The Grasp of Nighttide

by Sadaf Zulfikar

  Alice saw herself reflected on a big glass window. Her chestnut hair looked a lighter shade; so did her eyes. Her body muffled with images passing from the other side making it look like a hologram until someone’s picture closed in from the other side and stood there merging with hers.

  Derek, Alice recognized at once. He waved and smiled. He looked really smart in a black suit and tie. He came inside.

  “Hey, Alice,” he said. “What do you know, it is a small town.”

  “Nice to see you again,” Alice wondered if she meant it.

  “Hey, Derry.”Rashi called from the counter, and he went over to her. The smile still clung to his face like it refused to leave. They were conversing in Hindi. Hindi? Derek knew Hindi? Whatever it was, Alice couldn’t understand. The only words Rashi had taught her was ‘pagal aadmi’ meaning ‘crazy man’. She kept occupied silently, checking shelves for what book she could read next.

  “Alice” he finally included her after five minutes. “Rashi says I can speak in almost the right accent. Do you know Hindi?”

  “Nope.” Alice swapped two cookbooks. “You sounded pretty good while speaking. You didn’t stop to think.”

  “Well, my mom is half Indian and her husband is Indian. There’s only Hindi at her place,” he shrugged.

  “You should work on the grammar part a teeny tiny bit,” Rashi spoke up. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  “What are you doing here?” Derek asked, once Rashi had the door shut behind her.

  “I help out sometimes.” Alice pointed to the badge on her shirt.

  “Well, that’s great. My aunt runs this place.” He widened his arms in pride. “I was looking to see if she was here. Guess not.”

  Aunt? Mrs. Parker?

  “I see she has a lot of new collections now,” he picked Stephan King’s ‘The Shining’ off the shelf, “I read this... last week.”

  “What is it about then? “Alice’s brow lifted slightly; she folded her arms. “Don’t start saying it is a book on philosophy, it actually is a...”

  A black and white image of a room flashed before her eyes, not a room−more like a library. And there was the same book in Alice’s hand and she was whispering the synopsis…

  “I don’t want to know,” Derek admitted, letting his free hand rest on her shoulder. “I just wanted you to put a good word in about me to Anna and tell her that I am finally taking an interest in novels. I guess there’s no sense in asking you now...”

  Derek held her gaze for a minute before abruptly thrusting the book into her hands and leaving without a word. Alice touched her face and looked down at her dress. Everything was okay with her. Maybe he was spooked out by whatever expression she had during her photo-negative looking library vision, which she could make no sense of. But she hoped she'd run into him again. She hadn't admitted it to herself, but she wanted to know Derek better.

  She went to the window and continued looking at Derek. Though she had met him only yesterday, she knew he was a good man−like she thought Lance and her mom were good. When he was out of sight, she snapped her fingers. She felt bothered; Derek made her feel that way.

  Do I want him to like me? Alice shook her head to get even the residue of the thought out of her mind.

  Just then, Rashi returned and Alice was well aware that the topic of Derek was coming up.

  “Hey, what were you two talking about in my absence?”

  “Nothing much.” Alice shrugged. “Books.”

  “Derek seems interested in you.” She winked.

  “You are just saying...”

  “No way am I just saying!” She snapped. “It is not the first time I’ve met that guy, and let me say he doesn’t ask about any person, girls in particular.”

  "What did he ask about me?" Alice was curious.

  "How long you’ve work here. And your schedule."

  "He is Franny's relative. He means business," she stated plainly. She was more concerned with what Rashi had told him. She must've spilled Alice's history−as much she knew about, that is.

  "He was asking: 'What is your opinion about Alice?'" She pretended to be casual. "Well, that's business."

  "What did you say?" Alice blurted.

  "Getting all curious, eh? I said you were a good person." It was clear she had said just more than that. "But the bottom-line is, he asked about you!"

  “So?” Alice tried to think some sense. “Anna’s his girlfriend.”

  “Oh, Anna darling will have to step down. I have a gut feeling about this.”

