We Are Unique discussion

The morning was a crisp one as Aiden walked towards the office. The smells of burning leaves and roasting chestnuts wafted on the wind and the sound of snow crunching underfoot echoed in the stillness of the early hour. People hurried by bundled against the cold and Aiden could tell it was going to be a dull day. He arrived and opened the door,hanging up his coat and scarf,setting about the start of the day
He stood in the office waiting for the day's first clients. The office was no warmer than the day outside,making his very bones feel the deep ache of the chill.Feeling bored he started sorting packages and assorted letters into the various cubbyholes to which they had been assigned when the bells above the door chimed. He turned to see a shabbily dressed stranger had arrived holding a very small parcel."Good morning Sir.How may I assist you on this good day?"Aiden eyed the stranger and the parcel with curiousity and yet remained ever the professional.The stranger didn't speak but pushed the parcel towards Aiden on the counter.He noticed the hand was gnarled and covered with a finger less glove,which was common for this time of year."Where would you like this parcel sent Sir?"Aiden grew uneasy as the stranger was staring at him with dark eyes but uttered nary a word.The man then pulled out a slip of worn paper and pushed it alongside the parcel.Aiden picked it up. It was barely legible. "Alright Sir,I will see that it is sent out right away. "He set about to weigh the parcel when the stranger grabbed his wrist.Aiden stared in shock at the sudden touch then jerked his arm away."Is there something more Sir?"The stranger then jabbed his index finger into Aiden's chest."What?You wish me to deliver this parcel?I don't deliver Sir I just sort and weigh them. Besides it would cost extra as that is a special delivery."The stranger pulled out a bag and dropped it on the counter.Aiden looked at it. The man gestured for him to open it . Aiden did and almost fainted. Inside was over 100 gold coins,more than he had ever seen .Aiden looked at the stranger and back at the bag. The stranger nodded and Aiden closed the bag,put it with his coat and signed a reciept for the man. As he was looking up to give it to him,he noticed the man was gone.Aiden sighed and went back to his duties ,secreting the parcel first.

After his shift Aiden took the parcel and the bag and proceeded to set off to deliver it . Trying to decipher the address once again he could see it was out off the edge of town. If he hurried he could get it delivered and be back home before night fall. He wrapped his scarf around his throat,tightened his coat and trudged up the path to the road leading to the outskirts of the town.As he walked he noticed sounds getting fainter and fainter. Houses also seemed to be getting farther and farther apart.He pulled out the paper again. Wiping snow from his eyes,he strained to see any road posts or signs of anything to let him know if he was on the right track. Trees were set off in groups, not like your typical forest. He stumbled in what seemed like a field . He was lost .There were no homes anywhere .Just trees and shrubbery .But this was the place on the paper.

