How could anyone have let this child grow up and not have loved her? How could that woman have called herself a mother even to her own biological children and looked at this child and not felt something? His heart collapsed, he needed her in his life and he would find a way to have her even if for only a few more hours.
Zachariah let the wall crumble and felt the waves hit him. They hit him so hard they almost sent him to his knees but he stood tall and smiled at her. Slowly he turned around and lifted the bed putting it back into the closet and closing the doors behind it. Then he took the blanket that he had planned for the bed and covered the big mirror. Melanie looked at him with a question in her eyes and he answered it before she could voice it. “The other day Lilith spoke from a different mirror than the one she had told me she was confined to. She said it was the special magic of the day but something inside me tells me she has been able to do that for a long time. By covering the mirror I am hoping to not only hide what she can see but what she can hear. Even though nothing will happen between us, I want her silenced to our time together.
Melanie smiled, “Thank you, Papa Zach."
He then went to his wardrobe. There were a few things there from when Lilith had aged him with the evil little kid. Even after she had found an innocent child he had been sick and had had to have a live-in nurse for a short time. The nurse had left a few items behind one was a knee-length nightgown. “Well you cannot sleep in that evening dress, I think it would be better if you wore this."
She took it and looked at it. It was heavy cotton and the polyester underwear she had on would cause friction. “Papa Zach, if I wear this it would be best if I take off my underwear."
"Oh!” Suddenly Zachariah felt his own cheeks blush, Melanie burst out in laughter. Quickly he turned around while she slipped out of her underwear and slid the gown over her head.
"All done, Papa Zach,” she announced. However when he turned around she was leaning over with her bottom exposed, mooning him.
"Melanie!"
"What?” She said as innocently as she could muster before she burst into laughter. Then they both laughed. He was glad to see she had a little of a mischievous side to her as well as the serious side he had seen. He could tell from the things he was feeling it had been nothing but a jest and that she was teasing him. She had really enjoyed seeing him turn bright red and she'd had to do it again. He smiled, for he knew that she truly was comfortable with him. If she had not been she would not have done that for that would have been to tempt the devil.
Zachariah began to unbutton his shirt.
"Papa Zach, wait!” Melanie said then she quickly got up and walked over to him. “Please do not take this wrong, I am not trying to be sensual. I just want to do some of this for you, besides I am curious."
She finished unbuttoning his shirt and looked at him. “You said as you carried me up the stairs you will soon be one hundred and ten, but Papa Zach, I could feel your muscles ripple beneath your shirt. You lifted me like I was a pillow not a girl that weighs a hundred pounds."
She ran her hand over the hair of his chest and added, “Except that your hair is white, and the lines on your face your body looks like a young man's. I would guess your chest to be the chest of a man in his thirties or younger not over a hundred?"
Zachariah held her head between his hands, “I know, the only thing that really gives away my age is the lines of my face, but think Melanie. You have already seen the magic of this shop. It works through me; it keeps me young as well so I can work on more pieces."
She looked up into his eyes and smiled, “But when you are outside you look old. Your hands are almost claws, and your back is stooped?"
"Again that is the magic at work,” Zachariah said, “and when that window is open and the light from outside enters no matter how little or how much I will look older than I do right now too. People know me to be an old man and that is what they will see."
A deep smile crossed Melanie's face, “And since I know the truth of the magic I am beginning to see the real you."
"That is right, precious."
Zachariah did not think it was possible but her smile broadened even more, “Then I do not have to worry that you will not be around for me as I grow older?"
Zachariah kissed her lips, “That might not be a worry you will have to have, sweetie. The magic may keep me around a long time, but for now, let's get ready for bed."
She smiled wickedly. “Do you sleep in pajamas, Papa Zach?"
Slowly he blushed, “Umm, no, normally, I sleep as I came into this world, but tonight I think I should at least sleep in pajama bottoms."
Melanie's lower lip stuck out in a pout and Zachariah laughed as he leaned over and kissed it, then he added. “It is best that we tempt each other no further than we have. For like you I believe sex is something best saved for marriage."
She pushed the shirt over his shoulders and off his arms and carried it over to a chair and laid it down. As he rummaged through the top drawer looking for a pair of pajama bottoms she turned and said, “Eww! I had not thought about your back being covered with hair."
Zachariah laughed. “Well there is not a lot I can do about that."
"Oh yes there is,” Melanie said adamantly. “We can go get your back waxed."
As he pulled out the pajama bottoms he turned around and looked at her and just as adamantly said, “Not in this lifetime and this has been a hell of a long lifetime."
Melanie laughed as she ran over to him and hugged him tight. She kissed his lips and said, “I am teasing, I like you as you are, even if you are a grizzly bear."
He hugged her close and suddenly released her as he felt her hardened nipples through the nightgown against his chest. Tempting the devil was going to be difficult to handle if he kept teasing fate.
She looked at him with a little disappointment in her eyes and he had her sit on the edge of the bed and said, “Melanie, how do you feel right now?"
"Happy! I want to be held by you. To kiss you and have you kiss me.” She said smiling at him.
