Girl In The Red Coat

by Gemma Owen-Kendall

  Oh my god, I am becoming obsessed with Ben, I am imaging seeing him everywhere I go. I really need to get a grip of myself before I go insane.

  I would not quite admit it to myself, but I was kind of hoping Ben was nearby. I really did like him a lot, but I could not express my feelings of him to anyone as he was known as the weird guy in college. It appeared not many people liked him or that was the impression I got from my new friends, anyway. But maybe Ben liked to be alone? I thought I heard his voice through the air calling my name, but it must have been my imagination. I carried on walking along the path, keeping my head low. I felt Daniel touching my fingertips as though he wanted to hold my hand, his index finger softly brushing around my palm. I don’t know why but I didn’t feel like it was right to hold his hand, so I moved it away to reach with it for my phone, as if I was checking the time. Thankfully I had received a text message from my mum, so it looked like I’d felt it buzz and that’s why I was looking at it.

  ‘Just checking to see if you have settled in on your first day of college, remember to go visit your grandmother. Love Mum xx’

  As I focused on responding to the text, I didn’t notice Daniel’s face begin to change. He ground his teeth and his hand gripped tight onto mine. Squeezing until it hurt, I looked up from my phone and saw a dark shadowy figure ahead of us. I tried to pull away, but Daniel crushed my hand even more and tears of pain fell from my eyes. I was not sure if he realised that he was hurting me or not, but whoever was ahead of us, Daniel did not like it and he obviously did not want me near them. The figure walked faster towards us and then they were running. It looked like Ben and I could hear him calling my name. I felt as if I was being drawn to him. In my daze I tried again to release my hand from Daniel’s tight grasp, but he would not let me go. I turned and looked up into his eyes, those kind eyes that I had seen earlier had become black and evil looking, his teeth were still grinding, and I thought I saw a fang peeking out from his mouth. It was like he was developing animal features. Suddenly, I felt so dizzy and then my vision gave in, everything had gone black.

  Chapter 5.

  I opened my eyes and sat up, I was now somewhere safe and comforting: the spare bedroom at my Grandma’s house. I must have straightened too fast on the single bed as a sharp pain went through my head. I realised that I’d blacked out and hit my head really hard on the pavement. I didn’t know how I managed to get to Grandma’s house. My head hurt too much, so I laid back down and shut my eyes for a little longer trying to see if I remembered anything. Then the smell of lavender incense and smoke filled the air of the room. The scent did help me to calm down and relax, but I was still feeling confused as to what had happened. As I started to drift back off, I saw a vision of a werewolf, his fur was as white as snow and so beautiful. Then I was standing on a hillside that was covered over in snow, the air was filled with falling crystal-like snowflakes. I was wearing a long, hooded, silk red cloak that flowed out behind me. I tried reaching out to the white werewolf as I was curious to see if this was my spirit guide. The werewolf walked towards me until my hand was on its face. I stroked the fur gently. It felt so soft, familiar, as if I had touched this fur before and I felt safe being with this werewolf.

  ‘Hello, can you understand me?’ I asked the werewolf.

  ‘Yes.’ The voice from the werewolf was male.

  ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I am your protector.’

  ‘My protector? But how? This is just a dream.’

  ‘You will find the answer to your questions in time. But hear my warning: keep well away from the black werewolf. You are the chosen one.’

  The werewolf then ran off into the distance. I was puzzled about our brief conversation, as all I knew at this moment was that it was just a dream. My imagination could get the better of me from time to time or so I thought. But what was his warning about? This was the first time I had ever come across a werewolf so I was unsure about when I would encounter the black werewolf. And to be told I was the chosen one, what had I been chosen for?

  Then Daniel appeared by my side looking amused. He moved in to kiss me and I kissed him back. I had never really kissed anyone in this way before and never dreamed of kissing a boy before. I had wanted to kiss Daniel since I first met him. It was a dream, but I was disappointed as there was no spark. It was as if my feelings of falling for him had just fizzled away. I pulled myself from his embrace and he just glared at me. I thought maybe he was hurt by this, but he tried to pull me in again. I pushed out my hands to try get him away, but he overpowered me. He was too strong, and I could not escape. I tried again but he pulled me back and pressed his lips against mine. The energy from my body drained and I couldn’t stop it.

