usual Maggie felt as if there where eyes watching her but instead of giving her a creepy feeling it made her feel safe and protected, like she used to when Barry was with her.

That night everything inside and outside the house was so very still and quiet that when the bathroom door slammed shut Maggie just about jumped out of her skin.  Going upstairs to see what had happened she had to pass the kitchen.  As she went past the kitchen doorway she noticed at first that the drawing pins in the corkboard had been rearranged.  Going in for a closer look she found that they had been put into some sort of pattern but it didn’t look familiar to her.  Leaving the drawing pins in place Maggie made her way upstairs on shaking legs only to get to the bathroom, open the door and found the room steamed up as if someone had just got out of the bath or shower.  Directly opposite the bathroom door was the cabinet and mirror and what she saw in that mirror would remain in her mind for the rest of her life.

Maggie did not see words in the steam on the mirror but instead she saw a drawing, and such a life like drawing at that.  The building she saw drawn there did not look like any building that she knew of but it still gave her the feeling that she had been there at some time or another, maybe even in another life.  Running to the bedroom on legs that felt like rubber to grab a piece of paper and a pencil she thought that maybe if she drew the picture and looked at it long enough then it would click into place.

After drawing the building she then returned back downstairs and underneath it she drew the pattern that was on the corkboard.  Knowing these two things were somehow connected she wondered if they were a message from Barry.  They had to be, why else would this sort of thing start happening to her now?  Feeling confident that these were messages from the other side, the next morning Maggie headed for the town library to take out a book on spirit communications to see if she could find any way of sending a return message or a way to interpret the messages she had received.

Sitting up in bed later that night reading her book, she found that these were normal ways to receive messages from the other side and that all she had to do in return was to voice her questions out load and the spirit who is trying to communicate would hear her.  In a shaking voice Maggie spoke to the walls of the bedroom she and Barry had shared, “Barry? Is that you sending me messages?”  Flopping back on the pillows and feeling like the biggest kind of fool, Maggie wondered if she was having a mental breakdown to think that this could be really happening.  She lay her book on her night table, turned off her bedside lamp and laid back to go to sleep.

Startled awake by a noise, Maggie rolled onto her side to have a look at the time on the clock beside the bed. 12.23am, “Great, the Witching hour!” she said aloud into the dark room.  That was when she noticed the tapping noise coming from inside the wall, which must have been what had woken her to start with.  “Is that you Barry?” she asked in a frightened voice.  Not expecting a reply, her heart leapt into her mouth when there was an answering tap.  “Whoever you are, tap once for yes and twice for no, do you understand?”  Again came the single tap as before.  “I ask again, is that you Barry?”  One tap.  “Was it you that left the pattern on the corkboard today?”  One tap.  “Was it you that drew the picture on the mirror?”  One tap.  “Does this have to do with the insurance policy?”  One tap.  “Do you remember where it is Barry?”  No answer.  Maggie repeated this last question and got no sign that he was still there.

Waking late the following morning Maggie felt the urge to return to the library to see what else she could find.  Because the information in one book could be so accurate, imagine what she could find in the others that were there.  Walking in to the darkened interior of the building, she looked up behind the desk and noticed an old photograph only to find that it was a photo of the very same building that had been on her mirror.  Asking the Liberian about it, she discovered that it was in fact the very building that she was standing in, only 60 years earlier.

In 1941, an earthquake that had all but demolished the town library had hit the area in which Maggie now lived.  The new library had been built on the same site 3 years later.  But what this had to do with her and Barry she didn’t know.

After telling all this to Maggie, the woman behind the desk mentioned Barry’s death and the strange week before it.  Not having any idea what she was talking about, Maggie prodded her for information on what she meant.  According to the woman, Barry had been coming into the library and staying all day, every day, for the week leading up to his death.  When she inquired why he wasn’t at work he simply said that he had given it up for better things.  Unlike his usual readings of Westerns, he had spent this week not just reading, but studying the paranormal arts, life after death, spirit guides and the likes.  Obtaining a list of the books in which he had been studying, which were numerous, Maggie went to gather what should could find of them.

Sitting at a desk an hour later with a mountain of books in front of her, she wondered yet again if she was losing her mind.  Well, she had nothing better to do, she may as well just get started to see if she could discover what it was that had Barry so interested in the subject, and who knows maybe she might ever find an answer to her present problem.  By the time the library was ready to close for the day at 5.00 o’clock, Maggie had been through about 6 of the 19 that were on the list.  She marked those off the list and keeping aside two of the books, she put the rest back in their right places on the shelves then checked out the two she kept and headed home for dinner.

Folding her legs underneath her and making herself comfortable on the floor with a pizza Maggie continued her work.  About an hour later as she turned a page she noticed a slip of paper fall out from between the pages.  With her fingers feeling like ice and her heart drumming an unsteady rhythm in her ears, she turned to the page that had been marked with the paper, to find it headed “Ways to Communicate from Beyond the Grave.”  Underneath the heading was a list of ways to send messages from the other side, including the trick with the pins on the corkboard, the bathroom mirror and tapping on walls among others.  Maggie felt her body turn cold from head to toe and could feel her hands shaking as she turned the page.  She flicked back to the front cover to see what the title of the book was but instead found the very same pattern on the front as she had found one the corkboard.  How she had not noticed this earlier, she didn’t know.

Lying in her warm bed that night, after many hours of considering the idea Maggie finally decided to take a trip back to the place where they had holidayed to make a search of the area for Insurance Companies.  With having made the decision, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Being back in the town that they had enjoyed together had a unsettling effect upon Maggie and she found that she could not sit still for any longer than about 10 minutes at a time unless she was sleeping, which she did very little of.  She just wanted to get the task at hand done and get home again.  The day she arrived was a sweltering hot day and with the sweat dripping from her body Maggie made the rounds of the Insurance Companies within the town limits.  Sitting on the steps of the second to last place she had to visit Maggie felt exhaustion like she never had before.  Finding a hidden resource of strength, she pulled herself to her feet and made her way inside the building to see what she could discover.

Explaining the situation for what felt like the 50^th time that day, she wondered if she was ever going to find anything to help her or if it was all just a waste of time and effort.  She was running out of time to find the money for the house and if she didn’t find something soon she would lose it.  Maggie went on to try and convince the Manager to have a look through their records to see if anybody by Barry’s name held a policy with them.  Being a kind hearted man and sympathizing with her situation, he told her that he would do what he could and for her to return the next day to hear the results, if there were indeed any at all.

The following day Maggie found what she had been searching for, evidence of the policy.  The manager of the Combined Insurance Company had found in his search that they did indeed have a policy for Barry Burnsfield.  The total amount came to just over $1 million but the catch was that Maggie still had to find the paper work to produce before they could act on the policy.  There was no getting around this so she proceeded to return home to have another through search of the house.

Still turning up nothing after the second search she plonked down in a chair tired and discouraged but not giving up.  She would save her home; she just had to work out how!  Glancing down at the coffee table on which the drawing of the building and the design were sitting, she began to study the design again.  She now knew what the building was but what about the pattern?

Without a moment’s notice, everything clicked into place.  The building was the library where she would, and had, found the way Barry would communicate.  The design on the corkboard, she knew now must have something to do with where the papers were hidden.  She had worked out for herself where the insurance policy was held so now she had two out of three problems solved.  The idea of a safety deposit box would not leave Maggie so she felt that she should go with her feelings.

With an idea slowly forming in her mind, Maggie stood up and went to the computer.   She scanned the corkboard design then entered it in a search engine.  This way, if there was anything on the Internet about it, she would find it.  The computer finished the search and it had found a match.