He nodded at her. “And how does your body feel when I hold you?"
"Wonderful. I feel warm, and tingly. I feel excited to have you near me."
"Melanie, precious, think on that word excited a moment,” Zachariah said. “When you just hugged me, your breasts were pressed hard against me. How did that feel?"
"Like heaven!” Suddenly he saw by Melanie's face that she had caught on to where he was leading. “Oh!” She turned red again, and lowered her head, but then raised her eyes to look at his, and said, “But I do love you, and I know we are not going to do anything unless we get married. You have not even proposed. So I know nothing is going to happen.
"Is it bad to feel that way?” She asked.
He looked her in the eyes and said, “No, precious, if you can control it. Sometimes people let it go to far and loose control. The problem is you need to be aware of it."
She smiled, “So now I am aware of it, and I will not let it go any further."
"Sweety, some things you may not be able to control whether they happen or not, but you can control whether sex happens or whether touching happens. So you keep your gown on and your body covered. I will go into the bathroom and put these bottoms on and then come back to join you.” He smiled at her and as he stood he kissed her forehead.
Before he got to the door Melanie called after him, “Papa Zach, I just remembered something. You said your birth certificate said you were one hundred and ten. It was sort of like that was a piece of paper saying something but I got the feeling that it was not the truth of your age. You are older than a hundred and ten aren't you?"
Zachariah stopped at the door and without turning said, “Yes."
"How old are you, Papa Zach?” She asked.
"Truth is Melanie. I am far older than you may believe even with you believing in the magic. I will tell you tomorrow night when I tell you the most important story of them all."
"Oh?” He
could feel Melanie's eyes drilling holes into his back.
"Remember the ring, the one that I refused to tell you the story of?"
"Yes."
"Tomorrow night that will be your birthday gift, or part of it."
Melanie clapped her hands, “I cannot wait, Papa Zach."
He stepped into the bathroom and put on the bottoms. He knew that that story had to be told to her but he dreaded it all the same. It was going to bring up a lot of painful memories for him and it was going to possibly put both of their lives at risk.
As he returned to the room Melanie patted the bed beside her and added, “Please come to bed now, and hold me."
Zachariah paused a moment and looked at her, “Sweetheart, you are so precious, but it bothers me because sometimes you act almost as if I have already proposed to you."
"I know Papa Zach, but I also believe it is going to happen. It is only a matter of time, and,” she paused as she smiled at him, “I have a feeling it is going to be rather soon. These feelings I get usually are not wrong."
"Oh you do, do you?” He said as he climbed in beside her and pulled the blankets up over them.
"Yes I do,” she replied as she snuggled into his arms with her back pressed against his chest. Zachariah could feel his groin stir, but he would do nothing about it. This girl was too precious and yes, he did indeed want to marry her, after the ritual was complete, but only if he could find a way that both of them could walk away from the ritual alive. If they couldn't both live he planned to be certain she did, he would protect her from Lilith at any cost.
However the memories of the night of Lilith's suicide were finally leading him to a potential answer; and Melanie had indeed been a key in guiding him there. The answer lay with the ring.
* * * *
Melanie awoke first and for the first time in her memory she awoke feeling as if she belonged. She lay on her side looking into the face of the man she loved. It did not matter to her that their ages were so disparate yet she tried to imagine what he had looked like in his younger days. How she wished it had been her that had been with him in his youth and not Lilith for though she could see he loved Lilith whenever he spoke of her she could also see that there was something that he feared and even hated about her as well.
Maybe it was just that her spirit had been overseeing him all these years and had not allowed him the freedom to love again until now, but Melanie's senses told her it was something deeper and darker than that. She thought back to how the fear had overwhelmed her when Papa Zach had told her about the mirror. At first as she had looked at it there had been no feeling at all, even the second glance. Then when he had told her about Lilith's soul being trapped within the mirror it was like suddenly a door had opened and behind that door was an opening directly to Hell. The hatred and evil that had flowed forth from the mirror had been directed at her and it had been filled with jealousy and vengeance. Melanie had begun to wonder who was going to be protecting whom when the time came to face the evil within that mirror for if Papa Zach had ever felt the dark force she had felt he would never have even come close to that woman. Still, she knew he would protect her to the best of his ability, and something told her that even though he doubted himself that there was a way that he could indeed protect her. Now she had to figure out how she was going to save him.
Slowly, so that she did not wake her love, she rolled off his arm and climbed out of bed. She was a little embarrassed by the fact that her nightgown had hiked up to her midriff and exposed her sex to him and she was thankful he had worn his pajama bottoms for as she looked toward him she could see that his manhood was betraying his age. It was hard and firm as if he were a man well in his prime and not a man in the years of his decline. She covered her eyes. She would not think of sex, yet she knew she had turned such a deep shade of red that had he seen her he would have teased her about it for most of the day.
Quickly she pulled the cover up over him hiding what she dared not think about and also making certain her gown went back down to her knees. Then she turned toward the mirror. There was something she needed to do before the day began. She needed to see Lilith.
