Red Snow

"Can I go play in the back garden, Mommy?" six-year old Hazel Snow asked, twirling her soft brown hair in her fingers, a bad habit. Her mother gently untangled her hand out of her silky hair. "Sure sweetie. Just be back by dinner, ‘kay?" fussing over Hazel's hair in her motherly way. Hazel nodded impatiently, speeding for the back door. She reached out a tiny hand to twist the knob when the door opened. A tall man with sandy blond hair strode in, carrying a girl with matching hair on his shoulders. "Hi Daddy," Hazel said distractedly, trying to squeeze past him. He caught her by her arm. "Where're you off to?" he laughed as he deposited the blond girl on the floor. Dressed in flowery overalls, Rae Snow was a blond angel. She giggled as she flung her arms around her mother. "Mommy said I could go play in the back garden," Hazel insisted, her light brown eyes gleaming stubbornly. "Can I have some cookies, Mommy?" Rae pointed to the jar of Oreo’s on the table. "Are you sure it's safe, honey? Our 'back garden' happens to be a meadow you know. There are a few wild animals out there," their dad said, still holding on to her arm. Hazel tried to struggle away futilely. "Mommy! I want the cookies!" Rae jumped up and down, trying to reach the jar. "I'm sure it's perfectly safe. The animals won't harm her," she said, reaching into the jar and handing Rae a cookie. Hazel hopped as close as she could to her Mom. "I want one too!" she said, pointing at Rae's cookie. "Well... just to be sure..." their dad said doubtfully. Her mom sighed and wiped her hands on the washcloth. "Okay, okay. I'll give her a protection spell. Come here, Hazel," she kneeled down so she could face her. "What about the cookie?" she hurried to her mom when her dad let go of her. "It's too near to dinner time, hon. Now, we're going to do a spell, okay?" tucking Hazel's hair behind her ear neatly. Hazel wanted to pout but she was excited about the spell. She loved it when her mom did spells. Sometimes, she used pretty sparkling jewels and other times she used plants that smelled really good. "I wanna do the spell too!" Rae chirped, her mouth stained with Oreos. "Not now, Rae. Later," her mom said and faced Hazel. She pondered for a moment then broke into a smile. "I've got just the thing," she said, taking out what looked like a small pillow to Hazel. Then her mother took out a sparkling orange jewel and tucked it into the pillow. “Just relax, honey,” her mother said. Then her mother began the spell. “You are surrounded by walls of fire and flame… none shall come to hurt or maim,” her mother repeated several times with a few other words that Hazel did not understand. Hazel could feel a soft blanket being wrapped around her. And she could smell the forest. A piney, minty scent. "Okay Hazel. You can go now," her mom's gentle voice whispered. Hazel didn't realize she had shut her eyes and opened them. “Keep this in your pocket at all times,” her mother instructed, sliding the small pillow into her pocket. Rae was staring in awe behind their mother. Hazel rushed out of the door. "Bye mom. Bye dad!" she said, fleeing into the meadow like a rabbit. "Be back before dinner!" her mom called. "I wanna go too!" she could hear Rae whining. Hazel skipped with glee, taking in the surroundings. It was beautiful. Some type of sweet-smelling purple flowers was growing on the bushes near her right. She loved springtime. It was the best-looking and best-smelling time of the year.
