by Briyahna Rice, literary editor
I check the time on my phone, to see that it’s now 11:30, which means that everyone is down at lunch. However, I won’t be joining them. I’ve already informed my teachers that I’d be leaving school early today for a doctor’s appointment. This wasn’t a complete lie- I do have to go to the doctor, but it’s not for me. It’s for my black cat, Evelynn. She recently had surgery done on her tailbone after she foolishly jumped from a height that was guaranteed to cause injury, thus resulting in her being sent to the vet. Of course, when I walked through my front door, and saw her lying painfully on her side, I felt my heart drop into my stomach. There are only a few things I really care for; my mother and Evelynn. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant.
For the past week, the only emotion that I allowed myself to feel was sorrow. Everyone and everything, that was in my line of sight was dyed monochrome, almost as much as my style of clothing. Once I got the call from the doctor that she pulled through the surgery with no problems, my heart happily soared out of the pit that had formed in my stomach. I didn’t hesitate to make a day to come and pick her up, which happened to be today. I decided to cut through the park and take the bus the rest of the way. The weather outside was pure perfection, with the sunlight cutting through the trees in the most beautiful way imaginable. From my point of view, this was paradise and I was the serpent. As I continued my journey through the park, I noticed a kid from my school, sitting on one of the benches, writing in a notebook, and sneering at a group of girls who walked past him. I knew him as Marco. While he didn’t know me, I actually knew quite a bit about him. He was a senior like I was, but he wasn’t the most social guy around, with the exception of this girl named Cane. Whenever I saw him, he seemed to be writing in his notebook, or having a one sided conversation with Cane. When we came within a close enough distance from each other, I pulled my phone out again, to check the bus schedule. But in doing so, I accidentally pulled out my wallet, as it was crammed into the same pocket as my phone. It landed on the kids shoe, and I quickly swooped down to retrieve it.
“Sorry.” I said to Marco I spared at a quick glance at him, not saying anything, and continued toward the bus stop. For whatever reason it felt as if he was watching me as I walked away, but I didn’t pay it any mind. I had more important things to worry about. As I sat at the back of the bus, I stared out the window, with my music playing through my earbuds, staring at nothing in particular. The only thing that occupied my thoughts, was the condition that Evelynn would be in when I went into the vet. Would she be awake, or asleep? Would she be active when she got home, or purely fatigued? Would she be able to eat again, or just lose her appetite entirely? I was known for being pessimistic and expecting the worst to come of every situation, but Evelynn was another matter entirely. Both her and my mother were the only things that kept me going day in, and day out. Of course, I would never admit this out loud, but this was the case. If they so much as died, part of me would most surely die with them. I have my own reason as to why I don’t let people in, but once they do, it’s difficult to get them out. Acquaintances are one thing, where a few polite words are exchanged, and we go on with our day, hardly remembering what was said the day before. However, if someone were as close to me, as my mother was, I would sacrifice whatever I could, to make them happy. But in order to obtain, and protect one thing, you must have the resolve to sacrifice another. This was the case with my mother and I. And even Evelynn I had the resolve, and the strength to do whatever was needed to keep my loved ones safe. Anyone who got in the way of this, would be made to suffer.
To someone who doesn’t know me, this may seem like an arrogant proclamation by a stereotypical goth teenager, but I know for an absolute fact that I have the power necessary to back it up. I don’t just mean the mental and physical power, but powers that would make even the toughest person alive quiver and shake in pure fear. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost didn’t realize that my stop was coming up. I quickly hopped of the bus, and found myself speed walking toward the vet. As soon as I walked through the doors, my eyes scanned over the entire room, in search of the doctor who performed the surgery. When I didn’t see her, I made my way toward the front desk.
“Excuse me, I’m here to pick up a Bombay black cat, who had surgery done about a week ago.” Before the woman sitting at the front desk could think to ask for it, I pulled my I.D out of my wallet. She examined it for a moment, handed it back to me, and typed something into her computer. I began to tap my fingers on the counter impatiently, eager to see my cat again. I ignored the skeptical looks that she sent me, as she looked me up and down. Eventually she gave me the okay to go and I made my way down the white walled hallway toward room 501. When I got there I came face to face with Evelynn, who was laying on the hospital bed, looking drained of energy. From where I was standing, I could see the stitches that lined her black fur. I could only hope that it wouldn’t create scars in the future. The doctor in question, whose name was Jankowski, rose from her desk, and gave me a warm smile.
“It’s good to see you, Levi. I know you must have been over the moon when you got the call that Evelynn pulled through with no problems.” She said. The smallest of smiles tugged at my lips, as I internally agreed with her “Yes, thank you. How is she holding up?” I asked. She looked back at Evelynn, with the concern evident on her face. “As you already know, she sustained pretty serious injuries from the fall she took. Had she not landed on her side,she could have seriously injured her paws. Thankfully, we managed to locate the source of her pain, and repair her broken bones.” She said. I sighed in relief, and turned to look at my cat. “If you want I can pack her up, while you fill out some paperwork.” She said. I turned to look at her distractedly. “Of course. That’ll be perfectly fine”. I told her. Jankowski returned to her desk and picked up a clipboard that held a pen and the necessary insurance papers that needed my attention and signature. I was quick to grab it and sit down in the available chair that was in the room. While I did so, I looked back and forth between the words on the paper, and watching Jankowski carefully scoop up Evelynn and place her inside a cage. My heart slowly sank into his stomach as he heard her mewling protest at being put in the small space. All the more reason for him to hurry up. I quickly skimmed the rest of the papers and put down my signature where it was needed. I stood up, handed the clipboard back to Jankowski, and moved toward the cage to observe Evelynn from the bars of the cage. Her soft yellow eyes were starting to tear up, whilst her tiny paws rested on the bars that temporarily separated her from her owner.
