Silo

I don't know which day I'll lose him, but I know it's coming. So, while the vet checks Silo's heartbeat, I put my head down and pray as it's the only thing keeping me from feeling useless. I pray that death would have a change of plans and reschedule for another day, another week, or another month. But seeing as the vet took off his stethoscope and stood over him in silence, I realized that my prayers went unanswered. “It may seem irregular now but he's already lost so much weight. His body no longer responds to the stimulants, and you already said that he's still vomiting a lot. I'm really sorry that there's not much I can do. Especially after all he's done for me.” Silo placed his paw on his hand and the vet nodded to him, leaving the room to prepare the discharge papers. Then Silo turned towards me with his round golden eyes filled with fatigue, he had been battling this kidney disease for almost a year. The nurse came in and gave us a brief explanation of the discharge papers before handing them over. Then I reached in my purse for the car keys and placed Silo in a carrier bag. The vet returned with one hand reaching out for the bag and the other holding out an umbrella. “I'll help you to your car. It's raining.” He helped us into the car, and I started the engine, waving goodbye as he stepped back. He gave a half-smile as he waved back, then dropped his umbrella after a few moments to let the rain wash away his guilt. The drive seemed long with only the sound of heavy raindrops to fill the silence; Silo didn't even have the energy to claw his way out. When we arrived home, I took off my coat and dried him off with a small towel from the closet, then reached for his food bag to prepare his bowl. But every time I reached for the bag, he would move my hand away, and after multiple attempts he bit me. I gave up and went to sit on the recliner, propping up my feet to relax. He moved his small staircase next to the recliner and climbed onto my lap, spinning around a few times before curling himself down facing me. We sat in silence for a long time looking at one another, thinking back to the time when we first met.

It was the during the first week of high school, sophomore year. Mrs. Rosenberg, the art teacher, invited us to introduce ourselves by drawing something we like to do or a favorite place to visit. So, I drew the Victorian-styled houses my grandparents and I often passed by, hidden behind the voluminous trees during autumn and the heavy snow during winter. They sat on the mountain on the other side of the highway, far away from the businesses in the downtown area and undisturbed by the perpetual traffic. Their location may have been intentional to block out the functioning chaos of the inner city. One house situated itself near a cliff just before the river and away from the others, where there lived a black cat who came out every afternoon with a wheelbarrow behind him. I would only see the cat during its departure, so I didn't know what it would gather inside the wheelbarrow when it returned. It was after I picked up a crayon to color in my sketch when I noticed a hand tapping my paper.

“I've seen that cat before. I never seen its owner though.”

“What cat? The one on her paper?” asked Marisa.

“Yes, she's drawing the cat that lives in the house by itself on the small mountain near downtown. Some say the cat's eyes turn green whenever it sees its next meal.”

“I heard that around midnight the cat turns into a troll, wearing a black hood and holding a scythe before going into the woods to hunt for a girl,” chimed Tamara with a crazed smile.

“Right! Supposedly, it looks for young girls to feed on for beauty, innocence, and youth,” Jerold added.

“I know fairy tales and ghost stories explain the reason behind the beauty and youth, but why innocence? Doesn't youth already cover that part?” I asked.

“From what I heard; innocence is necessary for the troll to start its new life with a clean slate. Trolls were once like us but something stumped their growth spurt during puberty for whatever reason. Instead, their features become exaggerated like a weird face, enlarge pimples, noses, or bumps on their legs. You'll know if you see one cause they all have grayish purple lips because they're dying. Which is why they try to find another body to consume,” answered Jerold.

“Is it a genetic disease?”

“Nope. My sister told me it's because they're demons who tried to take over human bodies but failed during the process. They're half-dead because of it. The stumped growth is the result of either rushing into the body recklessly or the person was fighting while they were trying to gather their human essence before entering. Human essence is important for them to fully transition into the body because it contains all elements of what is needed to be human: physical and mental development, range of emotions, and memories. They're often a bit grumpy and mean too,” replied Tamara.

“You look like the type to study that stuff. But it's still hearsay. Is there any proof to back all of this? I'll need to see it in order to believe it,” argued Marisa.

“She's right! Let's go by there and see for ourselves if the rumors are true then. My sister gave me this book of spells just in case we encounter anything,” Tamara held the book up for everyone to see. There was an embroidered triquetra symbol on it and a lock on its edge, with worn pages and a silver chain broken off at the end.

“Are you okay Tamara? It's just a cat honey,” Marisa rolled her eyes.

