Burning Hatred

Cole spent all of his time working with Drifter. I tried my best to get involved, but I didn’t know as much about horses as he did. All I knew was that I spend ten thousand dollars on a baby horse that may make or break his budding career. I was going to help out as much as possible to ensure they succeeded.

I felt guilty pouring all my money towards helping him and not his brothers, but I had a special connection with Cole. I couldn’t stand to see him fail, so I did everything I could for him.

One typical day, Cole was out at the racetracks with Drifter and I sat home alone. Even though Drifter was a foal, Cole said it was good for him to be out at the tracks so he could get used to the noises. They also had a foal starting program there that he was enrolled in.

My day was going by slowly. My arthritis was acting up, making it too painful to do much besides sit around the house. I had went out to the family graveyard and paid my respects to my father and husband. I cleaned up the weeds around their stones, ignoring the pain that shot through my hands. I placed a few small flowers on the ground and once again, I found myself praying to the Creator to take me away to them.

After sitting out in the graveyard for a while, I finally went back inside. I sat in the study, reading a mystery novel about a town where there have been strange disappearances of the women. As I sat reading, the fire in the fireplace warmed me, giving me a relaxed feeling.

I was unaware of what was going on around me, lost in the addictive plot of the book, until I heard the front door open and close. I looked at the clock, Cole wasn’t due home for another couple of hours. “How come you’re home so early today?” I called out to him but I didn’t receive a response.

I closed my book, putting it back on the shelf as I made my way over to the front door. To my surprise, there wasn’t anyone there. I felt my body start tingling with nerves. Something wasn’t right and I knew it.

I started walking down the hall to the kitchen when I was stopped by a force I could not see. Immediately I began to feel the burning sensation on my shoulder. It had been a long time since I had that feeling, but it did not worry me. “Get out…” I heard a man’s voice whisper in my ear. I shivered, noticing as my body became covered in goosebumps.

I was frozen in place, the terror I felt paralyzed me. I didn’t know what to do, everything within me screamed for me to run out fo the house. However, the logical side of me was telling me it was just a side effect of reading such a scary book while home alone. There was still the uncertainty of the reasoning behind why the front door had opened and closed. I knew I heard that, there was no way it was my imagination.

I called Cole and asked when he would be home. He seemed frustrated that I had called, “It won’t be for a few hours yet. I still have an hour of training to do, and then I have a big meeting with a potential employer. If I can jockey for this man, I will be riding some of the best horses around.”

I sighed, “Alright, I wish you the best of luck then. I think my age is just playing tricks on me. I’ll see you when you get home. I love you.”

“Thanks, dad, love you too.” The phone went silent for a second. I looked at the screen projecting the “call ended” image at me.

I shook my head and settled back into the study. I chose not to read anymore of the book until my head cleared. I sat staring into the flickering fire before me. I went up to it and placed my hands close to the flame, feeling the heat surround my cold fingers.

I looked up into the mirror above the mantel and jumped. Standing behind me was my mother, a wicked look on her face.

I turned around and glared at her, “What are you doing here! I told you to stay away from me and my family!” She stood there, staring at me. “Get out of my house!”

She finally spoke softly, “Raven, I am getting old. I know there is little time left for me, I have somethings that I need to tell you. Unfinished business that I must do.” I raised an eyebrow at her as she moved closer to me.

I was about to walk out of the room when she pushed me back with unimaginable strength. “You aren’t going anywhere, child. It’s time you meet your father.” She pulled out a matchbook from her pocket and lit a match.

I wasn’t sure what she was planning, but I was terrified. She threw the match behind her and the entrance to the hallway exploded into flame. In a split second the fire had traveled into the kitchen and spread throughout the house. Her eyes glowed, hungrily taking in all of my fear.

“What the hell are you doing! You’re going to kill us you crazy bitch!” I lunged at her but she was quick on her feet. She turned around and slammed me in the back of my head, my eyes blackened as I fell to the floor. As my vision came back I saw her looming overhead.

“You can’t hurt me, I’ve spent years practicing martial arts, you are no match for me.” She sat before me and I shielded my face from her. I heard her devilish laugh as she started to speak again, “It all started with your bastard father. The son of a bitch cheated on me and knocked up my sister the same month he got me pregnant. He thought he could get away without telling me, but eventually I found out. I left him, hoping to reclaim my life. Every night I dreamed about him, I wanted nothing more than to see him dead.”

I saw the anger in her eyes, “He was struggling and everyone around him knew it. I watched him, waiting for the perfect time to do away with his life. Luckily for me, he went out to that dead garden and I saw him pull out the gun and put it to his head. I watched in amusement as he took his own life, ridding me of the burden.”

Her face calmed and she kept talking, the fire was closing in on us, but she seemed unscathed by it. “Then there was you, I thought maybe we could be like a mother and son should, but you decided to be a faggot. You’re stupid little high school crush was an easy target for me, I hoped it would be enough of a warning for you to straighten up. Unfortunately for you, you didn’t. And you stupidly went on to marry that piece of shit Andrew. I couldn’t make myself a target, so I waited. I met up with a few bad cops who hated you queers just as much as I did and when I told them Andrew was one, they were quick to help me out.”

I felt myself shaking with rage, she killed my father and my boyfriend and my husband! She just sat there, spilling out every sin, unaware of the anger inside of me. “I guess I kind of gave myself away when Andrew died, because you decided to get the police involved. You destroyed my plans, but I adjusted. Now it’s time for you to go to Hell, where all of you homos belong! Burning for the rest of your lives. It will make me happy to see the expression on your face as you cook alive.”

She pulled me up from the floor and kicked me into the flames that has engulfed the room. I felt my skin boiling as the heat devoured me. My mother stood next to me, allowing the flames to lap her up as well.

It wasn’t long before I no longer felt the pain, I lowered to the floor as light washed over me. I felt myself slipping out of the burning shell of my being, and my soul floated up.

Relief washed over me and I had a sense of calm that I had never felt before. As I arose through the air, I had the sensation that my father was before me. Although I could not see him, I knew he was there. I felt his hand heavy on my shoulder and he spoke to me, “I’m sorry son, I tried to warn you.”

In a flash, I shot up through the air, popping up in Heaven, kneeled before the pearly gates.

This is the end of Raven’s story. Check back for Cole’s life coming sooon!