eclecticmuses October prompt: Let's make a deal.
deal || 575 words || k+
Remus was exhausted. Everything hurt. He felt like he was about a hundred years old. Maybe even more than that. He thought that might be okay if he was old like his parents or like Nana. He might be able to deal with it better then. Things like that were supposed to happen to old people. But he was only seven years old.
He sat in the window of his bedroom, staring up at the sky. He tried to keep his eyes away from the moon, concentrating on the stars instead. Last night had been his first werewolf transformation and no matter how much he really wanted to stop thinking about it, he just couldn't. It was so awful... He didn't know for sure what it felt like to go insane in a split second or to have every bone in your body crushed, but after last night he thought he had a pretty good idea.
His breath came out shakily as he heaved a sigh. He leaned his head against the windowpane and looked around the room. Since he didn't know what to say or think or do about anything anymore, he spent a lot of time just staring about like that, searching for clues about how to behave. In this sweep of the room, his eyes landed on his bookshelf. Specifically, the Bible with his name printed on the cover that his mother's parents had given him when he was born. He'd read it once already; it was hard but there were some good stories.
Suddenly an idea popped to mind. He turned back to look up at the sky again so fast that he smacked his nose into the glass. "Ow," he murmured, rubbing at it briefly before getting to business.
"Let's make a deal," he said, directing his speech Heavenward and hoping that God could hear him. "You can do anything. So ... I don't have to suffer, right? You can make this go away. I'll do anything if you make it go away. Even if I have to be in Heaven to do what you want me to, so I have to die for it to work. I just can't do last night over again every month forever. So, just ... fix it for me, all right? And I'll do anything at all for you."
Remus slid off the windowsill and climbed back into bed. He smiled as he snuggled under the covers. He'd read the stories and he listened to his mother talk about God sometimes. Surely He wouldn't make Remus go on like this, especially since Remus had offered such a big thing in return. The next time he woke up, either he would be here in bed and feeling great or he would be in Heaven where he'd be happy forever, helping God with whatever he needed help with. It was the best thought Remus had had since he'd been bitten.
But when he woke up the next morning, he felt as miserable as ever. It made him angry. He'd never asked God for anything before and it was in His power to do anything, so why hadn't He granted Remus this one wish? Remus decided there wasn't room in his life for a God that was so mean and unfair.
Later that day when he took a walk in the woods, he brought his Bible with him and tossed it into the stream behind his house.
Remus was exhausted. Everything hurt. He felt like he was about a hundred years old. Maybe even more than that. He thought that might be okay if he was old like his parents or like Nana. He might be able to deal with it better then. Things like that were supposed to happen to old people. But he was only seven years old.
He sat in the window of his bedroom, staring up at the sky. He tried to keep his eyes away from the moon, concentrating on the stars instead. Last night had been his first werewolf transformation and no matter how much he really wanted to stop thinking about it, he just couldn't. It was so awful... He didn't know for sure what it felt like to go insane in a split second or to have every bone in your body crushed, but after last night he thought he had a pretty good idea.
His breath came out shakily as he heaved a sigh. He leaned his head against the windowpane and looked around the room. Since he didn't know what to say or think or do about anything anymore, he spent a lot of time just staring about like that, searching for clues about how to behave. In this sweep of the room, his eyes landed on his bookshelf. Specifically, the Bible with his name printed on the cover that his mother's parents had given him when he was born. He'd read it once already; it was hard but there were some good stories.
Suddenly an idea popped to mind. He turned back to look up at the sky again so fast that he smacked his nose into the glass. "Ow," he murmured, rubbing at it briefly before getting to business.
"Let's make a deal," he said, directing his speech Heavenward and hoping that God could hear him. "You can do anything. So ... I don't have to suffer, right? You can make this go away. I'll do anything if you make it go away. Even if I have to be in Heaven to do what you want me to, so I have to die for it to work. I just can't do last night over again every month forever. So, just ... fix it for me, all right? And I'll do anything at all for you."
Remus slid off the windowsill and climbed back into bed. He smiled as he snuggled under the covers. He'd read the stories and he listened to his mother talk about God sometimes. Surely He wouldn't make Remus go on like this, especially since Remus had offered such a big thing in return. The next time he woke up, either he would be here in bed and feeling great or he would be in Heaven where he'd be happy forever, helping God with whatever he needed help with. It was the best thought Remus had had since he'd been bitten.
But when he woke up the next morning, he felt as miserable as ever. It made him angry. He'd never asked God for anything before and it was in His power to do anything, so why hadn't He granted Remus this one wish? Remus decided there wasn't room in his life for a God that was so mean and unfair.
Later that day when he took a walk in the woods, he brought his Bible with him and tossed it into the stream behind his house.