The Beldam's story: Coraline

Closure

"I didn't mean to let her go, I promise. I tried so hard, it's the real Wybie."

"so he was there too?" I nodded, scared.

"Then you let two go!" His voice thundered, shuddering the walls that we had. They collapsed around us as we were brought back to the white empty void, something that I hadn't seen in over a hundred and fifty years.

"You knew what would happen if you let another child go." His volume grew so it boomed around our universe and rattled my body. Without thinking, I moved down to my knees.

"You know that you didn't really save her. I have the key and I have her." The change in tone was shocking, it was quiet, chilling. Like icicles could grow from his words.

"What do you mean you have her?" As he knelt in close, I could feel his breath hot on my check. What! I hadn't felt that in years. I looked down at my hand, it was warm and pale pink. It was flesh. Vermin had given me back my body. My old body that had fallen down the well so long ago. My knees buckled, collapsing in on myself. Charles took a single step closer to me, his presence filling every pore of the space.

"As a told you the first time you got here. You are not the first person to occupy this space to fill my void and you won't be the last. You are but an exception of my rule my dear."

"What rule?" I spat, putting as much venom into those two words as I could.

"Those the old get away is the one that I lure away to this world. You have doomed Coraline to an eternity down here with me until she fails to capture a child. This the process moves on forever. Now how to do it?" Vermin came down to my eye line and placed a single finger under my chin.  His smile took over most of his face, stretching so it moved up his cheeks to expose more teeth than humanly possible. He cocked his head, blood starting to fall like teardrops down his eyes. He was twitching ever so slightly.

"Should I be Charles your dear late husband. Or shall I be William." He shifted and my little boy was staring back at me, the same grin and crying eyes.

"Mummy you only had one job. You promised to keep me safe. But I died in my fathers arms. You weren't there. It was all so dark."

"I'm sorry baby, I was on the beach. If I could take it back, I would." His blonde hair fell into the tears and were stained red. The grin turned into a scowl, revealing that there were multiple rows of teeth, all pointed in multiple direction, it looked like I was staring into the mouth of a shark.

"Maybe one of the children you murdered in cold blood for your survival." It was like flashes of fire. The faces of four children I had tried to take and succeeded in. Their cries circling me as I screamed for it to stop.

"Vermin you're a monster! If you are going to kill me just go ahead and do it." He stopped, his body in the shape of Coraline Joans. The smile had returned to normal but the eyes were still filled with blood.

"I think that Coraline should do it. After all you are the one who has condemned her to a life down here like you."

Vermin lunged towards me. It was quick, but it wasn't painless.

***

"Belle?" A voice called to me, it was so similar, as if one from a dream.  I was standing up in my black dress, the silver spiders weaved down my waist in intricate patterns, as if they were spinning the dress as I stood there.

"It's been a long time." He came closer to me, his figure starting to take shape. "We've been waiting for you." We?

"Mummy!" William ran over and jumped into my arms before I could register what was happening.

"I've missed you! What took you so long?" William, my little boy was right here in my arms. And Charles was a few steps away. The real one, with a kind smile that met his eyes even if he was cross with you. The one who sacrificed his life for his only son. The one who kissed me and the world felt like it was exploding around me and I didn't care. My family was here in my arms.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I was caught up in another world before I could come here. But I'm here now and I promise that I'm not going anywhere."