Amalia
the archangel
she does not know what it's like
not to have deep emotions
not to have deep emotions
Is it a particularly sad story? Perhaps, but then again, Amalia grew up in the Hollowed Grounds, where tragedy was written into the lines of everyday life. Still she feels somewhat chagrined at the somber faces of the children; surely she had been just as stunned, hearing the tale from her mother that day. Is she really so jaded that stories of death are little more than nighttime amusement?
She ponders on this as Ray launches into another story, this one of a ghostly woman and a man on a horse. And the children are just as enraptured as before, jumping at the appropriate moments, making Amalia smile at their easy engagement. The fear is exciting, thrilling, fun, because it isn't what they were born into. How long will that last?
When it's her turn to go again, the Angel knows what story she'll tell. "I can do one more," she promises, glancing from Ray to the expectant faces. "One day, a very busy woman was riding to a meeting when her horse was spooked and she was thrown off its back. The horse ran away and the woman sprained her leg, and she knew that she would need to find somewhere to spend the night, for it was getting late.
"Luckily, just as the sun disappeared over the horizon, the woman saw a distant light. It turned out the light belonged to a farmhouse a mile off the road. Relieved, the woman hobbled through the field and knocked on the door.
"The door was open by an elderly couple, who looked very surprised. They ushered the wounded woman in and set her down to eat. As it was dark, the woman asked if it wouldn't be too great an imposition to stay the night. The couple looked at each other, frowning, and then the husband said: 'You can stay the night, but we have to warn you, our son can be a little... strange. He's harmless, just... don't let him in.' Tired and sore, the woman waved off this warning, assuring them she would sleep through anything. 'Okay,' the couple agreed warily, 'Just remember- don't let him in.'
"The woman had settled into the guest bed and was about to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door. The woman went to open it, then stopped, remembering the warning that the couple had made. 'Um, who is it?' she asked - and from the other side a beautiful voice murmured: 'Do you know what I can do with my luscious lips and fingertips?' The woman was surprised to hear this: 'Do I what?' she asked, confused. She opened the door just a crack, but the man was already gone.
"Well, just the sound of the man's voice left the woman flustered. It took her a while to settle back down, but she was juuuuuust about to fall asleep again... when there was another knock at the door! Jumping up, she ran to it, her hand on the knob. 'Who are you?' she asked this time, her heart pounding in her chest.
"There was a pause, and then:
"'Do you know what I can do with my luscious lips and fingertips?'
"The woman gasped and opened the door, but she was too late. The naked back of a man was disappearing around the corner, and though she tried to follow him, her sprained ankle gave out! Gasping in pain, she fell to the floor, then crawled back to her bed. But this time, she left the door open just a crack.
"Again the woman waited, and again she grew tired. Her eyes had just barely fluttered shut when she heard whispered: 'Do you know what I can do with my luscious lips and fingertips?' The woman's eyes flew open and she looked up to see the most handsome man she'd ever seen in her life. Shocked by just how handsome he was, the woman barely managed to blurt out: 'What?!'
"The man came closer, until his face was very close to hers. Then he smiled, and raised his hand to his lips, and said---
---'Bibble-bibble-bibble!'"
The final word is less word than action, as Amalia brings her own hand up to blubber against her lips as she vocalizes. Not so scary a story in the end, but the world is scary enough as it is, and as the children burst into laughter the Angel feels thoroughly satisfied with her choice of tale.
She ponders on this as Ray launches into another story, this one of a ghostly woman and a man on a horse. And the children are just as enraptured as before, jumping at the appropriate moments, making Amalia smile at their easy engagement. The fear is exciting, thrilling, fun, because it isn't what they were born into. How long will that last?
When it's her turn to go again, the Angel knows what story she'll tell. "I can do one more," she promises, glancing from Ray to the expectant faces. "One day, a very busy woman was riding to a meeting when her horse was spooked and she was thrown off its back. The horse ran away and the woman sprained her leg, and she knew that she would need to find somewhere to spend the night, for it was getting late.
"Luckily, just as the sun disappeared over the horizon, the woman saw a distant light. It turned out the light belonged to a farmhouse a mile off the road. Relieved, the woman hobbled through the field and knocked on the door.
"The door was open by an elderly couple, who looked very surprised. They ushered the wounded woman in and set her down to eat. As it was dark, the woman asked if it wouldn't be too great an imposition to stay the night. The couple looked at each other, frowning, and then the husband said: 'You can stay the night, but we have to warn you, our son can be a little... strange. He's harmless, just... don't let him in.' Tired and sore, the woman waved off this warning, assuring them she would sleep through anything. 'Okay,' the couple agreed warily, 'Just remember- don't let him in.'
"The woman had settled into the guest bed and was about to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door. The woman went to open it, then stopped, remembering the warning that the couple had made. 'Um, who is it?' she asked - and from the other side a beautiful voice murmured: 'Do you know what I can do with my luscious lips and fingertips?' The woman was surprised to hear this: 'Do I what?' she asked, confused. She opened the door just a crack, but the man was already gone.
"Well, just the sound of the man's voice left the woman flustered. It took her a while to settle back down, but she was juuuuuust about to fall asleep again... when there was another knock at the door! Jumping up, she ran to it, her hand on the knob. 'Who are you?' she asked this time, her heart pounding in her chest.
"There was a pause, and then:
"'Do you know what I can do with my luscious lips and fingertips?'
"The woman gasped and opened the door, but she was too late. The naked back of a man was disappearing around the corner, and though she tried to follow him, her sprained ankle gave out! Gasping in pain, she fell to the floor, then crawled back to her bed. But this time, she left the door open just a crack.
"Again the woman waited, and again she grew tired. Her eyes had just barely fluttered shut when she heard whispered: 'Do you know what I can do with my luscious lips and fingertips?' The woman's eyes flew open and she looked up to see the most handsome man she'd ever seen in her life. Shocked by just how handsome he was, the woman barely managed to blurt out: 'What?!'
"The man came closer, until his face was very close to hers. Then he smiled, and raised his hand to his lips, and said---
---'Bibble-bibble-bibble!'"
The final word is less word than action, as Amalia brings her own hand up to blubber against her lips as she vocalizes. Not so scary a story in the end, but the world is scary enough as it is, and as the children burst into laughter the Angel feels thoroughly satisfied with her choice of tale.
even when she feels nothing
she feels it completely
she feels it completely
