Vanishing Act - Part 3

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Lila came from a close knit and well to do family, her father a sitting judge and her mother our high school principal. She came from a world the two of us could only imagine. No one could ever hope to compete with her pearly smile, lustrous golden hair, and care-free perfection; least of all a girl who wore a perpetual scowl.

In high school he needed me as friend, counselor and priest, but not for the role of lover that lived only in my imagination. Lila is my nemesis. She has enjoyed every advantage in life, every lucky break, every little joy denied me. She was president of our High School’s Honor Society, Homecoming Queen, class Valedictorian, and given a full ride merit scholarship at the U of M that her parents could have easily afforded.

But I could never share my feelings with Orfy, not when he is so blinded by his own. And I could not share them with my mom. She is too busy feeling sorry for herself to ever show true interest in me.

Things for Orfy changed for the worse after graduation from high school. His Father could not afford to pay for his schooling and his grades were not good enough for a scholarship. So Orfy got a job working nights at a local bakery and started attending Anoka Tech to study mechanical drafting and design. Lila made no effort to hide her disappointment.

One morning Orfy turned up at my apartment frantic with grief and fell into my arms. I had never seen him so distraught. I walked him to the couch as he stammered that Lila had broken up with him. Holding his face to my heart, I gently rubbed his back as he wept, rocking with him like a mother comforting her child. How my heart ached with him in my arms, my hands trembling with the hope that I might finally win him.

But as the days passed, when he wasn’t talking about Lila he would grow silent and moody. I learned that it was best to leave him to his own devises.

We became lovers only by accident. After two weeks together, he blundered into the bathroom just as I was stepping into the shower. Seeing me naked, the scales finally fell from his eyes as he recognized the desire in mine own. For a few days, even he saw the possibility of he and I till death shall we part. But my euphoria was short-lived. Even though our lovemaking briefly revived the old Orfy, he never stopped loving Lila. A few weeks later when Lila told him she wanted him back, he didn’t even say goodbye.

“Does he know what you have in your purse?” Hekatos asked suddenly, hooking her thumb at Orfy.

Slowly I shook my head no.

“Does he matter to you?”

Dread penetrated deep into my guts as my eyes began to helplessly water.

“I think we better go,” I whispered.

Turning to Orfy she asked, “Would you like to go?” but he did not answer, his eyes staring blankly, his lips still forming a little ‘o.’ “I guess he needs to think about it,” she remarked with a sardonic smile.

“Is he in danger?” I finally whispered.

But Madame Hekatos changed the subject. “Have you ever heard of Hecate?”

I shook my head a second time.

“Goddess of the crossroads and the liminal spaces of this world, she is very powerful. The mandragora root is so similar to a human body that Hecate once breathed a soul into one and brought it to life. She promised the doll that if it earned it, one day she would change it into a flesh and blood woman. I worry how that doll came into your possession.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“How do you know you can trust the creature in your purse? All magic comes at a price. A doll with that kind of power, I dare not even imagine the true cost.”

In response, my body began to shake violently, a deep hiss piercing my lips and slipping into the darkened room like steam from a boiling pot, my purse lurching so hard that it landed on the floor and popped open. Smoke belching out of its opening, Madame Hekatos howled, “You stupid fool!” before everything in the room vanished in the smoky darkness.