She bent down to observe a yellow butterfly perched on a leaf. As she was admiring the butterfly, she caught a tiny movement at the corner of her eye. She twirled around and her eyes locked onto a white rabbit near the bushes with the purple flowers. "Fluffy!" she said, recognizing the rabbit. It was their ‘pet’. It had wandered near her and Rae the last time they were playing out here. And every day, it would wait outside their back door until one of them got out to throw it some kind of treat. She held out her hands and gestured for it to come. It looked at her twice, its tiny nose sniffing the air and then it hopped off. Hazel's hands dropped in disappointment. She had only petted it twice before. Somehow, it seemed to prefer her little sister, Rae, more. She heard another noise behind her. A funny sound, like air being let out of a balloon. A hissing sound. She turned around again. The butterfly had flown away. Near the leaf where it hovered earlier, was a dark golden colored snake. It was the one making that weird sound. Hazel's eyes widened in wonder. It looked beautiful, with that smooth long body and yellow-colored eyes. Her mother taught her about snakes and how they wouldn't bite you unless you disturbed it. She slowly got on her knees, trying out what her mother taught her yesterday. It wasn't about snakes but about her powers. Her mom told her she had special powers because she was a witch and a daughter of Hellewise. Yesterday, her mother taught her how to touch people or animals with her mind. Hazel stared into the snake's yellow eyes and concentrated. She felt her mind reaching out slowly. The snake hissed slightly but lowered its head. Hazel smiled and her right hand slowly reached out towards the snake. She felt its scaly skin against her soft hand and giggled. Just then, a big, buzzing thing flew past her ear. She screamed, jumping up. It was a big bumblebee, probably from the purple flowers. Hazel hated bees. She got stung by one before and it hurt. The snake hissed and its head rose, yet it still didn't bite her. The bee buzzed by the front of her face and she screamed again. She jumped up and down, waving her hands around her face. "Go away!" she said, feeling something soft plop out of her pocket. She glanced down and saw the tiny pillow her mom gave her earlier. Then she felt a sharp pain in her right leg. "Owwww!!" she screamed, taking a weak step back. She stepped on something soft and realized it was the snake's tail. She felt another bite on her left leg and one more in her right. She fell down, feeling very dizzy all of a sudden. The snake hissed furiously at her, its head raised high. She raised a hand to protect her face and it struck her again. "Owww," she moaned, clutching her hurt hand to her chest. She felt sick, she wanted to throw up. Her head was spinning, and she couldn't see clearly. Her right leg was hurting her very badly. The snake had bitten her twice there. She could see a faint shape of the snake wriggling away as she let her head slump to the ground. She wanted her mommy and daddy. She blinked, trying to focus on the tiny pillow in front of her. The one she dropped. Suddenly, a hand came into her view and picked it up. "Daddy?" she whispered, not even able to turn her head. I'll take care of you, Hazel, a deep voice said in her head. She shut her eyes, feeling herself being lifted from the ground.

Where am I? she tried to open her eyes but couldn’t. Her whole body hurt. And her mouth was so dry. She coughed weakly. She could hear somebody walking towards her. "Open your eyes," the person said. She cracked them open a tiny bit, staring into a face which she didn't recognize. She couldn't see the sky too. She realized she was in the back seat of a car. She felt frightened. "Daddy? Mommy?" she called out, trembling. She felt her eyes blur again, but it was because of the tears. Her throat was still so dry. She needed water. The stranger pulled her up into a sitting position. She coughed again. "Who are you? I want my mo_ I want my parents," she said, lifting her chin up, trying to look as grown-up as she could. The man laughed softly. He didn't look like her dad at all. He had light grayish blue eyes and dark hair. Almost like hers but it was a bit wavy. "So go to them, Hazel," he said, sliding out of the car. She followed him, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. It was already nighttime. The meadow looked different somehow. She could see the outlines of all the trees. She could smell the soft forest smell but this time it was so strong and fragrant, it almost choked her. And she felt different too. She held up her hands to check whether she was still herself. Everything seemed normal. Only one thing was bothering her. "I'm thirsty," she told the stranger quietly. She felt no fear against this man anymore, she wasn't sure why. It was all too creepy. "Your parents will give you a drink," he said, his eyes glinting with delight. She nodded. She understood what he was saying yet she didn't. It was like she knew what he was saying but it didn't go to her brain yet. She started to walk back to the direction of her house. Weird sounds were coming from all around her. Growling, hooting... hissing. The snake! Maybe the snake made her be like this. That was it. The snake was making her feel like this. She nodded to herself. She would go back home and get her mommy to help her. But first, she would ask for a glass of water. She glanced back at the stranger, who didn't move from the car yet. "You’re not coming?" she asked, suddenly wondering if she would ever see this man again. "We will meet again, Hazel. Soon," he said in a hard voice. Like he was angry. He gave her an answer to the question she was thinking about, not the one she asked. Good bye, she heard herself say...or think. She wasn't sure. She didn't open her mouth but she heard herself say it. He nodded, a strange smile on his face. She turned around again, wanting to get home quickly. She needed a drink. Her parents would give her a drink. She was soooo thirsty! Quickening her pace, she started to run. The air was bursting with smells she had never smelled before. And she was running so fast, the forest blurred around her. Dark branches loomed in front of her, like outstretched claws. She tried avoid them but she ended up with several scratches. She could see her house and the light coming from it. She almost reached her destination when she heard that noise again. That funny noise. That hissing noise. She stopped dead, her eyes immediately locating a coiled figure in some bushes. She wondered vaguely how she could have seen it because it was so dark, but her eyes picked out the outline immediately. She even recognized the snake. It was the one that bit her! It hissed softly, raising its head uncertainly. She bent down, examining the snake.
