The Itch

I first noticed the strange back pains on my twelfth birthday, when Aunt Ithea came to visit. It began with a sharp tingling sensation just under my shoulder blades and gradually grew to a pesky agitation in my skin. I tried to ignore what felt like a five pound housefly landing on me. Not even rubbing my back with a hairbrush could eliminate the annoying itch. I remember thinking: I wish I had a friend to help me.

While in the middle of grunting and squirming on my bed, Aunt Ithea knocked on the bedroom door. “Abdiel, your mother says that supper is ready.”

She opened the door and smiled, her pale cheeks blushed before my eyes. She glanced at the heavy metal posters and shook her head at the black walls. “Do you need a hug?”

“It’s my back, I can’t take this itch.”

I didn’t see how she reached me so fast since her portly body reminded me of a slow rhino, but the itching stopped the second she laid her hands on me. Sweet lilacs soothed my nerves as I sniffed her wide neck. The steady beat of her heart tamed mine while my chest rested on her large bosom. With just one hug, the annoying discomfort went away.

“Wow! Thanks, Auntie.”

Her black eyes sparkled, making me realize that a part of me wanted to get lost in the soothing darkness. For someone twice my size, she felt soft and cuddly. Unlike my mother who hated looking up at me. She always accused me of being like my late father's side of the family; tall and clumsy. They were husky but no matter how much I ate, fat stayed away from me. Mother said I was all bones.

The next time it happened, I was celebrating my fifteenth birthday in the park with my girlfriend, when all of a sudden, I felt as if a beast roamed inside my body and wanted to burst out of my back. A cool breeze carried the familiar scent of lilacs, yet my temperature kept rising.

“Abdiel, you’re burning up.” My girlfriend’s wide eyes scanned back towards the campsite where my family enjoyed a feast. I fidgeted in her arms as if convulsing. Her increased heartbeat made my own heart pounce against my chest.

“What do I do?”

“Give him to me.” Aunt Ithea said.

It seemed that she popped out of nowhere. Somehow, I had lost all sense of direction. My mind was consumed with stopping the itch. We hugged and once again, her dark eyes relaxed me while her familiar perfume killed my rage.

“Don’t worry, Abdiel, I’m here for you.”

While I lay quiet in her arms my mind raced with thoughts of fires burning throughout the park. The cool breeze, instead of soothing me, fanned the flames coursing through my veins. I don’t understand, why is it when this damn itch comes, only Aunt Ithea can cure me?

I wondered what kind of allergic reaction I was having, and what caused it.

It wasn’t till my twenty-first birthday, that the itch grew to its all time worst. I sat on the bed, scratching my back with a clothes hanger, praying for Aunt Ithea to arrive.

“Damn it! I hate this!”

The pain, stronger than ever before, tore through my skin. The tip of the metal hanger snapped off. Blood oozed on the gold-plated wiring and trickled onto the mattress.

“What’s happening to me?” I cursed at the fact that loneliness was my friend.

“Aunt Ithea!” I shouted, convinced that somehow this allergy could only be contained by her presence. My need for her became an addiction.

Madness. I writhed in pain on the bed, lying on my stomach, screaming obscenities. The room spun in circles. Then, like the silent eye of a powerful hurricane, Aunt Ithea’s sturdy fingers stroked my long hair.

“There, there, Abdiel, it’s almost over.”

She bent low and kissed my earlobe. The fresh scent of lilacs created a protective barrier until a loud flutter snapped me out of a deep trance. I reached back and felt—rawhide.

“Wings?”

“Get up and behold your true beauty.”

She grabbed my hand and led me to the mirror. I hadn’t noticed when her fingers had changed into talons. I stood in awe. My fiery, pale eyes glowed in comparison to my rugged, light-green skin. Two sharp horns made out of darkened bones protruded from my shoulder blades, surrounded by huge, black bat wings. Before I could think about the treacherous mirror, my ears elongated and hung to the sides as two more bones pushed through making me look like the devil’s ruler of mad bulls. When I opened my huge mouth to speak, multitudes of sharp incisors confirmed my true identity. In my presence, my lithe body morphed into a powerful creature intent on destroying good souls.

The darkness fed my new surging power. Aunt Ithea stood beside me much blacker than I, but just as large. Her once pale skin was charred beyond recognition. Without moving her enormous chomps she communicated with her thoughts.

You are the beautiful daemon Abdiel, protector of darkness and collector of lost souls.

For once in my life I finally knew my sense of purpose. The darkness was indeed my friend.

- 882 words