  “I have a boyfriend.”

  “That guy doesn’t even message or call you. In fact, no one ever does except Franny”

  “How do you even...”

  “I kinda checked,” she handed Alice her phone. “I wanted to check that Derek has a clear way.”

  “How can you even do that? Checking my phone without permission?”

  “I’m sorry, dear,” Rashi hugged Alice even though Alice tried to resist. “Your boyfriend was a jerk for not coming up here to see you even once, good thing you broke up with him. And I’m sorry I did this. I want your boring life to change, and to see you happy.”

  Alice let go of her anger, but said nothing.

  “And don't worry, I won’t let him know about our conversation. Girls gotta keep their love secrets. Just see if you feel things could work out with him. ”

  No, Alice thought, and lost herself in the book paradise. She wasn’t going to let thoughts of Derek get to her. She loved Lance and could only be his, forever.

  CHAPTER 6

  Derek hurried from sight of the store and released his breath. He pulled out his phone. Noticing his reflection in the black screen of his phone, he smoothed his hair. He touched the first contact on his list –Anna.

  She didn’t pick up. The next moment the phone vibrated in his hand and almost slipped. It was Anna.

  I’m in class. Meet me at 6, my place.

  Bell?

  Derek had seen Bell that morning, and it was not as pleasant as expected. She used to like him, enjoy his company, cry when Derek and Anna would leave her behind at home. But this time she brought out a hockey stick−he had no idea where it came from, because she hated hockey−to hit Derek, like he was a creature of evil. He laughed at first, thinking it was some kind of prank, but when he looked into her angry eyes, he knew it was serious. He was actually scared of the nearly-hundred-pound teenager. Anna snatched away the stick, yet that didn’t stop Bell from delivering a punch on his arm. She then retreated, yelling and cursing, while cradling her fist.

  Shit, I forgot. Pick me up, we’ll go out. Anna replied.

  OK

  It didn’t take long for his thoughts to wander back to Alice again. The way she laughed yesterday at what Anna forced him to wear, the intentional water spill, the hesitation to touch Cloud, the happiness on her face when he commented about her place… Something told him she’d do fine if there could be some changes in her life; he had a few ideas for just that.

  He loosened his tie with one hand as the other tightened on Cloud’s steering wheel. Yesterday he treated Alice indifferently, but today the brown in her eyes had the clear, blackish glint in them. A glint he’d seen before−loneliness.

  Anna had told him about Alice: no friends, no sign of happiness. He’d been like that not too long ago. He lived in solitude, but it wasn’t enough. Now, even though he was out of it, it killed him to see Alice like this.

  He parked on the side nearest the church. A sign was being set up by two people under Father Mark’s instructions. The sign read:

  Things that happen are for a reason.

  Things that don’t are for a reason too.

  Derek opened the glove box and very carefully took out a taped photograph. A lady, a man, and a small boy smiled−one happy family picture, except for the boy ripped in half. The boy did not exactly look like his mom or dad, but a mix of both.

  “What was the reason behind that, huh?” Derek chided, glaring at the sign
. Derek made up his mind to tell Father Mark to take down the meaningless sign, but Jacob’s call stopped him. Derek wiped the emerging tears.

  “Hey, Derek. What’s up, son?”

  “Nothing, Dad. Going home.”

  “I suppose you got done with the conference earlier this morning.”

  The video conference had not gone well for Derek today. All through the meeting, Alice… Alice… Alice... went on and on like a never ending tape in his mind, not letting him concentrate, giving him a headache.

  That was definitely not professional, but Derek was sure it would be overlooked by the ‘Jacob Lawson’s son’ seal.

  “Yeah,” Derek said, adding no more detail.

  “And some people, P5, just called the office, saying you weren’t reachable,” he scoffed. “I don’t know why you contacted those people in the first place. You really need to focus if you’re going to be my successor someday.”

  Derek ended the call. He would trade everything not to become like his father. Derek stashed the picture and rested his head on the steering wheel. His eyes were blurry, and his mind took over his vision, showing him his past. His mom shouted, "Five minutes." His dad shouted, "Take him away."

