Our only way out of darkness, is to learn to see without light -Dead Beautiful
Twelve years ago, the world went to chaos. I was six years old at the time. It happened on a normal beautiful day really, in fact it was one of the nicer days Portland has seen. I basked in the beautiful glowing sun, dancing around the green grass of our front yard. Mama smiled at me from her spot on the concrete doorsteps, book in hand. I giggled and ran to meet her.
"Are you enjoying the warm weather, Charlotte?" She asked softly, carressing my face. I smile at her and nod. She plays with a strand of my dark hair and tucks it behind my ear. She stands, kisses my forehead and steps towards the door. "Are you going to come inside or stay outside and play for a couple more minutes?" She asked.
"I think I'd like to stay outside and play for a little bit longer." I respond. She nods her head, pats me on the head and steps inside, closing the door. I don't think she worried about my safety. Plenty of our other neighbors were outside, also enjoying the warm weather. I picked up the chalk on the sidewalk and started to draw a tiger, my favorite animal.
I bit my lip in concentration, trying to get the strips just right, when I saw two black boots stop right in front of me. I look up curiously, a dreaded feeling entering my gut as I met the eyes of a man I'd never seen before. He stared at me in amusment. "You shouldn't be outside alone, little girl." He said.
I stumble to my feet and step away from him, glaring up at him. "Yeah cause creeps like you could start talking to me." I throw back. He raises an eyebrow. Despite my bravery, my heart excellerated at an unnatural rate, fear coursing through my veins. The wind blew a warm breeze by and he took in a big breath of air, sighing in contentment.
"You do smell appetizing." He says. My eyes widen in shock and horror. Appetizing? What was wrong with saying good or great? Appetizing just made it sound all the more creepy.
"Yeah well you smell like rotten eggs!" I shout, pointing a finger at him. He chuckles and takes a step towards me, to which I step backwards. This continues until finally he grabs ahold of my arm. I let out an ear piercing scream and the door to my house flies open, revealing my mother.
"Charlotte!" She yells, running towards me. The man growls in annoyance at her and I see for the first time, two pointed teeth portruding from his mouth. She pushes him away from me and pulls me behind her, staring the man down fearlessly.
"Leave my daughter alone." She spat viciously and I had never heard my mother's voice become so terrifying. He scowled at her.
"I hate witches." He mutters under his breath and then without another word stalks off. My mother turns to me a concerned look on her beautiful face.
"Are you alright, Charlotte? Did he hurt you?" She asked. I shake my head, unable to speak.
"He called you a witch." I state matter of factly. She nods.
"He did." She says.
"That was rude of him. You don't have any warts on your nose at all." I say thoughtfully. She laughs, stands up straight.
