Page 2 of Demon Rejected

Safety.

Sparky is a puppy, only my puppy is made of flames. She’s shaped like a wolf but made of fire. Her eyes are like rubies and they sparkle in the night. Did she introduce herself as Sparky, or did I give her the name? As I sat there and she shielded my body, I didn’t care about anything at all. I put my arms around her neck and allowed myself to melt into my puppy. I don’t know where Sparky comes from. I know that she’s here now. Then she talks to me. Not always, but often.

Tears stream down from my eyes, making my hurt left eye burn and sting even more. Tears feel like acid when the skin is broken and cut. My teeth press so hard against my lower lip I draw blood. I push my face into Sparky. She whimpers as if my pain and fear are hers.

I could not confide in anyone. Only Sparky stands with me.

“Don’t be scared."

Sparky whispers to me in the dark. She looks at me with love. My arms find purchase in her thick flaming fur as I fall asleep, curled up close to her, afraid my mother will find me again.

I hoped the night would end when the sound of breaking glass woke me again. I am tired, sleepy, hungry, and thirsty.

A bottle shatters against one of the thin walls of the trailer park home. She ripped the door open wide.

“Demon, show yourself. It’s time for us to end it."

My mother stands in front of the open door of the closet. She was not a large woman. She had short dark hair. I assume that one time she used to be pretty before all the booze and cigarettes. The small TV played a teleshopping show, painting the trailer in eerie shades of darkness by its light. It flickered and made the pretty woman in the picture look distorted. It’s fascinating what you remember when you try. The image of the cute blonde is still crystal clear in my mind after so many years.

My mother stood there, moving like a willow in the wind. The light outlined her body. She looked like a creature of evil and darkness. The shadows painted her face in a way that made me cringe. It was as if I saw her soul, her real self, for the first time. Sparky stood in front of me, her body engulfed in flickering fire.

“Demon, I’m going to bathe in your blood."

Mom held the bottle, her knuckles white with rage, her teeth bared, and her gums exposed. Sparky’s flaming fur changed colors. It turned from a deep orange to red and purple.

The broken bottle shook in her pale fingers. My mother always painted her fingernails red, only tonight, they looked as if she scratched the dirt with them. It was a scary image.

She called out again.

As much as I tried, I couldn’t understand what she said. Her drunken slur was terrible. Or maybe it was me, shaking, holding my hands pressed over my mouth. If she saw me crying, she would become even more furious.

“You’re a Demon, a mistake. You’re darkness, the plague of my life. I should have never kept you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to end you now.”

Just as she said that, she launched herself against me, holding on to the thick neck of the broken whisky bottle. All I could focus on was the broken glass, sharp as a knife, the edges catching the light and making it shine like amber in the darkness.

I slipped to the side, or Sparky pushed me. I can’t remember. I can’t remember much of that night after my mother attacked me.

I woke up in the arms of a fireman. He was tall and strong with a kind smile. He smelled like smoke and something else, something that promised and peace.

“Hey, little one. How about you tell me your name?" he asked me. The smell of burned rubber made it hard to breathe.

A cough racked my chest. Sparky was gone. As I looked back, the trailer I had grown up in until the age of seven was consumed by flames. I nodded, and he smiled again.

“What’s your name?” His smile made me want to press my head against his chest and allow myself to be taken to safety.

“S… Scr… Sca….” A new series of coughs shook my body and made me grip the fireman’s jacket.

He kept walking until we reached the back of an ambulance. He sat me on a bench.

“Try again. Let’s hear your voice."

“My name is Scarlet. What’s your name?"

“I’m Roby. I’m an EMT and a fireman. I’m going to listen to your chest with this.” Roby showed me a stethoscope. “Do you know what that is?"

“A stethoscope."

“Very good. You’re not only brave and pretty, you’re also smart."

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