Post by ipsey on Apr 1, 2021 10:36:54 GMT -5
"Come children, gather round, and let Auntie Lux tell you the spooky stories that scared her as a child." She says, gathering some of the children of the Poveri around her. Many of them know Auntie Lux and her habit of carrying honey almonds in her pockets, and her way of charming dogs and cats and rats. Auntie Lux stands up to scary men, and Luca swears he once saw her bend a man's arm all the way back for looking at her sideways. Olga says that Auntie Lux knows for really real magic and once pulled a whole gold florin out of her ear! She ain't much like a mother but she's got a soft spot for the littles, and she looks out for them that looks out for her. Auntie Lux ain't like the other grown ups - she'll show you how to throw a knife so it hits right and teaches the girls how to hit back if a boy's bothering them and how to charm bees in the springtime. She's tough and ain't scared of nothing, so anything that scares Auntie Lux is bound to be a good story.
"Now, the first story I know is the Skiá." She says, opening a metal lantern so it casts a beam of light towards the wall, and making shadow puppets in them. "They're spooky ones, the Skiá. They look like normal folk, alright, except the beasties don't like them much." She says, tossing a sweet almond to a nearby rat, who scoops up his prize and runs off. "If ever you're around a beasty and they start to growl and get big and hiss at someone like they're the meanest mug on the block, you run real quick the other way and don't look back. That's why Auntie Lux always keeps a nibble in her pocket - so the beasties know she's a good folk and not a Skiá - but the beasties won't like a Skiá if they got a sweetie or not. Another way you can tell a Skiá's about is the shadows grow colder and darker, and sometimes they even move on their own!"
"Like what happened down at the docks?" A timid voice asks quietly, huddling closer to the other children.
"Oh, don't mind that." Lux tuts, shaking her head and making in succession a bird, a dog, and a rabbit shadowpuppets with her fingers. "I heard someone didn't clean out stove there, and it busted soot out all over the deck. I heard they had to send that ship over to be cleaned anyway. These are just spooky stories my mamá told me and my brothers to keep us in our beds at night, littles. Nothing to be afraid of in Venice, and there's no such things as Skiá."
Mollified the child nodded, but seemed skeptical. "What other spookies is there?" Another child asked, wanting to seem brave and bold.
"Oh, well. There is also the Peripéteia." She says, the word rolling off the tongue. She catches the eye of the questioning child, and shivers. "I don't like this one very much. It is a monster that giggles." She says in a warning tone.
This prompts the children to giggle in return, and Lux looks on in mock alarm. "Oh yes! Like that, very much like that children! Oh, you give me such a fright!" She says, putting her hand over her heart and mock fainting. "Oh. Oh, be careful with the Peripéteia children. They can be the most beautiful things you have ever seen, or the most horrifically ugly. They can even be both at the same time. They are very, very strange creatures, and though they may look human, they are monsters of the worst kind. You see, to the Peripéteia, our flesh is clay and our bones wood to be shaped into monstrous sculptures of their twisted imaginations. Be watchful of the Peripétia my little friends - because they can shape our mortal bodies to their wicked whims. And I hear they can even walk through water without needing to breathe! Some of them can even shape the waters themselves to do their biddings. Be careful, my friends, and do not walk too close to the water's edge. Sometimes they take the faces of those who have drowned, and sing pretty songs to lure the unwilling to their deaths."
Several of the children shiver in fear. Lux holds out an arm and gathers then close, crooking a finger and putting another one against her lips. "Shhh. Shhh. The last one you must be very, very alert for, especially at night. We don't know much about them, other than to call them Los Tranquilos. We call them that, because they come in the night while you are sleeping, and with them they bring darkness and silence." She lifts up the lantern, closing it slowly and carefully to protect the flame. "And they take your soul when you are sleeping so that you don't even know you are de-" And very quickly before the lantern door shuts, she blows out the flame, sending the children into shrieks of fear and squeals of giggles.
Lux laughs, handing the lantern to Olga, who lights it with her own flint before handing the lantern back to Lux. "Don't worry, mes amis. They are just scary stories to keep you in bed and not poking around too long after dark. Speaking of which... it is late, for all of you. Hurry on home and back into your beds. There's early Mass tomorrow, so you'd better get all cleaned up and say your prayers and give your confessions." She winks at them, and sees the group back to their homes until there is only Lucah and Olga left to walk back.
"Auntie Lux, there aren't really monsters in the dark, are there?" Lucah asks, holding her hand tightly.
"Of course there is, " Olga scoffs, answering for Lux. "But Auntie Lux isn't afraid of them, are you?"
