Full Circle

One dark morning shortly after Thad and Anne moved into the cave, Thad was waking when he heard Anne call to him from outside. Thad groggily made his way out of the cave and Anne said "Look up." Thad looked and there was a third star near Giles and Alexandra. "This one is called Gabriel." explained Anne.

Thad stared at his constellation in awe. As he surveyed the dark early morning sky something caught his eye in the west. Luna was setting in a giant ball of orange. Before she disappeared below the horizon Thad could see her mouth the words "Follow me."
"We must go west, Anne." Thad said, "I don't know how yet, but we can't stay here."
"I don't want to stay in this cave either, but I want to go east." argued Anne.
"No Anne. Don't you understand? I'm called to go west." answered Thad.
Anne hissed and grabbed Thad and bit his neck and Thad remembered nothing more.

Thad woke sometime later feeling very weak and looking very pale.
With much effort he crept out of the cave and began to wander.

As he wandered he thought of many things. He loved Anne, but Anne always seemed to resist going west and he knew he must go west eventually. What is more this sudden attack had him very unnerved. He wandered off the path into the woods. Deep in the woods he found a most peculiar thing. It was a circle of thorny branches on the ground with a cross in it. Attached to the circle was a line leading to another circle with a star in it. As he examined this peculiar arrangement he noticed that in each of the circles half buried in leaves was a candle stick. In the thorny circle was a heavy gold candlestick with a circle of thorns on top and three spikes driven through the base and in the other circle was a silver colored candle stick in the shape of a dagger wrapped in a twig of holly with a circle with a star in it at the top and bottom. He didn't know why he did what he did next, but he took his Taizé candle and broke it in two. He put half in each candlestick. He set each candlestick in their respective circles and lit them.

Kneeling in the circle with the cross, facing the circle with the star he called out "Beth?"
Suddenly Beth appeared in the other circle.
"Thad? Is everything alright?" asked Beth.

Thad explained all his problems to Beth and they chat about things both important and trivial late into the night.

While they were talking, Anne, dressed in black, crept up behind Thad.
She grabbed Thad and yanked him out of the circle.
"What are you doing, talking to her!?!" Anne yelled.
"She's my friend." Thad explained meekly.

Anne savagely bit his throat. Thad could feel the blood spilling around him. Anne had lost all interest in disguising this as a kiss. She ripped and tore at his neck drinking some of his blood, content to let the rest spill on the ground.

Thad grew weak, but still managed to ask "Why? Why do such a thing?"
"The west is uncertainty, especially with you, the west is uncertainty." Anne answered.
"But the east is tired and old and dead and asleep." Thad whispered.
Anne replied "I think I should like a rest, yes to the east I go."
At this she dropped the nearly bloodless, wasted body of Thad and walked away.

Thad could not tell if he was dreaming or dying but it seemed to him that Beth carried him and placed him in a bed. Then she placed a bouquet of flowers on a small table next to the bed and left the room.
Weak and barely alive, Thad fell asleep.

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© 2003 - Jonathan Gardner