The design was the logo for a safety deposit box company, which was in the next town over.

Making the short trip the next day Maggie had no problem finding the place.  Being concerned about how she would get on, she stepped up to the main desk and explained the situation.  She was told that it would not be a problem as long as she had I.D. and a copy of Barry’s death certificate, both of which she had in her purse.  After producing both pieces of paperwork, she was given a key, told the number of the box and shown to a room to go through the contents.  Bingo!!  There laying inside the box was the paperwork to the insurance policy Barry had taken out.

Returning to the car with all the paper work, Maggie thought that she might as well go straight to C.I.C. to present them with the papers so things could get under way.

Encountering no more problems, she was assured that $1.3 million would be in her bank account within two weeks.

Feeling calmer and more relaxed then she had in months Maggie sat at home and wondered if she would ever have contact with Barry again when there was a knock at the front door.  Glancing through the small window beside the door, she saw Ruby standing on the porch looking nervous.  Wondering what she was doing there Maggie opened the door and asked her inside.

“I was just curious to see how you got on”’ explained Ruby once she was seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

“Yea, good!  I found the policy after a lot of searching and things are in motion.  I should have the money soon.  I feel as though I owe you something for everything you did for me so…” Maggie let the sentence drift off unfinished.

“I just want to know one thing,” Ruby told her.  “How did you end up finding it?”

Maggie explained about the different things that had happened and how they had led her to find the policy.

“So do you believe that Barry contacted you?” Ruby asked.

After a moment or two of thought Maggie replied that she didn’t see any other explanation.  “Do you?” she asked.

“No.”

The one word said a lot to Maggie.  Sitting in a companionable silence for the next five minutes, they both contemplated this new development.  Surprising Maggie, Ruby asked,

“Do you think you could contact others?”

“What?  Others that have passed on?  Other than Barry?”

“Yes,” answered Ruby, surprised that Maggie would think the idea so far-fetched.

“I don’t know.  I never really thought about it.”  Maggie’s mind was spinning with the possibility.

“Would you be willing to give it a go?”

“I don’t see why not but I would have no idea how to go about it”.  Maggie wondered silently what she was standing in the doorway of.

“We could work on it together,” Ruby suggested with a plan forming in her mind.

Strongly believing that there was a reason behind everything that happened, Ruby wondered why Maggie had been sent to her.

Over the next couple of months Maggie and Ruby became close friends, spending evenings together contacting the dead, and many days together at Ruby’s shop where Maggie was helping out.

Sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, Ruby finally approached Maggie with a proposition that she had been thinking about for months.

“How would you like to become a partner in the business?”  Then after a pause of thought, she added, “Don’t get me wrong, the business is not in trouble or anything like that.  It’s just that I think you are talented, I trust you and I like you and you seem to enjoy the work.  It makes perfect sense to me, that is, as long as you are keen of course.”

Without having to consider this new development Maggie responded with a quick

“I would love to!”  She had been hoping for the last few weeks that Ruby would come up with the idea and she was just getting to the point where she was going to bring the subject up herself.

Maggie was comfortable financially, she was starting out in a new business venture where she was helping people, both living and un-living, and she had developed a great new friendship with someone she had a great deal of respect for.  Still having contact with Barry filled the final hole in her heart.  Life was good!

WARNING R18 – Contains explicit sex scenes which may offend some readers.

 

Dressed in tight black leather pants and a blood red corset that showed off her stunning figure Meredith walked into the bar to see her man sitting with an attractive brunette woman.  Watching from across the room, she could plainly see that Jonah was flirting wildly with the woman, and that the woman was very interested in him.  But what woman wouldn’t be, she thought to herself.  He was over 6 feet tall, olive complexion, solid build and amazing eyes.  Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she made her way over to the couple and wrapped her arms around Jonah, making it very clear to all in the bar, including the hot brunette sitting next to him, that he is her man!  Ordering a round of drinks for all three of them, Meredith made it very clear to the brunette that her presence was very welcome.  As she held up her shot glass, Meredith turned to look at the other woman, “Hi, I’m Meredith.  Nice to meet you.”

“Hi Meredith, my name is Justine.  And thanks for the shot”.  She smiled at Meredith as she took her shot.

As she turned to Jonah, Meredith suggested with a smile, “Hey babe, why don’t you give Justine one of your special shots, I’m sure she would enjoy them as much as I do”.

“Mmm, good idea babe,” Jonah replied with a sexy grin.  Taking the shot into his mouth he leant over to Justine.  His soft lips slowly came down to meet hers and he transferred the shot from his mouth to hers.

With a pleasantly startled look and a soft giggle Justine murmured, “Wow, I could take shots like that all night!  I’m just gonna go and fix my face guys.  Be back in a minute”.

As she got up and walked towards the restroom, Meredith and Jonah passed a knowing look and Jonah got up and followed her.  Without saying a word he pulled her into the ladies restroom and into a stall and shut the door behind them.  Pushing her up against the wall, he dropped to his knees in front of her and pushed her miniskirt up to her hips revealing a skimpy red lace G-string.  Pushing the wisp of lace to the side he thrust his tongue inside her gleaming wet pussy.  Licking, sucking and gently biting, Jonah brought Justine to a fast orgasm and still without saying a word, lowered her skirt back down over her hips and walked out of the restroom.  Returning to his seat with Meredith, Jonah grinned, “I like the taste of that!”

Laughing, and feeling more than just a little wet between the legs, Meredith ordered another round of shots and they waited for Justine’s return.  After having a few more drinks, Jonah got up from the bar and went outside for a smoke giving Meredith just the chance she had been waiting for.

“So Justine… I know this is a personal question but I was wondering if by any chance you might be interested in a three-some?”

Blushing, Justine looked down at her lap, “I have never had one before to be honest but I wouldn’t mind giving it a go.”

Nodding slowly, Meredith smiled, “Cool.  I know Jonah thinks you’re sexy as hell and I want you to help me seduce him tonight.  The two of us tag teaming him.  Interested?  And before you ask how I feel about that, I already know about what happened in the bathroom earlier and it made me wet as hell.”  She chuckled a little nervously, hoping she has read Justine right.

“I would love to!”  Justine replied eagerly with a broad grin.

“Awesome.  But I want to surprise Jonah so don’t say anything to him and we will make out like you are keen but can’t tonight.  After we have gone up to our room, I will sneak you in and we will surprise him together!  What do you think?”

Grinning slyly, Justine nodded her head, “I think that sounds like a fun idea!  I’m in!”

Jonah returned from having his smoke and after another shot suggested to the ladies that they might go upstairs to have a nightcap.

“I’m really sorry guys, but I really should get going.  I have an early start in the morning but I would love to catch up with you guys again,” Justine looked at Jonah, “maybe I could get your cell number so we could catch up another time?”

Looking crestfallen Jonah gave his number to Justine then pulled her tight against his solid body and kissed her deeply, tongue sliding between her soft moist lips.  “It’s been nice meeting you.  Make sure you text me.”  Turning to look at Meredith he said, “I will meet you up at the room babe.”

“O.K. babe, I will be up in a minute.”

Making his way up to the room, Jonah was a bit disappointed that Justine had not come back to the room with them but was sure there will be another chance.  She seemed keen enough in the restroom, he thought to himself with a deep chuckle.  But the things he had planned for his lovely wife were another matter completely.  He was so horny he hoped Meredith didn’t take too long coming up to the room.

