It was a
drenching, beastly night. Thunder and lightning tore the skies apart to the
steady hum of the windshield wipers while Gaby and Raina listened to the eerie
sound of Monster Mash ringing through the car speakers.
It was Halloween night and the women
were on their way to a costume party that Gaby’s brilliant boyfriend decided to
hold in an old abandoned house on Hanover Street. Gaby had decided to dress up
as a dead bride. The gown she purchased from the thrift store was perfect
especially once she ripped it in several locations and poured fake blood down
the front of the dress. Even the veil was shredded and dirty.
Shifting one of the vents to blow
heated air directly on her, Gaby rubbed her arms and shivered, “Raina, I think
we should turn around and go home. I’m not having a very good feeling about
tonight.”
Raina laughed, “Don’t be overly
dramatic Gaby. I’m sure it’s just the weather creeping you out.”
Gaby crossed her arms and huffed,
“I’m not being overly dramatic. I’m attempting to follow my gut instinct which
has kept me out of trouble more times than I can count.”
Raina reached over and patted her
leg, “C’mon Gaby, chances are you’re just freaking out because the weather
sucks, it’s Halloween and the party of the year is being held in the old dilapidated
colonial up on Hanover. I promise tonight will be a blast!”
They drove on in silence until they
reached the house. Raina was almost positive that in its day the house was
gorgeous but now it was run down and looked exactly like that one house that no
one wanted to go into because they just knew it was haunted. The front yard was
covered in fog and packed full of cars. Several of the windows on the first
floor of the house were flickering with the soft glow of candlelight. Raina
glanced up at the second floor of the house and caught a glimpse of a ghostly
image in a window that immediately faded away. She grinned, “Man, they went all
out for this party tonight. C’mon Gaby, let’s make a mad dash for the door!”
Gaby and Raina jumped out of the car
and ran as fast they could to the front door of the house. Their only hope was
that the rain wouldn’t wash away the makeup they spent hours trying to perfect.
As they neared the door, it opened and the women were greeted by a sexy
vampire, “Good evening ladies and welcome to my party.”
Gaby giggled, “Hi Josh. Thanks for
inviting us.”
Josh wrapped an arm around Gaby’s
neck and kissed her on the cheek, “May I have this dance? And perhaps a little
sip of your blood?”
Gaby laughed, “The dance you can
have, the blood will have to wait.”
Raina watched as Gaby and Josh
disappeared into the throng of gyrating ghouls, witches, zombies, vampires,
pirates, ghosts and anything else this lively bunch decided to wear as a
costume. They had been dating for the better part of a year and were almost
inseparable.
Deciding she needed to finish
putting her costume on, Raina made her way through the crowd of partiers
looking for the bathroom. She began walking down a hallway as a door on her
left opened and a couple walked out. She looked at them and asked, “Bathroom?”
The guy, who was dressed like a
1920’s gangster, held up a lantern and said, “Right in there.”
“And the lantern?” she asked raising
her brows in question.
He shrugged, “No electricity.” Raina
nodded her understanding.
Accepting the lantern, Raina walked
into the bathroom and turned the flame up as high as it would go so she could
see herself in the dirty mirror. She had decided to dress as a gothic fairy for
the party. She wore a black corseted dress that laced up the front and rather
than displaying her naturally red hair, she opted for a white wig. The wings
she was trying to clip on her back were made of black sheer material that had
white airbrushed tips and silver glitter all over them. While she struggled
with the wings she never heard the man enter behind her, “Can I be of some
assistance?”
Raina nearly jumped out of her own
skin as she spun and slapped her hand to her chest trying to keep her heart
from beating right out of it. “You scared the begeesus out of me,” she
breathed.
The man grinned, “My apologies. That
was not my intention. I simply wanted to offer you some assistance with your
wings since you seem to be having a bit of trouble.”
Raina smiled, “Well, thanks. I’d
appreciate that.” She spun back around to face the mirror after the man picked
up the wings that she had dropped on the floor when he scared her. After
securing her wings he said, “You look great.”
“Thank you,” Raina replied turning
to face him. “I’m Raina.”
“Brandon,” he replied.
Raina frowned, “I knew someone named
Brandon once.” She sighed, “I miss him.”
“You miss him? What happened to
him?” he asked.
Raina nodded sadly, “He was my
boyfriend. He died a year ago.”
Brandon frowned, “I’m sorry for your
loss. Did you love him?”
“With everything that I am,” she
replied.
Wanting to change the subject, Raina
glanced down at his outfit. He wore a pair of black slacks, a white collarless
shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a dealers vest. His long brown
shoulder length hair and been pulled back in to a pony tail at the nape of his
neck and tied with a black silk ribbon. He face was covered by a black mask. She
smiled, “I love your outfit. It’s very 1800’s meets Zorro.”
He chuckled, “Thank you.”
He held out his arm to her, “May I
escort you back to the party? Or perhaps I could interest you in a leisurely
walk around the house? I’d offer a garden stroll but the weather is making that
impossible.”
