The Beginning

It's the beginning of the end for Cadaver, I'm afraid. And it's not a very good beginning, either.

Cadaver: [kuh-DAV-er]

                -noun

               

                A dead body.  Especially one intended for dissection or use in medical research/tuition.

 

 

 

Words are things of great power.  It is this power that is manipulated in Witchcraft, spellcraft, and prayer.  It should also be noted by the reader that the greatest power one can have over a person is that person’s name.  A name is more than just a tagline; if the eyes are the windows to the soul, then the name is the key to it.

     Names can be prophetic.  They can, no, they do have an effect upon a person’s destiny.  Few parents realise this when naming their infant upon its birth.  They don’t give nearly enough thought to the name they confer, and it devastates the child’s existence.  This was the case of the firstborn son of a couple living in the hills not far from Dalham, a town in a world not too far from here.

     A note; one should never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever name one’s child after a corpse.  That is plainly asking for trouble.

 

Cadaver had always been a joker.  Most people took it for shallow attention-seeking, but the reason was more accurately that he hated to see people upset.  He didn’t see the point.  The way he viewed it, life was far too short to waste it in misery; his own name was a constant reminder of the frailty of life, and he just couldn’t see what was to be gained from being miserable.

     When they had been younger, Cadaver often used his name to a sort of dramatic effect, and paint himself up with dirt and old torn clothes, and pretend to be a zombie.  It made his brother laugh, and Cadaver had always taken more delight in River’s laugh than in the laughter of others.  Possibly because it was so rare.

     Presently, Cadaver was lazing beside the lake, while River and Cloud, that girl from the village, ran round him in circles, laughing.  The kids were about five years younger than himself, and his being seventeen years of age put them at about twelve.  Their youth was refreshing to him.  He adored their innocence, and the way everything still held a sense of magic to them.

     River ran over, then, because Cloud had scraped her knee on a rock, promptly bursting into tears.  Cadaver smiled slightly to himself, got to his feet, and walked to where she sat nursing her sore limb.  He crouched in front of the girl.  Her hair was too long, and it was getting blood in it.  It was a shame for such a perfect whiteness to be spoiled, Cadaver observed, and gently brushed it aside.

     “Hey, Cloud.  If a pig loses its voice, does it become disgruntled?”  He grinned.  The girl sniffled, and then began to giggle.  “You like that one?”  Cadaver smiled.  “How about this, then?  When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the candles are out, they’re invisible.”  He feigned confusion, “So how does that work out?”  The girl giggled more.  She seemed to have forgotten all about her injury.  Cadaver was glad.

     River, during this time, had placed himself by the lakeside, and was tearing the petals from a daisy.

     “River!”  The boy turned, smiling, to his brother.  “Come here.  We’re going to eat in the village somewhere.”  Cadaver stood, helping Cloud to her feet, and began to walk towards Dalham, the children running happily along with him.

 

***

 

Three years later, and Cadaver couldn’t help but notice how his brother and Cloud had matured.  A betrothal had been arranged between himself and Cloud, despite his protests (she was like a sister to him.  It would be wrong on every level.  Plus, he had a sneaking suspicion there was something going on between the girl and River.), and they were to be married after a suitable period of ‘courtship’.

     He didn’t dare to complain.  Cloud had become one of the most beautiful women ever to grace the town of Dalham with her presence; Her lithe frame, blithe smile, stormy grey eyes and snowy hair were just the beginning.  He had become the envy of the community.  No, he couldn’t complain.  Even if his ‘good fortune’ was the result of coercion, and would cause his little brother and honourary-sister no end of anguish.

     Why did families always have to make everything in life so much harder than it needed to be?  He sighed, and covered his face with his hands.  Why indeed.  Cloud-and-family were coming to his parents’ house tonight.  To discuss wedding plans.  River had been avoiding him in the months since the engagement had been announced.  None of it was going according to plan.  Not, that is, that he’d planned any of this.

     He stood, and crossed the room to the door, then stepped out into the cold morning air.  It was going to be a horrific day.

 

***

 

Having been at work for the past three hours, Cadaver hadn’t had time to search for his brother.  He knew where the boy would be.  Lazing beside the lake, as usual.  It was a curious thing that River should feel so close to the water, given that his name was River.  Perhaps it was destiny.  Cadaver grinned, suddenly very glad that he didn’t have an obsession with corpses.

     Necrophilia... he mused, Certainly not my style.  Good joke material, though.  Note to self; remember, you are not a necrophiliac.  He’d bring that one out at the dinner table tonight, and hopefully Cloud’s parents would reconsider the betrothal, call it off.  Then River would speak to him again.  That would be good.  Perhaps Cloud and River would be betrothed, and the natural order would be put back into place.

     Cadaver smiled, at that, and casually glanced into the looking-glass he was supposed to be trying to sell.  Not only were their ages more compatible, but River and Cloud made a better aesthetic couple, too.  Cadaver contrasted the girl too much, he decided, as he stared at his reflection.  His curling jet black hair, compared with the gentle wave and silver-white colour of Cloud’s, his pallid complexion, with her delicate porcelain skin, his eyes, brown as the earth, and hers; pale, storm cloud grey.  He smiled.  He liked the fact that he looked half-dead.  He liked the way he suited his name so much.

     If it weren’t for his corpse-like colouring, he’d not be bad-looking.

     And he had a customer.

     “Hey, you there.  Want to buy a looking-glass?  Finest quality you’ll see this side of the Moor River, I’ll tell you that much.”  The stranger glanced at him.  This wasn’t someone he’d seen in Dalham before, and the glance was enough to freeze the smile on Cadaver’s face, to chill him to the bone.  He dropped the looking-glass, and it shattered, but he barely heard it.  A slice cut a small chunk out of his leg, but he barely felt it.  The stranger walked away, and the pain set in, along with the realisation that he now had to clear up the glass, and a great confusion.  Now that the person had gone, Cadaver had no idea whether it had been male or female.

     He had no idea, either, that this was the person who would bring about his demise.

 

Names are words of intense, insane power.  To wield a person’s name is to hold the key to their destiny.  It is the greatest power one can hold over a fellow living being.

     To name a child after a corpse means that that child will have an undoubtedly miserable existence, untimely death, and leave behind many sorrowful mourners.

     Cadaver’s parents had been very silly indeed.

Author's Note

Sorry it's so short. everything I do seems to be ridiculously short.
But then, it's only a side-story.
O_o

Erm... constructive criticism is greatly loved...
Thanks.
:)

EDITED: All those grammar niggles.

Reviews

[Callum Dalloway]

I like him. He's cool. Love the dictionary entry at the beginning!!

I like the stranger too! He's all androgynous and not described!! Is that who I think it is?

I love your writing style, it has such a . . . voice!!

Keep it up. You could easy make this into a novel. Good description!

[Star Catcher]

And you were complaining to ME about apologizing for shortness!
It is NOT short...although I definitely want more. You are an amazing writer, and I'm not just saying that because you're my friend. =)
Cadaver's character is coming along great. I like him very much, it's going to sadden me to see him pass. And yes, parents are very silly. Naming their kids after dead things and betrothing the wrong people to each other...*shakes head*