A Twisted Miracle

There I am basking in the middle of bright flames, shouting and crying out loud because the only father I knew is laying in front of me, dead. I look up to the blood red dragon. I look into his eyes and I can feel the fire in his heart. The dragon looks up and lets out flames from his mouth. He kneels down towards me and he looks deep into my eyes. All of a sudden, a rampage of memories enters my consciousness and I see everything so clearly now. Penelope, my clueless mother, married a man named Phyllis. They lived in Tranquility, a mystical town. Although my mother and Phyllis were always surrounded by the unknown they’ve always had faith. They were the life of the village; everywhere they went their light radiated onto everyone they were around. They were excited and happy to live their lives together until Phyllis wanted my delightful, but weak mom to carry his child. The first time Penelope realized she was pregnant she was nervous, but grateful to please her husband with whatever he’d like. “You look so beautiful. My love.” Phyllis smiled, “Really? Even with this humongous belly of mine?” Penelope grieved, “Of course, darling.” He complimented, “You will always be the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.” Penelope gave him a half smile; she couldn’t believe his words to be true. She looked in the mirror and all she saw was a fat blob. She walked away from the bathroom mirror and she headed to the kitchen. As she walked into the hall she looked down at the beautiful sleek wood floor… Then her swollen feet; she began to tear up as she stared at the blisters on her toes. She put her back against the wall and she started to bawl, “Penelope?” Phyllis jogged over towards her. She put her hands over her face, “I’m okay… Just leave me here.” She blubbered, Phyllis gently wrapped his arms around her torso. Penelope turned to Phyllis and she held him tightly. “Everything will be okay, I promise.” He expressed. After that breakdown she realized that she hated being pregnant; she disliked how it made her feel on the inside and outside. “What if I’m not a good mother?” She looked up from his chest; Phyllis caressed her curly, brown hair. “You’re going to be amazing.” He grinned, “How do you know that?” She agonized, “You are the most generous and selfless person I know… You’ll be more than amazing.” He reassured her, he grabbed her hand and led her to the dining room. “I’ll make you some vegetable soup.” Phyllis began to take out everything he needed to make the soup. While he was preparing her food Penelope started to feel drowsy; like she was moments away from passing out, “I’ll eat the soup later I’m going in the room to lay down.” She got up from their Sir Raleigh dining chair and she began to make her way to the hall. As she walked towards the bedroom she felt herself losing balance; she fell right on her stomach. “PENELOPE!” Phyllis shouted, he ran to his wife and all he saw was dark red liquid trickling down her leg. He picked her up and he carried her to their carriage.

When they finally made it to the monastery Penelope was still in a slumber. Phyllis’ heart was slamming against his chest; worry overtook his mind and body. He picked up Penelope and he took her in. They had made it inside and Phyllis realized how crowded it was. He knew he’d have to wait for quite some time so he made sure her head was elevated.

After waiting for thirty minutes a nun finally tapped on Phyllis’ shoulder, “I need help! There’s something wrong with my wife!” He snapped while shaking his leg uncontrollably. “Follow me.” The nun told him, Phyllis continued to carry his wife into a dimly lit room. “Put her down here.” The nun pointed her dirty long fingernails towards a stained mat. Phyllis gently set her down, “How in the world will they save my baby and my wife?” He thought to himself. He turns around, hoping to ask the nun that very question. “She’s not here.” He agonized, “My wife has lost so much blood and they’re barely doing anything to help her!” Phyllis sits on the mat with his darling. He caresses the crown of her head, hoping she’d wake up from his tender touch. As he massaged his wife a beguine came into the room with a mazer. “You must leave the room so I can treat her.” She notified him, “Why can’t I stay with her?” He questioned, the beguine pushed Phyllis out of the room without saying another word. Phyllis went to the closest prayer room, he kneeled down looking up to the ceiling. “Please let my baby and my wife be alive.” He began to tear up; his mind started creating the worst case scenario. He paced all around the monastery waiting to be called back into the room where his wife laid. An hour had passed and Phyllis grew impatient; he started making his way to the room. When he walked in he saw his wife wide awake holding the mazer in her hand, sipping whatever was inside. “Are you okay, my love?” Phyllis speculated, “You can’t be in here!” The beguine reminded him, “It’s okay.” Penelope assured her, she signaled her husband to come closer. Phyllis walked towards her with sweaty palms and a heavy heart, “I lost the baby…” Penelope uttered, Phyllis’ heart felt so tight; he grabbed her hands. “She’ll have to be on bed rest for a week or so. Just to be careful.” The beguine insisted, Phyllis and Penelope laid down together on that uncomfortable mat. They both thought about what they’d be doing next. They both felt ashamed for different reasons; Penelope was disgusted with herself because she didn’t want to put her body through that pain again. Phyllis was beating himself up because rather than worrying about his wife’s health he was wondering when they’d try again.

