The Night

Chapter Four

             He exhaled and looked down at the ground.  He appeared to be thinking for a moment.

            Ugh, why did I ask, why? “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.  I understand.” I murmured.

            “No, it’s okay,” he lifted his head up and stared off into space.  Looking at me, he said, “Uh, do you want to walk with me? I still have some duties I must finish.”
            “Sure.”

            We got up together and began walking through the park as he made more hand motion spells, summoning shadows and calling the fireflies out.

            “You know, you remind me a bit of myself, all those years ago,” he finally broke the silence.

            “Really?”

            “Yes.  Like you, I was enthralled with the night.  I used to take walks with my family every evening through this very park ever since I was a young child.  You informed me that you have trouble falling asleep at night?”
            “Yeah, I have insomnia.”

            “As did I.  Anyway, I had a particularly dreadful fight with my parents (it was over something trivial-I can’t recall exactly what it was) and I was feeling rebellious.  So I ran to this park.  That’s where I met Nyx.

            “Nyx?”

            “Yes.  She was quite an alluring fairy, Guardian of the Night.  She had long, voluminous raven-black hair and such large wings.  Basically I was stunned by her beautiful and frankly I never knew anything like her existed until I saw her.”

            “So was she like you are now?”

            “We have the same job: create the night.  But she had far more power than I have now.  She was a fairy, after all!  I begged her to teach me her ways of magic.  So she taught me everything I know now.  She was immortal and she existed both night and day, though I only saw her at night.  I befriended her,” he knocked on a nearby tree, which promptly responded with a “hoot-hoot” from an owl he had awakened.  “But the thing is,” he continued, “She was obsessed with becoming a mortal, a human.  Which struck me as odd because she had so much power, you see?”

            “That makes sense; I mean I’d be surprised too.  It’s usually the other way around.”

            “Exactly.  However, now I can see her reasoning.  She’d been the Night Guardian for thousands of years.  She envied the humans, who can choose their own fate, live their lives, and die.  She had no choice but to do her what she was made for.   She was tied to this place and couldn’t leave.  Anyway, we became close.  I remember when she took my hand for the first time; she nicked it with one of her sharp, black nails.  And I remember when she kissed me for the first time,” his voice started to sound bitter rather than sentimental.  “I had fallen hard for her and she took advantage of that.  One night, I came to see her in the woods,” he pointed slightly off into the distance.  “She pinned me against a tree and put up a magic barrier; I couldn’t move.  Then she began to perform a ritual.  I tried to call out to her and persuade her to stop this, but she wouldn’t listen.  She was going to become human.”

            I gasped.  What a manipulative……

            “She already had a drop of my blood from when she nicked my hand (of course previously she had apologized and said it was an accident), and a lock of my hair (I think she took it from me when we kissed because she had her hands in my hair), but that wasn’t enough.  To complete the ritual, she had to inject me with some of her blood.  I fought her hard but…” He lifted up his sleeve to show me a thin yet defined line, a scar from where she had opened his skin.  “She extracted more of my blood and replaced it with hers,” he said that sentence with utter distain, and I would too if I were he.   “The last part I remember of the ritual was her purging herself of the rest of her power-she wasn’t going to give it to me, obviously.  She gave me just enough to do her work but not enough to be a great fairy as she.  I could feel myself changing; I felt my humanity die.  I was changed to something new….to this.  She wouldn’t even let me see the light of day again.  Every morning I die and every night I live.” He sighed. “Nyx made herself human, a selfish, despicable one at that.  She wanted to live a normal life.  So she chose me to fulfill her duties.  I am somewhat fond of these duties; it’s just that I’m so lonely.  I never saw my family again.  That was part of the curse.  I was a ghost to anyone I had ever known in my life; I tried to see my family and friends, but they couldn’t see me.”

            “Do you know what became of Nyx?”

            “No.  I never saw her again.  But I know that she’s dead now; unless somehow her mortality lasted over 150 years.  But it’s not as though I can communicate with the dead.  You’d think I could, but night is my job: not death.”

            “I’m so sorry,” I said.  “I truly am.”

            “Well, at least I’ve got you to keep me company, right?” He tried to sound cheerful.

            “Right,” I quickly gave him a hug; I was sure he needed it, and I didn’t know when the last time he was hugged.  He seemed very much surprised for a moment but then he hugged me back and we held each-other for a few seconds.

            Afterward, he smiled and said “Thank you, I needed that.”

            “Well, it’s the least I can do.”

            “I’m glad you understand, though.  I was afraid that you wouldn’t.”

            “Of course I do.  I’ve been betrayed by people before, even though it’s been in different ways.” We walked and talked some more until I went back to my house.  I was terrified that one of these nights my mom would go to check on me or something and then freak out when I wasn’t there.  Oh gosh I’d be in such big trouble….it would be awful.

            After saying goodnight to Victor, I scampered into my bed.  I heard my mom snoring like a bear, so I knew she didn’t hear me.

            Nearly every night I saw Victor.  Sometimes I brought my homework or a book to read with him (he could make moonlight for us to see.)  He even let me sketch his face.  I always loved drawing people, but he was my favorite.  He didn’t beg me to sketch him or constantly ask impatiently if I was finished yet.  He just silently waited, and I loved that.  My sketchpad was completely lit up and so was his face, in perfect lighting for me to draw.  It took me about an hour or so to do a good one.  We were leaning against two trees, right by the little pond.  He called the fairies out again tonight, so the scenery was perfect.

            “I’m finished.” I said right after shading one last strand of hair on my sketch of Victor’s head.

            “Already?” He asked sarcastically.

            “Oh, stop,” I rolled my eyes. “Did you want a crappy portrait or a semi-decent one?”

            “I’m joking,” he said, sliding over to me.

            “May I see?”
            “Of course!”

            He stared with wide eyes at the portrait.  It bore a remarkable resemblance to him.  “It’s beautiful.”

            “Thanks,” I smiled. “I love to draw.”

             “I can see that,” he laughed.
            I loved spending time with Victor because when I was with him I was at peace.  It was as though I had nothing to worry about.   It even started to seem as if my family issues were gone, but then they came back…