Laurie Faria Stolarz - Blue is for Nightmares 02 - White is for Magic.pdf - po angielsku - dana2

White is for Magic

Laurie Faria Stolarz

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to members of my writers group for whom I am truly grateful: Lara Zeises, Steven

Goldman, Tea Benduhn, and Kim Ablon Whitney--I couldn't have written this without your

friendship, advice, encouragement, and critiques. I feel truly blessed to be able to work with such

talented and amazing individuals.

Also, thanks to the many family members and friends who have been a source of encouragement

and support: Mom, Ed, Ryan, Mark, Lee Ann, Neil, Laurie, Delia, MaryKay Lisa, Jessica, Haig,

Sara, Martha, and everyone in the New England Screenwriters Alliance.

A special thanks to Lieutenant Fran Hart of the Burlington, MA, Police Department and Officer

Conrad Prosniewski of the Salem, MA, Police Department for answering all my police-related

questions. Thanks to Dr. Kathryn Rexrode, MD, for answering my medical questions.

And, finally, thanks to Llewellyn editors Megan Atwood, Andrew Karre, and Becky Zins for

such helpful suggestions, endless enthusiasm, and critical comments.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to members of my writers group for whom I am truly grateful: Lara Zeises, Steven

Goldman, Tea Benduhn, and Kim Ablon Whitney--I couldn't have written this without your

friendship, advice, encouragement, and critiques. I feel truly blessed to be able to work with such

talented and amazing individuals.

Also, thanks to the many family members and friends who have been a source of encouragement

and support: Mom, Ed, Ryan, Mark, Lee Ann, Neil, Laurie, Delia, MaryKay, Lisa, Jessica, Haig,

Sara, Martha, and everyone in the New England Screenwriters Alliance.

A special thanks to Lieutenant Fran Hart of the Burlington, MA, Police Department and Officer

Conrad Prosniewski of the Salem, MA, Police Department for answering all my police-related

questions. Thanks to Dr. Kathryn Rexrode, MD, for answering my medical questions.

And, finally, thanks to Llewellyn editors Megan Atwood, Andrew Karre, and Becky Zins for

such helpful suggestions, endless enthusiasm, and critical comments.

Orx

It's happening again.

The bile at the back of my throat burns. I swallow it down and wipe my bottom lip. My head

feels like it's cracking open, like an archeologist is trapped inside, chipping away at the bones of

my skull. I lean back against the cold ceramic wall tiles and try to hold it all together--the

puking, the headaches, the nightmares, my sanity.

My world is falling apart.

xii

I stand up from the toilet and stumble over to the mirror. My eyes are red, the skin beneath them

a dark, smoky color. I reknot my hair with a rubber band, noticing my chin--wet from puke

spooge. I wipe the goo with my fingers as best I can and tuck the stray strands of dark hair

behind my ears. What I really need right now is a hot bath, but the knocking in my head is so

intense I want nothing more than to just lie down.

After a thorough toothbrushing and several gargles of mouthwash, I stagger my way back

through the common area and into the room. Drea and Amber, my roommates, are asleep. I know

I could wake them up, that they'd want to know what's going on--especially after last time--but I

almost don't even want to know myself. Not tonight, anyway.

I grab a lipstick from Drea's vanity table and the notepad from beside my bed. I flip the notepad

open to a fresh sheet and write the letter M across it in the dark-red lipstick, trying my best to

make it look smudged, messy--the way it did in my nightmare.

I rip the page free of the pad and stuff it into the pocket of my pajamas. Then I lie back on my

bed and pull the covers up over my ears to block out Amber's snoring. But I still feel sick, the

juices in my stomach churning away, bubbling up like molten lava. There's only one way I'm

going to get any rest tonight.

From my spell drawer, a.k.a. the bottom drawer of my dresser, I pull out a stick of incense, a

virgin black candle, a razor blade, and some other assorted spell supplies, includ

xiii

ing a bunch of red grapes courtesy of Drea's mini-fridge. I collect it all inside my terra-cotta pot

and stand up to leave. Except my head is throbbing. I sit back down and peek over at Amber and

Drea, in their bunkbeds, the light of the waxing moon casting a shadow over Amber on the top

bunk. She turns over, but she's still snoring--her mouth arched open, chest heaving, six cherry-

red ponytails sticking out from her head. Drea moves her forearm up over her ear in response,

her golden-blond hair separated into two perfectly frumpled braids.

I wonder if I should even bother telling them anything. If maybe I'm just overreacting. It's only

happened twice now. And Maura's birthday is a week from Saturday. So, maybe that's what's

causing it. Or maybe I'm just coming down with the flu.

The terra-cotta pot tucked under my arm, I grab a pocket flashlight from the drawer and make

my way out of the room and through the common area. The door to the boiler room is just out in

the lobby.

I travel down the dusty wooden steps using the slender beam of the flashlight to guide my way. I

know I could flip on the light switch, but the sudden blast of artificial light would only make my

head pound more. Instead, I try to make peace with the darkness; I try to imagine it like crushed

velvet, enveloping my skin, inviting me further down the creaking stairs and into the boiler

room.

It smells musty down here, like leaking pipes. I try to focus on my breath, but for some reason

I'm feeling a bit disconnected. Maybe it's because I don't feel well. Or maybe

xiv

it's because it's been a year since my last bout of nightmares, and a part of me is afraid that, this

time, I won't be able to stop it.

