An Angel's Blood: The Worst Day (Part 3)

So now it was Sunday afternoon and I was standing in front of Grandma’s house. I was mad as a raging bull. As soon as I had gotten off the three hour plane ride to Willowtree, Massachusetts, I had tripped over a stray suitcase, stubbed my toe on a revolving door, had almost gotten my luggage stolen, and to top it all off, Grandma had forgotten to pick me up.

            So I had to take a cab to the house, wasting half of the cash I had. And now I have been ringing the bell for the past ten minutes and it has yet to open. Could this day get any worse? Just then the sky thundered and the constant rain fell harder. I just had to say that, didn’t I…

            After a couple more minutes of ringing the bell and knocking (more like kicking) the door, I finally gave up. I sat down on the front steps and stared down at my muddy rain boots. This was horrible. Mom and Dad didn’t even tell me why I had to come here. They thought I would have a good time. Wrong! So far it had been terrible. Worse than terrible. I prayed to God that summer would end already so I could go back to my sunny Californian town.

            As I turned to observe the potted plant next to me, I caught a glimpse of silver. I looked closer and found a key. I tugged the chain it was on out and saw that it had some type of red jewel—ruby?—embedded in the top. I tried the front door to see if it fit. My hope vanished when it didn’t. I put the chain around my neck and wore it as a necklace—it matched my shirt.

            I looked around to see if there were any other keys, but the search ended with disappointment. I finally decided I couldn’t take it anymore and pulled out my cell phone to call mom. Unfortunately there wasn’t any service available. Grandma just had to pick this house.

            Finally, after a lot of cursing and kicking the door, a car pulled up in the driveway. It was a faded baby blue Ford, maybe from the 80s? A woman got out and I realized that it was Grandma! My fury dissipated and turned into relief and love for Grandma.

            “Evangeline! I missed you!” she exclaimed.

            “I missed you to, but where were you? I have been waiting here forever!” I said, hugging her.

            “Sorry I was so late, but I think I got you flight arrival time mixed up. How long have you been here?’

            “A while. Plus it was raining and now I am soaking wet! This is turning out to be the worst day every!” I fumed.

            “Oh, I’m sorry dear. Let’s get you inside and cleaned up,” she said, opening the door. Inside, everything was exactly like the last time I had been here which was a couple of years ago. There were golden lights and dark wooden furniture. Grandma went to the kitchen to “cook up some deliciousness” while I went up to the guest room I always lived in while I was here. I locked the door behind me and started unpacking. The room hadn’t changed much since the last time I had been here. It was a large room with a twin bed in one corner with a dresser opposite it, a study table with a lamp and chair in another corner, and a door mirrored on both sides that led to the bathroom and closet. There were three big windows by the bed that overlooked the forest surrounding the house. The walls were white except for a couple of band posters and a framed painting.

            I soon found out that I was too exhausted to unpack, so I took my bag of toiletries and went to the bathroom to take a much deserved shower. 

The Night That Blew My Mind

      I was not scared of my own house at night before that horrible incident happened. I wanted to leave Pittsburgh with the best memories in mind, but that became impossible due to what took place. That last Saturday night was the worst night of my life.

At 11:30 on that rueful Saturday night, my family and I were just returning from a birthday party. We were planning to spend the night at a friend’s house, since there was nothing in ours besides a few bags of essentials and valuables. That night was like every other night in Pittsburgh: cold and partly cloudy with a sliver of moonlight, and the occasional whisper of the chilly night air. Dad went ahead to unlock the front door while my brother and I bantered with each other. That fun only lasted a few seconds before my dad whispered the dreadful words, “The door is locked from the inside. Someone has broken in.”

             My mind raced as fast as a cheetah, demanding some sense of the situation before it went completely numb. My hands shook, and my heart beat faster than a drum. We all stood there in shock until my dad snapped out of the trance and called 911. Feelings of despair and fear raced through me, especially fear. The phrase, “Are we going to be okay?” kept playing over and over in my mind as it reeled back to that innocent morning.

            I clearly remember the movers coming to load our packed boxes onto the truck, so they could transport them to our new house in Charlotte, North Carolina. My mom and dad had kept our passports, legal documents, and valuables along with clothes and some essentials, so we could bring them with us. We were going to a party later that day to celebrate a birthday and say our goodbyes to some of our friends. We were completely unaware of the fact that a drug addict, who would do anything for money, was on the loose; furthermore, we had complete trust in the location of our house, so we had left all of our belongings in it.

            The police still had not come, but some of our friends were there; as soon as they had heard about what had happened, they spent no time getting to our house. I was thankful that they had come to be with us in the time of need. Their faces were dark clouds and their condolences a silent night. My dad was still shaking with fear of what we would find inside the house. Our friends’ kindness was not enough to calm him or me. I could not stop the storm of tears quietly approaching.

            The blue and red lights finally showed their faces. The police officer brought out his gun, broke the door open, and went inside. We waited in silence as the officer inspected the house to make sure no one was still inside. I felt as if silence had taken rule over everyone; it was so quiet that I thought that even my heartbeat could be heard by everyone present. When the officer finally came back from the house with a relaxed expression on his face, we were all very relieved.

            Later on my family and I found out that my mom’s gold bangles and all the money from my purse was missing. My dad was still relieved though because at least the thief had not taken any of our passports or legal documents. We slept at a friend’s house that night and sorrowfully said goodbye to them the next morning. The flight safely brought us to Charlotte, North Carolina and although we had all been paranoid, we were still safe.

