*Content warning: Besides explicit sex descriptions during a demonic ritual, this story's protagonist has manic depression and suicide fantasies. The instances are not excessive, but they're an important plot point. If you're disturbed by such things do not read the story. You have been warned. Otherwise, please enjoy this demented fantasy.*
It was an exceptionally muggy day for October 30th. That's usually how it was in the Southern United States. The trees were finally taking on red, yellow, and orange leaves to mark fall's arrival. Taylor was sitting on the patio at her favorite local coffee shop on the outskirts of town. There were Halloween decorations all over the place. Cobwebs, spiders, black cats, and skeletons were painted on the shop windows. Stuff like that usually made Taylor smile. She loved Halloween, but she didn't smile that day.
She was drinking coffee filled to the brim with cream and sugar hoping it would wake up her exhausted spirit. It had just ticked past six o'clock. Hardly anyone else was at the shop and that's how Taylor liked it.
She had a depressing day thanks to a rude college professor that had shamed her for being five minutes late. It would have been a simple annoyance for a normal person, but when you're bi-polar, the dumbest shit can send you spiraling. Being pointed out in front of strangers made her heart race and left her trembling. On top of all that, it was difficult being on time when you wake up exhausted wishing you were dead.
She just wanted to sit alone and stare at the river babbling below the tree covered patio. A big red maple leaf floated down beside her coffee cup tempting her to smile, but she only sighed at it. The peaceful patio usually calmed her troubled spirit, but she had been battling suicidal thoughts all semester. Her symptoms were growing more severe. She thought she was losing her mind at times. Bi-polar type II was much harder to treat in some people. Taylor was less likely to destroy her life in a manic phase but she was more likely to kill herself.
"God... I should just drown myself right now," she whispered miserably.
She felt tired and weak. She could easily fall in the tumultuous water below the patio and find some rest. The river was swollen from recent rain and she could make it look like an accident. She knew in the back of her mind that was why she loved that particular coffee shop. She enjoyed thinking about ending her exhaustion in the cold inviting river.
"That would be a lovely way to go, but then you would miss Halloween," announced a male voice from behind her.
Taylor straightened up in alarm as she heard footsteps approaching her. Her mind was slightly shocked by what the voice said. She quickly denied the person could be talking to her. He couldn't have heard her whisper unless he was right next to her.
The man walked around the table and sat in the chair across from her obstructing her view of the river. She met his lovely pale eyes with a start. The man was handsome in a rather shocking way. He had large gray eyes that seemed to peer right into her soul. His hair was dark and fell carelessly around his handsome face. He had lovely olive skin and an athletic build. He was wearing a white button down shirt and dark slacks. He looked like one of the handsome frat boys she often admired along the avenue beside the university.
"Uh... can I help you?" she asked in confusion.
"Don't be nervous, Taylor. I'm hear to offer you a rather macabre proposition," he said with a mischievous smile that sent Taylor's heart thumping a little faster.
"Um... what are you talking about? How do you know my name?" she asked.
She had a scared and excited feeling about the stranger. He was off-putting in an alluring way. Her whole frame was telling her to run, but her exhausted mind was telling her to invite the danger in.
"You want to die and I enjoy killing people, so that's a win-win for both of us. I happen to be a demon possessing this washed up med student. Duncan here is as mentally unstable as you. He is pathetic and alone, so he invited me in to do whatever I want with his body, but I have to kill him sooner than later. That's my end of the bargain. He's watching us by the way, he thinks you're cute. He likes long blond hair," he said with a smirk.
Taylor gulped as a chill ran up her spine. The whole area seemed to have gotten colder when the man appeared, and she was shocked by what he was saying. She figured her mind had finally decided to step out on her.
"Are you going to say anything, Taylor? I'm hear to grant your wish and you seem speechless," he said as he reached across the table.
She watched in confusion as he took her coffee from her hand and turned it up and drained it. Then he slowly sat the empty mug down in the center of the table as he studied Taylor with his piercing gaze.
"I sense you're very attracted to Duncan," he whispered. "I made the perfect choice didn't I?" he asked with a smirk as he began unbuttoning his shirt.
Taylor watched in surprise as he completely unbuttoned his shirt and opened it up casually so she could see his chest and abs. He definitely worked out, and the attractive sight of him was making her feel more off kilter than she already was.
"Just as I thought," he said with a knowing smile. "Humans and their obsession with flesh has always amused me. I can't blame you. Sex is delightfully dirty. Duncan here works out and takes care of himself to no avail. He hasn't enjoyed sex in years. He is pathetically lonely and burned out. His suicidal thoughts just won't leave him alone. It's a pity he's so broken. Just like you, Taylor. So, would you like to hear my proposition or not?" he sighed as he tilted his chair back so he could lean against the patio railing.
"I would like to hear it... but maybe I shouldn't," she stammered. "You claim to be a demon. Why on earth would a demon randomly decide to visit me now?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Taylor, for someone who claims to love Halloween you don't really know shit about it do you? Tomorrow is October 31, the celebration of Halloween, or All Hallows Eve as some call it. It's a modern tradition that originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, but it goes back much further than that. The Celts at least gave the supernatural disturbance a name. Samhain marked the end of harvest and the beginning of a cold dark winter. Winters often brought death and suffering. Samhain is the one night of the year when the veil between the land of the living and the realm of the dead is thinnest. Ghosts and demons get to visit what they left behind. The Celts were less distracted by modern life and were able to observe our mischief, and our mischief often leads to more suffering the next year. That allows us to claim more victims when the veil grows thin again. The Celts dawned silly masks in an attempt to hide from us, but the suffering of a human soul calls to us like a siren. The bliss of tearing a soul from the land of the living at the festival of Samhain is like no other. It's a feast for the senses," he whispered as he licked his lips.
He was staring at Taylor so intently it sent a terrified shudder creeping down her arms giving her goose flesh, but his words were sinking into her thoughts like a gentle caress. It was terrifying and intriguing.
