[January 2] [Silent Hill 4] Tell Me a Story
Title: Tell Me a Story
Day/Theme: January 2/conjoined by mystery and fate
Series: Silent Hill 4
Character/Pairing: Henry Townshend/Eileen Galvin
Rating: PG
Word Count: 430
A.N.: This prompt really said "Henry and Eileen" to me. It turned out more lyrical than I originally meant it to, but in a way that fits with the fairy tale references that show up in the games -- though they seem to be mostly in the other games.
Tell Me a Story
If you go far enough you reach a place where no one has heard of the town of Ashfield. In a place like that, Henry Townshend and Eileen Galvin have a home. Their house is small, with cream-colored paint and beige carpets and simple furniture that they did not bring with them. They keep this place clean, no matter how many times they have to check. The lights are always on, and the radio with music.
Henry still takes photographs, though he prefers sky and trees to old roads and buildings. Eileen works in an office and she knows when to smile but she there are still times that she doesn't want to talk to anyone.
Waching them, one would think that they are like everyone else. They talk over their days; they have small arguments and they laugh. And they watch television and consider the world, though they have been beyond it. In the evenings, Eileen will put her head in Henry's lap and he will stroke her hair. Most of the time they are alone, because no one has been through the same darkness.
And at least once a year they tell the story. Eileen still has the purple dress, and it still fits. She holds her arm just so while Henry looks at the book. The pages are mostly blank, because they know all the words.
"One morning the Receiver of Wisdom woke to a locked door," the story begins. And Henry keeps going, though he usually speaks so little. Even now he is hesitant and goes slowly but this needs ritual.
Eileen lights the only candles they ever use while he says the first part. Then comes, "And in the room below the world he discovered the Holy Mother," and Eileen joins in.
"They descended the stairs."
"The Receiver of Wisdom carried the torch through the home of the lost one."
"The Holy Mother beat the monster to death."
"He held the Sword of Obedience."
"She bled for him."
"He did not abandon her."
There is too much horror to tell on one evening, but the book contains their unskilled drawings: Tempation's ghost, the dogs, the prison, the child.
"The Receiver of Wisdom fought as the Holy Mother descended. It was impossible, but he won, and they both escaped."
Then they close the book and they are Henry and Eileen again. The two of them sleep curled up together, breathing softly. Watching them, one would think that they are like everyone else. But no one is watching them, and that is the end of their story.
Day/Theme: January 2/conjoined by mystery and fate
Series: Silent Hill 4
Character/Pairing: Henry Townshend/Eileen Galvin
Rating: PG
Word Count: 430
A.N.: This prompt really said "Henry and Eileen" to me. It turned out more lyrical than I originally meant it to, but in a way that fits with the fairy tale references that show up in the games -- though they seem to be mostly in the other games.
Tell Me a Story
If you go far enough you reach a place where no one has heard of the town of Ashfield. In a place like that, Henry Townshend and Eileen Galvin have a home. Their house is small, with cream-colored paint and beige carpets and simple furniture that they did not bring with them. They keep this place clean, no matter how many times they have to check. The lights are always on, and the radio with music.
Henry still takes photographs, though he prefers sky and trees to old roads and buildings. Eileen works in an office and she knows when to smile but she there are still times that she doesn't want to talk to anyone.
Waching them, one would think that they are like everyone else. They talk over their days; they have small arguments and they laugh. And they watch television and consider the world, though they have been beyond it. In the evenings, Eileen will put her head in Henry's lap and he will stroke her hair. Most of the time they are alone, because no one has been through the same darkness.
And at least once a year they tell the story. Eileen still has the purple dress, and it still fits. She holds her arm just so while Henry looks at the book. The pages are mostly blank, because they know all the words.
"One morning the Receiver of Wisdom woke to a locked door," the story begins. And Henry keeps going, though he usually speaks so little. Even now he is hesitant and goes slowly but this needs ritual.
Eileen lights the only candles they ever use while he says the first part. Then comes, "And in the room below the world he discovered the Holy Mother," and Eileen joins in.
"They descended the stairs."
"The Receiver of Wisdom carried the torch through the home of the lost one."
"The Holy Mother beat the monster to death."
"He held the Sword of Obedience."
"She bled for him."
"He did not abandon her."
There is too much horror to tell on one evening, but the book contains their unskilled drawings: Tempation's ghost, the dogs, the prison, the child.
"The Receiver of Wisdom fought as the Holy Mother descended. It was impossible, but he won, and they both escaped."
Then they close the book and they are Henry and Eileen again. The two of them sleep curled up together, breathing softly. Watching them, one would think that they are like everyone else. But no one is watching them, and that is the end of their story.