“Then it's set,” Jerold interrupted before Tamara could fire back. “We're all going to the house to see the cat. Right Iada?” I nodded my head and returned to my sketch, my right hand shaking as I reached for the red crayon.

The next day went by fast, reminding me of how Mr. Lenold would always say time flies either when you're having fun or you're dreading something. “You ready?” whispered Tamara. “Yes,” I replied. Only this psycho could suggest going to visit a feline in the woods to see if it can perform metamorphosis. The bell rang and we all packed our stuff to leave. Walking through the school door, I felt a hand creep over my shoulder and jumped. “Gotcha!” cackled Jerold.

“Quit it, Jerold. It's bad enough we all agreed to go to that strange house for the weirdo's sake,” Marisa complained. “It can't be that bad. I'm hoping to throw a party to see if the ghosts also know how to boogie,” Jaden leaped. “What makes you think they'll want to hear you spin, Grandmaster Flash?” said Quinn. “Who else is coming?” I asked. Please Jerold, say that you blabbed your mouth enough that there are more people coming so that I can back out of this. “Just these two ding dongs,” he confirmed. Damn.

“What ding dongs? You're the one whose head is shaped like a balloon,” teased Jaden.

“Come ooon everyone, let's get moving before it gets dark.”

“Why the rush? If it gets dark, that'll be even better. We could finally see the cat take on his form.”

“Nah, I can't stay out that late. My dad told me to be home by eight to clean up since our relatives are coming to town tomorrow,” Jaden reminded. “Let's GOOO!” shouted Jerold.

We took a bus over to the city and stopped by the local coffee shop for snacks. The line was so long that it was already dark by the time we came out. I blamed daylight savings time. “It's dark now. Can't we wait until Saturday to go to that God forsaken house?” exclaimed Marisa. Tamara mocked her in a low voice that was still audible enough for everyone to hear. Quinn burst into laughter, and I had to contain myself, not from Tamara's impression but from Quinn's strange laugh. “Nothing to worry about, I'll stand by you if you want,” consoled Jerold. We walked towards the other side of the downtown area, following a small road that led to the only dirt path going towards the houses. Along the way were the sounds of trees and bushes rustling, gated off with signs that said, ‘Do Not Trespass.’ “What's with all the rustling? Did you guys set up a prank?” asked Marisa. “Let's say we did. Would it be that obvious?”

“Quinn, take it easy. It's dark already and even I'm a little spooked out from the noise,” said Jaden. “Same here,” chimed Jerold. Sadly, I couldn't relate because I was already annoyed. Jerold had to console Marisa numerous times during the walk, Jaden kept bumping into me, and Quinn's constant taunts irritated so much that I planned in the event we are all being chased by a monster, he would be sacrificed for the rest of us to have a running head start. We finally arrived at the dirt path, and I turned around to make sure that everyone was together. All but one person was missing. “Where's Tamara?” Everyone searched around but there was no sight of her. “That's it. I want to leave NOW,” Marisa panicked. “Leaving,” Jaden added in agreement. There was another rustling sound nearby the trees and just as we prepared to leave, Quinn stopped us with his face covered in blood and hands posed like Frankenstein oozing green slime. He falls down and Tamara stands behind him, wearing a disfigured face mask and holding a fake scythe.

“Gotcha!” she and Quinn laughs. I revised my earlier escape plan: Quinn AND Tamara will now be sacrificed as bait. “What the hell is wrong with you two?” I had the same question as Marisa. I was willing to bet that if there are ghosts, they've already put both their names on a spiritual blacklist. “That's it, time to go,” said Jaden. “Right behind you,” Jerold followed. “Wait, I have to get my bag." Tamara ran up to nearby a tree and came back with a black tote, Quinn's face red from tears of laughter. Jerold stared at him, looking for an opportunity to swing. “Aww, just cause you got a little scared doesn't mean you need to get angry,” teased Quinn. “It wasn't a good idea to bring them with us,” said Marisa as she grabbed Jerold's hand.

“Geez, it was only a joke. Who wants to hear someone whining every few seconds? You don't think that's annoying after a while,” said Tamara.

“What's annoying is hearing two people make spooky noises all through the trip and then decide that it was a good time to play a prank on a dim-lit road, at night, right near the damn woods,” Marisa fired back.

“Oh please. You make a big deal of everything so that Jerold can keep cuddling you, and even he's sick of you.”

“If anyone is sick of someone, it's EVERYONE being sick of you!”

