I Can See You / Gendry Waters

6. Banshee

'I was thinking about what you said... about that weird feeling.' Sandor had a few books in his hands as he made his way rina, she was sat in the corner of the library, no one in the capital even used the library so it was like her own personal fortress.

'I thought you said I was special not weird?' rina joked, putting down her book.

'I remembered a tale, a folk lore... a myth but it sort of sounds like you kitten.'

'what is it?'

'a Banshee.'

Sandor opened up the first book reading a passage from it.

'It appears in the form of a woman. The Banshee is one of the most terrifying creatures from Irish folklore' sandor remarked.

'are you calling little old me terrifying sandor?' rina said looking over his shoulder at the picture drawn into the book, the banshee was a bit scary looking.

'It's believed that the scream of a Banshee is an omen of death. It's said that the scream or wail is a warning that there is death approaching...' sandor went on. 'Some believe that if you hear the scream of a Banshee, a member of your family will pass away shortly... The banshee is a female spirit and is considered to be an omen of death.'

'wow I'm an omen of death. That's great.'' She said sarcastically.

'The banshee roams the countryside and can be heard wailing when she predicts a death. The word banshee comes from the Irish bean sí which translates as woman of the fairy mounds. She can appear in a number of guises, as a young beautiful woman," sandor nudged her "-a stately matron or as an ugly frightening hag. She is usually dressed in a grey or white hooded cloak. While not always seen, her mourning cries can be heard usually at night when someone is about to die. Those who claim to have seen her describe long hair which she runs a comb through, similar to tearing the hair out in anguish.' Sandor informed her.

'I mean I shed a lot,' she ran a hand through her hair and a few strands fell out in her hand. She held it up to sandor.

'The Leanhaun Shee or fairy mistress-'

''great now I'm someone's mistress' rina said laughing. This was ridiculous. She wasn't a banshee. She wasn't the wailing woman or a fairy mistress.

' -seeks the love of mortals. If they refuse, she must be their slave; if they consent, they are hers, and can only escape by finding another to take their place. The fairy lives on their life, and they waste away. Death is no escape from her. She is the Gaelic muse, for she gives inspiration to those she persecutes. The Gaelic poets die young, for she is restless, and will not let them remain long on earth – this malignant phantom...' he looked over at rina she biting her lip, taking everything in.

'The Banshee is one of the more intimidating fairies. She is a fairy woman who appears at the site of an imminent death in the middle of the night and lets out a chilling, high pitched wail. As with all mythological stories and figures, she also appears in Scottish, Welsh, Norse and even American folklore in many different forms and doing many different death related things. Occasionally she is also known as the 'Bean Chaointe', or 'crying woman'."

'I think I'm a pretty happy person, what are insinuating?' Rina questioned grinning.

'Kitten-'

'so you are calling me an old crying hag? Is that how you really feel sandor because I thought-''

'The Irish Banshee was known to take various forms.' He went on and rina rolled her eyes. 'Sometimes she would appear as a young and alluringly beautiful woman,' he pointed to rina, 'like yourself, whereas other times she would appear as a bedraggled and hauntingly disfigured old hag.'

'are you calling me alluringly beautiful or an old hag I cant tell.'

'Some believing her keening to be capable of shattering glass.'

'I mean...' shit she did that once.

'you break glass with your voice before kitten?''

'yeah once. It was...' beautiful. Poetic, hypnotizing.

'kitten?''

'yeah, it was scary.' She lied.

'what happened?''

'I was singing and I wanted to see how long and how high I could sing for...'

'kitten...''

'the glass on the table started to shake... it shattered into a million pieces, scattering around the room.''

'shit... kitten I think this is you.''

'a folk lore? I'm a real breathing person sandor! I'm not some wailing woman.''

'the Banshee is seen as only warning people of death, rather then actually causing death to happen. She is viewed in Ireland as either an omen of death or as a messenger sent from the world of the dead. Her role was therefore to protect the families that she was loyal to by helping them to prepare for the death of a loved one. Cry of The Banshee,' sandor went on. 'This tradition led to the belief that for particular families a faery, which became known as the Banshee, sang this lament.' Rina thought about her vision and weird feeling around death and darkness. Could she? No. this was crazy!

'The lament of the Banshee is slightly different in that it is more of a cry or scream, which caries the eeriness of the forewarning with it. This developed into her keening being a forewarning of death, as she was believed to have the power of foresight. Thus, the legend of the Angel of Death was born.'

'Angel of death, I suppose that's better than old hag.'' Rina murmured.

'Some believe that this was associated with the screech of an owl at nighttime, as they were attracted to the sound of her voice, her cry.'

'should I cry and see if it attracts the townspeople?' rina questioned.

'kitten don't you think-'

'sandor its really sweet of you but it's a myth. I'm a real person. I'm not some magical being... whatever is wrong with me... its a curse. Not magic fairy folklore.'

'kitten...'

'and what if I am this banshee person? What then? Does it say how to make the visions stop? How to control them? How to stop them! Because my father dies every night in my dreams and I cant lose him!' Rina shouted. sandor remained quiet.

The banshee was an omen of death, it didn't say that she could stop the omen from happening only that she saw it, felt it, lived it even.

"sandor I cant lose him!' she cried out and he held her. 'If I'm this magical being then find a way to help me stop this from happening!''