I take a deep breath and make my way across the cement floor. There isn't much down here--an

old and rattling boiler, a rusty water tank, dorm room furniture in need of repair, and lots of

copper pipes that travel along the ceiling. But it's a place where I can be alone, where I don't

have to worry about being interrupted or waking anyone up.

I set my supplies down on the altar I've set up--an old computer desk with a crack down the

middle--and light the stick of incense. I start with the bunch of grapes. I pass it through the

incense smoke, making sure it gets fully bathed in the lavender fumes. I continue charging all the

ingredients, concentrating on the long, gray swirls that rise up and wash over my skin, focusing

on lavender's ability to soothe.

My stomach gurgles impatiently. I dab my finger with a bit of the oil and touch the top end of the

virgin black candle. 'As above," I say. Then I touch the bottom, "So below." I touch the center,

drag my finger upward, and then run it back down, continuing to moisten the candle's length.

When the candle is fully anointed, I hold it around the base and, with the razor, carve Maura's

name into the wax surface, my fingers shaking slightly from the mere thought of her.

Of what happened.

Of what this all might mean.

I rotate the candle counterclockwise three times, focusing on the idea of riddance, and carve the

words "rest in

peace" on the opposite side from her name--so the guilt will die from my conscience once and

for all.

I light the candle and watch a few seconds as the inky black wax heats up and begins to pool

around the wick. Then I take the slip of paper from my pocket and stare down at the M--M for

Maura, for Murder, maybe. I really don't know.

I toss it into the terra-cotta pot and then pluck the grapes from their stems. "Maura, Maura, rest in

peace," I whisper. "May your haunting spirit finally cease." I toss the grapes into the pot, mash

them down with my thumb, and picture the contents of my stomach churning and mixing as the

purpley pulp juice smooshes against the tips of my fingers. I chase the grapes with several

splashes of peppermint oil, and then mix it all up with my fingers, the minty, candy- cane scent

mingling with the breath of lavender, overpowering the smell of grape juice.

"Maura, Maura, rest at last," I whisper. "You shall not make me repeat the past." I chant the

words over and over again, concentrating on the black candle as it begins to burn Maura away. I

concentrate on the mint coating my stomach, soaking up the grape.

After meditating on the spell for several minutes, I hold my watch up to the candlelight--it's 4:05.

I'll take the candle back to my room and set it by my bed so it has time to burn down completely.

I smother what's left of the incense, spoon the mint and grape mixture into a plastic sandwich

bag, and collect everything inside the pot. Thankfully, I feel my stomach begin to ease. Maybe

now I'll be able to get some sleep.

xvi

I grab everything and am just about to make my way back upstairs when I hear a banging noise

coming from the corner, by the water tank.

"Hello?" I stand up, the wheels of my broken chair squeaking back against the cement. I aim the

flashlight out in front of me, but the beam is too narrow to see much in the darkness. I take a few

steps toward the tank, noticing the window just behind it is open a crack.

There's a shifting against the floor, like someone taking a step.

"Hello?" I repeat. "Who's there?" My hands shake. My heart tightens. I try to tell myself that it's

probably just someone who forgot her key. Probably someone who decided to sneak in since the

resident director locks the door at midnight.

Closer now. The tank is just a few feet away--just out of reach. "Come out NOW!"

"Stacey?" says a male voice from behind the tank. "Is that you?"

My mouth trembles open. I don't know that voice. It's not Chad's voice. Not PJ's, either. It

doesn't belong to anyone I recognize.

"Stacey?" he repeats. His shadow on the wall moves toward me. I panic. The flashlight tumbles

from my grip, the terra-cotta pot slips from under my arm, and I hear it smash against the floor.

I whirl around and run for the stairs. The sudden motion causes the candle flame to flicker out,

leaving me in complete darkness. I can hear him behind me, his feet hitting against the cement

floor with each stride.

xvii

"Wait!" he shouts. His voice is followed by a clanging sound, like maybe he crashed into

something.

I trip up the stairs, my chin smacking down against the wooden step, wax dripping on my fingers

and burning my skin. I grapple my way up, on hands and knees, toward the boiler room door, but

I can't quite find the knob.

"Don't run away from me, Stacey." His voice is frantic and insistent.

Wrestling up another step, I impale my knee on something sharp. A nail. A splinter maybe. I

hear myself whimper. My stomach turns. Bile coats the insides of my mouth. His footsteps are

following me up the stairs. I pull my knee back and hear a cracking sound, like wood. I reach up

for the doorknob, this time able to wrap my fingers around it.

The knob turns but the door won't open, like something is barring it. Like someone wants to trap

me inside.

xviii

Two

I twist and turn the knob, pound at the door. "Help!" I shout, over and over again. I pivot as best

I can and throw the candle--hard--toward his voice. I hear him cry out.

I try at the doorknob again. This time it opens. It's Amber; she's let me out. I whip the door

closed behind us and grab Amber by the arm.

When we get back to the room the lights are on and Drea is sitting up in bed. "Are you guys all

right?"

But I'm breathing so hard, my heart pounding like a fist, that I can't answer.

Laurie Faria Stolarz - Blue is for Nightmares 02 - White is for Magic.pdf

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