‘You – what?!’
My head was splitting. The image of a can, a can with its face being crushed by a bulldozer, was a recurring inside that very splitting head.
Aar and Bee stood silent. I was flummoxed (is that the right word? Nosferatu, I hope so). See was growling strangely; I believe if he could speak, this is what he’d be saying: Shut up, get a frisbee, pet me and play with me. ‘nuff with your human-y nonsense.
‘I know that’s a lot to take in, Mar,' Uncle was saying. 'But your parents . . . they were clean. Knew nothing of the Dark Arts and Black Magic and whatnot. Innocent as innocent can be. And happy, oh yes. When your Mom found out she was gonna have you, their joy was out of this world. Two stillborn births, and you were their last hope. I remember the day as if it were yesterday.’
He clearly did. His eyes were distant. (Somehow that reminded me of the spirit with the unfixed eyes, the “chum” guy, recall? The brain is a funny place. Or, at least, my brain is.)
‘The . . . journey was hard. The destination harder. You were a stillborn as well – and that just crushed them. I saw their happiness vanish in a blink, and it was so difficult for me. They were both such nice people, and I couldn’t just let this happen to my sister and her husband. So I told them I would make this right. I promised them. And so I did. So I did.’
I was speechless. But I knew there was much more to come, I wanted to ask him what other truths he had kept from me all these years yet the words just won’t come out. Stubborn gits, words are.
Bee The Intellectual did the task for me. ‘Uh, Mr. Om? If I may – how did you know of these witches . . . and covens . . . and all that?’
It seemed to me that her “scientific” mind found it tough to digest the fact that all this supernatural rubbish was, in fact, not rubbish after all. Even though the living – or un-living – proof of it was standing right in front of her eyes.
Uncle’s eyes bore deeper into his shoe's fabric. ‘I wish you hadn’t asked that.’
YOU ARE READING
Sort of Dead
Umorismo**This book features short, fun, snappy chapters** **Perfectly fine as a standalone** [Caution: may pack a couple of gutpunches.] "First things first: this is the story of how I die. Over and over again." __________________________________ Marra is...
