Yvonne looked one last time in the mirror before heading out. Her blond hair was tied back in a tight bun. The witch’s outfit she was wearing consisted of a pale grey corset that covered, a black silken skirt that came a little past midway to her knees, white detached sleeves, black boots with belts for decoration near the top, fishnet stockings, and a floppy black witch’s hat adorned with white ribbon. Halloween was her favorite time of year. The sights, sounds, and smells of the fresh autumn were her solace.
Coming out of her cocoon of a house, she walked along the concrete sidewalk, occasionally twirling in the falling leaves. Was she going trick-or-treating? No. Yvonne was exploring, searching for a mysterious passageway that might lead her to some relic of the past, or some modern-day sorcery. Although being sixteen, the girl still believed that there was some sort of magic in the world, be it demonic or not. She KNEW it existed, she could feel it in the air. Tonight it was stronger than ever, almost as if she could cast a spell of her own if she tried.
Going through a back alleyway and over a fence lead her to a forest. It was one of Yvonne’s favorite places, especially on Halloween. The curving trees that formed arcs with their gnarled branches lead to a clearing where the clear night sky and the harvest moon could be seen. She twirled again, reveling in the feeling of mystery. Humming a hymn of her own creation, she danced about.
“It’s as if the only reality
Isn’t here with anyone.
All this,
Isn’t it all a dream?
What reality is there?
Correct me if I’m wrong,
But hasn’t the world descended
Into madness already?
All the disorder that revels here,
Not even a blue moon could hold it’s entirety in-
The hearts that beat within us
All have a chaotic rhythm.
Only for one night may they beat true.”
She stopped suddenly, falling onto the remains of crimson and amber leaves. She’d felt something wrap around her arm and pull her down. She paused for a minute.
“Nah, I probably just lost my balance.” She passed it off, seeing as it might’ve been that one of her sleeves had twisted, but the sensation was gone now.
Yvonne was about to stand up when something caught her eye. A small figure with a Cheshire grin came along stopping in front of her. Yvonne’s eyes widened a bit and she tilted her head. She was more… curious than scared of what this little creature was.
“I liked your poem. It’s so true, you know? Chaos is everywhere, but everyone denies it… You, on the other hand…”
All Yvonne could make out on the creature was its grin, but it appeared to be human-like, save for the fact that it seemed to be a living shadow. “You liked it, hm? That’s good to hear.” She started taking on a slight accent, as she does when something intrigues her, “I always thought of the Chaos being everywhere, waiting to be awakened by even the slightest of things.”
“Oh, I like how you think.” The creature hummed, its grin growing wider. It laid one of its hands on Yvonne’s shoulder and whispered, “Look up.”
Yvonne’s eyes widened as she saw that the moon had changed from a full harvest moon to a sliver of a blue moon. The creature started humming Yvonne’s hymn getting louder and louder as it seemed to fuse with Yvonne, finally triggering her to become alarmed.
“What-what are you?!” She managed to sputter out of half her mouth, seeing as the other held the creature’s devious grin.
“I, my dear, am the embodiment of all this chaos. Demon, Sin, call me what you wish, but for tonight, this body of yours is mine.” Yvonne’s skin darkened, and her eyes began to turn red.
Standing up, Yvonne felt trapped within herself. She tried to think of something that she could do to buffer the entity’s control over her body. It simply repeated the hymn over and over again. Yvonne had the urge to tell the chaotic being to shut up, but that probably wouldn’t do any good. Black circular patterns formed at Yvonne’s body’s feet and her arms reached for the sky.
“Take that, Luna, I am free for the night.” The words came out of her mouth, but in a voice not her own. The blue moon started to grow from crescent to full and reflected in Yvonne’s now-red eyes.
The entity repeated the hymn several more times as the whole world seemingly darkened. Suddenly it came back to her. The hymn she’d created for Luna’s sake.
“Alone, you’d say
She protects what means most,
Holding the dark within her reach.
Outshined,
But always quietly glowing,
The solace that the harvest moon
Will not capture us,
As for it was trapped by her.
Everything means something
Nothing goes unguarded.
Even the smallest thing
Takes a sigh of relief
At the sight of the harvest moon.”
The entity was silent for a moment as it realized what Yvonne was saying. The shadowed circles were being dispelled as a harvest moon started to come back to the sky. Yvonne echoed what the being had done with her other hymn and kept repeating it. She said it louder and louder. The chaos was being dispelled with each and every word said.
“No!” It hollered, “This can’t be happening!”
Yvonne had regained control over her body and fell to her knees, gasping for the breath that had been caught in her throat.
“You do realize that I wouldn’t let it happen, right?” The entity had been demoted back to its own form, and a white entity in the shape of a wolf, Luna, trotted forward towards Yvonne as the chaos finally disappeared, the harvest moon back in the sky.
“What… What happened?”Yvonne said, rubbing her forehead, “Well, more like, HOW did that happen?”
“Chaos escapes every once in a while, his favorite time is Halloween. Apparently, you were the one who met him this time. I’m certainly glad you didn’t consent to his being inside of you.” The wolf’s eyes seemed to smile, seeing as that was the only part of her visible in the light of the rest of her body.
“Well, was I supposed to let it take me over? Who WANTS something like that inside of them? It’s a curse, not a blessing.” Yvonne said in disbelief.
“You’ve heard of certain killers’ eyes turning red, haven’t you?” Luna said, now sitting in front of Yvonne.
“It was him, wasn’t it?” Yvonne looked down at her hands. To think she’d forced back something that demonic…
“Correct.” Luna said, “Before I leave, I’d like to ask you something. May I?”
“You already are.” Yvonne said jokingly, but then said, “Go ahead.”
“About what you said to Chaos, did you mean it?” Yvonne smiled at the white wolf. Luna tilted her head.
“Of course I did,” Yvonne started, “And that’s why I’m so careful, unlike the rest of the world.”
Luna closed her eyes, “Thank you.”
Yvonne remained there for a few minutes after Luna had disappeared, taking in all of what had happened in the course of those five-or-so minutes. She sighed in relief.
“And here, I used to think you were beautiful.” She said, directed at the harvest moon.