Hello everyone! I hope you've all been doing well lately. Have you been eating your meals? Make sure to take care of yourself and have proper meals! Even brunch is okay, as long as you make sure to fill that stomach of yours and get the energy you need to seize the day ✨
Wow, we're pretty much past halfway through October! Time really does fly by, even for someone like me who's still on my extended break after graduating high school. I'll definitely whip up a "life update" blog entry before the year ends to explain why. I think the situation I'm in right now is rather peculiar and worth sharing LOLOLOL 😆
But I digress. If you have scrolled down a little, you would most likely encounter a blog post
containing a short story called Oceanarium, which was my September entry for the monthly writing challenge Indigo hosts over at Spaceships, Vampires, and Very Secret Agents. Anyways, for the record, it may be worth mentioning that I'd love to make this regular thing for as long as I can lol. Not only is this challenge good writing practice for me, but it's also something I find therapeutic when I'm stuck in one of my unproductive episodes ❤ Here's the blog post with this month's details for anyone who wants to give it a shot (and I encourage you to do so!) On a side note, I'm pleasantly surprised by how long this entry turned out to be LOLOL
In the fittingly spoopy spirit of October, this month's theme is "Halloween"! Let me get this out of the way before you read though; I mayyy have taken some liberties with the theme and set my story in a different (maybe-related) holiday, but definitely still related to souls and the dead—
both of which are quite Halloween-y elements. I do hope you guys will accept my tweak 😅 With that said, please enjoy my attempt to commemorate the souls of the lost.
"Ugh." A peculiar Creature perches on a tombstone, its back hunched and expression scrunched. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon, illuminating the clouds' undersides with a soft amber glow. Varying headstones, crosses, and altars of stone and marble cast a welter of long shadows on the weedy path. The cemetery itself was neither chilly nor humid; a cool air rested between the stone, wildflowers, and soil as an elegant, eerie sullenness enveloped the tombs.
It was Día de los Muertos, the day of the dead, and the overgrown cemetery was void of families and rowdy children to build little altars filled with marigolds and sentimental tchotchkes for the departed souls of the bodies that lay in their graves.
"To be fair," the Creature muttered, "this cementerio has been abandoned for nearly a century now." It shuffled its position on the tombstone, and decided that the slab of rock was an uncomfortable roost as it stood up with a grunt. "But Dios mío, I have been abandoned along with this place!" The peculiar Creature, in a fit of misery, started to trample the poor, unassuming weeds under its feet.
As it was occupied with stomping on the overgrowth like a madman, the rusty cemetery gates pleadingly creaked open. A noise like nails scraping on chalkboards echoed through the tombs. The Creature snapped to attention, sharply turning its intent gaze towards the long-undisturbed ingress of the graveyard. From the entryway stepped a youthful girl, her eyes cautiously examining the unearthly locale. She was conservatively clad in religious habit, her garb and veil a dark monochrome. With a soft footing, she makes her way through patches of tall grass and weeds as she continues to scrutinize the area with guarded eyes.
"Oy!" The Creature called out— though what compelled it to do so was beyond understanding. The young girl stopped cold on her tracks, clutching the small cross that hung from her neck then staying completely still, but her eyes were obviously flitting around to find the source of the beckoning. "Over here niñita," the peculiar Creature called out once more. "Can you see me?"
The girl finally laid eyes on the peculiar entity, unsure whether to run away or cry for help. She clears her dry throat and manages a whisper. "Are you a demonio?"
"Sure, whatever. Espíritu, demonio, it doesn't matter." The Creature sighed. "I am the keeper of these grounds, and you are the first human to visit in decades." And the wanderer is a nun no less, the Creature thought. What a nice surprise. "What brings you here?"
The girl assumed a calm demeanor, and she straightened her posture to look directly at the Creature. "I— uh," she stammers, fidgeting with her silver crucifix. "I was gathering flowers for the Día de los Muertos mass. I lost my way through the woods."
The peculiar Creature was finally able to take a good look at the visitor. She possessed a petite stature, as seem by how her tunic and scapular drapes breezily on her frame. A white coif rests beneath her black veil, concealing her hair. The sleeves of her garment were wide and flowing, from which her dainty hands peeked out, grasping her pendant. A wicker basket of marigolds was situated on the crook of her elbow.
