The Story

The Story

“Four years ago, day before Marge’s birthday, I was alone in the house, she was working late”
“Must be with the guy she ran off with”
“Would you please shut the fuck up, Marvin, hey what is this, why can’t someone tell a story without being interrupted?” George exploded. George was a scraggy little man, who was in the habit of losing his temper since his wife left him.

“I am sorry, George, you can continue with your horror story” Marvin replied. He was an enormous man who had a great sense of humor; he was the oldest of the four people sitting.

“So, I was alone the house, it was 4 in the morning, I just couldn’t sleep. I tried reading a book but just couldn’t concentrate. And on top of it, it was raining, I mean heavily. Windows were making noises, and then I heard it. I heard someone was talking in the hall, first I thought I was imagining things ‘cause of the raining and lack of sleep. But It just grew louder and louder. I was scared out of my wits. I thought maybe someone broke into my house; I had to be patient, brave. I woke up, and searched for anything I could use to defend myself. Luckily, I found a baseball bat, my old one, I always kept it in my room, and it finally paid off. But as soon as I got out of my room, all those voices stopped. I thought, well of course, whoever broke into my house knew I was awake, so I had to be more cautious. I was looking all around for any sign of somebody, ready to attack. I went downstairs taking every step so slowly it felt like hours had passed away. I was sweating, my heart was beating faster than ever, my legs were shaking not to mention my hands, but still I was keeping my grip on the bat firm. As I came into the hall the voices again started. And I saw it, there were no thieves, no, it was an old lady”

“What the fuck, an old lady” Luke said shockingly. Luke was a tall and handsome man; he had long hair that he wore in a ponytail.

“Yes, an old lady, she was standing by the door, just staring at me. Her eyes were bloodshot, she had long white hair. And her skin was pale and white with lots of lines, seems to me like she was hundreds of years old. And she looked disgusting and pathetic. She was whispering these voices or incantations, I didn’t know. Then she lifted her right hand and pointed at me, I was shaking more than ever, you know the feeling when you think your heart just going to burst. I don’t know when but I passed out. I was unconscious within seconds. Maria, my maid, found me in the morning. Even when she woke me up, I was shaking. I didn’t tell her what happened, I never told anyone about this till now. I mean I never saw her again but for 3 months I found it difficult to sleep. I still sleep with my lights on, that day was the day I got most scared”

“Have you ever given a thought to it as to who was she or why she pointed at you” Luke asked.
“Yeah, I mean I went through my family albums, I did everything but I can’t find even a trace of her. I still remember her face; just thinking of her sends shivers down my spine. I still think about why she pointed at me, guess I’ll never know”

There was a minute of silence while everybody comprehended George’s story, then Luke said “It was really very…….scary. So, who’s turn now to tell the true story of one event when they got most scared? It had to be true otherwise it’s no fun”
Luke looked at Marvin who replied “All right I’ll tell my story. I don’t know where to start”
“Start when you peed your pants, I mean you must have” George joked.
“Yeah, very funny, look I am laughing” mocked Marvin.
“You two, stop, Marvin you start your story, George, we’ve heard yours, so please” Said Luke authoritatively, George nodded.

“All right, so it was 9 years ago, the night of Halloween. I was 16 years old. I was wearing this Batman costume. I mean, Batman was my favorite superhero, I always liked him more than Superman, also more than Spiderman. I mean Batman doesn’t have superpowers so ……..”
“Get on with your story, Marvin” Luke said.
“Oh, sorry, so I was going to this huge Halloween party, where all of my friends were coming. It was 4 blocks from my house so I thought I would walk. All of those little kids were trick or treating dressed like ghosts, pumpkins outside every house. But something else was going on in my mind, I was thinking of this party, and all the booze that would be there, not to mention girls. So I was hoping to get laid that night”
“You hope that every night, you douchebag, but you never do” George interrupted but Marvin ignored him.
“So I was walking, and I saw her, the Wonder Women. She was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, I mean it, ever. She had long black hair but she was crying. She was just sitting on the sidewalk and crying. I looked around and found it hard to believe that nobody was noticing her but then it was street full of kids. She was stunning; I mean she could make a man drool. And her legs were long and she had the biggest...”
“MARVIN, COME ON, WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE GIRL, YOU FATSO” George shrieked.

