Moonlight Dwelling

To Emily’s horror new people moved in and they weren’t quiet like the guy that lived there before. In fact Emily heard too much and it made things even worse. Each evening and all through the night into the early hours of the morning she would hear the squeak of the bed just above her. it was a total nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from because she was all too awake.

Just what Emily didn’t want to hear the sounds of idiotic giggling while the two upstairs had around the clock acts of nakedness. Even earplugs didn’t really work at blocking out the sounds coming through the ceiling that seemed to be as thin as cardboard. Then one night she took a broom to the ceiling which proved just how shoddy the place was built when an imprint of the top of the handle appeared on the ceiling. It was no wonder that she was hearing things that she’d rather not unless she’d developed hearing like a bat due to some weird bug bite or something.

While this was going on she was searching for work and not having much in the way of luck. It wasn’t like she’d get hired right away like they always seem to on TV. Employers weren’t exactly jumping up and down for girls that suffered from depression who were prone to headaches and required at least the first day of her period off. She also needed more than the time allowed at the library on the computer because she had many things to do but she tried to do the best she could.

After several months the giggling idiotic guy left but so much time had passed that Emily had a major hate brewing for this bitch that had made an already miserable time even worse. Emily began wishing for her to fall down the stairs because that noise would be music to her ears. She just couldn’t comprehend how a person could clomp around so loud that it sounded more like an elephant instead of a human.

Time marched on and it didn’t get any better. Sure there was just Thing 1 because Thing 2 had made tracks to who knows where. Emily tried another pair of earplugs and even got the highest numbered ones she could find at the grocery store in the hopes that finally she’d find some peace and quiet and get some sleep.

It didn’t help that she had insomnia. So every night seemed to drag on for an eternity. Emily was also all but agoraphobic so she didn’t go out all that much. She managed to get out for a few hours every day but her frustrations grew. Surfing the web didn’t yield the results she wanted. Hoping to find some help she would always seem to hit a dead end. She’d find an email address and would send an email only to have it returned by the daemon email thing. It was like there was something out there that didn’t want her to get undepressed.

She didn’t understand why there wouldn’t be an up to date email address on a website that was about depression and getting help. It wasn’t exactly easy to up and admit to a stranger about suffering from depression. Her family didn’t notice or more likely couldn’t care less about her mental state. She believed that they liked having her in the depths of despair so they could moan on and on about her.

The one time she actually said it out loud to her than best friend Nancy cost her that friendship. All she got was a buck up and that was all she wrote. Phone calls weren’t returned and letters were never answered. It was the end of a friendship with no clear cut reason why. So Emily turned to pen pals for some sort of human contact that she was so desperate to have. She knew that she was broken in some way and couldn’t figure out how to fix herself.

Now Emily was in a different place and hated it completely. Each day she seemed to be unraveling apart more and more like a thread being pulled that just keeps going and going until nothing is left. She felt like a hollow empty shell and the bitch upstairs was driving her mad. Soon to pass the very long hours she would think of ways to get back at her. The internet was a total bust when it came to ways at getting back at annoying neighbors at least in the limited access she had.

One night when she was alone she was just so enraged that she went outside and gathered a bunch of rocks. Thankfully she was alone for the night otherwise the men in white coats would have been called to take her away and she wouldn’t be laughing at that regardless of the ha ha’s in that song. Every time there was a stomp or other banging sound she flew out the door and threw a rock upstairs which isn’t an easy thing.

It was tricky hitting the second story but some of the rocks hit their mark like the door. Unfortunately they didn’t end up tripping the bitch when she stomped down the stairs the next day. They also weren’t big enough to cause any damage so it was pretty harmless and helped work out some frustrations since it could have gone down a lot worse with cops and all that.

Because she was so sleep deprived she started taking sleeping pills each night along with the earplugs. A nightly routine was added which was walking around for about forty-five minutes before climbing into bed to aid in her quest for sleep. Emily was so enraged that she just growled when the bitch made a sound. She just couldn’t understand how a person could walk so loud. When Emily tried stomping herself she ended up hurting her foot which didn’t get anywhere near the stomping sound of the one above.

An idea to put her on pen pal websites looking for male prisoners came to mind. The thought of a flood of letters coming from a bunch of perverts sounded like a great idea. There was a catch because the site she came across required an email address. She didn’t even know the person’s name let alone an email address. She set that thought aside but all of a sudden it hit her that she could set up an email address for her without anyone the wiser. The plan was in motion to spread some misery to this bitch who had been driving her absolutely crazy.

The next day Emily went to the library all set to bring her idea to life. She sat down a the computer and signed up for an email address for her pesky neighbor. Next Emily searched for websites that specifically deal in prison pen pals. Now she had to come up with the perfect ad to attract the most creepiest of males. The ad part was tricky but having an email address was half the battle. Now all she had to do was come up with what to say. Now Emily wanted the wording to be perfect so as to attract the bottom of the barrel like freaks of the freakiest sort and not in a good way. She thought about it and started writing possible adds to use.