After two more miscarriages they finally came to the conclusion that Penelope was barren. Phyllis started to become bitter and distant, while Penelope grew depressed and clingy. “Phyllis?” Penelope muttered, looking at the back of Phyllis' head while he gathered his equipment for work. “Yes, Penelope.” He grunted, Penelope’s palms began to sweat. “Umm, after you leave the shop… Would… Would you like to go to this banquet.” She stuttered, frightened of his rejection. She could tell he couldn’t stand to be around her anymore. “I’ll think about it…” Phyllis exhaled, he grabbed his things and walked out of the front door. Penelope just stood there looking at the reddish rustic oak wood door, feeling lost and unwanted. After standing in front of the door for longer than necessary, she went down the hall and into their room. She walked in front of their bed and she opened their dresser; she took out a long, nude, flowing dress. She set the dress on the left side of the bed; she went on the opposite side and laid down. She stared at the ceiling thinking about her life choices, wishing that there were more options for her. Her mind rambled on and on, she felt completely worthless. Her life only entailed cooking for her husband, cleaning around the house and going to banquets. Other than that she rarely had any friends outside of her husband, her family disowned her a long time ago. They never liked Phyllis, they always felt like she deserved better. But she’d come to the conclusion that Phyllis was the one who deserved better.

Hours had passed and it was finally time to get ready for the banquet; Penelope slid on her beautiful long dress. She went into her bathroom, she grabbed her jewelry box that was sitting on the sink. She went back into her room and she sat the box on her bed. As she was rummaging through the box she heard the front door open and then close. “PHYLLIS?” She guessed, she began to hear footsteps coming from the hall. Her feet began to sweat as she heard them get closer. “Phyllis?” She muttered, all of a sudden Phyllis hops into the room. “AH!” He shouted, Penelope jumped further into the room, and tripped over the bed. “Seriously?” She grumbled, “Now I have shoe prints on my butt.” Phyllis laughed and laughed but Penelope didn’t find anything funny. “Well, now we can’t go to the banquet.” He teased, “Oh, I’m going. Even if you’re not there by my side.” She scolded, she put on her white wedges, pearls and earrings and began to walk down the hall and out of the door. As she’s just about to open the door Phyllis shouted, “LIKE USUAL!”

Penelope walked onto the trail headed towards the banquet. Her eyes wondered, she gazed at the beautiful blooming flowers. She looked up and saw how bright the sky was that night. The clouds were hiding the night sky, and it reminded her of her own life. How she was always hiding her darkness, always hiding how she truly felt. As Penelope continued to walk on the path to the banquet she heard rustling in the bushes. She quickly turned around and there were two extra footsteps imprinted in the dirt. “PHYLLIS!” She yelled, “THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” She stood there waiting for her husband to come out of the bushes. “I KNOW YOU’RE THERE!” She screamed, “YOU’RE NOT GOING TO SCARE ME AGAIN!” The rustling in the bushes started once again, Penelope’s heart was pounding. She’d hope it was her husband playing tricks on her but she wasn’t quite sure. The rustling started to get closer; out of nowhere something jumped right onto her face. She fell back and landed on a soft spot in the grass. She grabbed whatever was on her face… “Just a bunny” She giggled. Penelope tossed the bunny back into the bushes and she dusted herself off and continued to walk to the banquet.