Since when were convents allowed to let in girls this young? Times really have passed, the Creature brooded. "You know, it's quite ironic how you— a member of a religious order whose purpose is to guide lost souls— are lost yourself," it jested, approaching the girl.
"You need to shut up, demon," the young nun grumbled, throwing it a fistful of marigolds from her harvest, which simply fell limply at the Creature's feet. "You can't hurt me."
The peculiar Creature couldn't help but let out a chortle from the valiant attempt. "That's rich," it said between laughs, wiping away a metaphorical tear. "Oh man, your breed has gotten feistier!" After that fit, the Creature heaved and picked up the golden flowers at his feet. "But thanks for these. I honestly can't remember when I've seen these flowers last. Do you mind?" The Creature motioned towards the row of graves beside them, and the nun politely stepped back, allowing it to lay a flower on the base of each headstone.
The nun watched intently, her curiosity piqued by the Creature's actions, raised a brow. "So, what exactly are you?"
"What do you think?"
"A demonio."
It shrugged. "Okay, sure. What's a nun's business here with a demon like me?"
"Wondering why you're not taking my soul yet," the girl briskly said. "And don't, by the way. I may as well have you exorcised." After a short pause, she addressed the Creature again. "Why are you in a forgotten cemetery?"
It ignored her comments. "You seem to be unafraid of me, niñita. Well, I won't be taking your soul— that's not my job. I merely bring the departed to the next step in the cycle."
"Purgatory?"
"You're a nun. Shouldn't you know about what comes after death?"
Exasperated, the girl pressed a finger to her temple. "Look, whatever you are, one thing's for sure— you're crazy. Would you please just help me find my way?"
The Creature laughs. "In the centuries of my existence, this is a first for me! A nun asks a demon for favors." It stood still for a few moments, thinking about its situation. The Creature found the nun to be rather haughty and irritable, but on the other hand, it's still company— something it has not experienced during the lonely years of solitary duty. "Alright then, not like I have a choice. I wouldn't want flowers on my feet again, would I?" With a smug grin, it began amble through the maze of graves.
In response, the nun rolled her eyes and snorted as she trailed the Creature. "Oh please. You just may be the loneliest demonio I'll ever encounter in my life. I almost pity you."
"Big talk from someone who's asking for directions," it snickered. "You know for a member of a convent, you're pretty badmouthed."
"Well sorry," she scoffed. "My family shipped me away to straighten me up, but you can see how great it's turning out. You're not the only evil walking here." The girl kicked a pebble from her path. "I got my demons. You know how that feels?"
The Creature shrugged. "I am one. Is that supposed to be insulting?"
"I'm trying to be serious here," the nun girl scowled. "My parents don't want me, and I have no friends. I feel so alone, like you won't even understand." She starts to pluck off the petals of one flower in her basket.
The Creature, however, completely understood what the young girl felt because it was in the same situation— almost a century of wandering through the remnants of almost-forgotten people and memories; though it has ventured these paths countless times, the Creature felt like a lost soul himself, looking for a better future. A thin silence enveloped the two souls, lost in their own way, and masked only by the rustling sounds of foliage that came from underfoot. "I do know," it finally whispered. "Feeling alone, it makes one feel almost helpless. You are right," the Creature smiled, though behind this expression is a weakened fortitude, a bitter longing for what once was. "I may be the loneliest demon you ever will see. So then, tell me about yourself."
The girl pursed her lips. "Well, basically I was set up to marry this absolute sleaze of a man, but I was being mistreated. My parents said I'd either act happy and save face or be sent away."
"I can guess with certainty the decision you made."
She laughed. "Yeah. In all seriousness, this man is disgusting— not a day passes without a new cut or bruise on me. What a stinker he was," the girl recalled. "I was determined to escape, and I knew that this is better than what I was subject to in his hands. What about you, do you have a tale to tell?"
The Creature gave it some thought before speaking. "There used to be families visiting here. Lots of them, every year for Día de los Muertos," it slowly began to recount. "It used to be lively. The souls from the departed, I'd bring them here sometimes when their family is around. But it's been years— the departed have moved forward, and the families have forgotten."
Books 
My friends 
Homestuck 
More time to read books please 