Slowly walking over to the blanket covered mirror she felt her heart racing, thundering within her chest. Every fiber in her was telling her that this was a mistake that she should leave the blanket where it was and just get dressed. However something inside her was also telling her that she needed to see for herself. She needed to know that the evil she felt was real and not just a figment of her imagination.
She crept closer, pausing at the edge of the large dresser that the mirror rested upon. As her fingers touched the edge of the blanket she felt a small static shock, a whisper, an omen telling her to leave well enough alone. Yet she had to know, with a sudden pull the blanket fell and Melanie froze.
The scream started in the pit of her stomach growing, swelling, gaining force and yet nothing came from her open mouth. She could not move. Her eyes were locked to the horrendous image before her. The mirror was filled with two large flaming eyes filled with hatred that were the center of a demonic face so monstrous that Melanie knew what the men must have felt like when they faced Medusa for she had become like stone. Her limbs would not obey her. She tried to turn to flee from the eyes that tore into her but it was as if the very air about her had turned into solid stone. She could feel her heart beating, racing, her pulse slamming into every vein of her body.
Hours passed, days, weeks, years, a lifetime and still she could not utter a sound, but she heard someone singing in the distance and a child crying for the mother she never knew to come rescue her. The singing voice was the voice of a man in search of a long lost love. Slowly it pulled her to awareness and she realized that the crying child was her own voice and the singing was Zachariah trying to sooth her. She was no longer in front of the mirror but was lying on her back in Zachariah's arms. He had found her and rescued her.
She wrapped her arms around him and looked up at the mirror. Once again it was just a mirror with a blanket covering it and gone was the image of the demon she had seen.
Melanie wept bitterly into his chest as she wondered if it had all been a dream. She looked up at the man she loved, “Papa Zach, tell me, what happened?"
"I don't know sweetheart,” he said soothingly, “I awoke to your screaming and I tried to wake you but it was as if you were in some kind of trance so I began to sing to you. It is how I used to sing to my sister long ago, when she had nightmares."
"So it was all a nightmare?” She hugged him tight.
"What? What was it about?” Concern filled his eyes.
"Maybe I will tell you later, Papa Zach, but your big day is here, and I do not want to relive it right now.” She held him tight and then kissed his lips, “Thank you for rescuing me."
"You are welcome, sweetheart."
Quickly she sat up and looked at him, “Now go and start getting ready for your day. I will make you breakfast while you clean up and after we are done eating and I have done the dishes then I will get ready. By then it will be time for you to open the doors."
Zachariah laughed and jokingly said, “Now you are acting like a wife already. Giving orders and I have not even proposed yet."
"Oh, Papa Zach, I did not mean to give you an order, I want to serve you as your wife, but it is your big day, and a helpful reminder and encouragement is not really an order. Is it?"
He wrapped her in his arms and fell back upon the bed laughing like he had not laughed in centuries, “I guess not, my love. Okay then, I will get ready, and you can go make breakfast."
* * * *
The day of the Grand Opening went wonderfully. From the moment the doors opened the store was filled with customers. Even Melanie made a few sales and she was so excited for she had never done anything like that in her life. She truly felt like she had found the place she belonged, not only because of the man that she loved and who loved her back but because she could truly help him in his business and not be in his
way.
Several times during the day people would stop and ask about the big ornamental case that was closed and locked and Zachariah would explain that the pieces within were extra special and were shown by appointment only. When a few tried to make appointments he would explain that he was waiting for his nephew to arrive but if they would come back in a few days his nephew would be glad to make an appointment with them. No one argued and everyone seemed satisfied with his explanations.
Late in the afternoon Philip the pizza driver made an appearance. He told Zachariah in a whisper that after seeing him with the young lady that he had gotten the courage to ask out a girl he'd had a crush on for over a year. She had said yes, and now he wanted to get her something special.
Zachariah took him over to a case and said he had just the thing. It was a thin gold chain that held a pendant. The pendant was a golden triskele with a perfect pearl set in the heart of it. Philip smiled but then frowned when he saw the price. Zachariah laughed and said, “I owe you thirty dollars still, and I will knock another fifty off the price because of your kindness, so does that make it more affordable."
Philip nodded and dug out the money but before he left Zachariah took him by the shoulder and pulled him to the side, “Listen to me, young man. I can see in your eyes that you see something special in this girl so take some advice.
"Don't pressure her. If she says she wants to wait to be intimate then let her. Do not be worried that she will not wait for you. Think of it this way. If she does wait for you then you will be her first."
The pizza driver smiled at that and said, “If an old dude like you can get a pretty young girl like her,” Philip turned and looked toward Melanie and nodded his head in her direction, “then believe me I will listen, and yes, I like the idea of me being her first."
"Good,” Zachariah said and patted him on the back. They shook hands and Philip left. As the old man watched him leave the magic that flowed through him told him he would be seeing Philip and his lady friend again in six months, give or take a week or two, as they bought a wedding and engagement set together. Of course Philip would not recognize him then, but Zachariah would be more than happy to give him a bargain anyway.
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