After a hot shower Jonah ordered a bottle of black Sambuca, which he knew his wife loved, and a couple of shot glasses so they can carry the party on in private.  When there was a knock at the door, Jonah assumed it was the room service with the bottle of alcohol so was surprised to find Meredith standing there holding the bottle with a grin.

“I met room service at the door, so told him I would bring it in,” she explained.  After pouring and drinking a shot each, Meredith looked coyly up at Jonah.

“My night tonight babe, so I’m in charge!”  Her tone of voice told Jonah she expected no argument on this point, and he was not about to give her one.

“Just fine with me, my sexy woman, and your wish is my pleasure.”

As she went to her bag and pulled out a leather blindfold, Jonah counted his blessings for finding such a sexy and loving woman for his wife.

Gently pushing him in the chest Meredith moved him to the foot of the queen size four poster bed and slipped the leather blindfold over his eyes shutting out all light.  She quickly stripped him naked then using silk rope, she tied his hands to the posts on the bed so he was left in a standing position facing outwards towards the room.  By putting on some soft music, Jonah was unable to hear Meredith’s footsteps on the carpet.

Feeling his feet being nudged apart, Jonah felt a very light tickling sensation slowly working up his body, up the inside of his thighs, then moving outwards to his hip.  The sensation continued to trail up the side of his body.  As she reached his soft lips, Jonah realized that it is a feather she is touching him with.

Meredith walked away leaving Jonah wondering what is going to happen next, straining his ears but not being able to hear where she is or what she is doing….

Jonah felt movement between his feet and the next moment his tight balls were sucked into a hot wet mouth.  With his mind reeling he suddenly felt a wet heat enclose the tip of his throbbing cock.  In a world of sheer sexual bliss, Jonah quickly realized that his fantasy of having two women at the same time is coming true.   Knowing it must be Justine, he felt his cock grow even harder in her mouth.

Knowing what Meredith’s mouth felt like on his body, he knew it was Justine sucking his cock deeper and deeper into her mouth and he started to thrust his hips into the hot wet cavern.  When her hands came up to grab his firm ass, pulling him deeper, he thought he is going to explode.

With Meredith on her knees between his legs pulling his balls deep into her mouth, and thrusting his cock into Justine’s mouth, Jonah was just about to cum when Justine pulled away from him, giving the head of his cock one last flick of her tongue before sliding her body up his as she stood up.  As Justine moved away from his tortured body, Meredith followed suit, sliding her sweat slicked naked body up him, pausing briefly as his cock slid into the junction of her warm thighs, before also moving away from him.

Not knowing where either of the women were built the anticipation in Jonah while he waited to see what their next moves would be.  He felt the silk rope being loosened at his wrists before it fell away completely and he was roughly pushed onto his back on the bed by two sets of petite hands.

Each of his hands were grabbed and forced up above his head where they are again tied into place, this time with Jonah lying flat on his back and open for anything they wanted to do with him.  He felt them move off the bed again and was just starting to wonder where they were and what was going to happen next when he heard his wife’s lovely voice from across the other side of the room.  “Open your mouth!”

He quickly followed the order and opened his mouth.  Laying there with his cock hard and ready for action, Jonah waited… and waited… and waited…

With the anticipation building more with every passing second Jonah was just about ready to speak up when he felt someone climb onto the bed next to his head and lower a hot wet pussy onto his open mouth.  Within seconds he knew it was Justine sitting on his face, dripping her honey tasting juices into his mouth.

Sucking the sweet womanly cream off her clit and pussy lips, he thrusted his tongue inside her.  Jonah could feel Justine getting hotter and wetter with every movement of his tongue.  His cock strained for attention.  He knew that Meredith would be watching them while fingering herself, driving herself to the brink of orgasm.

Justine grinded her pussy into his face and brought Jonah’s full attention back to what he was doing.  Sucking, licking and thrusting his tongue in and out of her gleaming pussy, the sweet smell of her filled his nose until he felt her muscles tense as she came in his mouth, hot and hard spasms rocking her body.  Her pleasure taken from him, she raised herself up and hopped off the bed.

After a moment or two of trying to regain his breath, Jonah tried to listen for where they were and any hint as to what they were about to do next.  Before he could get a bearing on where in the room they were, he felt the cold brush of leather against his already tight balls.  Knowing his wife and their toys well, it took him only a moment to realize that it is a leather cat ‘o’ nine tails.

While the leather whip was still teasing his balls and moving up and around his throbbing cock, he felt someone straddle his ribcage, rubbing a hot wet pussy up and down on his chest.  As the pussy moved up Jonah’s broad chest towards his hungry mouth, the cat ‘o’ nine tails was taken away from his straining hard on and replaced by warm hands gloving his cock with a condom.  The sweet smell of a dripping pussy close to his mouth filled him with a deep longing for more.  Flicking out his tongue, he tasted the sweet musk of his wife.  At the moment she lowered herself onto his hot mouth, he also felt Justine straddle his hips, slowly lowering herself closer to his straining cock.  Closer and closer.  As Jonah plunged his tongue into his wife’s wet haven, he thrusted his hips upwards deep into Justine.  Justine’s tight pussy gripped his cock, then released again as she started to ride him, taking him deeper within her with each stroke.  While Meredith withered on his mouth and Justine rode him hard, Jonah felt the cum building up inside him, his balls getting tighter, ready to explode.  Just as Meredith screamed with the force of her orgasm, Justine reached back grabbing his balls tightly in her hand.  Taken to heaven by these two sexy women, Jonah came hard inside Justine with a mind-blowing orgasm.

Still trying to pull his thoughts together after cumming, Jonah laid on the bed breathing hard as Justine climbed off him and Meredith leant forward to undo the bindings at his wrists.  Still hard and wanting to fuck his wife, Jonah wasted no time.  Sitting up and removing the blindfold, he saw Justine sitting in the corner of the dimly lit room watching him and Meredith.  Picking Meredith up in his strong arms, he flipped her quickly onto her back, grabbing her legs and putting them over his shoulders to open her wet pussy to him.  Watching Justine as she licked her fingers and inserted them deep inside herself, Jonah plunged deep inside Meredith.  Thrusting harder with each stroke, he looked down at his wife’s flushed face as he pounded into her over and over again.  He can hear Justine panting as she got closer to cumming on her own hand and the sound of her, mixed with the sounds of Meredith’s moans of delight sent him over the edge.  Cumming with exploding force deep inside his beautiful wife, he felt her muscles clench his cock and her hot juices flow around him as she reached her own orgasm.

Slumped on top of Meredith, her loving arms around him, Jonah looked up as he heard Justine move.  Already dressed, she was standing in the doorway, “Thanks for a mind-blowing night guys.  You have my phone number feel free to text or ring anytime you feel like playing again.  Enjoy the rest of your evening.”  With a sexy wink, she turned and walked out the door.

“I had such a creepy dream last night.  It was so… not me!”  Miranda shuddered violently at the memory of it.  Her best friend and neighbour, Linda, sat across the table from Miranda sipping on black coffee and chain smoking.  The morning sunlight caught the blonde highlights in Linda’s hair making her look like an angel.

“Do tell” Linda responded, leaning forward in her eagerness to hear the dream.

“Well,” Miranda paused a moment to try and gather her thoughts before speaking.  “Just as I was drifting off to sleep, that bloody mutt from next door started to bark, so I think that’s what may have caused my dream.”  She reached up and brushed away a dark curl from her eyes.

Linda interrupted, “What?  The Jamison’s dog, Frustration?”

