Wolves Of Wind: A Collection of Short Stories

I left in the dark without even saying goodbye to my family. I thought of my parents, my baby sister, I would never see them again. Snow fell heavily, covering the ground in a thick blanket of white. I took one last look at the darkened windows of my house, my parents and sister would still be sleeping. They wouldn't realize I was gone until morning. I pulled my coat tighter around me and grasped the small bag I had packed with a pair of clothes and a few twenty-dollar bills for extra supplies. I pulled a map out of my pocket, memorizing the bright red line I’ve drawn from here to my final destination. “Only seven miles” I mumbled silently, stuffing the map back in my pocket. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, looking at the notification, noticing that I had a text from my best friend. “Look up” The text said and I glanced up at the bright blue house next to me, seeing his face through the parted curtains. He smiled and waved at me, then disappeared. I began walking again but stopped when I heard a door click shut and groaned. ”Caleb,” I said, frustrated, knowing he would try to stop me from leaving, but I knew I couldn't go without saying goodbye to him. He had been my friend since first grade and had been the only one who believed me when I talked about my past lives. “Go back inside,” I muttered. I wished I could bring him, but I knew he would get hurt if he came with. “Audrey, you've always been a loner, but this,” he said gesturing to the bag in my hand “takes it to a whole new level.” He chuckled, seemingly thinking I wasn’t serious about running away. He should have known better than to doubt me. I started walking, trying to be rid of him but he caught up easily. “So, where are we going this time?” he questioned. I had tried to run away before but had always been caught shortly after I had arrived, but this time was different. I was going somewhere where no one would ever think to look for me. “It doesn't concern you, Caleb.” I snapped and began walking away. He just smiled and remarked that everything I did was concerning to him. I’ve known that Caleb has a crush on me for as long as I can remember being friends with him, though it's gotten worse over the years. He, for some reason, was convinced that I was his girlfriend, though I never thought of him as anything more than my best friend. I glared at him and told him to leave me alone. He froze, watching me as I walked quickly away from him, from my family, from this life. “See you tomorrow,” Caleb said, although he seemingly knew that I wouldn’t be coming back. Not this time. I walked for a little over 2 hours before I finally reached my destination. I looked up at the tall building looming in front of me. The old house seemed to glow in the eerie moonlight, making it look ghostly. I looked behind me at the fading footprints in the soft snow. I slowly pushed open the door, the hinges creaking. I ducked inside and was plunged into darkness. I fumbled in my bag for a match, knowing that I would find a candle on the small table by the door. I grasped the matchbox and struck a match on the side, creating a tiny flame. I found the candle and, with much effort, managed to light the charred wick. I grasped the candleholder and used the small, flickering flame to light my way to the elegant fireplace. I quickly found it and, with much relief, noticed that the woodpile was dry, perfect for starting a fire. I huddled next to the small fire burning in the grand fireplace. The light flickered off the walls, casting eerie shadows on the peeling wallpaper. “This is my home now,” I repeated over and over to myself as a cool draft blew in through the shattered window, which had once been a gorgeous stained glass mosaic depicting a beautiful dragon resting atop a hill. I remembered clearly every detail of this house. Grand pillars had sprouted up from the floor but were now crumbling. The tall ceilings seemed miles away but were now warped, reaching for the floor. I remembered how the sun shone through the stained glass windows, lighting up the room in gorgeous shades of red, blue, and purple. It had been centuries since the house had been like that, but I remembered it as though it was yesterday. Everyone called me insane, said that the person who had lived here last had died hundreds of years ago, but I know I’m not insane. I am primordial. I knew I was different from everyone else. My soul was reborn every couple hundred years, though my memories stayed. I had been reborn 18 times so far, only living to the young age of 18 each time. Next month was my eighteenth birthday, and if I was going to die, I wanted to be in the same house as I had occupied in my 17th life. The large house modeled after the Gothic style house I had lived in during my first life. I remembered every one of my lives, though most of them were fairly uneventful. I remember all the children that had been born to me had died almost immediately after birth, all the stillborn babies I had delivered. I remember every marriage, most of them against my will. My fifth life had ended when I caught the Black Death. My eleventh, when my husband, King Henry VIII, decapitated me for not bearing a son. I remembered that dreaded night on the ill-fated ship that had stolen my 15th life from me, the cold bite of the water as I, along with 1502 others slowly froze to death in the harsh North Atlantic. I would survive this time. I wouldn't let fate control me. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, checking the time. I noticed a text from Caleb. “Where are you?” he asked. I angrily typed back that it didn't matter where I was and stuffed my phone back in my bag. I pulled out a thick wool blanket and covered myself as I rested on the rug in front of the fire. I put another log on the small, crackling fire and huddled closer, wrapping the blanket tightly around myself. I balled up my jacket, using it as a pillow, and slowly drifted off to sleep. I woke suddenly and sat up, frantically looking for the source of the sound that woke me up. I relaxed a bit when I realized it was my phone. I reached into my bag and looked at my phone. I noticed twelve missed calls, five messages in my voicemail, and twenty-three texts. All from Caleb. I groaned as I checked every one of the texts, scrolling through them carefully. I listened to the voicemails, most of them saying that if I didn't call him back he was gonna call the cops. I groaned silently and pressed the call button. “Audrey,” I heard a small shaky voice say. “Is it really you?” I took a deep breath and smiled. “Yeah, it's really me,” I said, hearing a sigh of relief on the other end. “Why didn't you text me? Why didn't you call me back? I...” He trailed off with a frustrated groan. Caleb rarely got mad, but when he did it was usually because he was worried about me. “ I thought you died.” He sounded so small and weak. It broke my heart to hear the obvious pain in his voice, but I couldn’t let him know where I was, it would only cause more problems. I hung up the phone and flipped it over, taking the battery out. I threw the phone battery out the broken window, hearing it land in the snow with a soft plop. I sighed sadly and huddled closer to the fire, desperately trying to drive out the chill that was seeping into my bones. I was suddenly taken over by exhaustion and closed my eyes as I lay back down, dreaming of the many lives I had lived.