  Daniel lay me down on the cold, snowy ground and started to slowly untie my red cloak; still I could do nothing. I knew what was about to happen. Dream or not I was not going to lose my innocence against my will, but when I tried to fight, I had no strength. I could not stop it from happening. I closed my eyes and just hoped it would be over with quickly. Had Daniel done something to remove my energy? He kissed my neck and I felt his hand stroke through my long blonde hair, feel the snow melting through my cloak underneath me, the icy cold wetness taking my focus away from what Daniel was doing to me. His hand then drew down the zip on my dress and I felt the cold metal move along my back until it was loose enough for him to take off.

  He stood up for a moment. I opened my eyes in the hope that he had changed his mind but he was just looking at me, his gaze moving along my body. Removing his t-shirt, a pale, white, toned frame was revealed, a few dark hairs on his chest. As he unclipped his belt, I just looked up towards the sky at the calm, crystal snowflakes that continued to fall gracefully down.

  Out of nowhere the sound of a wolf howling was heard. At first, I thought it was the white werewolf had come back to save me, but instead of a wolf it was a human-looking silhouette heading towards us. Daniel’s eyes changed to black and his nails grew into claws. He let out his own wolf howl and then shot a look towards the shadowy figure who was gaining on us. Was this someone to save me or someone else wanting my innocence? I closed my eyes for a moment again and found I was shivering, the cold starting to get the better of me. I still had no energy to move or to try and cover myself up. The snowflakes that had fallen onto my bare flesh began to melt from my feint body heat, but the icy water they formed sent more chills through my body. I did not know how much longer I could take this. I longed for the white wolf to come back and help me. Distracted by my freezing body, I hadn’t noticed that Daniel had run away and left me in the state he’d made. I opened my eyes to see Ben kneeling down beside me. He had a very worried look on his face.

  ‘I am so sorry Grace, that I did not get to you quick enough. Please forgive me but I am here now to help you. Daniel has given you a poisonous kiss, that is why you could not fight him off.’ Ben placed his thick, white fur coat over me and kissed my forehead.

  I suddenly woke, back at my Grandmother’s house again. I looked around the room. It was dark, so I was unsure what time it was and how long I had been asleep. I reached for the bedside light. It was a struggle for me to move as though I was still trying, struggling from being poisoned in my dream. That dream was such a strange dream but yet it felt so real. It was as if I had actually been there and that it had all actually happened. I fought my way up to a seated position, thinking back on what had happened on the route to my Grandmother’s house. I still had no idea what happened when it seemed as if Daniel was changing into something animal-like. This image must have triggered me to have had the nightmare. I thought of how Ben had come to my rescue, he saved me from freezing to death and also saving my innocence. I managed to get myself out of bed and went downstairs to make myself something to drink. I could still smell the lavender incense from earlier, that I had noticed just before I had fallen back to sleep. My Grandma loved to burn oil and incense sticks. Although I did like the scent of them, I could get overwhelmed by the smoke th
at carried it around a room. I was surprised that my Granddad put up with it. But perhaps the fact of his ancestors being Native American meant that he liked it too. I had read that they would light fires and infuse them with natural herbs to help cleanse their souls and rid themselves of evil. My Granddad’s father was full on Native American but sadly he never knew him, as he suddenly disappeared one day when my Great-Grandmother was heavily pregnant. She had believed that it was an evil spirit that he had feared for so long, that had finally stolen him away from this Earth and into the spirit world.

