Thirty One Days

Enter

We sat on that bench for almost an hour, watching the trees flow in the wind and leaves scurry under our feet, occasionally watching as birds flew around us. Istvan was right, as I tried to live my life, squeezing as much as I could between each episode, I forgot to simply live. Instead I had been trying to constantly actively live, force myself to be apart of a world that can't fathom breaking the line of normality, and forgot to simply exist.
When Istvan stood it was rapid and quiet, he immediately faced away from me and looked into the distance. Tensing up, I followed his eyes and caught sight of a hooded figure walking through the surrounding forest. The figure brought cold, stiff air with it and left dead grass where it walked, while seeming to avoid the sun.
Moving closer to Istvan, who grabbed onto my hand, we watched the figure as it slowly moved closer to us. It's body was completely covered, hiding all features from eyesight but nothing could hide the smell that came with it. A rotten smell that made me nauseous and my head swim. It's movements were almost unnoticeable like the figure was floating, the cloak it wore was worn and ragged at the edges but was surprisingly stainless.
As it moved closer the light around us seemed to bend and grow dimmer with each step, the slight breeze that rustled the trees became still and the air grew thick and heavy. My lungs began to burn as I gripped onto Istvan's hand tighter trying to steady my breathing. A feeling of impending doom overcame me and my eyes watered involuntary. 
It stopped a few paces in front of us, on the other side of the trail bench, I could hear it's breathing at this distance. Its breathing was labored and shallow, it's hooded head swayed between us. The figured then let a low humming noise out slowly then stopped immediately, in a flash it retreaded back to the tree line and disappeared.  

Thankfully it was only a short drive over the county line to meet Madam Luna and Istvan had the way memorized. A chill still hung in the air between us as we turned down a dirt road. I faced Istvan for a moment, who was focused on the road and had a small smile etched onto his lips. It was in that moment that I realized I needed to trust him and stop hiding from everyone and everything.
After taking a few deep breaths I cleared my throat, "It started at the end of my junior year," I paused to see if he was paying attention, he was. "I was leaving the last practice of swim team and freaked out because I thought I saw bloody, twisted fingers sticking out of the drain in the locker room." Trees lined the side of the dirt road, thick and full, they created a canopy hiding sunlight.
Istvan didn't say anything and after a moment I continued. "Everyone laughed at me at first, my best friend even played along but when the coach came in to see what was wrong I ended up getting in trouble." I flushed with embarrassment as I finished the story. Istvan still remained silent but now he was sneaking glances at me, listening.
"When I got home my mom was furious and wouldn't listen to me, instead she started comparing me to Dylan." I bit onto my bottom lip in frustration, that was something I expected but always hated.
The dirt road we were in began to narrow as a shack appeared in front of us. The road ended where a row of firewood sat, like a makeshift fence with a break in the center of it. Wild flowers popped up around the base of it and dark vines interwoven in the wood.
"I'm sorry," Istvan finally said as we stepped out of his car and began to head towards the shack. Our eyes meet for a moment and he offered a smile as we crossed over into the yard.
The yard, which was unkempt and luscious with vegetation, was larger than it had originally appeared. The shack sat on the far end of the clearing, as we walked closer I noticed that it wasn't a shack, just a weather beaten house.
Another fence stood between us and the front yard, which was full of an abundance of different types of plants and flowers. Size, color, and scents were in every variation imaginable. 
After Istvan opened the fence gate, letting me enter first, I saw a cobblestone path cutting its way to the front door. Following the path I glanced around the front yard, noting all the smells, flowers, and insect life that coexisted together. The house walls were hard to make out, perhaps blue at one point but were now covered in thick, thorny vines. The front door was more window than door, and I couldn't help but glance inside at little kitchen.
Istvan knocked three times on the door and not a half a second later a woman with long wavy hair answered the door.
I was taken aback. Her eyes were so crystal blue that they almost held no color, wrinkles decorated her gently aged face and a smile played on her lips. It was very clear that this woman must be Madam Luna, due to the moon shaped jewelry she wore.
"Who have you brought me, Istvan?" Madam Luna's voice was soothing, almost like a lullaby.  
"This is Stevie." Istvan glanced towards me than back at Madam Luna, who glanced at him for a moment then back down at me.
"Come inside child," She stepped out of the door frame and waved me inside with her flowing sleeves. "Tell me all your troubles and your worries."
After looking back at Istvan, who nodded reassuringly, I took a step through Madam Luna's doorway and was surprised with the smell of incense and honey. I felt my body relax, all the stress falling away, like I had taken a hot shower. My eyes grew heavy, as did my feet, and before I could understand what was happening Istvan grabbed ahold of me as I began to fall.