While the couples were having a showdown, I noticed something was off. “Hey guys, where's Jaden?” I asked. “He's right–,” Jerold stops mid-sentence and everyone looks around them. “Tamara, Quinn, you guys give this up already!!! Where's Jaden?” yelled Marisa. “Will you just shut up and look! Nobody's hiding anybody in a dark place like this!” Tamara yelled back. There was a sudden loud boom that came from the direction of the dirt path and we started running towards the opposite direction until we saw Jaden with his head down. He slowly raises his head for us to see his eyes now glowing green, lifting his right hand in the air and slamming it downward. Instantly, a large tree behind him fell blocking the street. Everyone ran screaming onto the dirt path, hoping to reach the houses for safety until a light post nearby flickers. A black cloud of smoke forming a vertical oval silhouette in the distance with a nauseating gurgling noise that emitted from it. The kind of gurgling you hear before someone coughs up blood. The black smoke then turned into floating bubbles, dripping onto the dirt path forming a swirl until a bodily figure emerged. Slowly we began to see its gray skin peeling with warts and several maggots on his face, his eyes glowing green as he stared at us. He wore a torn black shirt with slim pants that cut off at his knees, no shoes on his feet. His lips slowly formed a grin as he raised his forefinger and signaled us to come forward. We backed away shivering until we realized who he was truly signaling when something began to push us forward. We looked back only to find Jaden with his eyes still glowing green pushing the black smoke behind us. Quinn and Jerold were trying to find any object to knock him unconscious, whereas Tamara recited any spell she could remember to bring him back. Finally, Marisa let out a loud scream and a cat suddenly jumped onto the deformed man's face, breaking the illusion over Jaden. The black smoke disappeared, and a hole opened in the ground with another pitiful face emerging. This one also had torn clothes and a face was covered in large cysts and boils. He had a dark grey hood over his head which he lifted up before speaking “Come on! Silo's distracting him now, but he can't hold him much longer.” He signaled down into the hole, and without thinking I jumped down behind him, the ground closing again. The pimpled-face creature then held out a candle that lit up when he circled his finger around it and began walking the dark tunnel. I followed him for a few steps before I stopped and panicked. “Wait, I forgot about the others! We need to go back!!”

“My brothers already took them to safety. Now keep up before that demon realizes we're gone.”

Stunned by the coarseness of his voice, I continued to follow him for what seemed like a thirty-minute walk until we reached another hole blocked by a wooden surface. He lifted the wood with a pipe, revealing a dark room with a chandelier hanging from a high ceiling. Over to the right was a doorway underneath the stairs leading to a lounge tucked away with a fireplace piled with wood and mesh covering it. “Alright, off you go. I got others who are waiting,” he signaled towards the ladder. Before I could get my foot onto the floor, he snatched the ladder away causing me to fall. The wooden floorboard collapsed back down, and I could hear the sound of the ground rumbling moving away. I lifted the floorboard and to my surprise there was only cement and dirt underneath. “I see you've met Lucian. He's got a way with making friends, huh?” I turned around and saw the black cat from before. I thought I was finally losing my mind until I saw its mouth move. “Ah I forget you all haven't seen animals talk yet. It's still just something you've only seen in television shows.”

“You can talk?”

“Yes, thankfully. Name's Silo. Lucian is the neighborhood troll you just met. He's not too happy when he has to come out to help people get away from wandering demons, but his conscience won't let him sleep knowing they could be hurt.”

So that was the troll. But his eyes didn't turn green...

“Your four friends are with the other trolls. They may not remember anything though considering they had to knock them out before getting them home.”

“Four? There were six of us!”

“Sorry honey, they only found four. Although I did see one running away pretty fast. I'm sure they're okay. That demon is bound to the forest so they should be fine.”

I walked over to the small lounge area and took a seat on the recliner, still processing this cat, what it said, and all that happened.

“Why is he bound to the forest?”

“He died there some years ago with too much grief and rage to cross over.”

“From what?”

“It's a long story. His parents were nonexistent for the majority of his life, so he depended on his extended family to care for him. He did well in school and got accepted to medical school with free housing. He was studying to become a veterinarian. He got engaged during his last semester and was set to graduate with a job already in line… until his father showed up. He was released from prison not too long ago for drug possession due to addiction issues. He needed money for a bus ticket home but asked for an additional large sum of money for ‘snacks’ along the way. Poor guy only had enough to buy the bus ticket, but his father was too greedy. One day, he was driving his father and fiancée to a nearby fast-food restaurant, where one of their orders was done incorrectly. He and his girlfriend got out of the car to speak with the crew inside and when they came back out, his father was gone along with the bonus sign-on check from his job he relied on to pay-off his last semester and relocate. Soon after, he lost his job, the engagement was called off, and he wandered around homeless because of his crippling depression. He wandered to the part of the woods where you all were and found his father there sprawled out on the ground. When he asked his father why he did it, he told him that he relied too much on the check and that it was his fault for not having a backup plan. So, he pummeled his father's face until his mouth started foaming and passed away. Later on, he passed away from the harsh winter and malnutrition that followed.”