  The tiled flooring in the kitchen felt warm; my Grandma must have left the heating on. I was thankful to feel warmth after having just dreamed that I had frozen half to death in the snow. I rummaged through the cupboards to see if there was any hot chocolate but found instead various herbs and tea leaves in glass jars. It baffled me as to why she kept so much of this kind of thing. Behind the jars labelled ‘mint’ and ‘rosemary’ I spotted a pink bottle with a label that said ‘For Grace’ on it. Carefully removing, the glass jar from the cupboard, I gazed at it for a moment. I opened it up, wondering what it was that my Grandmother had put aside for me and, like magic, the contents in the jar transformed into a sweet mug of hot chocolate layered with a whipped cream and marshmallows.

  Woah I must still be dreaming, or my mind is playing tricks on me from my having hit my head!

  Still, there was a mug of chocolate in my hands. I was so curious as to how this had happened that I took a sip. I closed my eyes as the warm, sweet liquid filled my mouth followed by a couple of the fluffy marshmallows that left a gooey residue around my lips. It was the best hot chocolate I had ever tasted! Then a vision came to me. I was a little girl and visiting my Grandma. She always gave me a mug of hot chocolate and this memory gave to me a warm, fuzzy feeling of happiness and comfort. I always felt safe and secure at my Grandma’s house.

  The smell of lavender filled the air again and flowed round me, then candlelight appeared from the living room. Holding onto the hot chocolate, I entered the living room and there were my Grandparents sitting on their sofa chairs waiting for me to come into the room. My Grandparents hadn’t appeared have aged at all from when I was a little girl. Grandmother’s face had barely any wrinkles and she always looked good no matter what time of day or night it was. My Granddad had jet black hair and not a grey hair ever seemed to have appeared.

  ‘Grace, it’s nice to see you awake. How are you feeling dear? I see you have found the little treat left for you in the cupboard.’ My Grandmother smiled at me

  ‘Hi Grandma, hi Granddad, it is nice to see you both awake, in fact, what time is it?’

  ‘It is half past five in the morning, you have been sleeping for two days straight.’

  ‘Two days? What?’

  I slipped onto the edge of the sofa, feeling baffled as to what my Grandmother had just told me.

  ‘Yes, my dear. I think you have been really poorly, you collapsed on your way here. Your friend carried you to the house. He was very concerned about you.’

  ‘Was it Daniel? He was walking me back here.’

  ‘No, it was not a Daniel that he said his name was, oh what was his name again? He has a white wolf tattoo on his arm.’

  ‘Oh… Ben.’

  ‘Yes, that was it, Ben was his name. Such a nice young lad and very caring too. He even popped round again yesterday to check on you, but you were still sleeping. He offered to collect the college work you have missed from the past couple of days.’

  I sat in silence trying to think back to what could have happened. I just could not remember anything, apart from seeing Daniel’s eyes change and a shadowy figure heading towards us, and then everything going black. In my deep thought I had not noticed my Granddad stand up from his chair, my thoughts were interrupted when he put a comforting arm around me.

  ‘Are you ok, Grace?’ he asked me, concerned.

  ‘Oh yes, I’m fine. As crazy as this sounds, I just can’t seem to remember getting poorly, or Ben bringing me here. I just seem to remember Daniel walking with me and then everything just went black.’

  My Grandparents gazed at each other and then Grandma stood up from her armchair and sat next to me on the sofa. She too put her arm around me, to comfort me.

  ‘It is not crazy at all,’ she soothed. ‘You passed out and smacked your head really hard on the pavement, so of course you will not remember what happened and who brought you back here. Let us just be thankful that Ben found you and got you here.’

  ‘Yes, I am grateful that he did. I must say thank you when we next cross paths. There was a commotion on my first day at college between him and Daniel so I am not sure if he will stay clear of me now.’

  ‘Well I am sure you will see him, as for this Daniel be very careful round him as he sounds like trouble.’

  ‘He comes across as a great guy, Grandma, he was very welcoming on my first day at college. And, he was the last person I remember walking me here.’

  ‘Well, still, be careful. He may have come across as a nice guy but he was not the one to carry you here when you passed out.’

  ‘Yes, Grandma, I will be careful.’

  ‘Good to hear, well let’s get back to bed, you still need to get your strength back.’