“Yea, that‘s the one.  Anyway, in this dream, I crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen for a glass of water, when the dog started barking.  Night after night, that dog barks.  Without thinking, I grabbed the carving knife out of the knife drawer and crept over there.”

“Oh my god Mandy!”  Linda exclaimed, using her friends’ childhood nickname.  “Then what happened?”

Not wanting to go any further with the discussion Mandy replied, “I’m sure you can guess Linda.”  She stood up to stretch her long, slim legs.

“No you don’t Mandy, I want details, all the details, of this…dream.”  Linda glanced up at Mandy with a grim expression on her face that Mandy could not completely understand.

Mandy sat down again.  “O.k.  To put it basically, I grabbed the carving knife, and then I pulled some meat out of the fridge and snuck over to the Jamison’s place.  I remember that all their lights were out, and the night was so quiet except for the dog barking.  Once I had managed to get over the gate and into the back yard with the yapping mutt, I fed him the meat to befriend him.  When he was finished eating, he came to me easily thinking I had more food for him.  Ha!  Not likely.  Well, I pulled out the carving knife and slit his throat.”  Mandy stopped, taking a deep breath.

Linda peered over her now cold coffee at Mandy.  “What?  That’s it?  Your dream ended just like that?”

“Not quite.”  Mandy confessed timidly with a blush of guilt.

“Well?”  Linda asked, putting out a smoke and lighting another straight away.

Mandy continued with the telling of her dream.  “Needless to say, the dog was dead, which is what I wanted.  I got the Jamison’s clothesline wire and tied it around the dog’s hind legs.  I strung him up by the hind legs to the overhang on the front porch.  With a bit of trouble, I might add.  Then I came home.  That’s it!”  Mandy shuddered.  “But it’s just a dream.  Nothing to get all worked up over” she said, sounding very much like she was trying to convince herself.

“Mandy, I hate to tell you this, but…”  Linda paused, and Mandy jumped in.

“What?  You hate to tell me what?”

“Shit Mandy!  The Jamison’s dog was killed last night.  Exactly the way you just described!  You didn‘t just dream it Mandy.  You must have done it in your sleep.  you killed your neighbours dog.”

Mary-Ann had always hated Christmas from the time she was a child.  One draw back of living in a poor family was that you never had Christmas.  Now, this Christmas at the age of 26 years, she was living in her own home surrounded with beautiful things and plenty of money in the bank.  She also now always made sure that she celebrated Christmas even though she had nobody to share it with except her cat Mischief.

On Christmas Eve Mary-Ann awoke from a deep sleep by a noise downstairs.  Glancing at the clock on the bedside table and seeing that it was only 12.05am, she rolled over thinking it was just Mischief but on closing her eyes she remembered that she had put him outside before going to bed.

Making her way downstairs on tiptoe, so as to be as quiet as possible, Mary-Ann could hear strange crunching noises coming from the living room.  With her heart in her mouth and the hair on the back of her neck standing on end, she crept into the dark kitchen first to get herself some protection in the form of a heavy butchers knife, before making her way into the living room.  With the strange sounds getting louder with every step she took, she found herself thinking about the sound of chicken bones cracking in the jaws of a cat.

Lowering the knife she stepped into the room and flicked on the light only to see somebody who looked like Santa sitting under the Christmas tree eating.

“Who are you and what the devil are you doing in my house?” she asked in a shaking voice, now with the knife being held outright like a sword.

“I am Santa!” the man replied around a mouthful of meat.  When he turned towards her she noticed with disgust that his mouth and chin were covered in blood and fur.  Screaming at the top of her lungs, Mary-Ann saw what remained of her beloved cat lying under her Christmas tree.

“Screaming is going to get you nowhere lady after all, I am only what you created” Santa chuckled.

“Just what the fuck do you mean by that remark you weirdo?” she responded with as much venom in her voice as she could muster.  Now she was over her shock Mary-Ann found that she was getting very angry at this strange man in her living room.  As her anger took over she felt her slim body shake with the force of her emotions, at the same time trying to decide if this was real or not.

Standing from his position on the floor Santa slowly started towards her with his bloody face grinning at her like a madman.  With the blood pounding in her ears and her hands shaking Mary-Ann prepared to commit murder only to find her hands frozen in fear.

“What is it you want from me?” she asked, thinking that maybe if she was at least sort of nice to him, he would leave her in peace.  Making himself comfortable in one of the overstuffed chairs Santa told her why he was there and why he had eaten her cat.

“I am the face of Santa and you only see me as you do because of your own views of Christmas, so therefore I am only what you have made me!”

Mary-Ann couldn’t believe her ears; he was actually trying to blame her for this!

“And just how the hell does that one work?  You really want me to believe that crap?  O.k.  If that’s the case then…prove it!” she challenged.

“That’s easy done, take my hand” he replied cheerfully.

After grasping the mans cold hand, the next thing Mary-Ann knew she was standing in a strange room with him beside her.  In front of them was a little glass window that looked on into a living room that she did not recognize.

“Where are we?” she asked while rubbing the sweat off her palms and onto her bare legs.

“Shhhhhh, don’t speak, just watch and all will become clear!” Santa responded.

Turning back to the window with a thousand thoughts racing trough her mind and her heart beating like a drum Mary-Ann watched as a small blond girl of about the age of four years entered the living room beyond the window.  Following the little girls gaze, she noticed for the first time the Christmas tree in the corner.  Much to her surprise her Santa was sitting under the tree eating.  Again!  Only this time he wasn’t eating a cat but the cookies and milk, which the girl had left out for him.  It was the same man who still stood beside Mary-Ann but now he looked, as Santa should.  Big, fat tummy, and a smile the size of the Grand Canyon.  Nothing scary about this Santa.

Still confused, she turned towards her Santa, as she had come to think of him, for some sort of explanation but she only got a finger to his lips to let her know not to speak.  When her gaze returned back to the window, the scene within had changed.

Santa now stood with his back against a wall and his arms chained to hooks above his head.  Both nipples were pierced and he was wearing nothing but a red and white g-string.  A man of about 30 years old was standing in front of him with a wicked looking whip in his hand.  Not bearing to watch what she knew was coming; Mary-Ann turned her head away from the scene in front of her gagging and her tight stomach heaving.  She could taste the copper taste of blood in her mouth from biting her tongue too hard, and it now had a numb feeling to it.

With her stomach still turning over and her mouth feeling dry and dirty with apprehension she glanced up to see that the room within the window had changed yet again.  Now Santa was sitting in a wooden rocking chair with a lovely looking old woman in the rocking chair next to him.  They were holding hands like two teenagers in love and smiling with love into each other’s eyes.

Feeling her body relax again and understanding now what was happening, she turned away again to wonder in anticipation what she was going to see next.  Would it be another good view of Santa, or yet another bad one?  She just about didn’t want to find out but with knots forming in her stomach again she slowly turned back towards the window.

This time the scene that greeted her looked normal enough with Santa again sitting under the tree but this time he wasn’t eating but smoking a joint.  Santa in the room started to laugh to himself over something that could only be seen inside his own mind.  A movement on the other side of the room caught Mary-Ann’s eye and she saw a young man with long, untidy brown hair that covered his face almost completely.  He too was smoking a joint and looking at Santa as though he thought he might have gone mad!  Looking away from the window again, Mary-Ann turned back towards the window to find herself back in her own living room with her Santa still sitting in the chair with blood and fur dripping down his chin.  The only difference now was that Santa was the one holding the knife instead of her.

