Charity Dowayne, a sixteenth year old girl who has been abandoned by herself since the death of both her parents. Living alone in the streets wearing her old pink dress and a dirty white flat shoes.
A child full of empathy and patience. But others see her greedy on other way.
Her classmates will call her a blonde spoiled brat when she's still at her elementary days in school. Uses trash to throw at her then bully her all day like there's no tommorow.
Today, Charity walked by the afternoon color of the skies and lighting upon the streets of the town. Her golden blonde hair swaying in her every movement.
While walking, there she found her friend named Opala, who's at same age as her. Her pale green eyes immediately gazing upon her when she arrived at the place where they usually met. Finding goods in trashbins. Especially candy wrappers.
"Hey! How's your day?" Opala greeted her, waving her hand in the air. She wore a brown dirty pants, a grey torn shirt and a black old shoes that has dirt underneath them.
"Hello! I'm fine, as usual. How about you?" she walked towards her, her hands in her brown torn sling bag at her shoulders, filled with only candy wrappers.
"Have you already found goods yet?" Opala asked her, her hands opening the trash bags, finding anything but food and wrappers.
The afternoon was very cold this time of the month. It was almost winter, everyone wears they're comfy sweaters and scarfs meanwhile the two only wear they're usual poor clothing. Vulnerable from the freezing weather.
"I have found some but not too many..." she said. Her eyes roaming around the small alley, landing on a box that has a marker written on it 'FREE'
She was about to get closer to it when Opala shouts and came running towards it.
"Oh my! I wonder what's this!?" her hands immediately opened the box and her face came purely disappointed. Inside the box, a dirty cloth and a piece of rotten vegetables and foods.
"What a disappoinment," she frowned. Turning to Charity who is standing there behind her, confused.
"Well we can use those cloths instead?" picking up the old dirty cloth from the box away from the rotten vegetables. "We can also still eat those, instead of we dying in hunger."
Opala's face frowned more when she glance at Charity to the rotten foods. "If you say so..."
After a while of just picking bunch of useful trash, even the cloth and the rotten foods, they've decided later at night to go on the newly opened carnival just down the town. Where fun rides like carousels and ferris wheel are found there.
Charity was now alone, picking up lost candy wrappers around the streets and dark dirty alleys. Her icy blue eyes glimmering under the sun that is later will fall and sleep.
Mother use to sing to me when I was little. She'll even tell me fantasy stories, like the one princess got saved by a prince from a scary dragon before going to bed. She said in her mind.
She remembers all the memories they've had before. None of it lasted long when she turned seven.
I found my father holding something in his hands that night... My mother was laying in the carpet, spilling something red from her mouth.
Later I found out what he did to her when I turned ten. It was me who's all innocent that time, that I didn't had the courage to go and see of what's going on between them. I thought they we're only playing or something. Mother use to tell me that they always play at night. At morning I always touch her pale face, her cheeks that has reddish bruises on them.
Life has been miserable when I was left alone with father. He uses ropes to tie me all day in the corner of the bed. No food. No love from a parent. And it all ended when I turned eleven. He died from a car accident, same day of when our house got burned down to ashes.
A victory for me that day.
I was awarded by freedom for his death.
"Hey Charity!" she stopped when walking pass a toy store. She found Harold, a boy who's at age fourteen looking at her while he was leaning on the massive window of the store. Stuffed toys inside displaying. His eyes full of innocence.
"Where are you going?" he walked closer to her.
"Nothing I was just walking around..." she answered. Her gaze turning to his hand who had bruises on them. The thought of his father torturing him came on her mind.
"Who did that? Is it your father again" her face blank. Pointing on the bruise on his arm and hands.
"Oh well, you already know It sissy," she brought up a piece of lemon candy from her bag, the one she bought earlier. She handed it to him.
"Are you sure? It's yours," he hesitated to eat the candy, pouting at her before she pat his little head.
"Yeah just take it, it's delicious. I know you like lemon flavors," she said smiling.
"Thank you!" the little boy smiled, eating the candy she had given him. Then later handing the candy wrapper back to her.
"Oh you didn't forgot," Charity laughed softly.
"Ofcourse! I know you're still finding those candy wrappers. You still making them into flower things?"
"Yeah, I sold them to kids and I somehow earn $12 a day..."
"Then soon I'll become like you!" he jumped.
She chuckled at him. "Silly don't be like me. Be like an astronaut instead."
"But isn't selling candy wrappers for kids more fun?"
"I mean... Well sometimes," her voice lowered.
"Nevermimd, let's talk about something else then," they stopped from walking. They sit on the nearest sitting area just beside a store.
"What do you wanna talk about?" she raised a brow.
"Have you heard about ghost? Spirits?" he said making Charity confused.
"Well yeah? What about it?"
"Well there's this rumors that," he paused. "You can summon your own ghost!!" he shout almost sound like a whisper.
"Ptff you believe those?"
"Well... Uh maybe? But what if it's true? Isn't cool?"
"Silly, where did you heard that?"
"Well some kids older than me? Then I also heard it from old people here," he turned his head into the group of old people walking by.
"There's no evidence," Charity shrugged her shoulders.
"I mean sure—but still I'll find myself one, then I'll offered it a candy! So it can be by my side!" he stood up, stepping into the chair posing like superman.
Charity frowned. As much as she wanted to believe him, she doesn't want to see those things nor believe it. It's scary. Even though she never saw one. But heard from past tales from her mother.
Hours had past, night time. Charity was still walking down the street when she felt something electrified her skin making her shivered. Clenching her hands in her bag. She turned to where it was—something calling her.
Her gaze immediately landed on a rusty gate. Over there—a sign that has "Don't Enter" was written on it.