  My Grandmother kissed me on my cheek. The hot chocolate still felt nice and warm. I was too tired to ask her about the magical jar transforming into my favourite hot beverage. My Granddad helped me to get up from the sofa and I hugged him thank you. As I approached the door that lead to the hallway, I had a quick look at my Grandparents and smiled.

  ‘We love you Grace, goodnight.’ Said my Granddad

  ‘I love you both too, and thanks for the hot chocolate.’

  I managed to climb the stairs but still felt quite weak. The pink jar that was filled with my hot chocolate was still full to the top, even though I thought I had drunk at least half of it. With the pain in my head and being so sleepy, I put it down to that and being confused. Slumping to the bed in my weak state, I looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure things out. What was happening to me? And why were things happening that were out of the ordinary? There was the heavy smell of lavender again, and I inhaled in the lovely scent which made me even sleepier. I tried to fight the tiredness, wanting to work out what had happened to me, but my eyes were too heavy and gave in, drifting off into another deep sleep.

  Chapter 6

  T he next day was Saturday, so at least I would not miss another day of college. I slept in until lunchtime and so decided that it would do me good to take a stroll into town. I needed to be alone to try and clear my head of so much sleep and the strange dream that had felt so real. As I got out of the bed, the sun rays shone through the gaps of the curtains. The good weather made me even more keen to get out of the house. The weakness in my body had disappeared and I felt like I could run a marathon, if I was asked to. I saw the pink, glass jar and that the contents were gone. I must had managed to drink it all before I fell back to sleep and not realised it. I put on some music and danced my way into the bathroom feeling vibrant. In the wide mirror of the bathroom wall, I performed as if I was showcasing a new dance routine. Dancing was something I had loved for as long as I could remember. My dancing reflection revealed a dark stain on my neck. I stopped and gazed at the mark. It looked like a love bite, but I had no idea how it got there as the only physical encounter I’d had with a boy was the version of Daniel from my dream. I touched the mark and suddenly I was back laying on the snow with Daniel looking down at me. Then I heard a loud knocking and I was back in the bathroom at my Grandma’s house and she was knocking on the door.

  ‘Grace, are you ok in there?’ she yelled to me through the door. ‘Your music is playing really loud and interrupting your Granddad’s meditation.’

  ‘Yes, I am fine. I’m just feeling so happy and vibrant. Sorry that the music is too loud.’

  ‘It’s fine, I am happy to hear you are feeling better but I am going to turn down your music
so Granddad can concentrate.’

  I looked at in the mirror again, the dark mark on my neck had changed to a dulled yellow colour like a healing bruise. I hoped my Grandparents hadn’t see the mark that morning when we were chatting. But the room had been quite dark so I just thought that they probably hadn’t. I shook this small mystery off as I wanted to get outside and fill my lungs with fresh air. As quickly as I could I jumped into the shower and lathered my dirty hair with my Grandma’s luxury shampoo. The shower products were also kept in glass jars. she seemed to make a lot of her own lotions from the various herbs and flowers that were grown in her garden. I guessed that being retired, she’d have a lot of time to try out new things such as making homemade beauty products. Whatever she put in them, they always did the trick. My hair was so bouncy and full of life after washing it with her creations. I climbed out of the shower and back in the bedroom, the music had switched over to my favourite slow ballad. I hummed to the tune and sang along, as an image of Ben appeared and there, we were holding each other and gazing into each other’s eyes. I smiled to myself at the thought of this and wondered whether it would come true. Or maybe I wouldn’t really see him again. The song ended and my thoughts stopped, so I reached for the hair dryer and finished getting ready.

  I headed downstairs to tell my Grandma my plans for the day. She was in the kitchen chopping herbs and placing them into glass jars. Again, lavender incense filled the room with its essence.

  ‘Grandma is it ok for me to take a walk into town? It is such a lovely day, and I’m feeling much better and I could do with some fresh air.’

  ‘Yes, of course Grace, but make sure you are home for tea as your parents are coming over. Your mum has been really worried about you being poorly.’

  ‘Ok Grandma, I will make sure I’m home for about fiveish.’