The Book of Vines

Fate is cruel, it is a disaster to all who face it. It will never forget and it is not forgiving. The soul of my very being shivers at the thought, the cold breeze flowing past me doesn’t really help the mood of the situation either. In amidst of all this pondering, I stand upon a grave. A grave of horror and sadness, what remained of what was my childhood best friend. She was beautiful; a kind, strong-hearted girl who wouldn’t let anything stop her. All must come to end, some early and some not. This was her fate, her story... Her very being all into this one tale that ends in a cliche tragedy that would still shed a tear to anyone hearing her story.

It all began one summer morning, all the way back in the 70s. I had just woke up from a nice dream, some kind of boxing dog creature was telling me things. I forgot its name but the appearance intrigued me. The fluffiness in contrast to its more tough boxing gloves made a convincing, misleading cover. The first thing that came to my mind was to meet Sandara at the park. The night before, we were talking on the phone for hours on end about how tomorrow was going to be an exciting day for her. It was the first (and only) time she would be able to get her library card and get her books without any hassle from her parents.

She called this a “revolutionary” moment in her life, even though it wasn’t. I couldn’t blame her, she was excited for the moment. I chuckled and told her I would meet her at the park later that day. We had to rush things as our parents were forcing us to go to sleep, so we said our goodbyes and slept. I pondered more about the park and books she chose before I got my rump up and got dressed. After all, it is quite rude to be nude in front of a friend that you aren’t in love with. I’d be called a perv, a madman... or worse... I quickly headed out the door in a pinch, edging to catch up with her before she thought I abandoned her.

However, one old man stood before me as I was making my way down the park. I don’t know how this man knew what was I going to do but I don’t even question it to this very day. He pulled me close and whispered to my ear in a creepy and spine-chilling tone.

“Don’t let her take the book... It’s a death trap by the medieval empire. Trust me, the deaths are horrifying. Straight out of a horror movie...” And the title of the book it was supposedly called before he shoved me forward and walked away; the was the only time I ever saw that man. I don’t even think he was from that current period. I had to wonder... Is he a future me preventing a tragedy? Does he have the ability to see all possible timelines?

But wait, her? What does that even mean? As if the angles above connected the pieces for me, without even realizing it, I widened my eyes and raced at the speed of sound. Well, I actually can’t go that fast but it is a metaphor. I knew exactly what he had meant, and she was going to die. I wouldn’t let it happen on my watch, and before I knew it... there she was. The home run gal, the rackety rack girl, the tough-willed woman... AKA Sandara. I quickly told her what the old man had told me, but I bet in her respective; it was like I was speaking another language based on the speed of my talking. I was, and am not surprised she wasn’t able to comprehend what I was saying at all.

“Slow down! What are you saying?!” She had told me in a serious voice, which snapped me out of the trance I was in and gave me a moment to calm down & recollect my thoughts. I then calmly told her what the old man told me, and boy was she in disbelief.

“What? This book? It’s harmless, trust me. It is.” Scoffing at this blatant fact that it was false, I instantly fired back with a counter in hopes to get her to change her mind. It went as about as you expect.

“No, I am not going to return this book! Whatever that old man told you must be false! He sounds like he is crazy anyways!” She seemed a little ticked off, I forgot to mention in this tale so far that she is a tad bit easy to anger, and once she is, whooo boy. You better run for the hills before she comes up and stabs you in the back. I still tried to convince her, knowing this fact. I had hoped it would this time, but again, it went as you expected.

“STOP! Seriously, you were supportive one moment and the next, you want to ruin this moment for me?! I can’t believe you!” She sounded close to crying before she ran off.

I wouldn’t dare run after her unless I wanted to get kicked in the balls. So I sighed and walked all the back home where I became a gloomy sack of humanity. It was also where I truly felt insanity for the very first time. I paced back and forth, telling myself in a crazy voice that it’ll be okay. I had false hope but at the time, it was hope that it was all a lie and that it’ll be okay. Back at her home, Sandara unpacked her backpack full of books and started reading them from day to night. She was a very prestigious night owl who shall be feared in the dark. Even I wouldn’t dare make her fall asleep so she could go to bed. Until she reached that last and final book...

