Tales of Sin and Madness Read Online Free PDF Page B

completely gone, as if what used to be there never existed in the first place.
    Where did you come from? she wondered, placing the photo against her chest. It felt hot, hotter than her skin, yet she didn’t take it away. There was something calling her, something or someone, she was sure of it, and just as she was about to open her eyes to see if it was coming from outside…
    There were fairies and elves and wands everywhere, only they were tainted now by evil. The room was dark except for a solitary candle, and it not only flickered against the dirty old mattress with the horrible smell, but something else, something small and shaking. A human form, with long golden hair and dirty clothes. The person’s head was buried in the mattress – seemingly asleep. Then a sound, a thumping sound, and the candle wavered, as if something moved very close, causing the light to flicker over the fairies and elves and wands. A man. Tall, large, hairy. He enters the room, holding a bag, smiling and then the person with the long golden hair wakes up, looks towards the man and starts to scream. It’s a girl and she screams and tears are flowing down from her eyes as the man starts forward, eyes glowing with evil lust…
    “Julia!”
    Julia awoke, body bathed in sweat, breathing in quick gasps, unsure if the person calling her name had been part of the dream.
    Dream? Fuck, that wasn’t a dream, that was a nightmare .
    “Julia! Hey you up there!”
    Julia sat up and the photo fell off her chest.
    It was Cindy.
    Hopping out of bed, Julia walked over to the window and pulled aside the curtains. Two stories down standing on the sidewalk were Cindy and Belinda.
    “We’ve been trying to reach you all night,” Belinda called. “What’s up?”
    “I’m not feeling too well guys. I’m going to have to give tonight a miss.”
    “Okay, suit yourself,” Cindy shouted.
    “Say, this isn’t a peep show hon,” Belinda said. “We all know you’ve got a great body, but you don’t have to make us feel bad.”
    “And you’ve got a tattoo now? When did that happen?”
    Julia looked down and saw the blotch had grown again. It was now double the size of a matchbox.
    Oh Christ.
    “What is it?” Cindy called. “A love heart?”
    “A Unicorn?”
    “I know – the Stars and Stripes?”
    “I have to go, sorry guys. Have fun.” She shut the window, pulled the curtains closed then dashed into the bathroom. She switched on the light and gazed at the blotch that covered half her chest. “Oh God,” she whimpered. “What’s happening to me?”
    She stepped closer to the bathroom mirror and examined the growth more intimately.
    She suddenly felt dizzy.
    “It can’t be possible.”
    She saw the photo reflected in the mirror – a faint and blurry image, but there was no mistaking the house and the trees and the three people and dog. They were all there, smiling at her, the man and mutt broken by the crease.
    She dashed out of the bathroom and over to the bed, to the photo that lay on the sweat stained sheets. She picked it up. The picture was almost entirely faded.“What’s happening!” she cried and fell to the floor, clutching the photo to her chest, the photo folded on its crease as it was meant to be.
    The phone rang.
    Not Belinda or Cindy this time.
    Julia got up and staggered to the phone. With an unsteady hand she picked up the handset. “Hello?”
    “Jules it’s me. Are you okay? You don’t sound too good.”
    As much as she wanted to tell her sister everything, she just choked back tears and answered, “I’m fine.”
    “Okay. Listen, I’ve got something really amazing to tell you.”
    “I don’t want to hear it,” Julia said. The photo was hot in her hand. All she wanted was to savour its energy, be with it and nothing else. She didn’t want any distractions.
    “But Jules…”
    “Just leave me alone!” She dropped the phone, the receiver dangling off the coffee table by its cord. “No more,” she sobbed and fell