Page 9 of Devil's Crossroad

I hear voices, and I look at the direction the voices are coming from. I see Zelda and Zara playing with Zara’s cats. Zara looks just as young as Zelda does. I know it must be Zara. She looks identical to Zelda. Who am I to judge? They must have found a fountain of youth that will make them very rich, or they have discovered the best makeup and will be even more prosperous. Either way, they are having fun with each other.

Another woman walks up to me, looking like she is floating. She is beautiful with her flowing hair. Her skin is flawless, and her emerald-green eyes stand out. I am awed by her. She reaches for my hand and pulls me to my feet. I go with her without putting up any resistance.

“The lake is beautiful, with the full moon shimmering across the water. My sisters love to amuse themselves on nights like this with the cats. Do you know why you are here with us tonight, Callie?” I think about her question.

“No, I have no idea why I am here or who you are. I met Zara and Zelda in town today. They didn’t say they had another sister.” The woman shakes her head.

“You are sincere, Callie. I am one of Zara and Zelda’s sisters. We have many sisters. There is a coven of us here. Some of us are to show the good in the world, and others are only to show people the error of their ways. I am glad you are a good person, so you get a treat on Halloween. I am called Esmeralda.” I am lost in this conversation and have no idea what this woman is talking about.

“Can you tell me what I am doing here? I am not following this conversation very well, or I have missed something along the way.” I tell the woman bluntly.

“Straight and to the point. I like that. I hate it when people talk around some subjects.” Esmeralda Tells me in a Tinkerbell-like voice. It’s sweet, and I want to hang onto every word. “You are in Pandora, Kentucky, and you were warned not to go out tonight, or you would receive a trick or a treat. We have done this very same thing to many people through the years. You, my dear, have no worries. You are pure at heart. You are a natural nurturer. You are a mother by nature. You were blessed at birth because of this. The angels blessed you the day you were born. Any other way, you would have been damaged by the cruelty that your mother and father bestowed upon you. This is why you always yearn for one more child, and you have been blessed with many children to teach and love. You could have children for the next ten years and never give away all the love in your heart. We know your man was being uncooperative tonight. His heart is not pure like yours. Only half his heart is good—the other half, not so much. You left the door cracked open when you left in haste, allowing us to go inside. He is being talked to now.” Esmeralda is very talkative. I get the feeling that she is not being honest with me.

“Tell me about yourself, Esmeralda. Tell me about you and your sisters. How did you come about living this life?” The best thing I can do is stall until my head stops swimming or I can think straight.

“We have had a coven of witches in the town since the turn of the century, and before that, we were in Salem. We are not evil beings. It’s just that some beings need punishment, and we only punish the ones that need it. All creatures that have a pure heart are immune to our punishments. They normally don’t know the questions to ask to save their loved ones from their punishments. They are like fairies flying around or sprites. No cares in the world.” I think about what she has said, and that is how I feel. Like a sprite, I am ready to fly. I can’t throw my chance away to help Kylar. My man needs me, and I will not let him down, no matter how he hurt my feelings tonight. If Kylar doesn’t want any more children. Then I can go to work at a hospital to hold the newborns that need people to hold them and share love with, or I can work at a daycare. We can both get what we want and need. I need to think straight about what I need to ask. Then it comes to me.

“What do I need to do to save my husband? He is my heart, and if you say my heart is pure, half of it belongs to Kylar because he and our family are my heart.” I get on my feet, and my head feels clearer now. “Give me my husband back and leave us alone. Neither of us deserves a trick or a trick, and if we do get one, then we get it together.” Esmeralda squints her eyes at me.

“You would take half of Devil’s torture even though he cannot see through to give you another child to hold in your arms?” I don’t even hesitate.

“I married Kylar to carry half his burden through life. I love that man. All married couples have problems at one time or another. This argument was a blip in the road. Next year, at this time, we won’t even remember the fight. If this is how you give someone a treat, then please stop it now. I will never doubt Kylar. I will never doubt our love or devotion to each other or our family. My cup runneth over with love. Now take me to my man, or you will get to see the wrong side of me. I don’t let her out much these days, but I will still kick your ass all the way to hell over my loved ones.” I start towards Esmeralda, and then Kylar comes running towards me. I don’t know where he came from, but I am so glad to see him. Kylar grabs my hand.

“Let’s get out of here, Callie. We can leave here tonight. I’ve had enough of this shit, and we are never coming back here again.” Kylar is losing his shit. I follow Kylar back to the cabin. After we are inside, Kylar shuts and locks the door, then checks the back door and all the windows. “They are sitting under the tree with those damn cats.” I don’t say a word. I can’t. My throat feels like it is swollen shut, but I swallow hard.

