"Curl"

"Well then, what happened," the old woman scowled at me while her lips curled into what she deemed to be a smile. She was abrasive, yet kind, in the same way that only an old and close relative can truly accomplish. Being perhaps the most relatable creature in this journey so far, I smiled back.

"You think this is FUNNY?" white foam fell from atop her lip as her eyes grew and glared upon me. If one could explain her eyes in that moment, which was not an easy feat, they were the dark and deep swirling green of a sky imminently threatening a tornado.

I quickly realized my mistake and sheepishly apologized. In all truthfulness, I was terrified, "he said life is tough."

She threw her head back and an inhuman sound began to escape her lips. The sound was a screaming chant, and although I could not make out the specific words, I felt the message. It first entered my ears and slowly washed over me, a stinging cold representation of the words she was no longer able to utter.

I stood up and tried to leave.

She knocked me down.

'Let me just talk to you. '

The sound came first as a low hum and then escalated to a growl. There was something out there that felt the need to explain. They were unsure how, and I looked beyond as the mist began to close in on the room.

Choking and sneezing, I picked up my suitcase and bolted for the door.

'We need to talk.' The growl was raspy and loud. The arms of the old woman began to grow longer and longer until they finally reached beyond the mist and back into my view. Her mouth opened first exposing sharpened teeth, as I ran I looked back to see it open farther and farther.

As the forward momentum ceased, I turned back and saw her jaws open wider until her face split. Warm blood trickled from the broken jaw, and I circled back to help. She looked up at me, wild-eyed and broken jawed. As she thrust her face from side to side the opening of her mouth grew until her smile was an unnatural grin that spanned from ear to ear, without lip, skin, or sinew to shape it back into human form.

She wasn't an older woman, just a victim of the mist.

I almost wish I'd listened to the man.

"Life is tough kiddo," he had said it as we looked at the winter night.

I wasn't looking at him, but I could see his breath as he spoke the words. The vapor danced in front of my face as it swirled away and I rose to find Orion's belt.

Three steps closer to the building and I heard it.

A deafening roar and the sound of a life ceasing to be. He never made a sound.

I felt his life force end, as a flame is snuffed. I never needed to look back, and never did. We were connected in the way that a part of me died without ever knowing what happened. That's when I decided it was time to move onward without ever looking back.

#story #writing