The Melody of Hunger

Magic can have unforeseen consequences

         Jordan wanted that asshole gone. But, as she walked down the school hallway to get to her next class, her palms grew sweaty. There was a tightness in her chest when she glanced at his locker where he would be perched against his locker, waiting to seize another moment to give her torment. Her shoulders remembered the shoves against metal lockers, the name-calling, the teasing, the rumors. With Scott around, she was a constant target. Jordan's hands clenched in the pockets of her black hoodie. I was weak, so I had to fight.
         "Are you sure you want to do this?" Jordan blinked and she was back in the forest, sweat falling down her temples, pine needles jamming up her nose, the stench of rotting wood, the grip of rope. Ghost trails of tears brushed across her high cheekbones. She quickly wiped them away before anyone could see. "Magic can have unforeseen consequences."
         La Lechuza had visited her the few nights ago she sneaked out to a rave; Mom had pulled an all-nighter at the hospital and Dad was asleep in front of the TV. She shouldn't have gone. She made a lot of foolish choices that night. A man had drugged her, intending to rape and leave her for dead. He was digging the hole where he would discard her body before the owl witch came to her rescue. But, she didn't look evil. La Lechuza looked like she had found a mirror--an angry soul, hungry for revenge.
         Now, somehow Scott had disappeared. Just gone: his desk, phone number, his name from the class list. Jordan even tried calling his family, and they didn't know what she was talking about.
         Jordan's hands began to shake as she dragged her feet to her next class. She paused at the entryway, and she turned away. She couldn't do this. She ran for her locker to grab some cigs, hoping to calm her nerves.
         Only, Rose was at her locker. She was had her back pressed against it, wearing a white and black striped undershirt, a blue jean jacket, and thin black pants with white tennis shoes, her hair curly, thick, and resting on her shoulders. The only imperfect thing about her was that her eyes were red and puffy.
         Jordan stared. Her body warmed as breath caught in her throat; she forgot all about the cigarettes. She wanted desperately to say something witty or charming, but all she could manage was, "Hi." A fresh flood of guilt rattled her bones--for maybe causing Scott's disappearance by deal of a witch she met in the woods, and she had the maddest crush on Rose Spence. Maybe that's why Scott bullied her, maybe he knew that she liked girls and he hated her for it. She hated herself because it was absolutely true. Maybe he knew that Jordan only had eyes for Rose.
         "I asked everyone," she said, her voice cracking. "Only our language arts class seems to recall a Scott Fletcher, but it's like he's dropped off the face of the earth."
         Rose Spence was confiding in her. Jordan's heart raced out of surprise and delight. "I'm sorry to hear that."
         "So you do remember him?"
         Jordan nodded. "Unfortunately."
         Rose shook her head. "I don't understand it."
         Maybe he's better off gone, Jordan thought, but didn't say. "What?"
         "Catherine Commpton also disappeared," she replied. "So did Shane Adams."
         Jordan's hands trembled again. She remembered her cigs, a longing reignited. A chill slid down her back, a weight heavy on her chest. She hated where this was going. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said, berating herself for not thinking of better words to say.
         "And sometimes, I feel like I am too," she said. "Disappearing."
         Jordan's heartbeat slowed to a crawl. "I have to go." She turned from Rose and ran to her next class. She would grab her cigs later. Classes all blurred together. But Jordan still glanced at the empty desk in Language Arts class.
         After school, she strolled out to a park. She found woodsy trail, and made sure she was completely alone. Then, she began to whistle the sound that lured La Lechuza, mimicking the melody she used to lure her victims. She appeared on the trail, her body a brown owl and her face that of a beautiful woman. She wore a necklace with huge orbs like snow globes. "You called?"
         Jordan flinched at her presence. "What happened?" Jordan raised her voice. "Did you make Scott disappear?"          
         "You mean him?" Her lip curled as she raised one of the orbs. Inside of it was a minuscule version of Scott. He looked confused as he helplessly knocked against the glass. "The one who tormented you every day, who you wanted gone?"
         Her mouth fell open. She took a slow intake of uneven breath. There was a hard thud against her chest. Who else was in there? Was Catherine? Was Shane? Would Rose be next?
         Jordan shook her head. She scrubbed a hand over her face, summoning a pained expression. She bit her lip. A thickness welled in her throat, but she swallowed it down. "I didn't want others to disappear, just him."
         La Lechuza laughed. "Magic has unforeseen consequences," she said, almost in the lilt of a chant. Then she opened her large wings, and flew off into the sky, overcast with clouds choking away the blue.
         The weight of unforeseen consequences weighed her down like a cage.