As she was bending down, she noticed something funny about her hand. It was smooth and without a mark. That's funny. I thought the branches scratched me. And where’s the snake bite? she thought, turning her hand this way and that. But there wasn't a single mark at all. Not only on her hand but her whole body. She frowned slightly. The snake hissed again, bringing her attention back to it. She looked into its coppery gold eyes, staring at it. It paused for a moment, as if it was confused. Then, her hand shot out, quicker than when the snake struck her, and she grasped the snake by its head. It hissed louder, angrier and wriggled helplessly. She squeezed the snake's head harder, shaking it. She could feel its fangs digging deep into her palm, but she didn't care. Squeezing it harder... and harder. Until, she heard the softest 'pop'. She dropped the snake, examining her palm. It had two or three holes in it, with blood coming out of it. The sight of the blood made her long for a nice cooling drink Her teeth ached. She watched as the holes disappeared slowly and the blood stopped flowing. A smile came onto her lips. A funny sort of smile. Her teeth were hurting. And she was so parched. She dusted off her knees and glanced up. The house was just a few steps away. She slowly made her way to the front door. Quiet as a mouse, she let herself in. Mommy! Hazel saw her mother's figure. Her mother's back was facing her so she didn't notice Hazel. Hazel tilted her head slowly one side, watching her mom for awhile. Her mother was chopping some vegetables. Mommy's still making dinner? I'm not late for dinner yet then, she thought happily, walking softly to her mother. She twirled her hair with one finger and tapped her mother's back with the other. Her mother let out a startled gasp and turned around. "Oh Goddess, Hazel! You're alright!" she said, hugging Hazel fiercely. "Am I late for dinner?" she asked innocently, twirling her hair. Her mother was smooshing her tightly, hugging her, kissing her. "I was so worried! And Daddy and Rae too! Where have you been?" she demanded, breaking away from Hazel. Hazel looked down at her shoes, like she was ashamed. "Your hand's bleeding, Mommy," she whispered softly, her eyes fixated on her mother's hand. She had accidentally cut herself when Hazel scared her. Her mother glanced at it then muttered something. She looked around and wrapped the washcloth around it. "I'm thirsty," Hazel said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her throat was so itchy. Her teeth were killing her. "You didn't answer my question yet, Hazel. Where have you been?" her mother demanded as she filled a cup of water up for Hazel. "In the back garden," she replied, her eyes still downcast. "Look at me when I'm talking to you. You really had me worried, Hazel," her mother's angry voice rose as she held out the glass of water to her. Hesitantly, Hazel raised her small head slowly up to reach her mother's face. The cup dropped from her mother's hand, shattering into pieces when it hit the floor. "Oh! Mother of all Witches, Hellewise! What happened to your eyes?!" her mother's face was a mix of worry and terror. Hazel blinked, deliberately. "I'm thirsty, Mommy." Her mother's face changed, the worry and terror gone, sadness replacing it. "Who did this to you?" she whispered, her lovely blue eyes teary. "My poor baby. My poor Hazel," she said, kneeling down and touching her face.
Hazel glanced at the hand on her face, the hand which was wrapped with the washcloth. The one with the blood seeping through. So thirsty. Her mother was brushing her hair away from her face again. A streak of anger ran through little Hazel. She hated it when her mother did that. Fussing around her like an overprotective mother hen. "I need a hug, Mommy," she said in soft, baby voice, holding out her arms. Her mother nodded softly, enveloping her tiny figure in her arms. So very thirsty. Hazel nuzzled into her mother's neck, feeling the soft blue veins underneath her skin. Her teeth were aching so much. She opened her mouth and her teeth slid out. She wasn't quite sure why but she somehow knew what she had to do. She slid her teeth neatly into the blue thing in her mother's neck. The one pumping that delicious red stuff. The stuff that won't make her so thirsty anymore. Water won't help. Only this delicious red stuff will stop her thirst. Her mother's body stiffened suddenly. She tried to pull back from Hazel. But Hazel wouldn't let her. She sank her teeth deeper and insistently into her mother's neck, hugging her mother's neck tightly with her two hands. Her mother started to scream, trying to yank her off. Mommy.... mommy! What are you doing? Are you angry at me? Am I late for dinner? she tried to say, but her mouth was too full at the moment. She could hear her mom screaming her name. It was too noisy. How can she make her mommy stop talking? Something in her mind showed her how. It's easy. All you do is put your hands at the side of her head and twist. That's all. After that, mommy'll go to sleep and stop talking, her mind told her. Hazel nodded softly. It sounds right. She put her hands on mommy's head. What did she have to do next? Oh mommy, stop talking. I have to remember! Oh yeah, twist. She heard a soft crack, much like the sound that came from the snake earlier. And then it was silence. Her mother slowly sunk to the floor, Hazel following her. She drank and she drank until she could drink no more. Then she pulled away, wiping her face with the back of her hand. Her mother's eyes were still open even though she was sleeping. "Silly mommy. You're supposed to sleep with your eyes closed," she giggled, closing her mother's eyes for her. Since when did her mommy get so white? "Look, mommy! You've stopped bleeding," Hazel murmured, standing up. She could hear other noises, people running towards her and mommy. She suddenly had a thought. Better do something about my face. Mommy was so surprised when she saw my face.