"I am always afraid, mon choux." She says with a soft smile for the children. "But that is what makes those stories important. They tell us what we should be afraid of, so we can listen to the little voice of fear in our heads. And we need fear. Fear is just as important as love, or kindness, or anger, or sadness."
"Why is that, Auntie Lux?" Lucah asks, clinging close as they get close to their home.
"Because, mon petit." She kneels in the darkness to get on level with Lucah's eyes, brushing the hair from his face, smiling gently, but with a serious look in her eyes as she holds his hands and attention.
"Fear is where bravery comes from."
"Now, the first story I know is the Skiá." She says, opening a metal lantern so it casts a beam of light towards the wall, and making shadow puppets in them. "They're spooky ones, the Skiá. They look like normal folk, alright, except the beasties don't like them much." She says, tossing a sweet almond to a nearby rat, who scoops up his prize and runs off. "If ever you're around a beasty and they start to growl and get big and hiss at someone like they're the meanest mug on the block, you run real quick the other way and don't look back. That's why Auntie Lux always keeps a nibble in her pocket - so the beasties know she's a good folk and not a Skiá - but the beasties won't like a Skiá if they got a sweetie or not. Another way you can tell a Skiá's about is the shadows grow colder and darker, and sometimes they even move on their own!"
"Like what happened down at the docks?" A timid voice asks quietly, huddling closer to the other children.
"Oh, don't mind that." Lux tuts, shaking her head and making in succession a bird, a dog, and a rabbit shadowpuppets with her fingers. "I heard someone didn't clean out stove there, and it busted soot out all over the deck. I heard they had to send that ship over to be cleaned anyway. These are just spooky stories my mamá told me and my brothers to keep us in our beds at night, littles. Nothing to be afraid of in Venice, and there's no such things as Skiá."
Mollified the child nodded, but seemed skeptical. "What other spookies is there?" Another child asked, wanting to seem brave and bold.
"Oh, well. There is also the Peripéteia." She says, the word rolling off the tongue. She catches the eye of the questioning child, and shivers. "I don't like this one very much. It is a monster that giggles." She says in a warning tone.
This prompts the children to giggle in return, and Lux looks on in mock alarm. "Oh yes! Like that, very much like that children! Oh, you give me such a fright!" She says, putting her hand over her heart and mock fainting. "Oh. Oh, be careful with the Peripéteia children. They can be the most beautiful things you have ever seen, or the most horrifically ugly. They can even be both at the same time. They are very, very strange creatures, and though they may look human, they are monsters of the worst kind. You see, to the Peripéteia, our flesh is clay and our bones wood to be shaped into monstrous sculptures of their twisted imaginations. Be watchful of the Peripétia my little friends - because they can shape our mortal bodies to their wicked whims. And I hear they can even walk through water without needing to breathe! Some of them can even shape the waters themselves to do their biddings. Be careful, my friends, and do not walk too close to the water's edge. Sometimes they take the faces of those who have drowned, and sing pretty songs to lure the unwilling to their deaths."
Several of the children shiver in fear. Lux holds out an arm and gathers then close, crooking a finger and putting another one against her lips. "Shhh. Shhh. The last one you must be very, very alert for, especially at night. We don't know much about them, other than to call them Los Tranquilos. We call them that, because they come in the night while you are sleeping, and with them they bring darkness and silence." She lifts up the lantern, closing it slowly and carefully to protect the flame. "And they take your soul when you are sleeping so that you don't even know you are de-" And very quickly before the lantern door shuts, she blows out the flame, sending the children into shrieks of fear and squeals of giggles.
Lux laughs, handing the lantern to Olga, who lights it with her own flint before handing the lantern back to Lux. "Don't worry, mes amis. They are just scary stories to keep you in bed and not poking around too long after dark. Speaking of which... it is late, for all of you. Hurry on home and back into your beds. There's early Mass tomorrow, so you'd better get all cleaned up and say your prayers and give your confessions." She winks at them, and sees the group back to their homes until there is only Lucah and Olga left to walk back.
"Auntie Lux, there aren't really monsters in the dark, are there?" Lucah asks, holding her hand tightly.
"Of course there is, " Olga scoffs, answering for Lux. "But Auntie Lux isn't afraid of them, are you?"
"I am always afraid, mon choux." She says with a soft smile for the children. "But that is what makes those stories important. They tell us what we should be afraid of, so we can listen to the little voice of fear in our heads. And we need fear. Fear is just as important as love, or kindness, or anger, or sadness."
"Why is that, Auntie Lux?" Lucah asks, clinging close as they get close to their home.
"Because, mon petit." She kneels in the darkness to get on level with Lucah's eyes, brushing the hair from his face, smiling gently, but with a serious look in her eyes as she holds his hands and attention.
"Fear is where bravery comes from."