“Alright, alright, so I approached her and sat beside her. I asked her that why she was crying, and she told me that she just had a breakup and she didn’t want to talk to anyone. So I said to her that this was not the night to cry, no, when Batman is sitting beside her. And she smiled, oh the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. Then I told her that there was this huge Halloween party and if she wanted, she could go with me. First she said, she didn’t know anyone there and other things but at last I convinced her. So as we were walking through the street, silence was there, awkward. Then it happened, she took my hand in hers, I don’t know my heartbeat got faster. Then she just stopped, and looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. And I suddenly knew what was going in her mind, so I leaned towards her. But she was fast, and we kissed. She wrapped her arms around me and started kissing me passionately”

“Wait a minute, so the most scared you were, was when you first kissed a girl, how pathetic, man” George said.
“My story isn’t finished, George, to tell you it wasn’t my first kiss, I had kissed girls before that too. So if you give the permission, can I resume my story?” Marvin waited, “So, where was I, yeah we were kissing. But it was not a normal kiss, I never felt like it before, seem like an angel was kissing me. Then she started kissing my neck and I felt it. Coldness like a stream of cold water was running through my veins. My hand started trembling, I felt nauseated and dizzy. I started feeling this pain, this excruciating pain in my neck, I wanted to scream but voice was not coming from my mouth. At that second, I knew it, it was not worth it, I wanted to run. So with my full strength I pushed her to the ground, she fell right on the road. And I ran, I ran for my life”

“So you’re saying she was a……..vampire” Luke said, his eyes were widened.
“Yeah, I believe it, she was, I ran to the party and felt sick the whole night. I even stayed at my friend’s house, so scared to go by that street again. It was terrifying, I never felt comfortable in kissing girls again”
"So it was you who killed my dog and drank his blood" George asked.
"Fuck off, George" Marvin replied
“Ok,ok,so did you ever felt like drinking…..blood”
“No, there was no scar on my neck either; you know the way they bite. Guess she didn’t finish what she started”

It was not long before Luke spoke “Well, now whose turn is it? What about you Norman?”
Norman, the fourth member of the group, who didn’t speak a word till now opened his mouth. “I don’t think so, Luke, its better if you tell your story first” Norman was an average looking man, he was thin and his face was wrinkled even though he was young. He appeared to be sick.
“Why, Norman, do you need time to make it up?” said Marvin.

“Ok, ok, Marvin, please, if Norman wants to tell it in the last, he can. I think it’s time for my story. Well, you know my mother died when I was 6 years old. This happened like 7 years ago, I was missing her. I was out with my office friends drinking, but I don’t know that day, she was on my mind. I could see her face, I could see her holding me, calling me like she wanted to say to me something. I thought they were just hallucinations, things I was seeing ‘cause of the drinking. But when I left my friend to go home, I saw her. She was just standing, right in front of my car. And she was mouthing something, words that I can’t make out first but then it hit me. Those words were, Graveyard. As soon as I understood what she was saying, she vanished. I knew something was there that she needed to tell me, I was scared, yes but something in my heart was telling me that there was something wrong with her. Maybe her grave or whatever but she was calling me, she was calling me to where she was buried. So I went to the graveyard straight to my mother’s grave. I sat there, I don’t remember for how long. I was waiting for something to happen, but it didn’t. There was that eerie silence that can make your hair stand, and I was so drunk that I thought I was gonna pass out. And the moment I closed my eyes, I felt something. I felt the touch of a cold hand on my shoulder. I was too scared to look back, but I gathered all the courage I had and I looked back, and I was glad that I did. There she was, my mother in flesh just standing there. She took her in my arms and kissed me on the forehead. For a moment I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was horrified. They were everywhere, pearly white bodies just floating in the air above their graves looking at me. Save Us, those were the words that my mother whispered to me before I passed out. When I woke up, I was sleeping in my car outside the graveyard, like I never went inside it”