Calling all men with a taste for the unusual contact Nympho Slut for a good time.

Emily decided to come up with more adds since she was taking a page out of her ex best friend’s book her goal was to flood this bitch’s mailbox with letters from prisoners that were totally pervs.

Are you locked up and in need of some release? I’m the girl to help out with your troubles so inmates send letters and even better a photo if you can. I’ll show you mine if you show me your’s.

She added the address and asked that all correspondence be sent to this address 2232 Billington Av #203, Squareston, CO 12345. Emily left the library and miracle of miracles she was actually smiling which wasn’t exactly a normal or natural thing for her. Emily just sat back and watched the mail come in each day with a grin. She even hung around to make sure she got to see the look on McStompy’s face and relished in the looks of disgust that crossed her face every time she looked through her mail.

The library which used to be a sanctuary and a place of peace and quiet was not the case in this new place. It was horrible and the people were absolutely nuts. When she was exiled from this sorry excuse for a library she made the decision to stop going there except to pick up and drop off books. She couldn’t bear to be in there any more than she had to because the place just started making her skin crawl. She also didn’t want to go all postal or something and do something stupid that she’d later regret.

Emily was at a loss as to what she should do. She desperately needed a computer but there were no toher libraries she could easily get to. It was just another reason on a growing list why she hated this place. She didn’t know how much more she could take before she totally snapped and she didn’t fancy seeing handcuffs in her future. She had already had a police encounter before getting exiled but her patheticness must have made the cop feel sorry for her. She didn’t understand why she was targeted when there were noisy people and all she did was whisper.

One day she got a letter in the mail with no return address. Turning it over and being a curious girl she looked at it and saw on the flap that it said Open Me that was written in glittery writing. She opened it and out came a puff of smoke. It reminded her of Spike coming out of the mail along with the amulet on Angel.

“What in the world?”

“Hi there honey you must be Emily right?”

“Yeah but who are you?”

“I’m Otakundo.”

“You’re an anime fan?”

“Oh just call me Charlie.”

“So you don’t like anime? It’s totally awesome you should really check it out.”

“No I enjoy it too but that’s not why I’m here.”

“So why are you here?”

“I was sent by the Revenge Fairy.”

“Revenge Fairy?”

“That’s right my dear you’re full of a need for revenge. I’m here to help you carry that out.”

“But how? Why?”

“My boss makes a point of tracking down those in need and you my dear need help big time.”

“But I set a plan in motion.”

“Yes and that was awfully cute.”

Emily couldn’t believe she was hearing what she was hearing so she pinched herself to see if it was just some strange dream.

“Ow! So I’m not dreaming. I’ve always believed in fairies but I never thought one would be helping me out. So do I get to meet your boss?”

“Not just yet. Just take my hand and we’ll go somewhere private so we can have a little chat.”

Charlie was at least six feet tall not to mention the fact that he was a cat that was standing on two legs which was part of the reason she thought this was all a dream. She wondered why he called his paw a hand but for a cat a paw is a hand so she left that thought unspoken. Emily’s mind was racing because she’d always had this hope that somehow a solution to her problems would come to her but never in her wildest imaginings did she think it would come in the form of a giant cat wearing a diamond studded collar.

She reached out and grabbed his paw and found herself in a giant tree that was furnished like a house complete with a big screen TV. There were also bookcases filled with books and DVDs and CDs as far as the eye could see and beyond. It sorta reminded her of Root Core from PRMF which was a guilty pleasure of her’s that kinda embarrassed her because she wasn’t seven years old. It was like Emily’s dream house brought to life although she’d never imagined it in a tree and best of all no obnoxious upstairs neighbor that sounded like she was hosting the running of the bulls. The only neighbors that she could see through the window were squirrels playing in the trees.

“This is absolutely amazing. Does your boss live here? What’s her name?”

“You are full of questions aren’t you?”

“Can you blame me?”

“I suppose not. No my mistress doesn’t live here.”

“Mistress?”

“My boss dear child. No this place is all your’s.”

“Shut up! Get out!”

“If you insist but we do have things to discuss.”

“No stay that wasn’t what I meant. Are you kidding me?”

“No Emily I’m not. My mistress has taken a special interest in you.”

“But why I’m no one special?”

“Oh but you are. You have endured much in your life and have somehow kept hold of hope after years of neglect and suffering. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you committed matricide for the abuse you’ve suffered at her hands.”

“Well the thought did cross my mind countless times.”

“Yes but it just stayed there as a thought. You didn’t act on it.”