She ran to the mirror hanging on the wall near the kitchen door. She leaped up and grabbed it. She unhooked it from the wall nimbly. She stared into the mirror. Why was her mommy so surprised at her face? Ohhh... it was her eyes. Her eyes were like the snake eyes. Such a pretty colour. Sparkly golden. Like the sun! Why doesn't her mommy like it? Hazel concentrated hard and blinked. When she opened her eyes, they were back to its old colour again. Light brown. Hazel pouted. She liked the golden colour. Her father came bursting through the door. Hazel put the mirror down gently. "Daddy!" she held up her arms. Her daddy glanced at her and gave a loud gasp. He hugged her tightly, carrying her up. "Hazel, honey! I was so worried!! Where have you been? Are you alright?" he said in a concerned voice.
Hazel giggled. "Mommy's sleeping," she declared in a solemn voice. "What're you talking abou_ Oh no…" her daddy suddenly put her down, looking at mommy. “I’m gonna go find Rae,” Hazel muttered. She turned around and was about to go out the kitchen door to the living room when her daddy stopped her. "Who did this?" he whispered, pulling Hazel to his side. Hazel wriggled stubbornly. "I wanna go see Rae," she insisted. "Honey, you have to tell me, who did this your mother? Do you know who did it? Is that person still here? Tell me!" he demanded, shaking her softly. Hazel's eyes widened in surprise. Don't make daddy angry at you. He's stronger than you,the voice in her mind told her. She shook her head, blinking her frightened eyes at him. "I don't know, daddy," she held out her arms again. His eyes were red and he sank to his knees and hugged Hazel, crying softly. Hazel hugged him softly, glancing at that blue line in her daddy's neck. No! The red stuff there is bad. It's yucky. Daddy's blo_ red stuff is no good. He's half-animal so it doesn't taste good, the voice said. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head in disgust. Her daddy was still crying, hugging her tightly. You can make daddy go to sleep too. But you have to be really quick. Daddy is faster than mommy. Just do what you did to mommy and both of them can go to sleep, the voice instructed in a soothing voice. Hazel hesitated, unsure. After that, you can go find Rae. Let mommy and daddy sleep, it continued, in a more persistant tone. Hazel smiled. Yes. Go find Rae. She slowly pulled her hands away from her daddy's neck and put it on either sides of his head. But daddy was fast. He quickly held both of wrists in his. "What are you doing?" he said in a distorted voice. Mustn’t make daddy angry. She shook her head. "Nothing. I wanted a hug!" she said in her stubborn voice. But daddy was smart. He didn't want to go to sleep. He started to stand up. "Not now, sweetie," he muttered, getting to his feet. Another flash of anger went through Hazel. He always had time for Rae. Even when he was working, he always had time to give Rae a piggyback-ride. She held on to one of his hands and pulled, hard. Daddy was surprised and he fell back on his knees with a hard crack. His eyes widened and he gasped in pain. "Now," she said quietly, her eyes narrowed. Her eyes must have gone back to the pretty golden colour again because daddy was looking at them. He tried to move away but she was quicker. This time, she grasped both sides of his head tightly and twisted immediately. She heard the crack and her daddy fell to the floor with a moan. "Go to sleep, daddy. I'm gonna go find Rae," she said, kissing her daddy on the cheek. She kissed mommy on the cheek too and got up. She turned to the kitchen door and saw Rae standing there. Her big blue eyes were staring straight at her. "Rae! I was gonna find you!" she cried out joyfully. Rae looked at mommy and daddy then back at her again. She twirled on her feet and ran away as fast as she could. What's wrong? Why did Rae run away? Mommy and Daddy aren't angry at me, they're just sleeping. Then Hazel remembered. She picked up the mirror lying on the floor near the door and looked at it. Her golden eyes stared back at her. She must learn how to make it stay brown. It flickered back to brown once she thought of it. "Stay," she instructed her eyes. Then she dropped the mirror and went after Rae.
