#rewq

Rewq hasn’t been a lucky child. Not that she has had a particularly harsh life filled with abuse and hatred; she just hasn’t been lucky. As a young child, she had a mother, a mother that shouldn’t have had children. This mother was young and innocent and nothing but a child herself. This mother wasn’t a bad person, but just irresponsible and clueless. As time passed, as effort was forth, she could no longer take it—so off Rewq was dumped in the forest. Her mother wanted to save herself because she was so poor and indebted, and so her daughter was the first to go. Unfortunately for everyone, this mother who wasn’t truly the mother Rewq needed committed suicide from her grief. She knew instantly that abandoning her child was a mistake, but it was already far too late to reverse her decision.

Well, maybe Rewq’s not unlucky either. She could have been ripped apart by the razor sharp teeth of wolves and bears, but that didn’t happen. No—She was picked up by a woman. This woman’s name was Leisha, and her elderly soul held knowledge that most souls couldn’t attain in a thousand years. She was intelligent, wise… And a witch. Nobody liked this witch. They feared her and her massive power. How could the witch not understand this? But the witch was lonely, and she adopted the abandoned Rewq. Rewq was really too young to be affected by folktales and fear, and she loved this woman. Rewq admired this woman.

As mentioned before, others didn’t love Leisha. Leisha was solitary for a reason; there was a reason she lived amongst the mindlessness of peaceful, innocent animals versus the scheming hearts of humans in society. People fear the unknown, and the old witch knew and dealt so much in the unknown. Leisha taught Rewq about the unknown. This witch was disgustingly powerful, excelling in all forms of magic, summoning, and alchemy. Oh, she even summoned demons and angels. Even in Rewq’s current day life, that power is far beyond her spiritual understanding and level.

Rewq wanted to be just like her adoptive mother. The strength of this witch was uncanny. Leisha’s power was unlike any other, and Rewq fell in love with Leisha’s amazing skills. Not only that, she fell in love with the woman. The witch wasn’t her mother in her eyes; Leisha was Rewq’s teacher. Leisha saw the girl as her daughter, but oddly for Rewq, a very businesslike relationship was formed between the two females. Rewq would remain forever formal; love existed, but Rewq couldn’t find it in her to be comfortable enough for a mother-daughter experience.

Strict study. Strict practice. Strict… Everything. Leisha was so militant, but Rewq was a sponge. She soaked up that knowledge like it was nothing. Everything came so easily to her, but she was dumbfounded by one particular subject.

The spirit world.

Rewq was different than other people. Naturally, she saw the basic purity of life in those woods. She saw how easily life was snatched away, and countless witch-hunters, men crying for justice and death, were put down so mindlessly by Leisha, the preciousness of life never really took hold in this young girl’s mind. Rewq gained an exceptional hatred for these particular people. Ignorance, in her mind, is nothing more than evil. Fear of the unknown does nothing but hinder. The spirit world represented all of the ideas that Rewq was infatuated with: The unknown, power, spirituality, and hidden knowledge. It dripped with romantic adventure, and Rewq’s curious heart couldn’t resist.

Rewq began to defy her mentor. Leisha knew the dangers of magic and especially magic concerning the spirit world, so this wise soul told Rewq that her inexperience would kill her if she pursued the power of spirits. Leisha forbade Rewq from the spirit world and learning of it, saying that her lessons about this difficult topic would come later in life. Oh, Rewq had gotten a taste of potions that let her feel the spiritual world, but at that time, she didn’t know how to whip up those spirit potions. Not only this, but Rewq didn’t have the spiritual willpower to defend herself from volatile leeches in the spirit world that would suck her tasty energy away. So she tried a different route. There were plants that were said to bring spirituality to the edge of one’s mind, allowing a person to grab hold of its meaning. They were hallucinogens and deliriants, and soon Rewq found that insanity was often what she felt rather than spirituality, so this method was soon abandoned. However, Rewq found one particular plant that didn’t present mock experiences to her. Real spirits would come, and at first the young girl didn’t believe her eyes. The drug-like effects from the plant could only last so long, right? Everything was normal though; Rewq felt fine, and Leisha would complain of how many spirits were dwelling near the cabin for a few days, expressing concern and confusion. The spirits were real.

This plant was beautiful; it was a violently pink blossom that opened to reveal a flourish of white inside the swooping petals. It was a magical flower that burned with ghostly energy atnight, and it was a rare flower that could only work at night. It’s main power? It opened up portals for the living to escape into the spirit realm and vice versa. Some flowers, when they matured enough, could even open up different portals—portals to Hell. This flower was called Gatekeeper’s Blossom.

A particularly powerful, little devil had a bone to pick with Leisha. So, when Rewq used a very ripe Gatekeeper’s Blossom, making it into a tea, and drank it, a devil sprang forth from its newly opened portal. Its damage to Rewq’s world was great. It wrought havoc first on Rewq’s mind, taking her desires and magnifying them tenfold into a torturous ambition. All of them were magnified so much, that selfishness became something dominant in this young girl’s heart. The devil wanted to play with Rewq further, knowing that Leisha would be devastated to learn of her adoptive daughter’s molested mind, but Leisha picked up on its possession on Rewq. This caused a fight.

Leisha died. The devil returned to the dwindling portal, injured and sick.

A giggle chimed through the rainy forest.

It was getting dark out, and the sky lit up like a deranged flame. The sky was like a sea of blood, and it dripped with a fiery venom that could torch a pure creature’s innocent soul. No, no—she wasn’t like any other. She saw things differently. Out there wasn’t a sunset to admire. Out there were blood and hate and violence. Life wasn’t something to be thought of as precious.