“It’s not like I’m a saint. I will gladly dance on her grave when she dies if I don’t kick off first. Since she’s such a rotten person she’ll probably last well into her nineties and likely beyond that. If the Grim Reaper came to me and gave me a freebie and I couldn’t choose it for myself I would choose her.”

“Understandable sweetie but now you have a chance to finally live your life.”

Emily started crying. “Why me?”

“Why not you? Now why don’t you dry those tears and sit on this comfy sofa.”

Grabbing a tissue she wiped her eyes and sat down on the black sofa that had to be the comfiest thing she had ever sat on. She still couldn’t totally believe that this was really happening. It was like a dream come true that she never dare hoped for except for a little piece of her that she kept hidden away. Looking around she expected it all to fade away back to the blah white walls of her bedroom with walls as barren as she felt inside.

“I can practically hear you thinking. No this is completely real. Go through that doorway and take a look around. That should prove that this is the real deal.”

Emily got up and walked into another room. It was a bedroom with a bed and dresser along with some very familiar items like her Carebears. She walked over to the closet and opened it to find that it was filled with clothes and shoes.

“No way this is my stuff.”

Charlie came into the room. “Plus a few extras.”

“Wow! And this is really all mine?”

“That’s right no more sleepless nights. Would you like to have some alone time? I could come back later and bring a pizza for dinner and talk things over.”

“Sure that’d be great. So this computer is really mine?”

“You bet your butt it is. It’s top of the line. I’ve bookmarked a few things that might interest you. So I’ll leave you until then.”

“Thank you Charlie.”

Charlie went poof which was a pretty cool thing to be able to do. Emily walked over to the computer which she still thought would disappear right before her if she were to reach out and touch it. She sat down logged on into her email. There was a note beside the computer that mentioned a stocked fridge complete with her favorite soda.

“Wow this is so crazy. I still can’t believe this is really happening. Well I’ll check my email and keep my fingers crossed that everything won’t go poof. Okay I’ll have to cross my fingers mentally.”

Scrolling through the emails she found one marked Revenge. “Hmm that looks promising.” Clicking on it she found an email from the Revenge Fairy.

Dear Emily

You have been chosen to have a total life makeover. Right now you are no doubt reading this in your new home. Yes this is your home along with everything in it. This is your chance to have the life you’ve always dreamed of. I look forward to meeting you.

“Wow I’m gonna meet an actual fairy. That is pretty cool. Maybe I have a chance after all.”

Emily decided to take a nap and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She dreamed of being in a field of daisies with a blue sky above minus the blazing sun. It reminded her a little of the world that the Teletubbies lived in. She woke up to the smell of pizza wafting in the air that made her mouth water.

“Have a nice snooze?”

“Yes I actually slept for a change.”

While Emily was eating Charlie chatted away drinking milk and tossing back anchovies like she’d toss back M&Ms. It was so gross to see him open his mouth and catch them and start munching on them with a look of bliss on his face. He had arranged a meeting with the Revenge Fairy for the next day. She was so excited that she was able to hide her disgust about the fish and wondered if she would have trouble falling asleep but like the night before she fell asleep the second her head touched her pillow.

Emily woke up and after her eyes opened seeing where she found herself smiling which was such an odd thing. It was such a foreign concept that she never thought she’d achieve because she seemed to be incapable of it. It was like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Maybe I can actually be happy. I never thought I’d ever be saying that because I didn’t think it was possible. Now I just need some happy pills.”

“Knock knock poppet.”

“Charlie how’s it going?”

“Well don’t you look all bright eyed and bushy tailed minus the tail of course because that’s my thing.”

“I’m starting to think that I might have a chance at having an actual life and being happy.”

“Don’t forget about getting revenge on McStompy.”

“How could I forget about that? It has consumed my thoughts for longer than I want to admit because it’s just too pathetic and a sign of my utter patheticitude.”

“So are you ready to meet my Mistress? And you’re not pathetic. I think you’re a pretty cool girl from what I’ve seen of you.”

Suddenly Emily started feeling lightheaded. She heard what sounded like an ambulance and voices.

“Clear.”

It reminded her of an ER episode.

“Still no pulse.”

“What?” She looked and in the distance she saw a shadowed figure.

“Emily take my hand and come with me.”

“What’s going on? Are you the Revenge Fairy?”

“Look down Emily.”

Emily looked down and suddenly it hit her. She’d taken a bunch of sleeping pills to once and for all end the nightmare that was her life. Paddles were being used with no change. It was so strange to look down at her body. Finally the paramedic gave up and closed her eyes. The ambulance driver keep driving with the siren blaring.

“So I’m dead?”

“That’s right.”

“Finally. So what was the tree house and giant cat all about? Is there a Revenge Fairy?”

“Yes and that place can be all yours should you choose. In death you can get what was denied you in life.”

"Really? Cool."

By Barbara Desmond