But Charity got eaten by her curiosity. She felt something that was really calling her from there. Fear wrapped her own body as soon as she stepped forward closer to the gate. Behind it—a huge mansion far distance. It was not clear because of the fogs inside. Blurry. Cold. Dark.
"Strange... I didn't know that there's still something like this here." Charity looked over inside, accidentally opening the rusty gates with one push of her hand. Padlocks and chains fell down because of oldness.
Psst...
She gasped, turning her head from behind. But no one was there. She then gazed again on the mansion. Didn't realize that her own feet has already brought her there.
An old giant door. From closer look, the mansion was really huge. It's style was very vintage. Very old. Vines we're already cradling through windows.
"Uh hello?" she called even though she knew that no one was there. Her mouth just automatically spoke it without reason.
Later the door suddenly opened itself. Charity froze while still standing Infront of the door. The inside was very dark. No light.
Her lips trembling, she doesn't know why. She look at the sky. Sun already setting down further. The orange sky earlier was now becoming dark blue, grey—it will rain. She knew it. The clouds are becoming dark too.
She came in, with pure curiosity and innocence. She still wondered why is she even there. When—BANG!
She screamed. The door was now shut behind her.
"H-Help!! Hello!? Somebody please!!" she tried to shout. But no one was there. A bit more seconds of standing and staring at the doorknob the rain begun. Thunder was heard.
She tried bumping the door because she knew that it was an old wooden door. But it didn't even break. It was still locked.
"H-Hello?" her body trembling.
Ugh I hate you Charity, why do we even have to go here. Stupid...
She tried to find a way through the windows but even them we're all close and lock. Chains surround it.
Now where do I go...
Good thing there's a little light coming from the outside piercing through the windows. She walked towards the giant hallway. In the corner of her eyes, she can see something moving from the door.
What... Don't mind those... Keep walking.
She entered a door on the corner of the hallway. It was half open. A light was coming out through it. Then she find a half opened window which make her face soon a relief.
"Finally!" she rush towards it, although before she got closer to that window, it immediately shut close.
She tried to opened it, a single tear fell down on her cheeks.
"Open up!! Help!!" she shouted, and another thing she caught from the corner of her eyes. A light. She turned her head slowly. Then landed on a thing sitting in a table. She raised a brow. "What is that..." she said almost sounded like a whisper.
A book... Something very old. It's inside we're glowing. Glowing green. She tried to open the book then the glow slowly fades but the glow in the letters we're not. Making her able to read it even in the dark.
"What is this?" she looked at the cover of the book first, though it was nothing on it but a number, a year "1872" was on it. The book smelled too sweet—like a candy.
Because of too much curiosity she forgot that she had to get out of the mansion. That she wanted to meet Opala as they have promised to each other to show up on the newly opened carnival in the town.
She once again opened the book—letters still glowing. She read it. Some of the letters weren't english... Some of the pages we're too blurry of oldness. The paper wasn't white anymore—but brown. Another page flip, she found a clean words written.
"Ghosts can be tame, but beast."
She frowned, totally confused. What even is this book about? Is it for some education thingy? One thing was strange for her that why is she even reading it when it's only just a normal book. Why so much curious?
Another page flip. She saw some old photos stick to the pages. It weren't people on it—but something very strange... Unfamiliar. It's all black figures. Another page, the photos are now people, but the color was black and white. Written "Vampires." Another page, then another one until she stopped on the last page of the book she didn't realize.
No photo... But only letters, the ones glowing green before we're now... Red.
She tilt her head. Confused. Studying the letters written. On top, It clearly says "Unknown" then below it "Beware of this Monster" another one below "The candy eater. That eats sweetness of people. They're sweet soul."
"What even is this?" Charity muttered to herself. Her eyes went down on the bottom of the page. "Offer a candy so you can see :)"
Charity immediately brought the book down. Still open. She was too confuse on the book. Her grip on her bag was tight. Should she try?
I mean it's not bad if we wouldn't try it.
She slowly opened her bag, scooping two piece of candy from it. Then setting it down on the top of book—the paper. Her eyes widened when the red glowing letters we're now gone.
See? Nothing even happened.
Then another... BANG! The window shut opened. The heavy rain—air was now felt like a storm. She gasped from the sound of it, then she looked at the book again. The letters are now glowing again but... Something's strange. It was now pink... And the glow wasn't like earlier, it's getting stronger. The glow becoming a light coming from the book.
She stepped back, the whole room, shaking. The book itself were shaking too. The pink light was glowing even more until it became—red.
"AHHH!!!" she shout. Her hands in her ears. The quiet sound from the mansion—now like a screaming dungeon. Screams from underwater voices are everywhere. Screams that we're not voice of a human calling for help—but anger.
She gasped, when the book exploded—pink smoke like sugars. Then... A black smoke was falling from the ceiling to the book.
She couldn't spoke—can't speak. She felt her mouth got stitch with hundreds of thread. She didn't realize she was now sitting on the dirty floor, frozen—from the sight of horror of what she was seeing right now.
The black smoke was now forming into something huge... Everything around her still shaking. Aggressively shaking that even the glasses from the cabinets fell down, scattering.
She couldn't think straight but—what in the world am I looking right now... What is that thing. Slowly when the black smoke turned into some monstrous figure—a swirling white glowing on it's top appeared. Then under it—teeth, smiling. The scent in the room we're now sweet... Like a fruit bubblegum—too sweet.
It raised something on its side. It's hands. Claws. Setting it down beside Charity whose frozen in her position, whole body trembling.
The swirling thing and it's teeth under it was it's face. It was huge. It was also glitching—like a TV lost its signal and channel. Then it spoke in a very deep haunted voice.
"...Finally." The mysterious monster said. Leaning closer to Charity.
"You have set me free..."