A Time to Die

A Time to Die


Mrs. Medcalf, could there be a stranger teacher?

She was old, so old you wouldn’t even place a guess. For crying out loud, the woman always came to work in robes, long thick robes that brushed the ground as she walked. The robe would always be hooded and would be worn over her head, covering her face for most of the time even in the middle of summer. For this most people would be thankful for as only the students that had her for science ever saw her face, but stories could be heard circulating the school grounds from her students that she had a long beak like nose with a wart on the very tip of it, that seemed to ooze a filmy residue.

Her classroom was like stepping back into time or maybe it should be said that the classroom was a clash of times. The tables would be the usual found in a science lab, high tables with gas connections for the use of experiments. This would be where the new age stopped though hanging on the walls would be half dissected animals pinned with expert precision displaying vital organs, no glass test tubes would sit on any shelves, varying types of cauldrons would be used in there place. Thick drapes would be hung over the windows blocking out all sunlight from filtering inside the room and although there were electronic lights inside the room they were never used the room was always illuminated by thick tallow candles space around the room and on every desk for the students to see by.

She was good though, never in the history of the school had the school received better science results from their students. Perhaps fear drove the students, thinking that they’ll end up dissected and on the wall if they failed.

This was the case anyway until a boy by the name of Arnold joined the class. Arnold was one of those rich kids who basically was too spoiled and frankly thought that coming from a rich family nothing could touch him and he could do anything to anyone at anytime. The reason he even chose science was not out of interest or any fascination in the subject, but a chance to have a go and try to disrupt the schools science reputation, or at least as he put it, “give the nerds a hard time.”

And he did………….

The school year progressed and the better students were failing to learn due to the behavior of Arnold. Mrs. Medcalf was also losing patience with Arnold, but Arnold didn’t care simply stating, “what’s Warty gonna do expel me? She wouldn’t dare not with the amount of money my parents put into this school.”


Mrs. Medcalf was doing something, she was waiting. Waiting for the right moment.

The school dance always held for the students on Halloween. The only place where Mrs. Medcalf looked as normal as everyone else, as other teachers and students would dress up to look medieval and sinister as ghosts, ghouls and goblins and it was the right moment.

Day classes were done half heartedly as students attention wandered easily from the work they were supposed to be doing to the evening dance and the costumes they were going to be wearing. Arnold being the most disruptive of the most was milking the situation for all it was worth. “Just wait till you see my costume, cost a fortune it did,” or “you might as well not come, my costume cost three times that amount.”

His fatal error though was to push his luck in Mrs. Medcalf’s class again when he piped up half way through the class and yelled, “How bout you miss? you coming as normal person tonight?”

At this the class may have laughed if they hadn’t already seen the daggers flying from her eyes and her reply was just as deadly and covered with frost, “Just wait a few moments of after the class and we’ll discuss it.”

Arnold was furious, what after class. Never had he had to wait after class, just wait till he got home and told his parents. Then she’d see, he’d have the old dingbat begging to keep her job.

So the class continued as if it was just an ordinary day, but strangely enough for the first time largely constructive as Arnold was silently subdued. Even when the bell went to signify the end of the class all the students filed out quietly and calmly admittingly Arnold did try to sneak out to, but his bag got caught on the table somehow and all the students left him to his fate as Mrs. Medcalf came to stand by the doorway effectively blocking his escape.

Arnold reluctantly returned to his seat throwing his bag onto the bench almost knocking the candle off the table in the process, turning to glare at the teacher with venom in his eyes. The look Mrs. Medcalf returned was even worse and caused Arnold to shrink from the gaze. As she left the doorway to approach Arnold the door swung silently behind her as if a breeze had caught the door, but it closed slowly and eerily and even the handle turned to seal itself shut and with a fatal click that locked the door.

As the Viper stares down its prey with penetrating eye, so did Mrs. Medcalf now stare down at Arnold and the voice penetrating from the old ladies lips paralyzed her prey with a hissing rasp. “Now Arnold to your earlier question, I was going to come as a witch as it is the only night of a year where I can walk freely without all the stupid jeers and jokes. Most people can sense this presence or aura as we’ll call it, knowing better than to trifle with it. However you stupid boy, you’ve never thought about anyone but yourself and not what is around you. Still I was patient, but my patience has long since run out with you and it is time to fix a mistake that I thought I could cure when I first allowed you into the class. Yes allowed you to join the class, all the students in this class are gifted and have a sense of power about them, even you, but you were blind to see it. Perhaps it is your arrogance and spoilt nature, which I warned your parents about you see. If it wasn’t for me they would never have gotten where they were today because I taught them too. I taught them to use their power to influence and control there own destiny, but with all things, knowledge and power comes with a price. They understand it and I was happy with their yearly contributions to the school and I saw possibly a promising outcome in you. I was wrong. They will pay a higher price and so will you for my error, and in this my decision to go tonight will be as a young and beautiful maiden and it will be all thanks to you my boy.”

With the words she struck, her hand snatched out and grabbed a single strand of hair from Arnold’s scalp, the candles dimmed and voice powerful intoned,

“With this hair I do steal the youth and beauty held within,
May the owner of this hair age my age and disappear.
May time flow as sand in a glass,
Gradually changing as time flows past,
Destroying memories of those held dear.”