"Raeee! Where are yoouuu?" she called, looking around. She could smell her, hear her. She was running towards the front door. She heard the front door being opened and then shut.
Hazel started to run to the front door but then she smelt Rae again. She was sliding by the side of the house. She was going to the back garden! "Be careful, Rae. There's snakes and strangers in the garden," she said in a hauntingly soft voice then started laughing for no reason. She made her way back to the kitchen again, ignoring her sleeping parents. She opened the back door, the fresh air filling her nose again. Oh no. There were too many smells. Now she couldn't smell Rae. But maybe, she could still hear her or see her. "Rae! C'mon Rae! Where are youu?" she called as she stepped into the darkness of the back garden. She peeked under the bushes, looked behind the trees, but she still couldn't find her little sister. She wondered if the stranger found her. After a few minutes, she began to get angry. "Rae!" she shouted, reaching the bushes with the purple flowers. She peered past it, instantly getting a strong whiff of the sweet smell. She wrinkled her nose. The smell was too strong. It probably attracted bees from all over the back garden. Hazel's eyes narrowed, remembering the bee that almost stung her today. It must have come from this bush. She reached down and held the bushes with her two hands. Then with one hard yank, she pulled the whole patch of bushes out. She laughed happily as she stomped on it, smashing the pretty purple flowers. "Stupid bush," she giggled, pressing her heel into a flower. She heard a tiny rustle. She looked around. Fluffy! The white rabbit was a few feet away from her, looking out of place in all the darkness. "Come here, Fluffy," she said, squatting down. It wiggled its nose at her then hopped away. She got angry again. She followed Fluffy as he hopped away. Followed him for a few minutes and then Fluffy finally stopped near a thick overgrown bush. Hazel smiled. She could hear someone rustling the leaves in the bush. She squatted down again. Fluffy was within her reach. "Here...Fluffy!" she leaped forward and grabbed Fluffy. It tried to bite her, silly rabbit, but she held on. Fluffy tried to wiggle free, he was so slippery, but she held on tight. And then Fluffy started to make a squealing noise. It was high-pitched but Hazel could hear it. And it was annoying her. "Stop it, Fluffy," she scolded, petting him. He continued to make that sound. She wondered whether Rae had given him his treat that day. Maybe that's why Fluffy was complaining. He was hungry. She petted him some more, cooing at him. Stop it, Fluffy. Stop making noise, she told him without speaking. Suddenly, Fluffy wriggled hard and then bit her. Hazel screamed in pain and dug her nails into Fluffy. Stupid rabbit. You shouldn't have done that. Rabbits aren’t supposed to bite people. Dumb rabbit. Before she knew it, Fluffy stopped wriggling and squealing. His white fur was no longer white but dark in some places of his fur. Where Hazel's nails had dug into. At least now he didn't look so out of place. Little white bunny in a black forest. Hazel giggled at the thought. She heard a loud sobbing sound. Rae had come out of the bushes, her hair all messy and a few scratches on her arm. "You killed Fluffy," she sniffled, staring at the little white thing in her arms.
