Young Writers Society

Silver Binding

The howling wind echoes through the house like some ferocious beast invading the human world. The nearby trees whip about, and some are even uprooted and tossed into the air. Hiding from the storm, Eveline Hearts huddles in the corner of her old attic, wrapped from head to toe in soft blankets, clutching a red book with a silver binding. The warm glow from the candle’s light ignites the darkness, giving off a safe feeling, as if she were embraced by light. Her fingers tremble with anticipation as she flips a page of her book, the page crinkling at her touch. The words dance in front of her eyes, creating a play, unfolding a story within her mind.

Eveline finds herself lying in the heart of a meadow, blue skies above. A slight breeze rustles the blades of grass around her, causing them to sway back and forth, as if they were dancing to a tune. The flowers lean over, waving to the blades of grass, humming along to the melody, an occasional flower petal tumbling in the breeze. Eveline slowly closes her eyes, feeling the sun gently kiss her cheek, and her thoughts of discomfort flee. She yawns and rubs her eyes, slowly climbing to her feet.

The birds chirp overhead and Eveline stretches her arms. She feels a strange twitch in her upper arm. She swings her arm a few times, and the unusual feeling immediately disappears, leaving her feeling lively again. She gazes off into the distance and sees a small path that leads towards the creekside. As she takes a step towards the path, her ankle tingles slightly. She looks down and sees a red ladybug crawling up her leg. Reaching down to lift her little visitor, she smiles to herself and releases the ladybug back into the wilderness. Eveline skips through the meadow, the butterflies surrounding her lovingly, tickling her face, arms, and body. The butterflies dance around her as she twirls down the path. The sides of the path are dotted with flowers, which bow to her as she passes by singing to herself. The flowers hum along, creating perfect harmony with her, their singing filling the peaceful environment. She stumbles over a tree root but quickly regains her balance, and lies down at the edge of the creek by the stump of an oak tree. Her eyes begin to close as she drifts off to sleep, the butterflies silencing around her.

Her eyes flicker open and she rubs them before looking around at her surroundings. The attic is dark. The candlestick has toppled to the floor and is now right next to the red book with a silver binding. Eveline’s eyes widen with disbelief as they register a body. No, not just any body.... Her body. Her body lies crumpled at the bottom of the staircase, her face, arms, and body studded with shards of glass. Her ankle is twisted to a strange angle, and her arm is carved by a gash. Her entire body is splattered with blood. Her lifeless eyes stare into nothingness, as if she were a puppet. Eveline screams, a scream that echoes through the house. She clutches her head tightly and she falls to her knees.

Eveline's eyes snap open, her forehead covered in beads of sweat, her lungs gasping for air. She immediately springs to her feet and examines her surroundings. Nothing is different. She had merely fallen asleep. She closes her eyes, leans back against the tree, and listens to the rush of the stream and the rustling of the leaves. The water continues to flow evenly and the breeze continues to blow gently, calming Eveline. Snap! The rustling stops at the sound of a tree branch snapping above her head. She looks up. The tree branch brushes against her face, tickling her cheek, and everything goes black.

* * *

The storm has stopped and the sun has come out. A few paramedics rush to the wrecked houses. They climb over the rubble in search of survivors.

“Hey, Luke! Look at what I found here!”

“What is it, Chase?” Luke shouts, hurrying over to where Chase stands. “Yep, she’s dead alright. But damn, she looks so peaceful.”

“Oh, look, what’s this?” Chase asks. He has flipped over the woman’s body, revealing a red book with a silver binding. “What a pretty book! I think I'll keep this one.”

Luke chuckles to himself, shaking his head. “Just don’t get yourself into trouble again, okay?”

Chase stuffs the book into his backpack and nods in reply. “Got it. I won’t.”

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