Lizzi Bizzi and the Red Witch

by Stefano Pastor

«Here?», I repeated, passing through the door that she’d pointed at.

  «On the table», Laura reminded me.

  I’d only taken one step when the smile froze on my face.

  In the middle of the room, staring right at me, was a deer.

  3

  The deer was clearly a male, its antlers were over a metre high. It was extremely striking. There was no sign of Laura’s table, but even if it had been there the deer would have destroyed it. The room was the main living room, but it seemed like a storage cupboard, given the enormous size of its occupant.

  Well, it wasn’t a tiger, at least. Yes, even a deer could gut you with its antlers, but it was still only a deer. Much lower down on the food chain. Notwithstanding the fact that it was almost twice as tall as me.

  «Laura!», I called, in a strangled voice.

  Her voice drifted thorough the house, and it seemed like it was coming from a long way away. She was probably in the kitchen, because I could hear her opening the fridge.

  «Can I get you anything?».

  For a moment, I considered telling her yes, and just slamming that door shut and forgetting what I’d seen. For God’s sake, I was in her house at last, and she’d actually invited me in! Why did that damned deer have to show up so inconveniently?!

  «Laura!», I shouted more loudly.

  «How about a Coke?».

  I didn’t want to seem hysterical, it would have made a bad impression. Even if that demonic animal was staring into me with its enormous black eyes. As I watched, its nostrils seemed to twitch and its head lowered almost imperceptibly.

  «Laura, there’s something here… something weird!».

  «Oh, just leave it anywhere, don’t worry about the mess».

  I spotted what was left of the table. The deer had practically pulverised it. I had no intention of meeting the same fate.

  «Is it… is it yours? Did you bring it here?».

  «What?».

  «The deer!».

  For just an instant, she was silent, and then she replied:

  «It belongs to one of the girls, I imagine. I don’t know anything about it».

  I wasn’t sure that she’d understood.

  «Is it dangerous?».

  «What on earth are you talking about?».

  She came in behind me, and put a glass into my hand. The drink was ice-cold, and it was a struggle to keep myself from screaming.

  «What do you mean, dangerous?», she asked.

  She still hadn’t seen it.

  «Turn around, slowly».

  I couldn’t see her face, but at least she didn’t start screaming.

  «Did you let it in?», she asked me.

  What kind of a question was that?!

  «There’s a deer in your living room», I replied.

  «So I see».

  «But we’re on the fifteenth floor!». My voice was getting shrill, and that was bad, very bad.

  Laura surveyed the damage.

  «It’s destroyed everything!», she yelled.

  «How did it get in here?».

  She was snarling.

  «I haven’t the foggiest idea, but it needs to get out, right now!».

  As I stood, petrified, behind her, she advanced towards the deer, waving her hands. «Shoo! Shoo! Out! Out!».

  I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The monstrous deer loomed over her imperiously, regarding her as if she were an annoying insect. It bent its head right down, showing off its fantastic antlers. Then, miraculously, it turned the other way. It climbed over the sofa, knocking it over and sending it crashing to the ground. It made directly for the wall, and to my utter astonishment, it walked right through as if the wall were made of butter. It disappeared completely, before my very eyes.

  «A ghost!», I kept shouting. «A ghost! A ghost deer!».

  «Some ghost!», snarled Laura, surveying the damage in dismay. Her living room had been reduced to a pile of ruins.

  She seemed to be ignoring the minor detail of the deer’s improbable exit through a wall.

  «Where did it go?», I asked.

  She was really furious. «How the hell should I know?!».

  I gestured at the wall. «What’s on the other side?».

  She shrugged. «Over there? It’ll be the the Bartolos’ living room. The damn thing is welcome to them, they’ve always got their volume on full!».

  «We’re on the fifteenth floor», I reminded her again, perhaps trying to convince myself.

  «There’s noone there at the minute», Laura continued. «They don’t get back before eight».

  «There’s a deer wandering around that can walk through walls!», I shouted, and it seemed absurd, even to me.

  She gestured to the destruction that had once been her living room. «I’m well aware!».

  «Is it yours? Did your friends bring it here?».

  «Are you crazy? How on earth would we have done that?».

  I was desperately trying to find a logical explanation.

  «Maybe you’re all environmentalists, and you like to set free animals from the zoo».

  She didn’t bother replying. She continued circling through the ruins of her living room and tried to lift the sofa.

  «Come and give me a hand!».

  I obeyed at once, because, regardless of the situation, it was a great opportunity to show off in front of her. Unfortunately, when we flipped the sofa, it collapsed sadly onto one side, one of its legs smashed to pieces.

  «Damn it!», shouted Laura. She surveyed the room again, devastated. «How on earth am I going to explain this to the girls?».

  «Should we call someone?», I asked. «The police? Animal welfare?».

  She laughed, bitterly. «That thing has no need of any protection! And what on earth are you planning on telling them? Let someone else take care of it».

  «Who?».

  She shrugged her shoulders. «Someone else will find it, wherever it’s gone!».

  This seemed a little selfish to me, but I made sure that she didn’t notice my expression. In any case, I myself wasn’t exactly acting for completely altruistic reasons.