Hazel dropped Fluffy to the ground. She shook her head. "No," she said. She didn't kill Fluffy. She loved animals. She didn't kill anyone. "What happened to you, Hazel? Why are your eyes so funny?" Rae asked, her own blue eyes streaked with tears. Oh no, her golden eyes came back again. Hazel sighed. "I don't know, Rae. But I like it." She blinked as if to emphasize it. Rae shook her head. "No. You made mommy and daddy… d_die," she said, tears dropping from her eyes. Hazel shook her head harder. "No! Mommy and Daddy are SLEEPING!!!" she felt her own eyes getting wet too. "I saw you, Hazel! What you did to Mommy! You killed her! You drank her blood!" Rae accused, wiping her tears away with her hand. "No! No! NO!" Hazel screamed, covering her ears. She didn't want to hear it. Mommy and daddy are sleeping. She wasn't late for dinner. She was just thirsty.... "Who did this to you, Hazel?" Rae asked. Hazel couldn't plug her ears. She felt hot tears running down her cheek. "I_I don't know, Rae! I'm so thirs_thirsty! Everything's diff_different," she sobbed, falling to her knees. Poor Fluffy. "You're going to be okay, Hazel. We just have.... we just have to call someone to help you," she could feel Rae's hand on her back. NO, the voice inside her said. Hazel shook her head too. "No," she repeated out loud. Get away from Rae. She wants to hurt you. She's going to make you thirsty, the voice threatened. Hazel hesitated. She didn't want to be thirsty. It was so bad. And her teeth will ache so much. No. She won't be thirsty. Far away, she heard someone enter their house and then many voices, some screaming, some crying. She heard them calling Rae's name and her name. Hurry, Hazel. They're going to catch you. They'll make you thirsty! the voice urged her. Hazel made her decision. She pushed Rae away. "I hafta go now," she announced quietly. Rae looked at Hazel in surprise. "No! People are here. They can help you, Hazel. Please stay!" Hazel tried to shake off Rae's hand from her arm. "Let me go, Rae!" she said, feeling that flash of anger again. Her teeth came out again and she snarled at Rae. Rae let go, tears falling down her face, a shocked look on her face. "I hafta go...I have to...” she muttered, making her way into the trees. Running away. She could hear Rae screaming her name. But she ran. Deeper and deeper through the trees. She thought of her parents. She would never see them again. And Rae too. I'll take care of you, Hazel, the soothing voice repeated. Hazel beamed, trusting the pleasant voice. He'll take care of me....


***

She was spirited away by the man with the golden hair. The one who promised to keep her safe. Hazel, too scared, too tired and too young to make any sense just let herself be taken away dutifully. What had just happened? Somehow, Hazel couldn’t remember the past few hours. Certain images stayed implanted in her mind though. A bloody white pile of fur on the ground, sticky fingers red with something delicious, a threatening hiss… her mother dead on the floor. Hazel shut her eyes and quivered as the man kept on walking, carrying her in his arms. She wanted to sink her head in his shoulder and weep, but she was too scared of what she might do… so close to his neck. It was unreal. Everything was. She felt like she was in those bad dreams that her mommy said wouldn’t harm her as long as she knew what was real. Well… she didn’t know what was real anymore. How could she? Something bad happened. Something very bad. And she wasn’t sure whether it was her fault that her mother was dead and her daddy was dead and she KILLED them. But she couldn’t have. Why would she hurt mommy and daddy? How could she hurt them? Daddy was strong. He could pick her up and twirl her around with just one hand. Of course he was cause he was a strong big tiger sometimes. And she knew mommy wouldn’t let herself be hurt because she had seen mommy fight against bad people who had tried to hurt them before. Her mommy was beautiful when she fought. She wanted to be like that. Hazel smiled a little as she remembered her mother, tall and proud, a ball of magical orange gold fire in her hands as she smiled fearlessly. A witch. That was what she called Hazel sometimes. My little witchling. Hazel’s smile faded. Her mother lying in a pool of blood, her head tilted weirdly to one side. Sticky red fingers. Her mother’s neck. Hazel gulped in a loud shaky breath, fresh hot tears erupting from her monstrous yellow eyes. “It’s alright. Everything’s going to be fine,” the man’s soothing voice murmured. And Hazel felt a bit better. She stopped sniffling and listened to the silence of the night for a moment. “I want my mommy,” she insisted softly. The man chuckled slightly as he smiled down at her. In the silver light of the moon, the man looked almost pure white. “It’s time to for revenge…Hazel,” he said in a soft, soft voice and from the way he said it, it sounded like he wasn’t talking about her, even though he did use her name. Hazel shivered in his arms. She didn’t want to talk to him anymore. She just wanted to go to sleep and wake up to bright sunshine and happiness. The sun always made her feel happier. Slowly, she drifted into an exhausted sleep in his arms.

