She only gave in because she was lonely. No one was paying attention to her. No one would listen. No one would help her. She was alone. Completely alone.
But then he came along. He would pay attention. He would listen. He would help her. He gave so much and requested so little. Just... little things.
She stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a clean, fluffy white towel. She wiped away the fog on the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her hair dripped water down her neck and into the sink, hitting the porcelain with a small drip. The room was steamy, quickly letting fog overtake the glass again. She pressed her back against the wall, sliding down, and sitting on the cold tile. Pulling the towel off, she rubbed her hair with it.
She pulled new towel from the cabinet and wrapped herself back up, then tossed the wet towel to the floor. She swung open the bathroom door, fog filling the hallway. She needed the fog, but it would say there. He would make sure.
She wandered around the house, shaky hands opening and closing drawers and cupboards, searching for the requested items for today. Three candles, and a knife,like always. A raw egg. A nickel. A spoon. A red ribbon. A cup.
Once she had gathered the items, she re entered the bathroom. It was still filled with fog. She closed the door and set the candles down on the sink. She pressed the knife lightly to her finger, a small bead of blood curling up the blade. She squeezed a drop of the liquid life onto each candle, then turned off the lights. She sat back on the floor and waited for him to come.
A flame flickered to life on the wick of each candle. He was here. 'Eg g in the cup' the candles whispered and she followed, placing the egg in the cup. 'Tie the ribbon' he said.she tied the ribbon around the cup. 'Give the egg life'. She brought the knife to her wrist, pressing the blade against her skin.
Red liquid spilled down her arm and her shaky hand grasped the cup so it would catch the fallout. The cut was deep; the blade had hit an artery, but it would be ok. Once he had enough, the bleeding would stop.
As the egg was fully submerged, the bleeding lessened, slowing to a trickle, than stopping. "Make them one" she took the spoon and used the back of it to crush the egg, then mixed the yolk into the blood, making the contents a soothing orange. "Pay for the service" the flames whispered. She dropped the nickel into the cup, and watched as it sank to the bottom.
The contents of the cup began to swirl and bubble, switching between colors until it settled on blue. Blue for choice. It was done. She stood and held the cup out in front of the mirror, the fog curving around it and giving a clear view of her reflection. "I want to talk today" she said and the flames flickered out, only to relight blue.
She liked talking to him. Not often did she get to. She knew the colors. Red for object, she didn't need much anymore. Orange for talking, she loved listening to his stories. Yellow for guidance, it was nice to know what to do for a day, to have a little voice giving you advice. Green for life, she could add a day to someone or something's life, but she always gave it to her tree. Blue for choices, she would talk, She enjoyed listening and being listened to. And purple. She didn't know what purple was. She only ever got it once, and he didn't tell her what it was for. He just said done and left until next time.
She sat back on the floor and took a long sip from the cup. The liquid was cold and thick, strings of the substance dripping from her lips and down her chin.
The fog sank to the floor and gathered across from her, a loose black shape coming to life. His piercing white eyes blinked open. Oh god, she loved his eyes. They sat in silence across from each other, staring. "You are strange" he said, his voice getting stronger. "You have choices of whatever you want" he broke out into a coughing fit "but you sit and talk to a pile of fog" he held up his misty hands. His eyes were sad. "I can give you a body of something else," she said smiling. "You could just tell me and I'd do it".
He laughed, breaking into another fix of rib shaking cough. "No. this is a fitting form. What i do want to know is why you give me what I want, even after all this time". He let his light fingers brush over her arm. Over the rows and rows of scars that covered them. "i do as you please me to" she said "if you wanted my life i would give it to you".
His eyes smiled as He traced his finger over the scars "I'm evil you know. That won't change, no matter how hard you try" his fingers curled around her wrist, his bright eyes dissipating as he tightened his grasp.
The fog wound its way around her throat. It felt like someone was breathing down her neck. A pair of white eyes stared into hers, only inches away from her face. "I'll see you next time" he whispered, and the candles blew out, leaving the bathroom pitch black.
She curled her knees into her chest as the bathroom lights flickered on with a soft buzzing.
She missed him.