The book of death, as it was nicknamed. It stood out to her as if it was speaking to her soul. She did not immediately grab it, but the urge was there. Unaware that it was fate calling to her. To avoid fate is to avoid speaking to it or even look it in the eye. She took fate's hand and decided to read the book as she was in a sleepy state, a big mistake. This was because as soon as she fell asleep, and I mean into a deep sleep... Vines began growing out of the book, the fold in the center was like a portal to another world. A demonic one at that, spreading out onto her skin and wrapping it around in a tight hold over its newfound prey so it couldn’t escape.

After a while of holding her arms and legs to pin them... It began its silent kill. It reached her lips in preparation to begin its slithering descent into the body. Let me tell you one thing, it is alive, like if it had a brain. Another species of intelligent beings much our kind. It stroked her face a bit, admiring what its kill was going to be. Examining the body it would now be claiming with its list of victims. As soon as it tried to stuff its vine into her mouth, she woke up and attempted to scream for help. I don’t know what she was thinking at that moment but if I know one thing, she probably wished she had listened to me. Perhaps that's my wishful thinking, however... As she was screaming though, the vine was speaking to her hypnotically; speaking into her consciousness. It also was very tempting to relax and let the vine take hold of you.

It is, according to legend, very powerful, and no one has yet to not fall for its tricks. Despite all of those nicknames I gave her and the strong will of hers, she succumbed to the vine's temptation, and well... It was starting to make her choke as it spread to the insides of her. Breaking open some holes so it could spread further in her body. She never felt any pain because the vine was tricking her mind and body that it wasn’t pain. Even though that it was carving holes into her body and gushed blood out of those holes... She never once felt it. Once it was into her body, it dived straight for her heart, and well, she widened her eyes in extreme pain before closing her eyes.

The next day, I was very concerned for her. She usually called me every night to say hi, even if she only had a few seconds. And there was no contact with her via anything. So I decided to take action into my own hands and headed to her house. You better believe that I could barely think straight. I was on a one-track mind as my body ran & kept on running. The adrenaline and fear becoming the only fuel source for my body's energy.

When I knocked and opened the door, however, her mother didn’t even know what was wrong, and why I looked so panicked. It seemed like Sandara never answered her calls for breakfast and her door was seemingly locked. Perhaps she wanted to let her sleep in. I said I would try to bust it open and see if she was okay after explaining that she had gotten hurt yesterday. That was a lie, but a necessary one to let me get into her room.

She gave me a quick drink to replenish my fluids before I set on my voyage upstairs. Well, that was after she let me into her house. My heart was pounding and I was very nervous. I assumed the worst, and it was the worst. I couldn’t even open that door! No, that wasn’t the part that was the worst. I’ll get to that later. My memory's been kind of acting up. Anyways, so after the door wouldn’t budge... I went to grab their maintenance ladder and headed to her bedroom window outside, which was covered by a baseball-themed curtain. I broke the window with a decently sized rock I grabbed and hopped in. You would have had to see my face when I saw her dead body.

It was like it was rotting even after just a day of death, it was just decomposing with a noticeable smell from the open, rotting holes on her. Those vines I mentioned earlier? Some of them were growing out of her body. I saw the source was from her book and in a blind sudden rage, I saw the lighter that her mother left behind for one of the scented candles. I was going to burn the book and end it once and for all. So that's exactly what I did. I grabbed the lighter and raced to the book where the fire of justice rained upon it. Burning apart as the vines retracted into the book very quickly in excruciating pain, even out of Sandara’s body. It was very disgusting, I know, but at least then, she would rest in peace.

Her fate was cruel, yes it was. But I do not doubt that once I saw those souls race out of the book, I did not see hers. I think that in the very end, her soul was strong-minded enough to not be thrown in the book. I bet she is somewhere in the lands right now, looking over her friends and me with our lives from beyond the mortal realm. I never once asked for this, no... I just want to cry and blame myself for not chasing after her, taking a beating for her life. At the end of the day, however, fate is fate and I can’t change it. I just got to deal with and move on, for her. She wanted me to do so and as so I will, as I await my own fate someday.