“So it was all a dream” Marvin asked.
“No, it wasn’t, my ring was missing, you see. That I realized when I went back to the grave and found it”
“So what did she mean by save us”
“Well, they were going to build a corporate house over that graveyard and it seemed the inhabitants of it were not happy about it. I did everything to stop that and I succeeded, guess I did what she asked me for”

They were sitting around a round table center of which an ashtray lay. The table was near the staircase in a big hall. All of them glanced at each other. Their faces were stiff and they were deep in thoughts. Then suddenly Norman started laughing, all other friends looked at him, confused. Then for the first time Norman spoke “My friends, what fascinating stories you have just told, bravo. But I am deeply, from the bottom of my heart, disappointed in each of you to actually believe that those stories, more likely fragments of your imagination, were true”
“What are you saying, Norman?” Luke asked.

“Oh, Luke, starting with him, you never saw your mother that day. You forgot that I was with you that day and you left with Melinda, remember the one we met at the bar. And yes you, indeed, woke up at the graveyard ‘cause I was the one who picked you up from there. You know why, friends, Luke had sex with Melinda outside the graveyard, the same one in which his mother is buried. And Melinda, after he passed out threw him out of the car and fled with it. Isn’t it, Luke? And you talk about corporate houses, how foolish you think we are?” Luke didn’t say anything, Norman continued “And George, my dear George. The old lady, really, she was your mother-in-law for god’s sake. She came that night to see her daughter who was sleeping with you that day, remember. And how I know this, ‘cause you invited me for her birthday, seems like you forgot to mention me this tiny incident when you told me that her mother came barging in the middle of the night. And Marvin, come on, how can you lie to me? That girl mugged you, she took your money and even your costume, I think you forgot but you were coming to my damn party. You called me after she stripped you of your pride”

“Are you finished? I know we all exaggerated a little bit but we had good time, don’t we? And it’s not like you have a true and better story to tell” Luke burst out angrily.
“Oh, Luke, as a matter of fact, I do. Be ready, all of you to be scared. You all remember my wife, Leah. And how we got divorced and you never met her after that”
“Yeah, she was a beautiful and decent woman” Luke said.
“Decent, no way, and yes, beautiful, she was but not after I killed her”

Everybody, shocked, looked at each other in disbelief. Luke tried to say something but words failed him. Marvin grinned uncomfortably and said “You are joking, right”
“No, I’m not; I killed her, in this very house. She came to me one day, wearing the most exquisite velvet gown that she bought with my money, to discuss how she’s gonna took half of my money, my hard earned money. So I pushed her, down that staircase.” Norman gestured at the staircase, “But she didn’t die, no she was strong. So I took this ashtray that lay on this very table, and bashed her head with it. But I was not satisfied, so I bashed her head more on this table. Well, that was not the end; I cut her head, just completely and then bury her in my garden, head and body separate. Cops never found out how she mysteriously vanished”

George took a look at the ashtray and the table as though disgusted by it. He took off his hands from the table. Luke was looking at Norman with his mouth half-opened. Marvin was staring in the thin air behind George who was sitting in front of him. Luke said “You killed her, I mean, how can you? That’s why you remain so detached from us for a long time. That’s why you seemed so preoccupied and secretive” He suddenly stopped, wiping the sweat protruding from his forehead. All three were terrified of what they just heard.
After a while Norman again burst out laughing “Look at your faces, come on, it was a story, you all are petrified”

At this moment, Marvin said “So you were joking that you killed your wife and cut off her head”
“Of course, what do you think? I never killed nobody”
“Then tell me Norman, who is standing behind George carrying a knife”
Luke, George and Norman looked back, a woman was standing behind them carrying a knife wearing a blood soaked velvet gown with dirt all over it, and she was missing a head.