Twisted And Untwisted Tales

Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief. Today, it also denotes evil. Paula was deep in thought about the meaning of colors and how they had changed over time as she walked the few blocks to the park for her early evening run when the noise of circling ravens roused her. The birders had just posted their bird count for the year and claimed the number of ravens had increased dramatically. She wondered what they were targeting when one swooped by her head and landed on the lamppost above her. She looked up and realized it had something in its beak. The bird seem to c**k its head toward her and dropped a small blue object at her feet. “Did you just give me a gift?” Paula asked the raven and thought of Poe’s poem. The creature was so black that the sun shining on one side made the color appear deep, dark blue. “Caw,” it answered before flapping off to join its raucous group. Paula picked it up and examined it. She wondered why glass object hadn’t broken. She assumed it was glass; a glass cube about one inch wide, one inch long, and maybe one inch wide. It was a deep blue on one half and midnight black on the other side. Strange, she thought. Black can mean elegance, danger, mystery, sometimes evil. Dark blue would mean? Oh, yes, she remembered, it is a masculine color denoting stability and intelligence. Just what an intelligent, mysterious man would be doing in this small city would be anyone’s guess. She smiled at the thought and put the strange piece of glass into her jacket pocket. In her mind, she called it a bead rather than a cube, yet there was no hole running through it, nor was there a loop to affix a chain. And just why did that bird pick her as the one to endow with a gift? She shrugged and began to jog. When she returned home she started to hang her jacket away, but light seemed to jump up from the right pocket. She frowned and pulled the cube from the pocket. It seemed to glow and then faded away. How strange. Should she send it to a lab to have it analyzed? How much would that cost? More than I can afford, she thought, and set the cube on her table. Perhaps she could incorporate it with a floral arrangement. If she ever had a floral arrangement. For some reason that thought irritated her. She shrugged it was time to fix dinner since no one was around to ask her out. That last fight with Vince had destroyed any chance of a reconciliation. She was alone and lonely. After dinner she sat at the computer. Should she surf or just play one of the games when she heard a tapping on her balcony glass door. How could that be? She was on the fifth floor. She grabbed her cell phone and looked. There stood a man in an elegant, black tuxedo smiling at her as though he expected her to open the door. She called 911 while running to her front door. “There’s a man on my balcony trying to break in and I’m alone.” “What is your address?” The voice was polite if a little bored. Paula bit at her lip. The city didn’t have that connectivity for cell phones and she rapidly gave her address at the Baldwin Garden Apartments and her apartment number. “I’m on the fifth floor. I’m running out the door if he tries to break in.” “Do you know how he was able to go up there?” Paula stared at the phone. She wanted to shake that creature with the impassioned voice. “No, how would I? Aren’t you sending someone?” “Is the man someone you met somewhere?” “I never saw him in my life. Now he’s rattling the handle.” “There is a patrol car almost there.” Paula sighed with relief and looked at the glass door. A raven sat on the balcony and flapped away. “He’s gone now,” she whispered. “Where did he go? How did he leave?” The voice sounded harder almost as though she would accuse Paula of making a false report. Paula realized it would do no good to say he changed into a raven and flew away. She’d be the one locked away. “I, I don’t know, unless he had a rope ladder of something. I just know he is not there now.” “You will need to talk with the police when they arrive.” The cell phone went dead and she clicked it off before sinking into her armchair. What had just happened? Was she having hallucinations? She walked to the balcony door, but did not open it. On the cement was a black feather. She shook her head. How? Why? And there was no answer. The knock on the door brought her back to reality. “This is the Police. Open up.” She opened the door to two burly, about late thirty early forties, officers. They had their hands on their weapons. “We had a report of a possible intruder and then the dispatch said he disappeared. Would you mind if we step in and look around?” “Please do.” Paula couldn’t think of a plausible answer to keep them out. She feared that might think the man was still here and push their way in. “I’m Officer Williams and this is Officer Givens. Where did you first see the intruder?” “He was out on the balcony trying to open the door. Fortunately, I keep it locked.” “Why? You’re on the fifth floor?” “Because this is the city and it is safer to have everything locked,” she answered. “Show us the balcony,” the older Officer Williams demanded. Paula led them to the glass door looking out at the skyscraper across the street. “This is it.” Williams tried the door and it did not budge. He looked down and saw the black feather before looking up. “Would you mind if I unlocked the door and looked out on the balcony?” “Go right ahead, Officer.” She knew they would find nothing. Both men went out and looked up and down before returning. “There’s no one out there and there is no sign anyone else has been out there. If we have another false report, we’ll write you up.” Paula knew