When Penelope had finally arrived at the shed, she pushed the door open and she saw so many beautiful and expensive dresses moving around. She began to feel insecure, her dress had so many filthy stains on it and it was less colorful than all of the other dresses. “Nice look.” Some girl taunted, Penelope scratched the crown of her head and she made her way to one of the tables. She sat down and began watching a woman perform in the front of the shed. Penelope’s ears rang because of the terrible screeching coming from the woman’s vocal cords. After a while she couldn’t take the noise anymore so she got up to go outside, but right before she left the host had called her table to eat. She grabbed herself a plate of food. As she munched on and on she looked around to see if her husband arrived. All of a sudden she locked eyes with this intriguingly beautiful man; when she realized she’d been staring at him for a while she focused her eyes right back on her plate. She looked up once again to make sure he wasn’t still looking at her… He was. “Why is he paying so much attention to me?” She thought to herself, “There’s so many beautiful women here and I’m definitely not one of them.” Penelope focused on her plate once again when suddenly she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She looked up and the man from across the room was standing right beside her. “Oh.. hi.” She uttered, her whole body began to sweat. “Hello, beautiful. Why are you here all alone on this fine night” The man cheered. She looked around clueless as to why this man was speaking to her. “How do you know I’m alone?” She heaved, “I could have friends around here.” She crossed her arms with a fork in her hand, “Well I’ve been watching you for most of the night and I didn’t see you talk to anyone except for that one woman, but you two didn’t look so close.” He jabbered, Penelope’s heart began to sink into her stomach. She gazed right back at her food in embarrassment, “You don’t have to be ashamed, my dear.” The man insisted, “I don’t have many friends either.” Penelope rolled her eyes; that was hard to believe considering all of the attention he was getting. “Why did you come over here to talk to little ole me?” She investigated, and the man paused for a minute. “Well, I want you to have my kid.” He blurted. Her face was full of shock and confusion, “Huh?” The man smiled, “I’m just kidding.” He laughed, “But I do know a way for you to conceive without miscarrying or having a stillbirth.” Penelope’s whole body felt like it was starting to shut down. She sat there in silence for a while… “I think you should go now.” She demanded, she turned around and acted as if she was watching the show. “Why are you ignoring me when I’m just trying to help?” He broadcasted. She continued to focus on the terrible performance, hoping that he’d get the hint to walk away…

She heard him stomp away, she looked behind her and he was nowhere to be seen. “What a strange man.” She uttered to herself, she got up from the dining table and she made her way to the table with the dirty plates. She set her plate down and headed out of the shed. She started to walk back onto the trail. As she walked home she looked down at her pretty white heels, “Tonight wasn’t so bad.” She muttered to herself. As she was walking she had kicked a crystal by accident. She stopped where she stood and kneeled down to wipe off the smudge she created on the tip of her wedges. She got up from the ground and what she saw next made her heart skip a beat…“Why are you following me?!” She snapped, the man gave her a wicked smile. “I’m only trying to help you conceive.” She pushed past the man, not caring what he could possibly do to her. After she pushed him out of her way she began to bolt down the trail. After twenty minutes of running as fast as she possibly could she became tired. She looked behind her and there was no one in sight; she moved forward with less awareness of her surroundings… Then BOOM, she crashed into someone's hard chest; she fell on the ground and she looked up to the same man who had been harassing her all night. “WHAT THE!…” She snarled, “I can help you conceive.” He had announced for the thousandth time already, “I can help mend things between you and your husband.” He grinned, Penelope sat there with a mind full. “This could help patch things up between Phyllis and I.” She thought to herself. She scratched the back of her head, “How can you help me?” She investigated, “Well…” The man looked up to the night sky and tapped on his chin, “Let us talk about this in my lare.” He swung his arm in the air and a black and red portal appeared out of nowhere. Penelope’s body began to shiver, she didn’t know whether to trust this man or to be scared of him. He had put one foot into the portal and half of his body reached out to her. She grabbed his hand and she felt him pull her inside with him. Next thing she knew she was in a dimmed lit dungeon; the smell was rank and pungent with a slight sickening sweetness to it. Penelope held her nose tightly, “What the heck is that smell?” She groaned. He didn’t give her an answer, instead he continued to lead her deeper into the dungeon. “How are you helping me conceive?” She questioned, “Just follow me.” He scoffed, Penelope could tell he was getting frustrated with her. She felt her body shut down; she wanted to stop following him but every time she tried to go the opposite direction she felt her body moving towards him. “Why aren’t I in control of my own impulses?” She trembled, “STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS!” He roared, “YOU WANT A BABY, RIGHT?” Penelope wasn’t sure… All she knew was she was frightened for her life; she didn’t understand how she ended up following a psychopath. “I guess…” She uttered, they finally stopped walking. She realized she could hear her heartbeat, “I’ve never been so nervous in my life.” She thought to herself, “You don’t have to be nervous, love.” The man chuckled, “How do you kn… Never mind.” She stuttered, “Who are you? And what do you want from me?” He began to pace back and forth as if he was trying to figure out what he was doing next, “Are you ready to carry our child?” He asked, “Our child?” She pondered, “You mean MY child?” The man walked towards her and caressed her face, “No, I mean our child.” The man snapped his fingers and Penelope was knocked out cold.