            My last weekend in Pittsburgh was truly a rueful day. My family and I could have easily avoided this situation and the paranoia following it, but we were too careless. This teaches me that sometimes being too careful and feeling safe is much better than being careless and feeling despair.

An Angel's Blood: A Hitch in Life (Part 2)

It was Friday and I was shining like the summer sun. School had just let out for summer break—my last one before college—and I was a free woman! I walked to my car in my new outfit (courtesy of mom and Dad’s sudden trip last weekend) and drove home, or tried to.

            My house was a mile away from the school with and short stretch of barely traveled road leading to the front of it. This road was surrounded on either side be woods. It was on this road that I saw something. As soon as I made the sharp 100 degree turn onto this road, my vision turned sepia, the kind you see in old photographs.

            I blinked a few times, but nothing changed. My surroundings were different too. Instead of the young maples and oaks or the paved road, there was a meadow populated with small log houses, kind of like the historical re-creations at the local museum. I stopped the car, shocked, and opened the door. Except, as soon as I put my foot on the dirt road, my vision turned back to normal, and the illusion of the village was gone.

            I drove the rest of the way homes in a trance. What had just happened to me? Was that actually real or was my mind just playing a trick on me? I couldn’t figure it out. Mom was waiting for me and I decided that I was definitely keeping what had just happened to myself. I knew that if I told her, she would immediately send me to a psychiatrist, thing that I had lost my mind. What if I had? Lost my mind, I mean. That could be possible.

            “Hi honey! How was your last day of school?” asked Mom, breaking my reverie.

            “Oh the usual. Screams and raging hormones basically cover it,” I casually replied.

            “Well then go and get packed while I get you something to eat.”

            “Packed?”

            “Yeah, your flight to Grandma’s is this Sunday morning. Don’t you remember?”

            “Remember? You never told me!”

            “Yes I did. Last Saturday morning, right before your dad and I left for the work trip.”

             Oh. So that wasn’t a nightmare. So then that meant… “I seriously have to go to Massachusetts?”

            “Yes,” replied the doom that was Mom’s voice.

            I stood, dumbfounded, for a moment. Then I quietly trudged up to my room. I was struggling with the turmoil in my head. How could she do that to me? She knows how much I hate it there. I have nothing against Grandma, it’s just that the town where she lives is one of the rainiest towns in America and I despise rain. I absolutely hate it. I curled up on my bed, not bothering to change my clothes. The happiest day of the year was turning worse by the second.

            My phone suddenly beeped and vibrated in my hip pocket. I sat up and looked to see what it was. My mood brightened a little when I saw it was a text from Alex, my boyfriend. Hoping it would cheer me up, I opened the text. In return I got another reason to cry. He had dumped me with a text, saying he didn’t want a long-distance relationship while in college. I couldn’t stop myself now. I started sobbing, ruined my makeup, and finally slept a deep, dreamless sleep. 

An Angel's Blood: Just the Beginning (Part One)

It was early Sunday morning. The weather was as stormy as my mood was—which rained the rains of Satan. Last week had started out like any other normal weekend. It was good, not great, but okay. Just like everyday, I had drove home from school on Friday and woken up super late on Saturday. Then suddenly, around one in the afternoon, when I had barely woken up, my Mom hit me with the news. My world came crashing down as soon as she uttered the dreaded words.

            “Wake up Evangeline… I know we have argued… you are moving to Grandma’s…the summer…” I only caught snippets of what she said through my drowsiness, but it was enough. The words brought sudden clarity to everything, my sight, and my emotions. I almost died with dread right then.

            “But…but…but,” I blubbered.

            “No buts! This is final and you are going to Massachusetts in a week so start packing your things,” said my mom, a little frustrated, and left.

            I sat on my bed for a while, still open-mouthed and unable to believe what I had just witnessed. After what felt like an hour, but was actually just a few minutes, I started going through the motions of waking myself up. Surely I would feel better when I was totally awake. Surely that was just a nightmare. It had to be. There was no other reason for Mom to be making such rash decisions. I hopped of my bed and groggily walked to the bathroom, rubbing my eyes. I stared at the mirror. A girl with bright red hair, dark green eyes and pale skin stared back. The odd gold fleck in the eyes glittered in the bathroom light. I looked away.

            Exactly one hour later I was clean, fresh, and fully functional. I threw on a light blue sundress with white flats and walked down the stairs. I opened the curtains and started making breakfast, my stomach grumbling.

            “Anyone want pancakes?” I called out. No one answered. “Hello?” I walked to the living room. No one was there. Huh. I walked back to the kitchen and looked around. I found a note on the refrigerator addressed to me.

“Hey Evie!

Your dad and I had to leave for the weekend for a work meeting. There is some money for you in the jar behind the fishbowl. We thought it would make you feel a little better after the news we gave you and then us leaving on such short notice. Spend it wisely! We will be back by Monday night. Stay safe!

Love, Mom and Dad”

            News? Double Huh.

            Mom and Dad didn’t usually leave without telling me at least a week before. I guess it must have been urgent, but it wasn’t anything I wasn’t used to. Still it was a shopping spree for me! I did want those new shoes I saw last weekend…

            “Morning Mustache!” I whispered to the goldfish as I looked for the jar behind its bowl. I took the money out and slipped it in a white purse. The cash felt heavy. Mom and Dad must have felt really guilty. I grabbed the car keys and walked out the door, feeling sincerely happy for the first time all day. That must have been a nightmare in the morning.