“Kylar, I am sorry. I didn’t mean a thing I said earlier to you. I would never consider having another man’s child, even if the sperm came from a sperm bank. I only wanted another child with you, but I didn’t take what you were telling me into consideration. I can get a job away from our home and get my baby fix in. I can work at a daycare facility or be one of those women who hold babies for mothers who can’t do it for some reason or another. I hear you. You don’t want any more children. I won’t bring it up again.” I pour my heart out to the man I love. Kylar moves over to me and takes me in his arms.

“Callie, I will give you five more children if you want them. I was scared I had lost you tonight. I am the one who is sorry for all the asinine things I said tonight. I didn’t mean a word that came out of my mouth. Can you forgive me, Callie?” Kylar asks me.

“I never believed a word you said after I had time to think about it. I know you were just upset.” I can’t get my hopes up again and then have them smashed. “I say we need to compromise here. I will throw away my birth control pills, and you wear a condemn when we make love, and if you are ever comfortable with having one more child, then don’t use a condemn. If you are ready, we will let Mother Nature take her course. If we are meant to have one more child, then I will get pregnant, and if not, then I won’t. We leave it at that.” This is something that needs to be done—a real compromise. “I don’t want any procedures done to me. I hate hospitals and doctors. I figure that Mother Nature will take care of that too.” I look at Kylar, and he is smiling. “What are you smiling at?”

“I appreciate the out you are trying to give me, but I want another baby with you. I would be crazy to pass up a chance to see my woman pregnant with our child one more time. I hope I can keep you satisfied through your pregnancy. You are one horny sexy woman when you are pregnant.” I see that Kylar is watching me, but he is watching that tree, too.

“Do you want to talk about what happened with the witches tonight? Are we going to stay the night or leave now?” I glance around the room. Did Kylar clean up while I was gone? “Did you clean up when I was gone tonight? Everything looks clean.” I turn to go and look in the kitchen. The kitchen is spotless, too.

“No, I didn’t clean anything,” Kylar says when I am walking back to the front room.

“The kitchen is clean too,” I tell Kylar.

“We are going to take the time to go through town in the morning to show those people we aren’t scared of this place, and we are never coming here again. Do not ever bring this place up or anything that went on here. I want to forget everything about this place. Let’s go to bed and try to get some sleep. I am exhausted.” I agree with Kylar. I will never speak of this place again.

“Let’s hit the bed. I call dibs on the first shower.” I say as I follow Kylar into the bedroom.

“You’ve got it, darlin’” It doesn’t take me ten minutes in the shower. When I am ready to climb into bed, Kylar is sound asleep. I cover him up and snuggle up next to his back. It seems like I have just fallen asleep when I hear the shower going. I grab my phone on the bedside table. I look at the time, and it is noon. I jump out of bed and grab some clothes out of my bags. It doesn’t take long to get dressed. I brush my hair and put it in a long braid. I go to the kitchen, put some sandwiches together, and then pour myself some coffee that Kylar must have made. I hear the shower turn off and I look out the window. The day is clear, and there are no women in the trees and no black cats.

“Hey Beautiful. You were dead to the world this morning. You must have needed the rest. You want to grab something to eat on the road. I want to drive through Pandora, but I have no intention of stopping anywhere.” Kylar stops and then starts again. “I called the cabin owners and told them to keep their deposit because we are not cleaning this place. I want out of here. Leave anything that isn’t necessary. We can buy whatever we need during our stay tonight.” I smile at my man.

“I fixed us lunch for the road. I will pack my small bag when I finish my cup of coffee.” Kylar is drinking the rest of his coffee and then fixes him another cup. I finish my cup of coffee and then go and pack my small toiletry bag. Kylar has finished his coffee, rinsing the cup out. We walk to Kylar’s bike together. He does a quick check on things, and we are on the road in minutes.

FOURTEEN

Kylar

We took the road into town. It was a short drive, but Callie and I were both surprised at what we saw. The city has a lot of traffic on it. It’s not the small quaint town that we had seen yesterday. The station I stopped at and the grocery store that Callie went to are both boarded up, and they haven’t been open in a while. The only thing those two places had seen was rats. How did these people do this? Was it a big hoax? Callie has a death grip on my shirt. This looks like the small town in the brochures. I don’t know what has happened to us, but it is time we kick rocks out of this town.

“Kylar, I want to get out of here. I have goosebumps on my arms, and I don’t like it here.” Callie tells me, and I know she is spooked.

I turn my bike around and head back the way we came from, but instead of going to the cabin, we head back the way we came from the day we arrived. I hear a shrieking laughter, and I pull over again.

---