  «Shall I help you tidy up?».

  She was really annoyed. «What exactly are you planning on tidying up?! Just go home, I’ll figure out what to do here!».

  That poured cold water on my hopes. «I really don’t mind».

  «But I do», Laura cut me off, propelling me out of the room. «I don’t have time to chat right now. We’ll catch up another time».

  That damned deer! I’d come within touching distance of paradise, and then that stupid creature had to show up and ruin everything!

  «And what are we going to do about the deer?».

  She paused for scarcely a moment.

  «Forget about it, I’ve got enough problems without people going around saying that I’m seeing things».

  «But I saw it too!».

  «That’s worse! Even worse!».

  I found myself pushed out of the door without even having noticed how I got there. «But, Laura…».

  «Tomorrow, tomorrow!». I heard her grumble while she shut the door in my face. «I’m not in the mood right now. Go home!».

  What a complete and utter disaster! My ego was in tatters. It was clear that I just got on her nerves. She didn’t give a damn about me, I was just deluding myself. I struggled to come to terms with such a huge catastrophe. All I could think about was how I had lost Laura forever. I was so overcome, that I had already completely forgotten that strange deer.

  Two steps, and I was once again in front of the door to my apartment. I tried to find a slim hope to cling on to: maybe she was upset, just in a bad mood, maybe tomorrow everything would be different, maybe she’d even apologise.

  It was at that moment that I saw it appear.

  A head appeared out of the wall, a few metres away from me. For a second, it looked just like a stuffed hunting trophy, but then it stepped forward and its entire torso appeared. It was a deer. Not the
one I’d already seen, but another one. I was completely sure of it, this one seemed much younger and its antlers were half the size. It turned to face me and looked me up and down.

  Judging by the distance, it was coming out of next door’s bedroom

  I stopped, completely paralysed, the keys clutched in my hand, and watched it step completely out of the wall, contemplate its new surroundings, and then pass through the wall of the apartment opposite.

  I stood, frozen, until it had disappeared completely, but even then I wasn’t too sure what I should do.

  Go back into the house? Tell someone? The police? Would they think I was crazy?

  Then I was struck by a terrifying thought: that behind that door, there could be more, and that I might find a deer waiting in my living room too.

  I counted to ten, and then I turned and threw myself against the door to Laura’s apartment, pounding on it with my fists.

  «Open up! Come on, Laura! Help!».

  Miraculously, she actually opened the door. «What’s wrong with you?».

  «There’s another one!», I shouted. «It’s going in the houses, it’s walking through the walls!».

  She stuck out her head to see, but of course by that point the corridor was deserted. She stared at me for a few minutes before deciding. «Come on in then».

  I felt the urge to cling to her, to embrace her. Yes, it was an urge which I felt constantly, but in that moment it was intensified.

  «There’s another one! There’s another one!».

  I carried on like a broken record, and for a moment Laura seemed worried. «You’re not having me on?».

  «You saw it yourself!», I shrieked.

  She sighed. «Calm down. Really, it’s not like it was aggressive, it didn’t do anything to us».

  Perhaps she would rather not think about the state of her living room. «But they could well do! Didn’t you see how big they were? And those antlers!».

  My words seemed finally to be making an impression.

  «Are you saying that they could be dangerous, that they might hurt someone? And they can walk right through walls?».

  «Of course they’re dangerous!».

  It wasn’t that I was enjoying scaring her, but her calmness was getting on my nerves. How could she not be freaked out by what she’d seen?

  A strange expression came over her face, which I found hard to read at first. Then her voice softened.

  «If they’re dangerous, then we should warn him, don’t you think?».

  She let slip one of her wicked little grins.

  It was a few seconds before I realised whom she was talking about.

  «No!», I shouted, deeply offended. I scrambled around for a rational excuse. «He’ll never believe you, he’ll think that you’re mad! Do you really want him to look at you like that?».

  Had I given myself away? Had I gone overboard? Laura didn’t seem to have noticed, she was absorbed in trying to figure out a solution. Finally, she nodded.

  «It’s true, I can’t tell him».

  A sense of immense wellbeing swept over me, but it was shattered a moment later when she added: «You’re going to do it for me».

  A strange itch appeared on the back of one of my hands, and I immediately started scratching.

  «M-Me?». Again, my voice had become oddly strangled.

  «You have to try, at least. If he doesn’t believe you, keep trying. It’s not fair to leave him in danger, don’t you think?».

  «But…».

  «The poor guy, he’s already suffered so much. It shows, you know? It’s not fair, it’s just not fair».

  The nausea was coming back, and that horrible sensation between mouth and stomach that comes before vomiting.

  «You want me to…».

  She floored me with a sultry gaze.

  «Would you do it for me, Luca?».

  Oh damn it! Now I felt like it was me who was impaled on a spit and roasting over a slow fire. Those eyes of hers seemed to transfix me.

  «But… but…».

  She stroked my cheek. «Please».

  She was playing me for a fool, I knew it. I didn’t matter to her at all, she was only thinking of her mysterious dreamboat. My logical mind was screaming at me, but I was deaf to it, I was hanging on her eyes and on her lips.

