PRINCE OF FABLES

Dye and Die

It wasn't until the bus ride home that Theresa ran into Anderson again.

"How was hell?" she asked, accepting the umbrella from him again.

"Fiery, dark, little uniform-demons running around, dodging nuns."

Theresa cracked a smile, "Didn't know there were nuns in hell."

"Well, frankly, I was surprised as well, but it just goes to show that anyone can be a tool of the devil."

She arched her eyebrows, but couldn't suppress a smile. Her new friend was amusing to say the least.

"I'm assuming we have the same cast for the ride home?" he asked.

She nodded, "Should be."

And it was. She arrived at home, grabbed dinner alone and slipped into her bedroom to attack homework.

Around eight, there were footsteps in the hall, and a knock sounded on her door, "T?" It was mom.

"Yeah?"

"I'm home! Want to catch a movie?"

Theresa hopped out of bed and made her way to the door, slowly opening it, "I can't right now. Homework."

"Well, I probably couldn't stay awake anyway." Mara still wore her pale blue scrubs, a little unidentified crispy grossness still clinging to her pants. The scrubs always looked comfortable, and brought out the blue of Mara's eyes. She had short brown hair, greying at the roots. A mask hung around her neck and Theresa couldn't help but look at it. Her mother sensed it too, and tugged it like it itched something terrible. "I'm going to go dye my hair, and then hit it. I grabbed a granola bar on my way in."

"Sounds good," Theresa nodded. She returned to her bed as her mother went to her room and began getting read to dye her hair. Around ten, she slipped into the living room where her mother had fallen asleep with freshly dark hair. Theresa settled into the couch beside her, watching.

It was some Dracula movie. She flipped through the channels, resting briefly on a documentary about Vlad the Impaler, and then again on Twilight: Breaking Dawn. She rolled her eyes, but this stuff was sort of a guilty pleasure. Looking for story, however, she landed back on then movie. Eventually her mother stirred and they both headed to bed.

As Theresa prepared for bed, she couldn't help but feel watched. Stupid creepy movie. It had been corny, and she laughed at the old film, but though film technique may age, fear reigns eternal. She, a little ashamed, threw her foot under her bed to check for creeps, and then checked her closet and under her desk. She would have checked the window (suddenly she couldn't ever remember locking it), but to pull the blinds up meant risking seeing a face on the other side.

So, she slipped under her covers and stared at her bedroom as the hours ticked by. The moonlight illuminated her own mask hanging over the mirror. All of a sudden, she pictured it covered with blood, her own blood as some vampire sunk their teeth into her and splashed it all over. She shook her head.

She didn't know why she left it out. It had no use anymore, really. She clicked on her lamp night, climbed out of bed, grabbed the mask and stuffed it in her sock drawer. She was tired of looking at mementos from the pandemic. It had been a foolish, waste of time that had cost her a lot. Some things she would never get back.