Jenna Czech

The Nightmare Before Christmas By Jenna Czech I live alone, which I don’t mind, except for the fact that my mother never tires from telling me to find a husband. She keeps saying that she was already pregnant with me at my age; 20. Her persistent nagging made me irritable, but I loved her, nonetheless. The leaves began to fall off the trees outside. After reading and writing, looking at nature and how it evolves, is my favorite pastime. I live in a small apartment. I was comfortable and happy in my life, despite a lack of a partner, until Christmas time this past year. My mother invited me to her house for Christmas. The problem with this was my parents are wealthy and have two houses. Every time I was invited for holidays, I was to stay in the second house because they liked the first house to themselves. I strongly dislike that second house. No electricity, and immediately after I open those massive oak doors, I feel watched and followed. I loved my mother, and nothing ever happens in that house, so I’m inclined to come every year. If only I didn’t come this year. I do not drive, mostly because I hate the idea of getting in a car accident and it being my fault. I would much rather have someone else drive me places, that way if something happens, it can’t be my fault. I guess I am not one who likes being in control. Instead, my preferred mode of transportation is on bike. It tends to count me out of parties, hanging out with friends, or going anywhere that is more than a few miles away. I’ll admit, I do get lonely at times, but I’d rather be lonely than dead. My annual trips to my parents’ house for the holidays are my only exception. So, on Christmas eve morning, my parents picked me up and drove me to their houses in the distant hills. When we arrived, I took out my phone. The time read 10:00 AM. I headed to my house; my stomach uneasy. The living room was as unclean as if no one had ever lived there. I am not certain that anyone had. I found it a little odd that there were no mirrors in this house and no windows at all. Just open holes where the glass should be. I decided to put up some curtains and they swayed in the wind. Whenever I would ask Mom about these strange characteristics of this house, she would go rigid, then ignore me like I never said anything at all, which was far from comforting. At nightfall, it had started to rain. I was becoming paranoid. Hopefully the curtains would suffice in keeping the storm at bay. I decided to clean to get my mind off the storm. I cleaned for hours. I didn’t want to sleep. I went upstairs to clean more. I avoided my bedroom, for fear that something may be there, lurking in the darkness. I went to clean the broom cupboard. I opened the cupboard to find a box that was partially ripped. It was filled with old novelties. I decided to sort through them. I was only sorting for a few minutes when I found a shattered mirror. When I peered into it, I saw something that terrified me to my core. I saw a woman behind me in a black dress. A black veil was covering where a normal face would have been, but in its place was a ghostly white outline of a face, and completely black eyes. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. I turned around and she…disappeared. I was so horrified; I ran out of the house into the pouring rain with a fragment of the mirror still in my hand. The thunder was roaring as if it had just seen what I had seen. I ran to my parents’ house. I pounded on the door but didn’t wait for anyone to answer before I forced my way in and shook them awake. “Wha-what is it?” My mother sputtered, “You are soaking wet!” My father lit a candle, shaken. “I know! I’ve just seen something, a woman in a black dress. She had black eyes. I don’t know-“ “NO! Did you see her in your reflection?” Mother screamed. “How?” “I found an old mirror in the broom cupboard. Why?” I replied. Mother’s eyes drifted down to my hand that was holding the mirror. “There’s a reason that mirror was in the broom cupboard.” Mother said, her voice now strangely calm. “What?” I asked, beyond confused. “You’ve angered her.” I was lost for words. “Her? You mean you know what that-that thing is?” My voice was rising now, anger was searing through me. “And you left me defenseless with that thing in that filthy, abandoned poor excuse for a house? Tell me what’s going on!” My mother appeared as though I had deeply offended her. “What, you can’t possibly think that that house is anything other than abysmal!” I peered into her eyes. As I spoke, I saw her eyes grow darker still. Her normally bright blue eyes were now as dark and stormy as the night sky. Or was it just a trick of the candlelight? I glanced at my father who was also watching my mother’s face intently. The noise of the storm had stopped, and I realized it had also suddenly stopped raining. It was like the weather was on the edge of its seat in suspense. I looked back and she had, for lack of a better word, transformed. She was now the woman I had seen in that shattered mirror. I was in shock. All I could do was turn and run away. I turned, but before I could move, she grabbed my arm. Her hand was as cold as ice. “Let me explain.” Mother said in a voice very much unlike her own. “I wasn’t always aware I could change. I found out when I was pregnant with you, and your father and I bought the first mirrors for our house. As soon as I laid my eyes on a mirror, I started to change into The Grey Lady.” “The Grey Lady?” “Yes. That’s what I like to call her. Don’t you like it?” She waited for me to answer. When I didn’t, she continued. “Anyway, when I transformed, I had a sudden urge to suck human blood, male blood. I acted without thinking, and I started to suck the blood out of your father. I sucked so much out of him that he needed to go to the hospital. After about a month, they let him go. While he was gone, I was able to gain back my composure and the urge to suck blood was gone after I smashed all the reflective surfaces in the house. Well, almost all of them. I didn’t know there was an extra mirror in that old box until you told me. And I’m utterly bewildered as to why it would be there. I will have to annihilate it completely at once.” She finished with a look of triumph on her face. Was she somehow proud of the story she just told? A sudden realization swept over me as well as another wave of horror. “Is that why you wanted me to find a husband? So, you could suck the blood out of him and kill him? I thought you smashed everything so you would never turn into-” I shuddered at the thought of saying the Grey Lady’s name, so I didn’t. But my mother seemed to understand. “No, not kill. Never kill. I only need enough blood to seriously injure. Then, if The Grey Lady permits me so, I can smash whatever transformed me and change back into a human. I knew there might be a chance I could transform again so it was only natural for me to want a new blood source! I realize now that when I was nagging you, I didn’t think about the love you may have for a husband. I was being selfish, and for that, I’m very sorry.” “Oh, you’re sorry? Well then, I guess I have to forgive you!” I shouted shrilly. I quickly grabbed the car keys off the counter and started to run away. My breathing sharp and ragged. It was raining again, but I didn’t care. I got in the car, turned on the engine and floored it. Of course, you have to drive now! I think. In the pouring rain on top of fucking hills. I heard my mother shout my name in the horrid voice of The Grey Lady. I thought that this shouldn’t be happening, this can’t be happening. I was leaving and I was leaving forever. I didn’t care. I awoke. I was back in my apartment. Was it all a dream? I couldn’t remember how I got there. I had completely forgotten that it was Christmas until I walked into my living room and saw what looked like a hastily wrapped gift in the center of the room. I unwrapped the gift and to my horror, it was the shattered mirror. The mirror appeared to have writing on it. Written on it were the words: You’ll never run away from me. It was unmistakably written in blood. 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