  He reached for the bottle of water on the backseat but fumbling, he dropped it. After fighting with the seat belt to release him, he bent over. Breathing heavily, he grabbed it with both hands. It was an effort to get the water into his mouth, as half of it simply spilled on his shirt. This hadn't happened for many months. These attacks were common when he was a teenager−usually when he was alone with his thoughts, and only once when Franny was around. But with proper counselling, he had learned to cope and it grew less and less frequent−this being only the second time this year. Immediately, he picked his phone which was slick from profuse sweating and dialed.

  "Hey, Will. Listen... uh.." Derek could hear his heartbeat pounding louder than his voice.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Not feeling so well. Can you drive me home?"

  "Sure. Where are you?"

  Derek wasn't sure, nor was he alert enough to give description of his surroundings.

  "Somewhere… somewhere... a little ahead of the park. Look for Cloud."

  "Okay. I'll be there."

  He pulled out his prescription from the glove compartment and popped a pill for it all to stop.

  "Thanks for this." he said to the photograph before leaning back on the seat, feeling his heart starting to calm down.

  CHAPTER 7

  Alice was unaware of the creaking sound in the middle of night. The wind chime also tried to get Alice out of her slumber but failed. In the other room, a lady sat in the rocking chair. The length of her hair fell back, greatly tangled and unruly. Her face remained hidden by the strange angle of moonlight through the only window.

  “I’ve come back, my dear,” her old voice crackled and laughter echoed down the hallway. “All is under my control, from now on.”

  A low buzz brought the chair to an abrupt halt as she lifted the phone from the shadows. “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “The girl,” the commanding voice said.

  “Nothing can get in the way of our victory now. Not even Rave.”

  “Ensure that you succeed. And Stephanie is there, isn’t she?”

  “Yes,” the old voice faltered a little.

  “She is a Summoner, even though she has minimal training. Use her, and tell her I’ll welcome her into the Grasp if she helps us in this.”

  “I’m sure she’s here to help, your Majesty. And I’ll make sure nothing gets in the way of our eternal youth.”

  “We all are counting on you, Diane. With only a meagre share of lives, we are getting nowhere. The five demons active elsewhere are no longer enough for our survival, with the new recruitment. We are dependent on this. But as long as Stephanie is helping you, I need not worry.”

  “Grasp will prevail, your Majesty,” the voice faded as wrinkled feet receded towards the furthest corner of the room, where it was pitch black. Then, when everything looked perfectly still and quiet, she ran upside-down across the ceiling and disappeared through the window in a flash. Disappeared into the darkness of nighttide where all such creatures belonged, leaving behind only her ghostly trail, like a dark comet.

  *****

  Today, the bookstore was busy, with far more customers than yesterday. Half of them simply wanted to pick out some magazines. Rashi’s boredom was obvious on her face, with noticeable pouts now and again. This would have been a good day for fun, if Lizzie hadn’t taken leave. Lizzie−another employee and Rashi’s gossip partner−was in Tampa for her sister’s wedding. That meant Rashi would have to manage today and Alice could avoid hearing about everyone. Rashi tried to talk about the number of boyfriends the owner of the next house had, but Alice freed herself, pretending to assist a customer.

  “Look at that bat tattoo on that hippie’s back.” Rashi motioned at a teenager before Alice could distance herself. Alice looked, but what appealed to her more was the copy of Dan Brown’s ‘Angels and Demons’ that the girl was holding.

  “So?”

  “So?” Rashi did not even try to hide her disappointment. She stomped her foot and went to the counter. As the teen left, Alice looked at the tattoo again and shrugged; she had nothing to comment on that.

  Alice took no time to get to her knees when the bottom shelf of non-fiction books was noticeably out of order. As she put the last book into place, Alice heard the door crashing open, followed by small screams from Franny and Rashi.

  “Give me the money,” a man’s voice threatened.