She didn’t have a good sleep. More of those bad dreams. Her mother. Her father. Rae. Screaming at her. “What are you? You’re not Hazel anymore. Go away!” they said angrily. And the man… the strange man was there. Crevin. That was his name. And Hazel knew him. And feared him. Though… it wasn’t her. It was someone she knew… a long time ago. A girl in a blood red dress with long blond hair and blue eyes smiling very much like how Crevin smiles. “Monster,” her father moaned as he sunk to the ground. “You killed mommy and daddy!” Rae screamed. Crevin smiling gleefully. The girl in the red dress now on her knees, crying, begging… “Don’t!” she screamed, immediately awake. It was too bright as sunlight everywhere around her and she had to shut her eyes again. It was extremely hot. She felt like she was melting. She whimpered slightly as she cracked an eye open. “Mommy? Daddy?” she called weakly, her throat as dry as a bone. Her head was aching badly and she felt like she never went to sleep at all. She was so tired… and then she remembered who brought her here. “Crevin,” she said loudly, the word sounding distinctly familiar to her. There was noise coming from her right and she turned to see Crevin behind some long wooden bars which separated the two of them. “Good morning. Had a nice nap?” he asked, though his voice contained none of the soothing concern it had the night before. “I don’t feel good,” she told him, hoping he would do as he had promised and take care of her. Because right now, all she wanted was to hide in a dark corner and sip some warm dark… “Thirsty?” he asked. She nodded vigorously. He waved her over to the bars. “C’mere. I’ll give you something to drink,” he knelt down and motioned her to come closer. She moved out of sheer thirst towards the bar and clung to it like a life preserver. “How come I’m in here?” she asked, looking around and seeing no door or anything. It was a weird room with no furniture, the walls made out of wood with the one side consisting of wooden bars and the floor was of shiny wood too. Then where the sunlight came in, the roof of the room was a huge glass window, revealing to Hazel to bright morning sky with puffy white marshmallow clouds and the strangely annoying sun. He pushed back the sleeve of his shirt and with a knife he pulled out from his belt, he cut a thin line on his wrist. Hazel didn’t like the sight of blood and tried to look away. But she was transfixed by the red welling up on his pale white wrist. “Go on,” he said extending it towards her. “I don’t want this. I want water,” she coughed, though she desperately wanted to drink it. It dripped down his wrist and fell to the floor. Hazel looked at the floor in dismay. It shouldn’t be wasted. “Are you… sure?” he asked with a smile on his face. Just this once… she’d just sip a little… just to see how it tasted. Hazel took his wrist tentatively and put her lips to his wrist. The blood was like the first sip of lemonade on a sunny day after she had been playing for hours, only… it was even better. Hazel couldn’t stop sipping the blood from his wrist. It was too good and it took away her headache. But then the wrist was suddenly yanked away from her. She wailed as he pulled down his sleeve again, staring flatly at her. “Watch out for that noon sun. It’s going to be treacherous,” he told her. “Don’t I have to go to school today?” she asked quietly. Crevin looked down at her through the wooden bars. “Nope. You’ll be learning much more sitting here. I’ll come back in a few hours,” he said in what she thought was a kind voice as he walked away and disappeared from her view. Hazel sat down and glanced around the room. What was she supposed to do here?

It was awfully, awfully hot. Hazel was sweating profusely and she had inched herself to a corner of the room, scrunching up like a little ball, hoping to escape the hot sun. Why was it so hot? And why did Crevin put her in this room when there was no place to hide from the sun? Her headache had returned, a dull thudding that was as annoying as the sun and painful too. She felt as if she were being burned alive. It was so hot! “Crevin!” she shouted for more than the tenth time. Still, no one came. “I wanna get away from the sun. Let me out, let me out,” she pleaded, no longer able to move. She felt that if she did, her hand would catch on fire and that would be the end of her. The bright sun was directly above her now, shining its cruel hot light all over her. “Let me out,” she moaned, hot tears trailing down her hot face. Was this her punishment for killing her mommy and daddy? “I’m sorry!” she moaned loudly. “Hazel dear, it’s only day one. Don’t give up so fast. You’re going to be in here for a long long time. Until you grow up,” Crevin’s voice floated towards her. She turned her head ever so slowly to the wooden bars. Crevin was sitting on a chair, in the cool dark shade, shaking her head at her. “It’s hot! Let me out! Please! I’m sorry!” she made a leap towards the wooden bars, trying to squeeze through it. Her whole shoulder could fit through but she couldn’t get her head through. “Oh, but this is only the beginning. I’d give you… three days or so and this is going to seem like a little ant bite,” he said, chuckling. Hazel retreated to her corner in defeat and buried her head in her lap, shutting her eyes and