Profound silence spread across the room, reaching into every corner like an airborne disease while behind the hut's wooden walls the thunderstorm continued to rage on, screaming & roaring like a maddened vulture. Upon listening closely you soon realized that besides the howling of untamed winds, the pitter-patter of rain & deep guttural growls of thunder something else appeared to linger in the storm's dark shade; a sound so alien yet somehow familiar.
It was the sound of several voices; faint & distant, but undoubtedly drawing nearer. Voices devoid of purpose & life, not less cold than a chill winter's breeze.
The message those voices were meant to deliver however remained hidden, buried amongst the screams & roars of a thunderstorm that was not only unusually powerful but had also approached so fast, all the birds had fallen into silence & were now desperately seeking shelter in the woods.
A tug on your arm pulled you out of your thoughts & into the here & now; eyes filled with concern drifted right back to where the young man's own resided, embedded in a face so fair yet dead, long devoured by madness.
His fingers, still tightly wrapped around your own, squeezing your hand as though expecting you to do or say something. However beautiful it felt to have him by your side at last, you couldn't deny that his behavior filled you with enormous dread & even caused the hair on the back of your neck to stand upright, unlike your legs that seemed to grow weaker & weaker as the seconds passed.
With your palm pressed to his chest you swallowed hard before your lips slowly parted for a response, the insecurity burning in your throat like acid.
“ Who are they, Pelle..? ”
Pelle's eyes, vacant beyond comprehension, gradually lowering to meet your own.
Ghosts. Demons. Wraiths & spirits, all forgotten & damned, forever trapped in the torrents of the other world —
he replied, his voice trembling with what seemed to be excitement.
They have traveled here all the way from Transylvania… only to take me home.
“ Transylvania..? ”
However surprised by his response, the mentioning of the term ‘Transylvania’ didn't bewilder you all too much since you were already very aware of his love for this peculiar place, moreover, all the legends & myths surrounding it.
“ Pelle… You must not listen to them. Those voices… They are trying to deceive you. They mean more harm than good, regardless of what they are telling you all the time.
If you follow them you will go to a place from which there might be no return! ”
Yes…
A sigh went through the air, heavy as a gasp of steam yet so relieved, the absence of empathy in his voice causing even you to shiver.
No return. Just the way it should be…
“ What… what do you mean…? ”
A breathless whisper, disquiet-soaked & raped by insecurity, eliciting a mere smile of amusement from the young man whose countenance distorted even further with expressions that you could no longer read.
In less than the blink of an eye you had freed your still sore, bloodied digits from his grasp & carefully placed a palm on either side of his face, forcing him to keep you in his line of sight & lock your troubled vision with his own.
YOU ARE READING
Life Eternal
Hayran Kurgu" If you change the past, you do not change the future... You erase it & create a wholly new one instead. " 🥀 [ featuring Per "Dead" Ohlin of the old Mayhem ] ! Trigger Warnings: suicide related themes, depression, mentioning of self-harm.