Boxing Day headlines of the local paper:  Three unexplained deaths on Christmas Eve

The following article featured:

On Christmas Eve there was three very unusual deaths.  The first discovered was a young lady with her throat slit.  The second victim was  a 30 year old male who had been whipped and left to bleed to death.  The third was a young man who appears to have died from smoke inhalation from a cause unknown.  Police have no suspects.

“I’m too scared to Mama!” whined Phoenix.  With a puff of smoke, Silver replied

“Phoenix, you are a dragon.  Dragon’s breathe fire.  It’s going to happen whether you want it to or not but you need to learn to control it son.”

Eyes blazing red with his anger at his mother, Phoenix opened his mouth to reply when a burning stream of fire escaped out of his mouth towards Silver’s foot-claws.  With a flutter of her silver wings, she quickly raised herself off the soil and into the air.  The grass where her claws had rested a few moments earlier was black and smoldering.  Looking at the ground trying to form an apology in his mind, Phoenix felt a crystal tear slide down his face to rest briefly on his nose.  Silver watched her son closely as the tear slipped off his nose and hit the soil between his foot-claws.  A second later a beautiful purple orchid bloomed into life where the tear had landed.  Purple for guilt, Silver thought as she brought herself back down to stand in front of Phoenix again.

“Lesson one Phoenix.  Your fire is controlled by your emotions.  When you learn to control your emotions then you will be on your way to controlling your fire.”  Folding her large wings around his little body, Silver led her son home.

Phoenix was only three seasons old but by dragon years he was not considered a hatchling any more. He was at the age where he had to start learning about himself in ways in which he had never had to think of himself before.  Learning to control his fire was just a small part of growing up for a young dragon.  Phoenix also had to learn how to fly, be a guardian to a human, learn magick and learn how to protect.  Wondering through a meadow filled with lots of different coloured wild flowers at the bottom of a great cliff, he started to daydream about the human whom he would be the guardian for.  He had seen her once through the water in the fountain that stood in the court of Dragonna, his home.  The fountain was a place for dragons to go to make contact with their humans for the first time and until they got the hang of contacting them on their own.  Phoenix’s human was a young blonde lady that he would have guessed to be about seventeen seasons old, which in human terms was young.  She had the sweetest laugh he had ever heard and when she smiled, the whole world seemed to light up with her.  Already Phoenix was feeling very loving and protective about this human and he knew that once she had acknowledged him in her conscious mind, that they would remain very close friends for eternity.  As he started back towards home with the sun warm and bright on the back of his wings, Phoenix wondered when he would meet his human charge.

Later that evening sitting in his thatch hut with Silver, Phoenix asked her what it was like the first time she ever meet her human change.

“Well… my charge is a closed minded old bugger so it was hard for me to enter his life and even now he will not acknowledge me in his conscious mind.”

“So how do you guard and advise him Mama?”

“I have to do it while he is sleeping.  That is the only way to get through to him.  I can only hope, for your sake, that your charge will be more open to the possibility of dragons than what mine is.”  Silver sighed heavily.  After a long silence Phoenix spoke of the afternoon they had spent together

“I’m really sorry for getting angry at you Mama.  I know you are only trying to help me find my way in the world.”

“It’s alright son, sometimes young dragons just have to find their own way without any help.”  With that said she gave him a kiss on his scaly nose and went to snuggle down in her nest in the corner of the room.

“Nite-nite Mama” Phoenix murmured as he drifted off to sleep in his own little nest by the fire.

Waking early the next morning Phoenix went to sit outside in the court to think about all that lay before him.  He knew of all the places that young dragons needed to go to learn their different powers but could he do it on his own?  Knowing there was no other way to do it, Phoenix stepped across the sunlit cobblestones that surrounded the fountain and up to the fountain itself.  Settling himself on one of the stools that were positioned all around it, he gazed into the fountain water and focused all his attention on the young woman that was to become his charge.  Within the water and his own minds eye, he saw her sitting on some grass in a patch of sunlight, he could see her smile, hear her laugh and even smell the Lavender scented shampoo in her hair.  As he sat there watching her, she turned and looked straight at him!

“That can’t happen!  That’s not meant to happen!” he cried into the still air and noticed how his voice traveled.

“What’s wrong little one?”  The voice behind Phoenix startled him and again a stream of fire shot from his open mouth.  With a deep chuckle that sounded as though it were coming from the ground itself, the elder dragon, Elroy, sat Phoenix back on the stool.

“You look like you could do with a few lessons in control young one.”

“Sorry… but did you see that?” Phoenix asked him excitedly.

“Yes, I saw.  You are a very lucky young dragon, do you realize that Phoenix?”  Phoenix sat looking only confused at Elroy, so he continued to explain.

“There are a few humans down there that seem to have some sort of special link with the beings on this plane, and I’m not just talking about us dragons Phoenix, but everything up here.  These humans can sense when we are near and they are believers.  It seems to me that your little lady down there is one of these special ones, therefore it should be very easy for you to make contact with her and keep those lines of communication open.  Now, don’t get me wrong, she couldn’t see you just then but… she did feel you.  Or you energy anyway.  Is any of this making sense boy?” he asked.

“Oh, yes sir.  And thank you so much for telling me, I thought I had done something wrong that was going to get me in trouble or worse, harm us all.”  Phoenix could not believe that he would be so lucky as to have got a natural as his charge.

Over the coming days, at any given time Phoenix could be found sitting beside the fountain staring intently into the water trying to focus on making contact with his human.  In the evenings he would sit under the protection of the moon and by the light of the stars and enter his humans dreams.  Through doing this he found out that her name was Zoe Priston and she was indeed seventeen seasons old as he had thought.  Zoe was a very intelligent young woman and during their journeys together in her dreams they became close and trusting friends.

Taking time out from Zoe to work on his flying practice Phoenix told Silver where he was going and why and was pleasantly surprised when she asked if he would mind if she joined him on the cliff top.  Sitting on top of the high cliff in which Phoenix would have to jump off, he and Silver looked out over Dragonna in awe.

“So how are you doing with your charge?” Silver asked him.

“I didn’t think you were all that interested,” he replied trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.  Silver sat there wordlessly for a moment or two before turning to face him.

“I’ve always been interested Phoenix, it’s just that when I tried to tell you about controlling your emotions to control your fire, well, I kind of got the idea that you resented it coming from me.  So I thought I would just leave you to sort it out on your own.  I thought that’s what you wanted.”  Phoenix looked up at his mother and saw the tears shining in her eyes and he suddenly realized why the meadow below the cliff was so full of different coloured wild flowers.  This was the special place that Dragon kind came to when they had problems of any sort.  This cliff top must have seen and heard a lot over the years, Phoenix thought to himself.

“I love you Phoenix, you know that don’t you?”

“Yes Mama.  And I love you.”  With that said he threw his arms around her large body.  At that moment he sensed something within her that was somehow different, and not in a good way.  Was his mother sick?  He didn’t know and was too scared to ask.

“Yes Phoenix, I’m sick.  In fact, I am dying and I don’t know how much longer I have got left son.  I need to know that you will be able to take care of yourself when I am gone.”  She paused to take a long shuddering breath before continuing.  “You know as well as I do that if a little dragon loses his mother, no other dragon will take them under their wings.  Dragons see it as a test for the little one that he must pass on his own.  Don’t get me wrong Phoenix; there will be plenty that will look out for you but none that will look after you.  You will get all my belongings, including the hut we share.  Do you understand son?”

With the tears streaming down his face, he nodded to his mother.