Raina giggled, “Such a gentleman.
You really are playing the part tonight aren’t you? Well, Brandon, I’d be
honored to walk with you.” Raina wrapped her hand around Brandon’s arm and they
began their stroll through the house.
As they strolled through the various
hallways, Raina couldn’t stifle the shiver that ran up her spine. She began to
feel like something bad was about to happen but wasn’t sure what it could
possibly be. Deciding it was just her overactive imagination, Raina brushed it
off to spending too much time listening to Gaby talk about her gift of prophecy
and walking through a truly creepy house.
Raina and Brandon walked around the
house while they talked of nothing important. They danced to a few songs and
when the rain finally stopped he escorted her outside to a balcony that
overlooked the rear gardens of the house.
Raina rested on the balcony railing
and watched as the clouds shifted in the night sky allowing the full moon to
peak out and shine down on the grounds making it look like tiny diamonds
decorated the foliage.
Brandon studied Raina’s profile. He
always thought of her as perfect. Smiling he said, “Do you have any idea how
beautiful you are?”
Raina smirked, “Laying it on kind of
thick there aren’t you Brandon?”
Brandon smiled, “I suppose you would
think so. Do you have any idea how I’ve longed to hold you in my arms again?”
Raina slowly turned to face the man
that she spent a majority of the night with as a terrifying fear gripped her
heart, “Excuse me?”
He stepped towards her reaching for
her as if to grab her, “I’ve missed you Raina.”
Stepping away from him, Raina
scowled, “Is this some kind of joke?”
Taking another step towards her,
Brandon reached up and pulled off his mask. Raina’s eyes widened in shock and
fear as she stumbled back away from him shaking her head, “No, it can’t be!”
Holding out her hands to ward him off, she continued moving backwards until she
finally tripped on her gown and began to fall backwards and into the balcony
railing that literally disintegrated when she hit it allowing her to tumble
over the edge.
“RAINA!!”
Brandon yelled as he flew across the balcony attempting to reach her before she
fell.
Raina stared up at Brandon as she
continued her slow motion descent to the ground below and only when she hit the
mud covered ground did she finally lose sight of him.
Brandon rushed down the stairs to
Raina’s side and cradled her head in his lap, “Raina, are you alright
sweetheart?”
Raina frowned while she tried to
clear the cobwebs from her head. I must be dreaming, she thought, because only in my dreams would Brandon be
real. Ever so slowly she opened her eyes and stared into the honey gold
beauty of his eyes. As realization set in, tears began to fall from her eyes.
She reached up wrapping her arms around his neck, “I’ve missed you so much baby!
I thought you were gone forever.”
Brandon smiled as he wrapped his
arms around her, “I’ve missed you too sweetheart. And no, I wasn’t gone forever
only temporarily. Are you up for a stroll through the gardens?”
Raina hesitated briefly mentally
checking for any broken bones, when she felt none she said, “Sure.”
Brandon wrapped his arm around Raina
helping her up then guided her into the gardens. Raina was surprised to see how
well the gardens looked considering the house had been empty for years. He directed
her to a stone bench where they sat with their fingers entwined together. Brandon
cupped Raina’s chin and turned her to face him. He kissed her softly on the
lips and whispered, “I love you Raina.”
Raina smiled, “I love you too.”
Brandon tucked Raina into his side
and kissed her deeply. Rising to his feet Brandon held out his hand to Raina
which she immediately accepted and began leading Raina back to the house as the
pink light of day colored the horizon. Raina gasped as she looked at the
gorgeous colonial standing in front of her, “I don’t remember the house looking
this amazing.”
Brandon
grinned, “You like it?”
Raina
smiled, “I love it.”
Brandon
squeezed her hand, “Then I’m flattered.”
Raina looked
at Brandon in surprise, “The house is yours? I had no idea.”
Brandon turned fully to face Raina.
He cupped her face and kissed her passionately stealing her breath from her
chest, “Stay here with me Raina.”
Raina grinned, “Always.”
***
Gaby stood next to Josh clutching
his hand as if he were the only thing left in the world that would keep her
sane. The tears rolled freely down her face and no matter how much she brushed
them away they just kept coming back. When a quiet sob broke free, Josh
released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top
of her blonde head, “It’s okay Gaby.”
Gaby shook her head, “It’s never
going to be okay Josh. I knew going to your party was a bad idea and yet I did
nothing to stop her – us - from going.”
Josh sighed, “Raina’s a big girl and
you better than anyone should know when she wants to do something she’s going
to do it. Besides her fall was a complete accident. There was nothing you could
have done to save her Gaby.”
Gaby sighed and leaned into Josh, “I
know. I just miss her so much.”
Josh hugged her, “I know baby. I
miss them both but at least there together for ever now.”
Gaby leaned down and placed a single
white rose on the ground. She kissed the tips of her own fingers and touched
the cold hard marble stone that read…
Brandon Summers Raina Hammond
1985-2011 1985-2012
May you find
happiness
in each
other’s arms for eternity.
Happy Halloween,
Charlie Daye
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