  Alice quietly peeked over the line of books at a nervous Franny, who was watching the man with a black hoodie point a gun at her to Rashi and back again. He repeated himself, clearly meaning business. Instantly, Franny began stuffing the bundles of money in the black bag given to her. It was a rare moment to see Franny so scared, she was always so proud of her strength. She would have tried to take down the man for sure if the gun hadn’t appeared.

  Call the cops, Alice thought, taking out her phone, but then thought better of it. No, he might be gone before they arrive. I’ll even have to talk with the police.

  Plan B entered her mind. The next minute, her sandals were in her hands. Alice quickly but quietly walked on her toes. With each step, carefully handling her body weight, she approached the man from behind. Rashi and Franny pretended perfectly like they didn’t see her coming.

  With a quick side step Alice caught him by surprise, striking his hand hard with the sandal heel. The gun fell on the floor, but Alice didn’t stop at that. She hit his head with the other shoe and he fell to the floor.

  “You thought you could get away?” Franny kept kicking him.

  “Call the cops,” Rashi spoke up, picking the gun.

  “There will be no need for that,” someone stopped the tension. “It’s a set up.”

  That managed to get Franny and Rashi’s attention, but Alice refused to look away from the fallen man in case he made another move. Looking at him, she wasn’t quite sure he was innocent.

  “I wouldn’t have settled for just one intruder,” Derek stood beside her, folding his arms and smiling. He wore a yellow T shirt and light blue skinny jeans, in contrast with the dark colors she had seen him in previously. She had to admit, he always chose clothes that were perfect for him− well, of course except the SpongeBob shorts!

  Alice’s attention turned to the rising commotion. Four more people closed in, with P5 written on their orange caps.

  “Derek,” Franny’s voice was still frail. “Oh my God! You did this?”

  “Uncle Dan always told you that a thief could loot your store,” he said sarcastically. “I just wanted to show you that it is possible, and you were so prepared.”

  “Good thing we have Alice,” Rashi chuckled.

  The fallen man got up, quite embarrassed. An intercom was visible under his hood.

  “Guys, why didn’t you warn me?” He pointed at his earpi
ece. “What the hell is this for?”

  “Derek offered us money not to,” the tallest among them spoke up. “Besides we’re gonna get views on this baby−a backfired prank on Duncan.” The crew’s laughter echoed even after they left.

  “I’m sorry, Rashi, Alice. And by the way Alice, I have to give you credit for trying to save Franny. I was impressed.” He kept his hand on Franny’s shoulder. “You need to let me beef up some of the security measures around here, maybe some CCTV cameras as the first step. I know you are strong and can handle stuff around here, but you never know who you might be dealing with. Before I leave, I’ll have everything secure. You understand. Don’t you?” He cast a charming smile at Franny, who still held on to her chest. “I’ll make it up to you with lunch.”

  “I’ve got to run an errand. You can take Alice. After all, she saved this poor lady today.”

  “He doesn’t have to,” Alice stated.

  “You, young lady, aren’t saying no to my charming nephew,” Franny pointed a threating finger at Alice.

  "Yes, Alice, you can't say no." Rashi smiled at the order.

  Alice rolled her eyes at Rashi. Alice complied only because Franny was the boss. Derek fell a step behind as Alice faked a smile and walked outside. After Derek’s act yesterday, she was determined not to have the first word.

  “Can we walk?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “And don’t worry, this is not a date.”

  At the mention of the word ‘date,’ Alice remembered the date with Ron last evening. If that was a date, she never wanted to go on another one. Alice was nervous enough to be with him at the café, and then Ron told a story about a road demon that traps people who are alone on deserted streets at night and then makes some vehicle kill them. The first deaths the road demon had claimed was two men, this very same month, fifteen years ago. What about the vehicle passengers? Alice had asked. He said all of them would be unconscious for a couple of days, and then if asked about the accident, they would not remember a thing. The last thing they would recall would be going somewhere else. No one had cracked the case yet. There was no forensic evidence to support any part of the story. Obviously, it had to be an urban legend, so the road demon lived on.