The next day she woke up in bed next to her beloved husband, “It must’ve just been a dream.” She thought. She got up out of bed and she felt amazing, all of her depression vanished and she was finally ready to live again. She made her way down the hall to make breakfast for her and her husband. She started on the sausages and when she finished she went outside and began to pick apples from their apple tree. As she prepared the food a flashback appeared in her consciousness of her and the man on a mat together. She shook her head trying to shake away the memories, “Am I going crazy?” She asked herself. “Maybe, a little bit.” Phyllis joked, she rolled her eyes and put his sausage and ham on a plate. She brought a bowl full of apples on the table and she sat down with him. “How was the banquet? You came home pretty late.” She scratched the back of her neck, “Yeah, it was pretty fun and the food was good.” She uttered, “Hmm okay.” Phyllis suspected something happened while she was out but he didn’t interrogate her. “Thank you for the food. I’m going to get ready for work.” Right before Phyllis got up to go into the room Penelope grabbed his arm. She got up and sat on top of him; she gave him a passionate kiss that led them to their bedroom. The day felt light and young again; their bodies intertwined like two perfect puzzles. This moment was the moment their love illuminated once more; Phyllis is laid out across their bed looking deeply into Penelope’s eyes. To him it felt like the first time they realized their love for one another. “I’m sorry I’ve been distant; I blamed you for my unhappiness and that was wrong of me.” He sniveled. As Penelope watched a tear fall down his cheek she began to feel a strong pit in her stomach. She knew she loved Phyllis so she kept trying to wreck her brain on why she would ever cheat on him.

Weeks had passed and she had finally convinced herself that the rendezvous was just a bad dream and she’d rather move on from it. Things between her and Phyllis had been going wonderfully and things couldn’t seem any better until Penelope started feeling sick. “PHYLLIS!” She yelled from their king-sized mattress. It didn’t take him no longer than two minutes to arrive at the foot of the bed; “What’s wrong, my love?” Penelope’s forehead becomes drenched with sweat, “My period is two weeks late and I feel nauseous… I don’t want you to get your hopes up again but we might be having a baby.” She uttered; he sat in front of his wife with a blank face and nothing to say. He kissed her on her cheek and said, “We’ll hope for the best.”

While my mom was pregnant with me more than her belly grew, she also grew an unusual appetite. She would only eat raw meat and she would only drink the blood from the raw meat. Of course, she’d never eat like that in front of her husband because she knew how that seemed. She simply couldn’t help herself, she didn’t have the stomach to eat anything that was cooked or even sweet. The night right before I was born Penelope picked up something sharp and she went into their barn and opened up one of the cows. She couldn’t help but to drink from them, it was her instinct to keep me alive. Phyllis’ soul left his body for a while; he stopped and watched his wife eat like a wild animal. He didn’t know what came of her, “Honey?” He quavered; Penelope turned around slowly. “It’s not what it looks like… I was just starving.” She began to walk closer towards her husband, “STOP! WAIT!” He shouted, “What, darling?” She questioned, “Don’t come any closer, Penelope!” He roared. “But my water broke..” Penelope uttered with blood trickling down the corner of her mouth.

After Phyllis cleaned her up in the bathtub, they took the carriage and rode to the monastery. As they arrived the midwife was already sitting outside; Phyllis ran to her and notified her that his wife was in labor. They almost didn’t help them because they were aware that my mother was barren. Which she was, but the devil had taken control of her body. When she finally gave birth to me, she was gone, and I was breathing; funny how the only living being who loved me is now gone. Phyllis grew hatred for me, he could sense that I’m impure. From the day I was born he knew I wasn’t his and I’d never be. One day he had enough, he took me, a few candles and a tallow. Something told him to go into a cave past the shed my mom used to go to for banquets. He went deep inside the dark, smelly dungeon until he couldn’t go any further. He made a circle in the dirt with a stick. He put me in the middle of the circle and surrounded me with lit candles; he sung a stupid chant and the candles became brighter. Out of nowhere a beautiful red dragon lights him on fire and then he looks me in my eyes. This is when I knew the dragon was my father.