tried to sleep the day away. And this was how it was for the next few days. Same thing. Crevin left her in the mornings but this time he stopped giving her blood to drink and after four or five days, Hazel was starting to get real thirsty again. She had not moved much from her spot in the corner where she found she could get at least a bit of shade for her head but only when the sun wasn’t directly above her. She was starting to sleep a lot. And in her dreams, she dreamt of nothing but red blood. Dripping off everything. She wanted to drink so badly. She imagined Crevin’s wrist… the blood dropping of his wrist to the ground over and over again. She had attempted to lick at the ground where the blood had fallen but now the stain was gone and there wasn’t even a lick left. “I need to drink. Please, Crevin? Please? Just a drink. I’m sorry I killed mommy and daddy. I’ll be good. I won’t hurt anyone anymore. Please please, can I have a drink?” she repeated to Crevin every morning. He just smiled at her and watched her beg for a few minutes then walked off. After a whole week, Hazel was ready to die. There were sharp things in her tummy, scratching at it, screaming for blood. Her throat was drier than ever and fangs slid in and out as she thought of blood every other minute. The other thing that was occupying her mind was the sun. The great big yellow sun. It had gotten worse and Hazel couldn’t even bring herself to scrunch into a little ball anymore. She just lay flat on her back, letting the wave of light burn her and crack her lips as she thought about bathing in a tub of icy cool blood. She still hadn’t stopped begging Crevin every morning when he appeared though she couldn’t really form coherent sentences much anymore. “Blood,” she rasped when she spied Crevin’s shadow at the corner of her eye.

“Two weeks. I’m impressed,” his voice broke into her frazzled thoughts one day. She had lost track of day and night and interpreted it only as a time of horrible pain and a time of less pain. Because at night, even though it was cooler and she wept in relief as the sun faded, the pain in her still beckoned and lashed out, demanding to be fed. Hazel mouthed the word ‘blood’ and ‘please’, her eyes shut. She hadn’t opened her eyes in days, the pain of the light too much for her. She was slowly fading away… into a place of forever darkness where she was still a witch and her mommy and daddy loved her. Where she didn’t need to drink blood and never had to be stuck in a room of sunlight that drove her mad. “Do you want blood, Hazel?” Crevin’s voice asked, rich with amusement. She made a movement with her head that she hoped looked like a nod. “I’ll give to you. But you have to do something first,” he said slowly. Hazel’s body stiffened. Blood. He was giving her blood? Somehow, she had some sort of hidden reservoir of energy left inside her that allowed her to turn on her back and crawl towards the wooden bars where Crevin was. “Blood,” she coughed weakly, her hand reaching out to him. Instead of giving her his wrist, he handed her something squarish. She grabbed it but didn’t have enough strength to hold it up and it fell down to the ground in front of her. She didn’t know what it was. “All you have to do… is to put your finger in that little hole and push that at the button over there,” he had knelt down and demonstrated the object to her. “What…is…it…” she rasped. “Well, I can’t tell a lie. It’ll hurt you a lot. But if you want the blood, you do it now,” he said in a strict voice. Hazel eagerly did as he said, the image of sweet blood clouding her vision. She put her second finger into the tiny hole of the wooden square thing, the nail at the bottom and the fleshy part of the finger on top. Then... she couldn’t remember what was next and stared at Crevin uncertainly, scared he would be displeased and take back his promise. “Push this button here, the one in front of your finger. Push it really hard and really fast. The faster you push, the sooner it’ll be over. And you can get your blood,” he said, his eyes shining eagerly. Hazel stared at the mysterious box and the button. But all she could see was blood. She jabbed at the button thing as hard as she could, pushing it all the way in. After that, she could hear screaming that was so loud and horrible that she couldn’t recognize it was her own voice. She could only feel pain and more pain shooting up from her finger throughout her whole body. She stared at her finger and she could see tiny brown spots at the tip of her finger. Tiny wooden splinters jammed into her flesh. She had pushed so hard that some couldn’t even be seen anymore. Her screams lasted for an hour or so, only taking a little break as she stopped to gulp down the quart of blood that Crevin poured down her mouth. Other than that, she held on to her hand, screaming and moaning loudly, the pain intolerable. But she was feeling relieved because the pain in her stomach had receded a little after the blood. There were so many different type of pains that Hazel had learned that if you focus on one pain, you could tune out the others a little. And this pain in her hand… this one forced her to pay full attention to it because it was a fresh pain and wouldn’t stop hurting. This was when she realized that wood was bad for her. Never again would she go near wood.