it would do no good to protest and she let them out of the front door before returning and locking the balcony door securely. What had happened? Where and how did that man disappear? She turned and a dark, haired man with black eyes, dressed in a black tuxedo was standing there. “You forgot to lock the balcony door, my dear. Now we are alone.” Her screams did no good. No one heard her or if they did, they did not call the police. The man moved far faster than she did and wrapped his arms around her. She screamed and he cuffed her face, turned her, bent her over and delivered a smack to her body before carrying her into the bedroom. “This is so much better in here. I presume you like your creature comforts.” He tore off her clothes, his nails were like talons and the material fell away. She could feel blood seeping around her waist and she twisted while trying to roll off the bed, but he was on top of her. “You can lie still, participate, or try fighting, but no matter which, you will bear my child,” she heard him say as something hard rammed into her. Her twists and heaves became feeble as he slapped the other side of her face. She gasped as the ramming continued. It hurt and it hurt. His hand was over her mouth and nose and blackness closed down. When she opened her eyes he was standing there, smiling at her. “Excellent, I shall return in nine month in time for the birth of our child. It should be a male, but if female, she will produce more like I.” He bowed and walked out the door. Paula grabbed a blanked and a vase. She intended to bash him with it, but when she ran out of the bedroom, all she saw was a black feather by the open balcony door and a raven lifting upward from the balcony. She stared and shook her head. Should she go to the emergency room? Would they contact the police? What would she tell them? That a raven turned into a man and r***d her? She headed for the shower. The cold water did not wash away the horror, but her mind was working again. The internet provided her with the information she needed. She pulled on her pantsuit and headed for the corner drugstore. It was the Plan B, the pill solution for her. She tried to think of a way to break her lease, but there was none. Her lease was for twelve months with the right to renew. This was in a rent controlled apartment and the other places were priced far above her financial ability. She was trapped here. Perhaps she could go on a trip nine months from now. That would be a more doable plan. The drugstore had the d**g as an over-the-counter purchase just as the internet had said. Paula hurried home with her purchase. She filled a glass with water, sat at her table, and unfolded the paper telling about the side effects. Just like the internet, it gave the mild symptoms first and then what to do if the symptoms were severe. How, she wondered, did one call 911 if your vision were blurred? No matter, she swallowed the pill. No way was she going to bear a child from some horror laden version of a fairytale. How could the man turn into a raven? Would she even be able to sleep tonight? Paula started to heat a can of soup for dinner and realized she had a headache and a slight case of nausea. She turned off the burner and went back to the bedroom. That’s when she realized she needed to change the bedding. Everything was in complete disarray. She fled back to the living area with a blanket and her eye mask. It was the couch tonight. Tomorrow she would face the disaster in her bedroom. She woke the next morning wondering why she had slept on the sofa in her day clothes and the horror of yesterday returned full force. How could she go to work? Worse, how could she remain in this apartment? At least the headache and nausea were gone. That meant her reactions had been minor and the pill would work as intended. She headed for the shower and ignored the mess in her bedroom. Breakfast was two protein bars and a cup of black coffee. She would get through the day and return. The months continued as did her search for a way to vacate the apartment. Nothing in the city was comparable in price and nothing could break her lease. How had she fallen into this mess? Her balcony door remained locked and closed all through the stifling summer months. Then he was out there on the balcony, pounding on the glass door, and demanding to be let in. Someone above shouted, “Tone it down or I’m calling the cops.” Paula took one look, grabbed her jacket and ran out the door to the elevator. She ran to the coffee shop on the corner and ordered a mocha latte and pulled out her phone. A game would be distraction enough. She was so involved it took a minute to realize someone pulled out a chair and was sitting across from her. “Where is our child?” She looked up into the evil, unsmiling face. “There is no child,” were her firm words. He drew back, looking puzzled. “How can that be? There’s always a child.” She glared at him. “It doesn’t matter what you do. There will never be a child again.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Are you barren?” Her voice was controlled. “No woman bears a child in this century if she doesn’t wish to. We don’t even need to abort. Any conception is halted within twenty-four hours. Now go away, or I’ll complain to the management that you are bothering me.” Her eyes glared at him. He stood and looked down at her. “I will need the blue gem returned.” “I don’t have it. I threw it in the trash when I made the connection. I hoped it would stop you from returning.” His face crumpled. “You have condemned me to oblivion.” He bowed, twirled, and walked out the door. Paula slept well that night. Perhaps the first time in nine months.