Since the day I first recieved her, I was well aware of the fact that Evelynn hated cramped spaces, whether they were cages, or cardboard boxes. Evelynn first came to me, in a decorative cardboard box give to me by my mother for my 11th birthday. From the moment the box was opened, Evelynn tumbled out of it, and landed flat on her stomach. All it took was one look, and I was infatuated with my new companion. This nostalgic though was broken by Jankowski’s voice as it penetrated my mind. “Alright Levi, you’re good to go. Goodbye for now” she said. I turned to look at her, and nodded my head in acknowledgment. “Yes, thank you” I said. A second later, I scoped up the cage, and left out the front door. I couldn’t wait for the bus to come, so instead I hailed for a taxi. Once the cab pulled up in front of my apartment building, I paid the necessary amount and exited the car, with Evelynn in tow.
I made my way up the steps, but as I began to push open the glass door, Evelynn began to whine in a frightened manner from within her cage. I looked down at her and furrowed my brow in confusion. “What’s the matter with you?” You’re home now.” I said reassuringly. It did nothing to stop her frantic whining. For all of my hyper sensitivity, I couldn’t sense anything wrong, and proceeded into the building with a frightened Evelynn in tow. As I walked toward the elevator, the air around me seemed to grow unnaturally thick, to the point where it was becoming unnerving. I turned around and observed my surroundings with a suspicious, watchful eyes. However,I saw nothing, so I proceeded to the elevator. Every level that the elevator climbed raised my suspicion and anxiety to unfathomable levels. From within her cage, Evelynn’s whining was starting to become more frantic and worry some. But for the time being, I could do nothing to calm her down.
When the elevator came to my stop, I was all too happy to rush out of the confined space. However, I was careful to take cautious steps as I rounded a corner, moving closer to my apartment. The hallways weren’t ridiculously long, but it felt like an eternity before I was standing face to face with my front door. My breathing was becoming hitched in my lungs, my skin was being littered in goosebumps, despite not being cold. I was beginning to doubt what I’d told myself. When Evelynn’s whining became too unbearable for me to listen to, I reached a shaking hand into my pocket, pulled out my key, turned it into the lock, and grasp the doorknob with the same trembling movement. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I was greeted with the most shocking sight that I could have seen in 17 years. Sitting at my kitchen table was a man of African American ethnicity, with black hair and a close cut hair style to go with it. His eyes were dark brown and his clothing was midnight black. They consisted of combat boots, form fitting pants, and a button down black shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, and had three buttons undone. He sat at the table digging one of his sharply pointed fingernails into the wood, creating scratches and leaving marks in the table. The expression he wore was nothing short of bored, but expectant. He must have been waiting for me for who knows how long.
Meanwhile, my own expression held nothing but shock. My body stood frozen in place. My shaking had stopped thankfully, but perhaps being frozen on the spot, at the mercy of this man was just as bad. If a man was what he could be called. A while back I explained that I had the physical and mental strength to make even the strongest person quiver in fear. I should have said the toughest human alive. Because that’s exactly what I wasn’t: a human. More specifically I was a demon, and so was the person sitting in my kitchen. Of course he was a higher ranking demon than I was, so fighting him wasn’t the best option. “What are you doing here, Marius?” I asked, feeling aggravated at this home invasion. His dark eyes looked up from the marks he was making in the table, and met mine with a gleam of superiority. “You’ve been pretty lack in your duties, Levi”. He said. I couldn’t help but grit my teeth in frustration.
“Did Melina send you to tell me this?” I asked harshly. Marius rose to his feet and took leisurely steps toward the teenager. “Even if she didn’t, that doesn’t change the nature of things. You have a job to do”. I didn’t let up on my glaring, yet I knew it was doing nothing to faze him.
“And I’m going to get it done. I don’t need you, or anyone else policing me”. Marius raised an eyebrow in inquiry stopped in his tracks, and shoved both hands into his pants pockets, taking a more relaxed stance.
“Who ever said that I was policing you? I’m just here to remind you what you need to focus on.” His eyes now held a much darker gleam, as did his tone. “But if you want me to start policing you, I’ll be more than happy to oblige”. He said. I now wore a similar expression, but it was nowhere near as fierce as Marius.
“I can handle things from here”. I hissed. Marius moved to turn toward the window, but his head was still turned toward me.
“You’d better. I’m going to be updating Melina on your progress, and she’s expecting nothing but the best from you”. He said. With that, he started toward the window, broke into a run, jumped onto the ledge, and opened the window completely before jumping out of it head first. A few seconds later, I could see a black body mass flying toward the sky, with angel wings protruding from it. With the speed he was traveling at, it wouldn’t take long for Marius to get back to Melina. I wasn’t a winged demon, so I don’t have that luxury. If only I did, though. Then I would take for the sky and not have a care in the world. Free from responsibility, free from pain, free from worry, and free from the restrictions that keep me bound to this merciless world. Wouldn’t that be heaven?
FIN