Spending as much time as possible with Silver became vitally important to Phoenix as he was soon going to loss her forever.  How he was going to carry on without her, he didn’t know but he would have to be strong for her for now and together create many happy memories for him to carry through the cold, lonely years without her.  Not so sure of how long they had left together, the two of them made the most of every moment.  Silver took the time to try and teach her son the things in life that she felt he would need to know to survive without her there to guide the way.

Sitting next to the fire in the hut one evening, Phoenix finally found the courage to ask his mother some questions that had been playing in his mind since she had told him she was sick.

‘Mama, how long have we got left together?’  The tears were streaming down his face like a fast flowing river and he felt as though his heart was breaking into a million separate pieces.

‘I don’t know for sure Phoenix.  I know that the time is getting close though.’

‘How do I live without you?  You are my whole world Mama!  I can’t do it without you.’

‘Phoenix, you are strong, you are brave, and you have the biggest heart of anyone I know son, you will get through.’

‘But why Mama?  Why do you have to die?’ Phoenix asked, not expecting an answer.  Silver paused a moment before answering,

‘My charge is dying Phoenix, and when your charge dies, so does the dragon that protects him or her.  I will be reborn when there is another charge born that needs a Guardian Dragon.’

‘Oh…  Will I know who you are?’

‘Maybe, maybe not.  But Phoenix, we need to concentrate on getting you ready to face the world on your own for when I’m gone.’

‘I know.  I just don’t feel ready to face this yet Mama.’  Phoenix sighed heavily, and started to doze off to sleep.  Noticing this, Silver stood and lifted her little son beneath her wings and gently placed him in his nest.

‘I love you Phoenix, and even if I can’t always be right here next to you, I will always watch over you!’  But Phoenix never heard her declaration of love.

Rising early the following morning, Phoenix noticed his mother was still sleeping soundly so he quietly snuck out of the hut to the fountain in the court to watch Zoe for a little while.  For quite some time, he sat there watching her and thinking about his mother.  The sun rose slowly in the cloudless sky and the court was so peaceful that Phoenix could hear the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees nearby.  Standing to stretch his legs, he wondered why his mother hadn’t been out yet to see where he was, and started to make his way back to the hut.  Pausing in the doorway, he stopped and listened for the sounds of Silver moving about inside, that he knew he would hear.  All was quiet within.  Turning abruptly away from the hut, Phoenix ran as though his life depended on it, and in that time realized that he would never see his beloved mother again.  She was dead!  He could feel it in his heart and it felt like shards broken of glass trying to rip his insides into ribbons.  He also knew that by the time he returned to the hut, her beautiful body would be gone and nobody would ever speak her name again.

‘Noooooo…’ he screamed into the still air.  He was on his own from this moment on.

Retreating to a nearby cave Phoenix made himself a nice warm nest and lit a fire before venturing outside to collect some food for the days ahead.  He knew what was expected of him over the course of the next five days and he was prepared to show everybody that he was old enough to cope with whatever came his way.  The thought of spending the next five days alone, and apart from everybody else to deal with his grief was somehow comforting to him and he knew that he would do a lot of thinking and self-exploration in this mourning period.  He would be ok.

Emerging from his little cave five days later Phoenix blinked rapidly as the bright sun hit his eyes.  With his sore eyes slowing adjusting to the light again Phoenix slowing walked towards Dragonna and the hut that now belonged to him.  Entering the hut gave him an eerie feeling; it was as though nothing had changed.  Everything was exactly the same but with the exception that Silver was not there to greet him when he walked in.  After tiding up and packing away some of the things he would not need that had belonged to his mother, Phoenix ventured out to sit at the fountain for a while.

‘Zoe, I wish you were here with me right now.  I need you!’ he told the reflection in the water.  Phoenix could now hear Zoe’s voice in his head,

‘Me too Phoenix, I wish I was there with you.  If only there was some way I could take away your pain because if I could do it, I would.  But Phoenix, there might be a way!’

‘What do you mean Zoe?  What are you talking about?  There’s no way… is there?’

‘I’ve been doing some research on the internet lately…’

‘What’s the internet?’  Phoenix interrupted

‘That doesn’t matter right now, I’ll explain it another time, but like I was saying… I’ve been doing some research and there is this thing called Astral Traveling.  It’s where I can train my body to sleep while my soul can go anywhere I want!  Wouldn’t that be great Phoenix, if I could learn to do it!  Then I could come and see you whenever I want, and really be with you!’  Zoe was getting more excited with each word and Phoenix found the excitement contagious.

‘That would be great Zoe!  Do you really think you could do it?  I mean… I know you can do anything you set your mind to, but is it really possible?’

‘Yep, I do.  I will do some more research on the subject and we will talk about it later.  But for now, my little friend, how are you coping?’

Eyes shining with tears Phoenix replied the best he could.  ‘O.k., I guess.  Its lonely and strange without her.’

‘You know that you can come and see me any time Phoenix.  I will always be here for you!’

‘Thanks Zoe.  I know that but sometimes its nice to hear it.’

Sitting next to the fountain just thinking after Zoe had gone, Phoenix wondered about this Astral Traveling thing.  Could Zoe be right?  It sounded so strange to him that he just had to ask one of the elders about it.  If there was such a thing and it was possible, then Elroy would know about it, and would be able to explain it to him.

With the colder months starting to settle in, Phoenix made his way back to the hut before to long.  Placing dry kindling in the fire hearth, he stood in front of it and cleared his mind and settled his raging emotions.  Just a small flame was all he needed, so he opened his mouth slightly and thought of his mother, all the while keeping a tight rein on his emotions so the flame would not rage out of control.  A thin, steady stream of fire shot from his open mouth and set fire to the dry wood that was his target.  Clamping his mouth tightly closed, the flame was cut off and smoke came bellowing out of his wide nostrils.  So proud of himself, he spun around to tell Silver of his achievement only to remember that she was not there anymore, nor would ever be.  Dissolving into tears, Phoenix crumpled to the dirt packed floor in front of the now blazing fire.

“I can’t do this!  Give her back to me!  Please!!” he screamed into the still night.  Only the single hoot of a far away owl answered him.

Speaking to Elroy later, Phoenix found that what Zoe had told him was true.  She could indeed travel to his world but he couldn’t go to hers.  So excited that he couldn’t wait, he ran to the fountain to talk to Zoe and tell her how to do it.  He had been told exactly how she should go about doing it so in his mind it should be no problem at all.

“Zoe” he called into the fountains still water.  Her image shimmered up in front of him and he felt a swell of love in his heart for her.  She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.  “I have spoken to Elroy and he told me how you can do the Astral Traveling.  It is so easy Zoe, I can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner!”  In his excitement, Phoenix rushed the words so that they came out in a rush of air.

“Well, do tell, Sir Phoenix!  The sooner you tell me how to do it, the sooner I can give it a try” Zoe laughed, the excitement catching like a wildfire in the height of summer.

After explaining to her how to do it, Zoe went her way to work on it and Phoenix went for a walk to think about what it would be like when she finally got here and he could touch her at last.  Sitting on a rock outcrop Phoenix jumped as though he had been struck by lightening.  Inspirational lightening.

