Twitching Moons

Fear burned her cheeks bright red, her lips trembling as if his name was a poison she had injected. "SPEAK!" My fist pounded down, provoking silver spoons and glass cups to spring a few centimeters from their designated places. Neither of us flinched.

Before she could put a name to his mysterious smile, the silver gates flew open, a hysteric servant rushing to spill his concerns. "¡Perdone, perdone! ¡Venga Conmigo! ¡Date Prisa!" He spoke as if there were serrated pebbles rolling in his mouth and there is a danger of blood in his warnings. "Su Señoría. Please forgive me. Take a look outside." 

There wasn't a need to tear the curtains a part for a glance outside. A loud explosion shook the entire castle enough for the drapes to tumble. Thin lines designed cracks in the window and the little garden latched onto the window pane crushed slowly until the wind carried flower dirt. Mountains shook their fists and pounded down on our earth, destroying those colourful homes and ripping apart skeletons; their femurs serving as bats hitting a homerun and their patellas tumbling away like the baseball. But once their bones disappeared into the fog, the parts never returned. Was the smoke coughing flames so powerful, it could melt bones? Chaos wasn't celebrated any longer. It was feared. All these damned souls were experiencing fear once again, a sensation that hasn't sparked their hearts since their deaths. 

"Who is attacking us, Nicolás?" 

"T-There can't be anyone who comes inside alive! There isn't.. isn't anyone who can pass through! T-This is impossible. Estoy Mareado! Necesito un medico, pronto!" He hunched over, his throat contracting, bracing himself for any vomit erupting out of his crumbling stomach. His request for a doctor is ridiculous. Not even the best surgeon could stitch up this mayhem. 

I remembered then it was far too early in October for my existence on earth. The universe wasn't expecting me so early. I must've rebelled against an order I wouldn't dare cross if I wasn't forced to. "Cynthia, we must flee! There isn't much time." Isn't it funny how time is eternal yet we are always belittling the time we possess? Cynthia's joints shackled down. Snap! A chip of a few teeth, a frightful growl. There, a beast with eyes from hell, glared revengefully.  Both our curious gazes shifted up and there wasn't one moon, but at least a thousand full moons. The light reflecting off the moons came and left, puppetting shadows on a string. Were the moons winking down at us? I have never seen a more powerful eclipse before I witnessed them up above my own kingdom. 

Human, beast, human, beast. Cynthia's transformations were constant, as were her hair splitting screams. I realised all of this wasn't for my early arrival but for Cynthia. Whoever pulled the strings up above, wasn't attacking me. They were torturing her! Blood flooded out of her ears, as if someone was hammering nails inside. Thump! Thump! Thump! Deeper and deeper these invisible nails screwed themselves. This beast's life is worth more than gold if a greater force is tormenting her. My skeletonal arms embraced her gently, fearing if I moved her too quick she'd claw towards me viciously. "Help me, Catrina-a." Already, blue bruises pinched her skin and purple bags puffed under her eyes. What must it be like to bend two hundred and six bones over and over again? 

I sang. An insanity I had not practiced for centuries. 

Que alegria da decirte a ti

Las cosas que ha sentido el corazon

Y es que hoy descubri que si soy feliz

Es por que estan mis sueños junto a ti

My voice is as soft as a falling feather but these lyrics encouraged Cynthia's heart. My mother's voice fluttered in my throat, and suddenly my past life flowed through me. I remembered my mother's gentle features and how she'd sing me to sleep every evening, whispering I wasn't alone. My mother loved me, more than I loved myself. Tears streamed down my rosy cheeks. Cynthia didn't notice. Thank the saints. 

Many vanishing moons later, Cynthia's transformations settled and my lips sprung a convincing smile. "I take it, you and the moon aren't on good terms? He's a b*****d anyhow!" She mustered a laugh. Silence, everywhere. Under the mountains, between valleys, on shooting stars. I caught Nicolás pinching his arm, reassuring himself it hadn't been all a dream, I dearly hoped it was just that. I couldn't accept the lie, although he would be more than merry to do so. 

Nicolás led us into a bathroom, an ivory tub prepared already with lavendar bubbles. My silent nod dismissed him from the room. "Clean yourself up. If you need anything, holler. I will attend to you personally." I turned, grasping my gown's silky material. Before I could leave out the doors, Cynthia's breath hitched. 

"Your voice... It saved me. Us. Your kingdom. How? What did the lyrics even mean?" I couldn't face her. It wasn't the song that saved my home. It was the emotions. Something I destroyed since the moment I became who I am today. There wasn't any easy way to explain this mess to a creature who was just birthed into a supernatural world a few days ago. 

"It saved us, didn't it? Leave it be." My voice was cruel, but so was life. I left her to bathe.