Monday, March 13, 2006

   Holy Shit! I Really Wrote A Story! And Finished it!

Fwooh! I really worked my ass off for this one. I wanted to get it done and posted before I leave on Tuesday. I’m talking, of course, about my short story. I finally got everything down on paper (well, computer). It still needs A LOT of work, like major fleshing out in areas and some clarifying here and there, but the story’s there. It’s just over six pages long in Word O.o So this is going to be a really long post. I hope my computer doesn’t blow-up trying to post it ^_^ But before I start on that I have other things to talk about. For example, I was listening to Barenaked Ladies as I was reading Ouran High School Host Club and the song “Jane” came on. And now I want to make a music video using Ouran High, but the anime’s not even out yet T_T And the song is perfect, too, about a guy trying to get this girl to like him. I know that’s not very descriptive, but trust me, it works. Like the line “Jane, divided but I can’t decide which side I’m on” reminded me of Haruhi’s cross dressing, and Tamaki’s dilemma over it. Also the lines “Jane, desired by the people at her school and work, Jane is tired cause every man becomes a love-sick jerk” was another good one. Then, having not learned my lesson, I continued to listen to Barenaked Ladies and read Ouran High at the same time. Consequentially, I found another song, “It’s Only Me (The Wizard of Magicland)”. Now this one almost completely describes Tamaki. The lines “They say you'll never love another 'Til you love yourself, Well, brother I'm in love with everyone I see” made me crack up. So now I need to make two music videos. But I’ll have to wait T_T Now, on to the story. I added some more characters, although Aidan’s brother is probably the most important of the new ones. Erin and Aidan are definitely the main characters, but the brother is the next closest to being one of them. I also realized when I was writing that I gave my characters Celtic/Gaelic names. So I decided to continue the trend for fun, hence Aidan’s brother is named Bryan, and their last name is Owen ^_^ Originally, Bryan was supposed to be Aidan’s older brother, but as I was writing their conversations together, I realized that he wasn’t, if that makes any sense. They hit it off so well that I discovered they were twins. I don’t like it when my characters keep secrets from me *pout* But yeah, it can’t be helped when the characters decide to take over, and then you have to compromise with them, or else they hold your story hostage. Once we worked things out, however, I discovered that they were my favorite characters. They let me show my weird sense of humor. If I ever write anything more dealing with this little “universe,” it’ll probably center on them. Poor Erin’s been overthrown *hahaha* So here we go, my written, but by no means finished, story (and I must refresh my religious disclaimer, for the sake of those who missed my last story posting. This is a work of fiction for my enjoyment, and none of the characters share my own opinions on religion) Enjoy! “I hate all of that ‘New Age’ junk,” Aidan said, as she sprawled out on the couch in Erin’s room with her book. “I mean, summoning fairies and casting spells? You might as well ask for miracles and pray, since it’s all got about the same likelihood of happening. And church is a lot cheaper than all that ‘magic’ crap. If you can withstand the brain-washing.” Erin shook her head as she sat on the floor, flipping through the new book she had bought at the mall. Aidan was always so skeptical. They went through this conversation every time Erin picked up anything related to the occult. “It’s not my fault your uber-religious parents have permanently ruined your faith in… well, anything,” Erin said. Aidan’s parents were both pastors. Talk about over-kill. “Just my faith in humanity. I’m pretty sure that my faith in the necessity to breathe air will remain unshaken” “Well, those of us who aren’t jaded like to believe in things once in a while,” Erin said, while pulling out the box of rune stones and candles she had stashed under her bed. “Like higher powers. And possibly world peace.” “Thank you, Miss America. Now, if you’re going to spend your time fooling around with that wishy-washy stuff, I think I’ll go.” Aidan hauled herself off the couch and grabbed her small bag sitting on the floor. That bag went everywhere with her. There was never anything special in it, just random odds and ends; a mini spray bottle, a lighter, some hair spray, etc. Aidan was like a walking Swiss Army knife. Erin sometimes wondered if Aidan also kept the bag just in case she needed to use it as a weight to beat the crap out of someone. She wouldn’t put it past her. Aidan