“Oh dear me!  I’m falling in love with her!”  Speaking out loud when he didn’t mean to, made Phoenix jump again.  Continuing to speak aloud to himself, Phoenix thought some more on the subject while blowing smoke rings out of his nose.  “I’m sure that’s not suppose to happen.  It can’t be right.  And even if I am falling in love with her, what’s the chance that she will love me back in the same way?”  Breaking down into tears yet again, Phoenix wished desperately that his mother were there with him to help with this new development.  In one aspect he felt so young yet in other ways he felt wise beyond his years but he always felt alone.  “Distance myself!  That’s what I need to do, distance myself from Zoe for a few days so I can sort out my feelings and get things in perspective again.”  Feeling down and without thinking about what he was doing, Phoenix jumped off the rock outcrop and flew to the ground.  As soon as his claws touched the hard packed dirt and grass, he realized what he had done.  “I did it!  I flew.  And I didn’t even think about it.”  Jumping into the air and rapidly flapping his wings, Phoenix lifted higher into the air and began to move forward.  With the sunshine reflecting off his scales, and the light blue colour of his wings looking transparent, he flew home.

Once in his hut on his own Phoenix started dwelling on his mothers’ death and the situation with Zoe but the more he thought about things, the worse they seemed to be.  He was all on his own and there was nothing he could do about it.  Slowly slipping into a depression, Phoenix roams around the hut feeling lost and crying tears that should have been long cried.  Days passed without noticed, then turned into weeks.  Every couple of days Elroy came to him to try and convince him to come out but Phoenix ended up just telling him to go away without even opening the door.  The depression deepened until Phoenix felt so overwhelmed by all that had happened that one afternoon he broke down in tears and curled up in the corner of the hut just hoping to die.

“Go away and leave me alone Elroy” Phoenix calls through the closed door yet again when there is a knock.

“It’s not Elroy and I have come a long way to see you Phoenix.  I don’t know how long I have so come out and see me little buddy.”  Running to the door and throwing it open, he launches into Zoe’s arms.

“Don’t leave me.  Please Zoe, I need you so badly!  Don’t leave me like Mama did!”

Holding him tight in her arms Zoe started to sob for the pain that this little dragon was feeling as though it were her pain.  And in a way it was, they were so closely connected that she could feel the agony and torment within his heart.  Leading him inside and settling him in his nest, Zoe started cleaning and airing out the hut as it was painly obvious that Phoenix had not done so for some time.

“Have you got any tea or coffee I could make us?”  At Phoenix’s puzzled look, she answered her own question.  “I guess not.  Well, have you got any peppermint growing around here anywhere?”

“There’s some in the little garden outside by the edge of the court.  But what do you want peppermint for?”

“To make a cup of tea.  Just wait and see.  Do you want to try some?  I promise it won’t hurt you and you never know, you might like it.”

Still a little weary he replied “Yea ok.”

“Good.  Put some water over the fire to boil and I will go and get the peppermint then make us some.  I have got a funny feeling that a good cuppa might make things look a little brighter,” she instructed as she walked out into the sunshine.

“I doubt that” Zoe heard Phoenix mumble to her back.

After gathering the peppermint and seeping it in the boiling water to make their tea, Phoenix and Zoe sat together just outside the doorway of the hut enjoying the refreshing taste.

“Did you know that it was my eighteenth birthday last week?” Zoe asked tentavely.

“Yea, I know.  Sorry.  I just sort of forgot but happy birthday for last week.”  Feeling guilty he looked up at her through long, black eyelashes and offered her a small smile that just about broke her heart.

“Phoenix, you know I love you, right?”

“Yea, of course” he replied with a sulky pout.

Zoe continued without caution of his feelings knowing that she had to be cruel to be kind.

“You’re killing yourself bud.  Your mother wouldn’t want that.  You really have to get on top of this and carry on with your life.  I know that sounds harsh, but somebody has to say it, and it seems that I’m the only one that might be able to get through to you.  Just think about it.”

“O.k.  And thanks!”  He answered with a heavy sigh.  Standing and taking their cups inside, Phoenix wondered if Zoe had any idea about how he felt about her.  She had said that she loved him, but in the same way he loved her?

Once Zoe had gone Phoenix went for a walk through the woods to try and clear his head, and his heart, of the conflicting emotions that raged within him.  How could he have fallen in love with his charge?  Surely there would be big trouble if anybody ever found out.  It wasn’t right!  He was meant to protect her, not fall in love with her.  Oh god, what was he going to do, he wondered.  Elroy was a wise old dragon and Phoenix felt that he could trust him, but could he trust him to advise him on this issue?  Realizing that he would get no peace until he had spoken to somebody about his problem, Phoenix decided to inform Elroy of what was going on inside his heart and see where things went from there.  If Elroy felt he had to tell somebody of the problem, then so be it.

“… so the long and the short of it is, I have fallen in love with her.”  Phoenix finished his story and sat to wait for Elroy’s reaction.

“I’m not really surprised Phoenix.  You never should have been allowed to be her guide to start with, but your mother pushed for it, and because she was dying, the elders gave in to her wishes.”  Elroy’s words made no sense to Phoenix, but it was clear that Elroy knew a lot more then he was saying.

“What do you mean Elroy?  What are you not telling me?  I know there is something, so please…” He left the sentence unfinished, afraid of what he might hear.

“Zoe is your soul mate Phoenix!  And, yes, she feels the same way about you, as you do about her.  I have seen it in her heart.”

“Oh no, please Elroy, tell me this is not true!”  Phoenix pleaded.

“Sorry son.”

After meeting with the Elders, Phoenix couldn’t wait to talk to Zoe, but it was something he wanted to tell her face-to-face, not in the dream world.  They arranged to meet at the top of the cliff, then all Phoenix had to do was wait for the time to arrive.  How would she react?  Would she want to go through with his plan?  If she felt the way Elroy thought she did, then things might work out better then Phoenix ever would have dreamed.

“Zoe, do you believe in soul-mates?”  Phoenix asked.

“Yea I do.  Wh…”

He interrupted her with his next question.  “How do you feel about me Zoe?”

“Phoenix, I love you.  You know that, now what’s with all the weird questions?”

“But… are you in love with me?  Like I am with you?”  The last was said at a whisper.  He rushed on before she had a chance to answer him.  “Cause, you know, if you did feel the same about me, we could be together.  But I completely understand that you don’t, after all, I’m and dragon and you are human.  It’s one thing for me to fall in love with you, but to expect the same back would be asking too much of you.  I’m sorry Zoe, but I don’t think I am going to be able to visit you any more.”

“Phoenix, would you shut up for one second and let me speak?”

“O.k.  I’m sorry!”  Phoenix dropped to the ground and rapidly started blowing smoke rings out of his nose, in a sign of his agitation.

Sitting on the grass beside him, Zoe cradled his small body in her arms as she spoke to him.  “I do love you Phoenix, and I am also in love with you.  It doesn’t matter to me that you are a dragon.  I am in love with what is in here.”  She lightly tapped his scaly chest with her fingernail.  “I hope that this doesn’t change things between us, I mean, I know it will change things but, hopefully we can still see each other?”

“So, do you think you could handle me on a more… human level?”  Phoenix asked.

“What do you mean, a more human level?”  The confusion on Zoe’s face made Phoenix laugh.  Getting his laughter under control, he explained to her about what the Elders had told him.

“We are soul mates Zoe!  Because of that, the Elders have agreed to turn me into a human and send me down to you to live.”  He held his breath waiting for her reaction.  He didn’t have to wait long.  Jumping up from her place, Zoe squealed in delight.

“Do you mean it?  Can we really be together for the rest of our lives?”

“I mean it Zoe.  I love you and I want to be with you.  Say the word and it will be ours.”  Phoenix grinned.

Bowing her head against the driving rain, her perfect features were as remote as those of the carved angel on the tombstone in front of her.  A chill ran the length of her body and she shuddered as she noticed a tall dark man watching her from the shadows.  Frozen inside, her attention returned to her own final resting place.  As she wondered how this could have happened, she faintly heard footsteps approaching from behind her.  Spinning on her heel to confront the stranger, her black velvet cape swirled around her like the wings of a bat taking flight.