“Yikes, but if his father was already dead, why was he still angry?”

“He's still looking for the woman that left him. But she's long gone as well, so at this point, many in the village think he's just looking for any close resemblance of her to take with him.”

“So that's how he's become that way.... But how come you can talk? Were you cursed?”

“You can say that. I don't really remember much about who I was. But every night, I dream of a woman with a black paw tattoo on the back of her right shoulder. She is holding my human hand at first, then she slowly backs away letting go of it. I walk towards her but the more I try to stay close, the further she gets away. Finally, I start running towards her until she falls into a large tunnel, and I wake up finding myself running all over the house.”

“So that's what causes the zoomies for you guys.”

“Noooooo, zoomies are meant to help us get exercise so we can be quick on our feet.”

“Sure, suuuuure.”

“Hey Silo! Where's that meat you promised me?” the troll stood outside the door. “One sec, Lucian.” He hurried into the kitchen, and I walked around the house, admiring the layout. The round staircase led to the second floor and to the left was a bookshelf holding books and sculptures, one of the books titled ‘Living Through Ancestry’ caught my attention. The front door opened and there was the troll from before.

“Where's Silo? Did you do anything to him?”

“They always say trolls are angry and mean creatures, but I never thought they'd be right,” I uttered in a low voice.

“And we were always told that humans were reckless, ungrateful asshats, but I never thought I'd meet one proving them right.”

“Who's ungrateful and reckless? That demon came after us.”

“Only because you all recklessly came into those woods while it was dark out. I bet your parents don't know that all of you almost lost your lives out there.”

“Okay, but do you have to be so condescending about it? As you said, we almost lost our lives out there. Is now the time to start all of this?”

“I'm sorry for coming off a little harsh honey. It may be due to all of the stories your kind have told over the years about how my ancestors were mean to cover up their own irresponsible behaviors that led them to their deaths. My ancestors guarded the bridges that led to the deadly forests containing ghouls and beasts in order to deter humans from walking into danger. But your kind wouldn't listen and when we were proven right, they blamed us instead of taking responsibility for not heeding our warnings. So, when I see a couple of kids who clearly heard rumors about the dangers of this forest and still decided to come, forgive me for not considering your little feelings.”

“It was wrong of them to place blame on you all, but have you ever considered that maybe if they didn't venture out to those woods back then, we would still have those dangers present today, if not worse? Think, if we would have spent our lives marking off each place whenever danger presented itself, soon there'd be nowhere else left to go. Is that guarding against danger or allowing danger to confine oneself?”

The troll paused for a moment and shrugging his shoulders. Silo came back from the kitchen with the bowl of meat, saran wrap sealed on top.

“Here it is Lucian.”

“Thanks, I'll bring the bowl back to ya.”

The troll headed off and I yawned, glancing over towards the clock on the wall. Silo walked up the stairs and looked back down at me, “Are you coming or not?”

“I have to get home soon.”

“You're only taking a nap, not spending the night.”

I walked up the stairs and followed him into a room where the moon was more visible and seemingly close. There were three large glass windows with a door to the left that led to the balcony. I walked up to one of the windows and saw the highway down below, cars racing back and forth on the highway. Seeing the city in this view was peaceful, finding stillness in spite of all the commotion. “You can relax, ya know. It'll be there when you wake up.” I turned around and saw the queen-sized bed decorated in a black, gray and purple Arden comforter set from the Chamois Collection. Black shaded lamps sat on top of the dressers at opposite ends of the bed and lavender fairy lights decorated the four walls. Silo sat on a small pillow, his tail waving around on top of the comforter. I stretched out my arms and climbed into the bed, falling asleep within minutes from laying down. The day was finally over.

The cat crawled up to her head and laid down beside her. His legs and paw stretching out to form hands and feet, his head forming into a human head with the same golden eyes. He took on his human form while laying beside her, stroking her hair and smiling. He kissed her forehead and each of her cheeks, then backed away a little while still smiling. He ran his fingers through her hair, then held her hand while he closed his eyes. A golden light beamed from her right shoulder, revealing a paw print that turned black before disappearing back into her skin.