How come Rewq saw things so differently?

How come no one saw the harshness of life?

There were ways to get around such ills of life though. This little boy standing right in front of her seemed to have the right idea. “A potion? You need a potion to see the spirit world?” She said. The little boy, with big eyes and a big heart, nodded “Oh, please. I’m not so sure! This is quite the dangerous goal, y’know!” Rewq nodded with an equally large smile. “Potions to the spirit world open up endless possibilities, and you… You are a kind soul with a beautiful, pure heart. I’m not so sure a spirit wouldn’t…” Rewq paused, tossing a thoughtful glance toward all of her medicines, potions, and poisons, “… Try to take you as their own. Hearts, especially one nearly untainted, are precious commodities.”

“I want to see my mother.” The little child replied in a voice that oozed determination. “I have to see my mother.”

“You want… to see your mother. Ah, I see.” At this, the young witch turned her back on the little boy to focus on her wares. She knew just the thing for this little boy. Her fingers twitched and tingled as she moved along her wooden shack, surveying the shelves upon shelves of vials and glass bottles filled with vibrant chemicals. She had created all of these potions. Rewq was quite proud of all of the potions she had whipped up. They were physical proof of all of her knowledge. “First, you must tell me. What do you think of the value of life?”

This was a question a little over the young one’s head. He stood, and he stared. “Father tells me it’s precious.” At this, Rewq giggled again. It was a young and sweet giggle, one that danced among notes of playfulness. It was as if Rewq knew something the little boy didn’t, and she could see that he shifted uncomfortably. Of course, she knew this little sweetheart would ignore all of the signs that screamed danger all around him because he was just that blinded with love and hope for his mother. It was sad, really. Still, Rewq had her own goals. She stood on a strong shelf to make up for her short height, so she could reach and pull down a tiny, tiny vial filled with a silvery liquid. It was all they would need.

“Are you sure?” Rewq questioned as she stepped closer to the youngster, bending at the knees to give him more direct eye contact. “Are you sure this is what you want?” He nodded enthusiastically, getting excited. Rewq grinned again; it was a warm smile this time. “This is a warning, little boy. You could die.”

“I don’t care! I want to die if it means seeing my mother!”

At this, Rewq began to unscrew the black lid. “That’s all I needed to hear. Take just a sip of this, and you’ll be able to see the world beyond.” The teenage witch waited as the boy snatched the vial with grabby hands and as he followed her instructions obediently. She watched intently as the base of his neck swerved back and forth in the rhythm of swallowing. “There.” Rewq whispered, taking another vial of mystery liquid from a pouch hanging on her side, draining it as the little boy slipped into a daze. “I suppose you’re ready.” The passion seeped from her voice as she sat down with a clumsy thud beside the child, her bloody irises and black pupils revealing such a strong hunger as she moved forward with an animalistic crawl toward the boy. Oh, she was mesmerized. Hungry; she was so incredibly hungry.

’You could die’ She gave the warning loud and clear. She wasn’t a thief, because she had basically asked the child for his life. He had given her permission.

… And she was doing him a favor. Life among the living in this world was nothing but a living Hell. The sky with its deranged, bloody color was the color she always saw. She saw red. She saw hatred. She saw violence. She saw ugliness. Life—Pfft—life was nothing more than a joke. She was this boy’s savior. Rewq was his hope.

Rewq moved steadily forward as the little boy moved his lips in an unintelligible whisper. No doubt he was talking with his mother in the spirit world, totally immersed in its beautiful mystery. Oh, how lucky he was. Mothers seemed to be like that, always sticking by their beloved children, trying to protect them even when the energy to do so was nigh impossible to attain. This made mothers almost sadistic in a sense. Pointless hope, pointless love—It was all nothing but sadism. Rewq would be this mother’s savior too. She would free the spirit mother from her pain.

Rewq continued to move with the stealth of a cougar. That giggle, a trademark of hers, sprang forth from the pit of her soul as she watched the boy’s lips form a certain string of precious words. “No mother. I won’t move. I’m not in danger. I’m safe. I’m safe right here next to you. I love—“ Rewq didn’t let the child finish. She better move now. This was her chance! Haha—Oh, she grabbed onto his shirt, ripped it open, and pulled the glistening, blue energy from the depths of his being. The adrenaline raced through her veins like a slithering snake (and how she loved snakes). Reaping the energies of these hopeful people was her drug, filling her being with a smooth and ethereal bliss. He writhed and shook, gasping and crying out, before finally falling still. A couple of seconds passed, and he changed into a smoky creature. A spirit. It melted into the shadows, not attacking, fleeing.  Rewq felt her fingers shaking, her legs aching from their light tremors. Her own energy was drained from the exertion, but it didn’t matter. The bliss was still there, lingering like a hazy fog, like a vicious scavenger.

Her hunger was satiated. The potion that had let her steal his precious soul energy was beginning to wear off, and she finished up the reaping of that energy by devouring it. Life… was difficult. She wanted it to be over for her, but she had been let on to a secret. The more spirit energy that was stolen, the stronger she would be in her beloved spirit world. Rewq needed that power…

And after each reaping, she felt good. A kind of giddiness would wash over her. She saw life differently. It was something to save people from. She saved that little boy. “I was his guardian angel.” She whispered with a soft smile, running a shaky hand through her wavy, frizzed hair.

Rewq was a savior.

Rewq was an intellectual.