  «If you want…».

  «Yes, great, go and speak to him. Tell him what’s happening».

  I found myself outside the door once again, but I didn’t notice until I was already there. Terrified, I spun around, but there were no deer in sight.

  «Go on, get over to his house!», Laura ordered.

  Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that, even with the motivation of her having chosen me to be her champion. The deer could appear at any time, and from anywhere. That corridor had never seemed so long.

  4

  The door to Parry’s apartment was the very last one on the right. I didn’t dare ring the doorbell, in case it attracted the attention of the deer. I knocked as quietly as I could and turned around, looking for Laura. She was still sticking her head out of the door, and she was smiling at me.

  I knocked a little more loudly.

  When Parry opened the door, I wanted the ground to swallow me up. As he stood there, right in front of me, I couldn’t help but make comparisons between the two of us. And there was no doubt about it, in a direct competition I would lose on all counts. He was more handsome than me, and with a perfect body. Stronger, more agile. Even the right age. He was probably an idiot, but that was a minor detail.

  He managed to hide his surprise fairly well.

  «What is it, Luca? Do you need something?».

  The only thing that I needed was a bathroom to hide in, but it was more than likely that the deer would be able to get me even there.

  «I need to tell you something», I began.

  «Go on then, tell me»

  I couldn’t do it, it was too humiliating. He would laugh at me, maybe even slam the door in my face. And of course, there was the risk of one of the neighbours overhearing me.

  «Can I come in?», I asked.

  Now he was really puzzled. Finally, he made up his mind and stepped aside to let me in.

  I stepped into his apartment, and saw that it was incredibly spartan. It seemed to be almost completely bare of furniture. It was much smaller than ours, and all the rooms were clustered around the entrance hall. I looked around curiously. In what I assumed was the living room, I saw only a low, uncomfortable sofa with no backrest, and a rug on the floor. I peeked into the bedroom, but couldn’t see any bed.

  «What did you want to tell me?».

  He didn’t give me any kind of indication that I should make myself at home, and trapped in that narrow entrance hall I felt even more uncomfortable. Parry was an awful lot taller than me, and he loomed over me.

  «There are… ghosts in the building», I mumbled, deliberately avoiding his gaze. «There are ghosts in this apartment building».

  He took too long to reply, and I felt even more awkward. Finally, I took the coward’s way out.

  «It was Laura who told me to come. She wanted you to know about it».

  Parry gave a sad, worldly sigh.

  «Ghosts aren’t dangerous, Luca. They are the shadows of those who have lived before us. They are our ancestors and they protect us».

  I raised my eyebrows and I dared to look at him. He was a mystic too, then! A mystic, a philosopher and a poet! The man really was godawful!

  «Well, these ones can cause harm», I insisted.

  He grinned at me and flexed his muscles.

  «I don’t think I’m in any danger, do you?».

  He was right, I couldn’t deny it. In his house, there was very little that could be destroyed. I let my guard down and allowed my curiosity to get the better of me. I left him there and went into the living room. There really wasn’t anything there, apart from that strange sofa.

  «Isn’t that uncomfortable?», I asked him.

  He s
tarted to laugh, taking me by surprise, and he lay down on the couch, leaning on his elbow.

  «You get used to it». Then, with studied nonchalance: «So. It was Laura who sent you».

  There was no way I was going to play Cupid for them, damn my gullibility! «You ought to be afraid, these ghosts are dangerous».

  «Have you known her a long time? What’s she like?».

  The bastard wasn’t even listening to me! The mere mention of Laura’s name had been enough to send his hormones through the roof.

  «They’re huge, terrifying! Horrible monsters!».

  A nasty, malicious grin appeared on his face. «You like her too, I see».

  Another catastrophe! I was suffering one after the other, a total avalanche. Once again, I felt the urge to run away. Instead, I forced myself to counter attack.

  «What kind of a name is Parry? Is it your real name? Did you choose it yourself? What do you do, do you play in a band or something?».

  He sighed and accepted the change of topic, almost conceding me the point. «Do you see any instruments around here?».

  «Maybe you sing».

  «Alright, enough of that», Parry cut me off. «Tell me the truth, why are you here?».

  I wasn’t going to let him call me a liar, nevermind the unlikelihood of the things that I was saying.

  «Fine, don’t believe us if you don’t want to, but it’s the truth. When we went into Laura’s house…».

  I saw his eyebrow twitch. «When you went into where?».

  Smugly, I continued, «It was in the living room, and it had almost destroyed the place. Then we both saw it, it walked through the wall and passed through to the other side».

  «What do you mean by it, the ghost?».

  I tried to keep my voice firm and authoritative. «The deer».

  He didn’t laugh or anything. Parry leapt to his feet, so that he was standing beside me. He grabbed me by the arm, dragging me.

  «Great, now you’ve warned me. Thanks».

  Once again, I was unable to resist and I found myself thrown out into the corridor, hardly knowing how. I was barely able to stutter «But…» before he slammed the door in my face.

  The guy was crazy, what had just happened?

  More confused than ever, I crept back down the corridor, looking from side to side. I seemed to spot a lot of dark corners that I had never noticed before.