stopped and turned back at the door. “Oh yeah, Dad, invited you to come have dinner with us tomorrow. He’s making enchiladas.” Aidan’s parents always invited Erin over for enchilada night. It was like a tradition. “Yeah, sure. But I have to go downtown with my Mom tomorrow, so I’ll have her drop me off.” “Cool. Later,” Aidan said as she strolled out the door. ~~~ Erin’s mom dropped her off along 3rd Street the next day. “I’ll be at the antique store on Main Street if you need me,” her mom said out the car window. “I’ll call when I’m on my way.” Erin nodded and waved her off. Now to find this place, Erin thought as she looked at the flyer in her hand. It was for a new occult shop. Aidan had laughed about it when Erin first brought it up, so she decided to go check it out herself. Erin eventually found it, tucked between the music store and the craft shop. It looked like the usual, hip little store, with crystals hanging in the window and candle displays against the glass. The door made the usual tinkling noise when opened, and the air inside was thick with incense. Too much incense, Erin thought. In fact, she thought that she could almost catch another smell underneath. Something moldy… “Hello, welcome to The Inner Eye,” a voice said. Erin looked over to the counter and saw a middle-aged woman standing behind it. “I hope you don’t mind the smell right now. We’re still trying to get the bugs out of this place. There’s so much water damage in some areas.” Erin laughed. So that was it. “I’m not surprised,” Erin said, “I think this building was empty for quite a while. I’m sure it’s an excellent shop otherwise.” “Well, aren’t you a sweet girl,” the woman said, “Just call if you need any help.” The woman wandered away into the back room and Erin looked around the store. Hmmm, I guess I could get some more essence oil while I’m here, she thought. After she had picked out her purchases and started to make her way towards the counter, the woman appeared from the back room. “Are you ready, dear?” she asked. “Yes, I’ll just take these for now.” “Alright then. And since you were so sweet earlier, I’m going to throw in this little packet of good luck spells for free.” “Oh, you don’t need to do that,” an embarrassed Erin said. “Nonsense. I can see you’re going to be a good customer, so consider it a welcome gift.” The woman said cheerfully. “Well, thank you very much.” “Don’t mention it. Come back again soon.” The woman waved Erin out the door as she left and Erin felt that she had definitely found a new favorite shop. ~~~ Aidan answered the door later that evening and let Erin in. “Hey, you’re just in time. Bryan’s getting out the dishes.” Aidan said. Bryan was Aidan’s twin brother. Aidan and Erin walked into the kitchen just in time to see Bryan nearly collide with his dad. They missed each other, however, and kept going in their own directions. They nearly ran into each other every time they were both doing something in the kitchen, but somehow they never managed hit. Erin envied their coordination. She envied it even more when Bryan caught site of her in the doorway. “Well, if it isn’t our favorite accident waiting to happen.” He said. God, Erin thought, you fall out of one tree when you’re ten and you never live it down. “Shove it, Bry,” Aidan said. “You can hit on my friends when I’m not around.” “Oh, how generous of you, Dani. And since when did Erin become only your friend,” he said, as he threw a tomato chunk at Aidan. “About the third grade when you said I had kooties,” Erin replied. “Hey,” Aidan said, picking an apple up off the counter, “you know the rules, Bry. All projectile foods must be dry.” Erin laughed as Aidan got ready to toss the apple across the room. “Alright, that’s enough you guys,” a female voice said from behind Erin. Erin turned to see Mrs. Owen, Aidan’s mom, coming through the doorway. Mrs. Owen deftly plucked the apple out of Aidan’s hand and set it back on the counter. “Now,” she said, “If everyone’s ready, I think it’s time to eat.” Everyone headed towards the table, while Aidan and Bryan muttered something about aggressive maternal disarmament. Once everyone had taken a seat, the Pastors Owen took turns saying grace. Though Erin couldn’t see, she was sure that both Aidan and Bryan were grimacing throughout the whole thing. They had never been very religious, and Bryan often claimed that their parents wouldn’t be either if they weren’t a “product of their times.” Whatever that meant. It was true that the Pastors had always been a very intrepid couple. Erin’s mom had mentioned that they had been traveling missionaries before the twins had been born. They had been all around the world and Mr. Owen had even been seriously injured once. He still occasionally walked with