With the final words the candles flared and the door flew open. Arnold was released he ran from the room in terror, he could not recall the exact moments or what had transpired the last few moments, but he knew he was afraid more than ever before. As he ran to see his friends however he knew he couldn’t face them with fear, his image was everything and slowly his arrogance reasserted itself as he slowed his pace with every footstep that he took. Coming into the quad and spying his friends he took the expression of a martyr and said as he approached, “Stupid bat just wait till my parents hear about this, I’ll fix her.”

His friends however looked blankly at him and the bigger of the boys stared up and said, “Who are you? What do you think you’re doing here?”

Arnold was perplexed, but answered in his arrogance. “I’m Arnold you know who I am you stupid idiot.”

The boy took on a thoughtful expression as if trying hard to remember then remembering Arnold answered, “Oh yeah sorry mate, just been one of those days weren’t you telling us about how much your costume cost?”

“Yeah that’s right coming as a ghoul but you guys know that already we’ve been shoving that down the poor kid’s throats all week, but anyway you know about Mrs.….” Arnold continued.

The bell rings through the quad symbolizing the change of class and all the boys pick up there bags to go to there next class. As if totally forgetting and ignoring Arnold is even there standing front of them, even to the extent that they almost knock him aside to go past him.

Arnold couldn’t understand what was happening, then as if a specter whispering in his ear he heard the words, ‘destroying memorize,’ but like so many other things he didn’t hear what he heard and the day continued and all he could think of was, just wait till those clowns see his costume that evening.

Evening came all too soon. His parents weren’t at home as he had planned it, hoping to invite a few people back to his place tonight after the dance and he got ready to put on his costume, an old ghoul outfit with a white wig. His hands itched to put it on, but as he dressed he realized it wasn’t an itch, it was pain. Agonizing pain. Pain that was so bad he collapsed to his knees gasping for breath. Maybe a moment maybe years passed but the pain subsided and he stood up to gaze upon himself in the mirror, there looking back at him was the ghoul like face with haunted shadowed eyes, with long streaked white gray hair. “Funny,” he said looking at himself, “I don’t remember putting my mask on. Oh well.” He continued as he walked out of the room leaving the mask unseen where it had fallen when he’d collapsed.

Finally at the dance, he’d got there and how embarrassing, he had to catch a cab his driver hadn’t recognized him and threatened to call the police to come and collect him if he didn’t vacate the area. What was going on with people? But he’d got there after calling a cab, but hopefully his outfit would still impress every one, and so he entered the dance with a hobbling step that actually seemed to comfort his pained legs and shoulders.

Arnold however was shocked, as everyone glances at a new arrivals, they stared at him for a moment then turned back at there conversations, as if he wasn’t important enough to even take note of. What had he expected he’d expected everyone to oohhh aaahhh, but nothing not even his friends, everyone seemed to go out of their way to avoid him as if he was filth. People even went to the extent of scattering as he approached them as if they didn’t even want to be near him. So he sat down in a corner to try and figure this all out, but alas no sooner had he taken his seat his eyes drooped and he began to snore silently to himself.

Had the dance started he wasn’t aware it was already finished and he sat alone in the corner and not a sound was being made, but he wasn’t alone turning his head he stared upon a vision. There sitting beside him was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Long hair that’s seemed to shine with an inner light that could have almost swept the floor as she walked, a beautiful pale pink gown that seemed to emphasis the curves as it clung to the satiny folds of her dress and penetrating deep blue eyes that like the ocean seemed endless. For possibly in the first time in his life he was speechless and all he could think was that if only I was a young man again. Then like a lightning bolt he remembered everything that had happened in the classroom earlier that day.

“Mrs. Medcalf,” his voice croaked as if he could not draw a breathe

“Yes, I see you like my outfit and yours doesn’t look to bad either, to bad you won’t have a need for it soon.” She answered him.

Arnold tried to ask his next question but could not seem to draw enough breathe to get the words out but he was answered anyway.

“Why? Because it was necessary we all have lessons to learn, unfortunately your will cost your life. Frankly I knew that eventually, someone would come into my class whose pride and arrogance would reject their own gift, allowing me to steal their essence. If it makes you feel any better but probably not, you almost broke the enchantment but you could not get over your pride and so it has come to this. Now you are too far gone to reverse it and here I leave you to pass on, as you might have realized no one will remember your passing and by the end of the witching hour there won’t be enough left of you to remember. So goodbye Arnold.”

Arnold tried to raise his hand to grasp her to stop her, but the effort was beyond him. His tears would not fall and nor did they fall for him. In the darkness that took him, as the lights were switched off from the hall were like a death shroud placed over his face. His thoughts colliding but as time continued he couldn’t remember them anyway. All that he was left with was himself, and in his last moments he did realize that, all he ever had was himself.

The next day at school was a great day and the conversation was all about a strange old man that arrived at the dance and how smelly he was. This and how lucky all the science students were with getting a new teacher the grand daughter of Mrs. Medcalf simply known to the students, at this stage, as Miss Medcalf and how good looking and beautiful she was. This news firstly upset some of the science students thinking that their go the chances of getting as good a mark as previous years, until they stepped through the doorway and saw her standing with the windows open, but with the room exactly how their previous teacher had it, wearing a similar robe as their last teacher except this one, unlike the black folds, this like the dress she wore was pale pink and seemed to radiate a gentle influence over the class.


The End

By Ivan Ovchinnikov