Aiden slumped against a tree and searched the nearby skyline to see if he could see any smoke rising in the distance . No such luck. He twirled the parcel around in his fingers.It wasn't very big.About the size of his hand in length and as tall as his thumb.He shook it . Didn't hear anything. Great lost in the woods with a parcel that held neither food nor anything to keep him warm. He put it down on the ground and started to rub his hands together. That was when he heard it. It started low at first,then grew louder. The howling of wolves.He had been so focused on the parcel he had not noticed that the moon was rising. As the howling grew ,he saw something else that made his blood run cold. The parcel was growing and shaking.
Suddenly it burst open and an orb sat on the ground pulsing. It
was silver in color, yet dull.It made a pulsing,throbbing sound.
There was strange writing on it.Aiden sat transfixed by it for a few seconds before scrambling to his feet .He slowly walked over to it and reached out to pick it up. As he did so a piercing shriek could be heard coming from the field behind him.He whirled around and saw noone there. He looked all over the field and saw nothing but grayness and snow .He turned back to the orb and reached out for it again. The shriek returned. Closer this time and much louder.Aiden covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut to the horrible sound . When he took his hands away he saw a girl standing before him. This confused him a bit as there was not a house or village anywhere nearby ,and yet here she was.She was young with cascading brown hair,that fell across her shoulders in waves.She wore a plain brown skirt and bodice with a dark ,hooded cape draped over her shoulders and tied at the neck. Her pale skin was slightly flushed at the cheeks and her eyes were a soft green. Aiden was embarassed a bit at how he must have presented himself to her.He brushed his clothing and smiled,bowing to her in greeting. "Greetings Miss,I am Aiden of Derbenshire.I have come to deliver a parcel and have seemed to have lost my way." The maiden recoiled as he spoke and her eyes grew wide with fright. This puzzled Aiden as he was not dangerous nor did he mean her any harm. "I assure you Miss,I mean you no harm. I am just here to deliver that object there."He pointed to the orb on the ground. The girl looked at the orb and if terror had a face she wore it. She looked back at Aiden and put her hand to her mouth,then she turned and ran away from him as fast as she could across the field. He forgot about the orb and pursued her.He lost track of her in the woods,leaning against a tree panting. He noticed a clearing up ahead and ran towards it. At first he saw nothing,then he noticed the remnants of a fire and looked around for any sign of the who had started it.Soon a shabbily dressed old man appeared."Say there,sir ,pardon me ,have you seen a young woman go pass here?"Aiden watched as the old man sat on a stump and stared at him.His eyes were so light it looked as if he had no eyes at all. "I say Sir,can you hear me?"he asked again ."I hear you fine.And to answer your question no.I have seen no one but your rude self."the old man answered Aiden quite gruffly which took him aback."I am sorry if I seem rude Sir , I was delivering a parcel and I got lost and the parcel fell open and became an orb then this girl appeared and now she ran off and well I ran after her and.."
"Such fiddle faddle .Mind your manners boy.I dinna ask you why you were here nor do I care.Where is the orb?"the old man held out his gnarled hand. Aiden in his rush to follow the girl had left the orb behind."I don't have it Sir. I left it when the girl ran."At that point Aiden felt pure terror. The old man stood up and he seemed to shake terribly and grow taller than he had ever seen anyone get ."YOU DID WHAT!!!!!" bellowed the what was now a demon of sorts .Aiden fell to the ground scrambling backwards as the creature reached down for him.
"I left it and ran after the girl." he knew that was the wrong answer and his insides were turning to jelly as the talons of the creature closed around his middle .
The creature picked Aiden up and shook him violently."YOU WERE TO BRING THE ORB TO ME OR DIE!!! I GUESS YOU WISH TO DIE!!" Aiden shook his head and tried desperately to loose himself from the demon's grip.The demon started to squeeze and Aiden could hear his ribs cracking ."PUT HIM DOWN."a new voice was heard . Aiden whipped his head around and saw the girl standing below on the ground at the demon's feet with the orb in her hands. A loud demonic laugh echoed through the forest ."WHY SHOULD I? YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE ORB. HE IS OF NO USE TO ME."the demon squeezed harder and Aiden could hardly breath."TRUE BUT THE ORB IS AND I CAN MAKE IT DISAPPEAR AND YOU KNOW IT.NOW LET HIM GO."The demon howled and dropped Aiden to the ground.
"THE ORB.'it demanded .'NOT SO FAST.GIVE ME BACK WHAT IS MINE AS WELL."The demon howled again."THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL."The girl twirled her hand over the orb and it started to glow. "ALRIGHT " the demon touched the girl's chest and her body shimmered for a moment then stopped."NOW THE ORB."the demon held out his hand."Run as fast as you can ."the girl whispered to Aiden."And don't ever come back here again."Aiden looked at her confused and she practically pushed him."Go !"He ran but he listened as he did so."YOU KNOW WHAT I CHANGED MY MIND." Aiden heard the demon howl as he guessed the girl made the orb disappear after all ."YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THAT YOU WITCH."
The last thing Aiden heard before he got too far away was her blood curdling scream.

Weeks later as he was in his office when a patron walked in with a painting. "I would like to send this to our office in Manchester. They are going to appraise it for a museum in London." Aiden turned around to look at the painting and almost fainted from shock.The painting was quite old as you could see from the frame and the strokes of the brush.That wasn't what shocked Aiden though. There on the painting was the woman from the forest."May I ask who she is ?"He was shaking and he hoped the customer could not tell. "Oh the subject is from a legend of a witch who did battle with a demon and lost. Supposedly she was saving the life of her lover in return for some kind of magical orb.In the end she tricked the demon whom legend say ripped her limb from limb. But like I said it is only a legend. I say are you alright. You look as if you have seen a ghost ?"Aiden looked at the man and with a deadpan expression."Not really.I just don't take to legends."At that time a black cat with brown streaks in its fur jumps on the counter and nuzzles Aiden's chin.Around its neck is a small silver orb on its collar.Aiden smiles and starts to wrap up the painting and gives the cat a mischievious wink and the wink gives him one right back.

intriguing, scary, and exciting. Is this a finished short story or does it go on? Orbs keep coming back as a theme in many stories I've noticed. I wonder if it has an origin in ancient writings. Psychics use a crystal ball with a black base they can stare into to see images from their subconscious that form in the darkness. I guess that's one kind of "orb".

Aiden is the lover of the legend? The cat is the witch who was the girl in the forest? What is the relationship?

First off it is one of my finished short stories that I just wrote off the top of my head. Second : yes Aiden is the the *lover* so to speak of the legend although as you could see he really wasn't And yes the cat is the witch who was the girl in the forest which was trying to get the orb away from the demon.in so doing saved Aiden's life.The relationship,well let us just say it is one of companionship,as in I protect you ,if you protect me.The legend is just that ...a legend .The story is what is supposedly actually happened to Aiden but of course people will believe what they wish.And Aiden will never tell.