a limp. Despite that, the Owens had only stopped traveling because they had wanted a more stable environment for their children. It often surprised Erin how easily she could imagine them doing almost anything, from traveling deserts to exploring jungles, and she had always assumed that that was what Bryan had meant. ~~~ Erin came home that night to discover that her mother was already asleep. She probably has a morning shift tomorrow, Erin thought. Hmm, maybe I’ll go try one of those good luck spells that woman gave me. Erin raced up the stairs to her room in the attic. She had almost forgotten about that little booklet. After she opened her door and went inside, she dropped her shopping bag on the bed and pulled out the booklet. I’ll just try the first one for now, since it’s getting kind of late, she thought. Erin pulled out her stuff from under her bed and opened the booklet. The first spell was for “Good Luck in the Home.” Following the directions on the first page, Erin drew out the symbols on her floor and set herself in the place indicated. This doesn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before, she thought. There were no candles required, no complicated invocations to the directions and elements. Just chalk symbols and some weird words. Whatever, I’ll just see how it goes. The spell was a bust. Erin tried it twice and nothing seemed to happen. Well, it is just a good luck spell. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. ~~~ Erin came down to breakfast the next morning with a small headache. Eggh, that’s what I get for staying up so late, she thought. Her mom came into the kitchen while putting in one of her earrings. “Oh good, you’re up. Were you the one who found my silver bracelet? It was sitting on my night stand this morning,” her mother said. “Nope, wasn’t me,” Erin said, while her stomach did a little flip. Maybe the spell was working after all. Just then, Erin swore she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It looked like a ball of watery light. When she turned her head, she discovered that there was in fact something there. It was just floating along, making its way from one side of the room towards the door on the other. “Oh well,” Erin’s mom said, “It was probably your father. I’ll ask him when he gets home later.” Erin’s mother seemed quite oblivious to the fact that there was anything wrong in the room. She kept talking on as if it were any other morning. “Oh, and Aidan called while you were sleeping in. She said she was going to stop by and get one of the shirts you borrowed.” “Umm, yeah. Sure,” Erin said, while she wondered about the floating blob of light. As Erin’s mother made her way out of the kitchen, the doorbell rang. “Oop, that’s probably Aidan. I’ll go let her in on my way out.” Erin heard her mother go answer the door and greet Aidan. They held a short conversation, muffled by the walls in between the front door and kitchen, and then Erin heard the door pulled shut, followed by footsteps coming back her way. Aidan peeked around the corner into the kitchen. “Hey, there you are. Your mom said you would probably still be in here,” Aidan said as she came into the kitchen. Erin watched to see if Aidan would notice the blobby, floating light, which had almost made its way to the door. Aidan walked right by it. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked Erin. “You look kind of sick.” “It’s just a little headache,” Erin said, “I stayed up too late again.” Erin decided not to mention the part where she had tried that weird spell. Apparently the floating blob was part of what she had done the night before. That was the only way to explain why she was the only one who could see it. Erin decided Aidan would never believe her, or worse, would think she was going crazy. “Hey, is something leaking water around here?” Aidan asked. “It smells a little moldy.” ~~~ The following week, Erin tried the next couple of spells. They worked every time, but she kept noticing more of the little light-blobs. There was one across the street when she found that ten-dollar bill. There was another one hanging around when she got the last copy of the CD she wanted. Erin was beginning to suspect that all her different kinds of “good luck” were the work of the light-blobs. Not only that, but her headache was still there. Aidan kept saying that Erin was looking kind of white and sickly. Erin thought she was exaggerating. Erin tended to get sick a lot, so it was nothing new to her. Still, Aidan insisted that something was wrong. Finally, Erin got annoyed and told Aidan that she would take care of it. When Erin got home from Aidan’s, she flipped to the last spell in her booklet, the one for “Good Luck in Health.” Erin set herself up among