“Ah, my princess of darkness has come to me at last!”  The deep voice and strange words bounced around in Zoe’s mind but she didn’t feel the fear she had expected to feel.  The stranger looked past her to the tombstone they were standing in front of.  A slab of black marble sat at the base of the quiet and ever-seeing angel.  He read the engraving out loud.

“Zoe Spencer, always in our hearts.  1981 – 2005.”

“So?  What’s your point?”  Zoe snapped coldly.  “And by the way, who the hell are you anyway?”

“Oh, so sorry my beautiful.  My name is Soren Davis.  And you my sweet must be Zoe.  I have been waiting for you my whole life.”  Sweeping a black baseball cap from his black hair, Soren bowed to her.  Zoe felt her cold cheeks flame with embarrassment and the ice wall around her heart begin to melt.

“Walk with me?”  Soren offered his arm.  With little reluctance Zoe took it.  Walking arm in arm among the crumbling and decaying tombstones with this dark stranger, Zoe felt strangely at peace.

“Even here, surrounded by darkness and death, there is light to be found Zoe, you just have to look for it.  Will you let me be your light or are you going to fight what is naturally right?”

Soren’s rich deep voice rolled over Zoe in waves and she knew she couldn’t fight him even if she had the desire to do so, which she didn’t.

“You can be my light Soren,” she whispered into the darkness.

As the moon parted their company and the first rays of sunlight started creeping towards the cemetery gates, Zoe and Soren parted, agreeing to meet again that night as the moon rose once again in the black sky above.

“Do you realize that the moonlight in your blonde hair makes it look like spun silk?”  Soren’s voice rumbled through Zoe’s mind like thunder and her heart leapt with joy at his words.

“No, I didn’t know that,” Zoe replied with a satisfied smile.  “But I do know that the moonlight on your black hair makes it look like a raven’s wing.”  Her bright blue eyes sparkled up at him.

“I take that as a compliment.  My Angel of Darkness brings a smile to my face.”  Soren laughed, his dark green eyes shining with the love he felt for her.

The following evening, sitting on the damp grass in the middle of the cemetery, Zoe didn’t feel the early evening dew beneath her.  Instead she only felt an all-consuming love for the man sitting at her side.  A love that she had never felt before in her life.  Zoe knew that the lack of love in her life was the reason she had lingered after death instead of crossing over.  So what will happen now I have found it at last? Zoe wondered quietly to herself.

“Soren?”

“Yes my lovely, what can I do for you?”

Zoe paused, unsure of herself.  “Could you please show me where you are buried?  I understand if you don’t want to but I would really like to see it.”

“I don’t mind at all Angel.  Come.”  He reached out his strong hand and helped Zoe to her feet.   Minutes later they stood in front of a very old and decayed tombstone on the opposite side of the cemetery to where Zoe was buried.  This time it was her turn to read the engraving out loud.

“Soren Davis.  Lived and Died a Hero.  1776 – 1804.”  Zoe stared in shock and disbelief at the dates on the tombstone.  “My god Soren, you died over two hundred years ago!”  Zoe exclaimed when she finally found her voice again.

“Yes,” Soren sighed deeply.  “But I am forever 28 years old.  At least now you know how long I have waited for you Angel.”

“But why Soren?  Why would you wait for that long?”  Zoe guessed what his answer would be and tensely waited, hoping.  He gave her the answer she wanted to hear.

“Because we are soul mates, Zoe.  I wouldn’t let myself pass over until I had met you.  I love you.”

“I love you too Soren.”  Zoe reached for his cold hand and squeezed gently.  “Soul mates,” she whispered into the darkness and to the dead surrounding them.

Eddie saw a vision of beauty walking up the road towards him.  His deep set, dark brown eyes took in the long pale legs, barely concealed by the black mini skirt.

“What a looker!” he exclaimed.  “I would love to get to know that woman better.”  He chuckled deeply.  Pulling over, he wound down the window.

“Need a lift sweetheart?”  His eyes took in her ample breasts nearly spilling over the top of her crop-top.

“Yes, that would be great thanks.”  The words barely reached Eddies ears over the thumping music.

“So where you heading beautiful?”  As he swung the Ute around, Eddie noticed the spiteful glace the woman passed him.

“No need to turn around.  Where ever you were going will be fine thanks.”  She gazed at him with bright blue eyes, without a hint of the spitefulness he had noticed a moment before.  Spiteful or not, Eddie wanted a roll on the bed with her.  Turning around again, he headed back.

“By the way, I’m, Eddie.  And you are?”

“Tash. Nice to meet you.”

“Same.  Your car break down or something?”

“Yes, something like that.” she answered mysteriously.  Smoke in the distance  caught Eddies eye, and a second later he registered the scratches on her.

“You o.k?”  Eddie could guess what had happened.

“Fine thanks.” Tash answered.

“So how about a game of question and answer to pass the time Tash?”  Eddie asked hopefully.

“Sure.”  She agreed,  “I’ll start.  How old are you?”

“Thirty-one.  You?”

“Twenty-eight.  Your turn to ask one.”  She giggled like a schoolgirl.

“So do you have a boyfriend or something?” asked Eddie, trying to sound uninterested.

“Boyfriend.  Well, I used to anyway, we just broke up.”  A soft sign escaped her.  “He was the only one I have ever been with… if you know what I mean.”  A soft blush crept up her face making her look more enticing to Eddie.  She shifted position, and Eddie got a glimpse of her smooth pale thigh as her skirt rode up a notch.  “What about you?  Have you got a special woman in your life?”

“No.”  Eddie hoped that this conversation was heading where he wanted.

With an impish look in her blue eyes Tash smiled.

“I suppose that could work to my benefit.  Don’t you?”

“Your wish is my command.”  Eddie wondered how far he could push his luck.  “So what do you want from me?”  Eddie asked teasingly.  Her answer surprised him so much he swerved over the center line.

“I want you to take me to heaven, and I want you to come with me.”

“I’ll do my best!”  He grinned.

When they drove into the next town, dusk was setting in around them and Eddie was feeling randy, when, as if she had read his mind, Tash spoke up.

“How about we get a motel room Eddie?”

Eddie grinned to himself.  “I think that’s the best thing I have heard all day.”  He swung into the first one he saw.

After booking a room, Eddie walked to the bottle store to get some beer and more smokes.  What meet his eyes when he walked back into the room took his breath away.  Tash was laying on the big bed in nothing but a tiny g-string and a huge smile.  Forgetting his purchases, Eddie shed his black jeans and t-shirt and joined her on the bed.

“Come to me Eddie!”  Tash was turning out to be his dream girl.  With any luck, she won’t want to hang around, Eddie thought to himself as he slid into bed.  On the brink of joining with her, Tash stopped moving and in a hushed voice asked,

“Will you stay with me Eddie?”

Past the point of turning back Eddie agreed.  “For as long as you want me to.  I promise.”

He drove himself deep inside her.  At the moment of climax, he felt her hands came around his throat.  The light faded as Eddie struggled to draw air into his bursting lungs.  The realization hit Eddie that he was dead.  Tash was dead!  A ghost!  She had died in her car moments before he drove along.  Standing beside the bed, he looked down at his body, then looked over at Tash who was standing next to him smiling.

“Why?  Why did you do it?”  He screamed at her, but she just kept smiling.

“You told me you would stay with me as long as I wanted you to.  I want you forever!”