the chalk symbols she had drawn on the ground and spoke the words that where on the last page. Right away, she knew something was wrong. All the other spells had made no obvious reactions when she had first cast them. But this one was different. Water started to pour out of the floorboards across the room from where Erin was facing. It was dark and murky, like scummy pond water. A sour, moldy smell seemed to float out towards Erin. Just then, there was a knock on Erin’s door. And then Aidan’s voice called out. “Hey, Erin, it’s me. I’ve got to talk to you. Can I come in?” The water seemed to react to the presence of a new voice. It started to pile up on itself, building a column. And then, the column started to solidify into humanoid shape. Erin remained sitting on the ground, transfixed by the horrifying site. “Erin! Are you in there?” Aidan called, “I’m coming in.” Aidan opened the door and looked around it. “Erin?” she asked, “What are you doing?” Aidan waited for an answer as Erin just sat on the floor. When she got no response, Aidan ran over to Erin. “Erin, what’s the matter?” Aidan crouched down in front of her. Erin kept staring at the space where the creature had appeared, its watery form wobbling on two mismatched and shaky legs, while its long, triple-segmented arm reached out towards them. Finding its prey still too far away, it slowly started to shuffle forward. The smell of tepid marsh water rolled out, filling the entire room with its stink. Aidan was still trying to get Erin’s attention, but Erin was trapped in a haze of panic. She can’t see them, Erin thought, she can’t see them, she can’t see them… we’re… I’m… way over my head… Aidan finally grabbed Erin by her shoulders and shook her. “Erin! You have to tell me what you did! What did you do?!” The strangeness of the question loosened Erin from her panic enough for her to move her eyes away from the monster that was across the room. She looked down at the floor and whispered, “I did everything right. It should have worked. I don’t understand…” Aidan followed Erin’s gaze to the floor, and noticed the chalk symbols. Aidan’s eyes went wide. “Shit!” Aidan yelled, as she jumped up from the floor and pulled a lighter out of her bag. Erin turned to look at Aidan, her panic breaking up in the presence of her new confusion. Then the bottom of Erin’s universe seemed to fall out. Aidan turned to stare directly at the monster that was approaching. She flicked open her lighter, and turned it on with a click. Aidan blew at the flame, as if she were blowing out a birthday candle. To Erin’s utter amazement, the flame didn’t go out, but instead flared up on top of the lighter. At the same time, the watery creature across the room burst into flames, making a whining sound, like wet wood on fire. It reached out toward Erin one last time... and then it was gone, as if it were never there. The rank smell evaporated, and the smooth floorboards showed no signs of fire. Aidan sighed and put her lighter away. Then she turned back to Erin and smiled. “You’re lucky,” she said, “You could have been in serious trouble.” Then the smile slipped off of Aidan’s face. “Who gave you that ‘spell’ anyway? That’s not something that should just be floating around.” Erin chewed her bottom lip. Nothing makes sense here, she thought, Aidan… is it really Aidan? How? Why? Aidan seemed to sense Erin’s discomfort. “Erin, listen, I’m sorry, but even you never would have believed me. And I never lied to you. I do hate all that ‘New Age’ stuff. It’s all warm and fuzzy, tying to tell you that the universe is a benign place where you can skim over the dark parts. Of course, it’s mostly bogus stuff anyway. I’m sure all those hacks would have heart attacks if they saw a real water spirit like that.” Erin sat digesting all that Aidan had been saying. So many things were going through her head at once that all she could think to do was to answer Aidan’s question. “The new store down on 3rd that I told you about. The woman there gave it to me.” “I thought so,” Aidan said. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. Erin heard a familiar male voice answer on the other end. “Hey, Dad, I got the place. It’s the new shop alright. They gave Erin a water summoning… No, I’m not going to go down there myself, unless you want me to torch the whole building on principle. Send Bry to do it, or better yet, do it yourself. Mom says you’ve had a good century now to recover, so don’t think you can use that excuse anymore… Nice try old man but it’s Mom’s turn to do dinner… Yeah, alright, bye.” Aidan closed her phone and flopped back down on the floor with a sigh. Then she looked at the chalk marks. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Aidan rummaged through her bag again and pulled out her spray bottle. She sprayed the section of symbols nearest to her. Erin watched in amazement as the water seemed to grow, rolling over the rest of the marks, washing them away. And just as Aidan’s fire had left no mark where the creature had been standing, the water she used merely sank into the floorboards, as if it had never been there. “Good, now everything’s all cleaned up. Well, almost everything.” Aidan turned to look at Erin and tilted her head to one side. Erin was bursting to ask Aidan questions. So many, in fact, that she was finding it hard to pin only one down. Everything was spinning in her head. It was difficult to concentrate on what had happened. What had happened, exactly? Her mind was so hazy. She remembered… Aidan… something about Aidan… and that shop down on 3rd Street… “Hello… earth to Erin,” Aidan said, waving her hand in front of Erin’s face to get her attention, “you were telling me something about that new shop… the one you said creeped you out? Don’t tell me it’s more of your wishy-washy intuition stuff?” Erin’s brain snapped back into focus. That’s right, she thought, we were talking about that shop… “Sorry, I guess I spaced out for a while there. Where was I… Oh yeah, so anyway…” ~~~ Aidan walked up her front steps, intent on taking a nice, long nap. Bryan was sitting on the porch rail, twirling his lighter between his fingers. He turned to look her way and smiled. “How’d it go this time?” he asked. “Pretty good,” she replied. “No damage done.” “How many is that now? Five?” he said while Aidan came to sit next to him. “Six. It’s getting a bit tougher to change her memory.” “Hahaha… it happens.” “Did Dad send you to take care of the shop downtown?” “Yeah. A whole den of water spirits it was. A couple of the people were too far gone to exorcise, but I removed the rest of them.” “Well good, we should be getting a bit of rest for a while then.” “I don’t know. Dad said he heard that some earth spirits were collecting people over in Kayfield. They’ll probably hit our area pretty soon.” Aidan sighed. It was always one after another. “Hahaha, ‘There’s no rest for the wicked’,” Bryan laughed. “So, what do you wanna bet that our Erin will find these guys first again?” “Hmm… twenty bucks says I keep her from stumbling across them this time.” “You’re on.” Well, there you have it. I humbly ask for any opinions you guys may have. And if you like it, or even hate it, please direct anyone else you think might have helpful opinions to my site. I hope to find at least a few comments when I return next week *crosses fingers* And, now that the story’s over, I can let you guys in on a few inside jokes of mine. One of which is the fact that Aidan’s name means “fiery,” and that her last name, “Owen”, can mean “the good offspring,” which is my reference to her family as a whole more than just her. And speaking of which, I actually thought up a lot of background for Aidan’s parents, but there was never a good place to put it. Basically, they’re old. Like from 16th century Europe old. Both of them were orphans whose parents died somehow, and they were raised in the same church orphanage (no, they’re not related in any way, it just major luck mojo working that two children with the same weird abilities and longevity were thrown together). Which is what Bryan was really referring to when he called them a “product of their times.” They were raised in the kind of Christian environment that simply doesn’t exist anymore. And while I’m on the topic of them, I’d like to note that I called them Mr. and Mrs. Owen because calling them both “Pastor Owen” would have gotten very confusing O.o Well, I think that’s about it for now. I’ve got to make sure I’m all set for my trip, so I’ll see all of you guys in about a week. Have fun while I’m gone! -Quote of the Day- Random events have lead to the club accidentally spilling tea on Hunny’s stuffed bunny, known as Bun-Bun, during Hunny’s nap. Legend has it that Hunny has a terrifying temper when he’s just woken up, so the club is in a panic… Tamaki: “Think! We gotta do something before he wakes up… *snaps* Hikaru!! Kaoru!!” Hikaru and Kaoru: *appear simultaneously, saluting* “Milord!” Tamaki: “Fire up your family’s private Cessna!!” Hikaru and Kaoru: “Huh?” Tamaki: “Fly to Osore Mountain and bring back a medium!! We must summon Hunny’s grandma and get her to make a new Bun-Bun!! Take this map of Aomori!” Hikaru: “Get a grip, Lord Lame-Brain! We know…” Kaoru: “…you’re frazzled, but think of something sensible!” Tamaki: “Wait!! Maybe we can get Bun-Bun cleaned! While we try that… Haruhi!! Put on this bunny suit.” Hikaru and Kaoru: “That’s better!!” -Ouran High School Host Club-

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