Izzy & Eliza...an alien tale

  *THE WITCH OF THE BLUFF*

  After a nutritious breakfast chock full of Vitamin G for Grease, Izzian ran to the forest, hoping to catch Eliza waiting patiently for him. In reality, he feared the earth girl would be gone since he was ten minutes late.

  Instead, Eliza was sitting against a tree sketching in a black notebook. For an instant, before she noticed him, Izzian saw Eliza as he'd seen her from the telescope.

  Her hair was mixed with brown and gold; nothing like Thilillian's startling shade of solid darkness. It had lighter streaks weaving through it from days spent lingering in earth's sun.

  She was probably considered short by earth standards, and wasn't one of those excessively thin girls. That was fine by Izzian. She was pretty, in a non-green, humany kind of way.

  "Hey Klowosky, you're ten minutes late. I was just about to leave when I realized you may still be running on Vegas time," said Eliza, rising from her spot.

  "Sorry. What's on the agenda for today?" asked Izzian. Even though Enot was baffled by a few missed communications and worried about a harmless explosion back home, Izzian wasn't about to fail his Goodwill Project by staying home and helping his elder all day.

  Eliza signaled for Izzian to follow as she walked through the woods, her planned destination unknown to Izzian. The two walked silently down the woody path, each considering personal problems and predicaments.

  Acting nonchalant, Eliza carefully began a conversation. "So, Izzy," she said slipping into an informal version of his name to create a sense of familiarity, "Sudden Bluff isn't exactly bursting at the seams with innovative, sought after positions. You mentioned that your parents moved here for new jobs?"

  "Well, actually no," Izzian said. "We really just needed a change, Enot, um my dad, is self-employed. He's a scientist and uses grants to fund his work. My mom is thinking about starting up a psychiatric practice. For now, she's been working at the mental hospital, Sudden Bluff Home for Mental Health. She spends a lot of time there."

  Izzian was quite proud of himself for sticking close to the truth and delivering a believable answer with absolutely no stuttering of any kind.

  Eliza processed the information, and subtly continued her investigation into Izzian and his past.

  "Uh huh. I'm sure we'll share a few classes this fall. It's a small school. Do you miss Las Vegas?"

  "Yes," said Izzian. He was really thinking about Klesia. "I mean, I miss a few people and I'm worried about a few things…" Izzian paused, knowing that the girl was memorizing every single word he uttered.

  "Something…happened when I left Kles-…Uh Las Vegas. I'm afraid for everyone," he said.

  The stuttering had begun. Izzian couldn't take Eliza's interrogations much longer. He felt bad for telling so many lies about the truth of his identity so early in the game, but he had no choice.

  He couldn't think of another way to express his worries about Klesia and satiate her curiosity. Izzian couldn't help himself. No matter how hard he tried the concerns of his home planet kept resurfacing. Since he had to keep the truth of his alien status from Eliza, and therefore could not mention the problems back home, it was difficult to carry on a simple conversation.

  "Why are you afraid for everyone back home?" snapped Eliza. The boy's stuttering seemed to have made her more suspicious.

  "I meant I'm afraid I'll never see everyone again. I miss my old friends is all," He recovered quickly. Izzian was tired of lying, but knew the truth would never work on earth.

  Eliza seemed to accept his explanation, but they both knew her line of questioning was not over by a long shot. Eventually, she would get the answers she needed.

  However, Eliza knew that interrogating the boy to death would only shut him up even more. She was trying too hard and coming on too strong. Eliza changed the subject to a neutral, safe topic.

  They walked slowly down the narrow path, brushing aside branches and shrugging off sticky spider webs.

  "Eww," said Eliza as she pulled the thin tendrils of web from her face and hair. "I feel as though I've just passed through a ghost."

  "Speaking of ghosts," Eliza said, admiring her own ability to smoothly transition to a new subject, "Sudden Bluff has its very own ghost. They call her Black Winny, The Witch of the Bluff."

  "Winny?" Izzian asked, "That name's a little friendly sounding for a ghost-witch, don't you think?"

  "Yes, but it is true. Black Winny was born Winona, the first-born daughter of Chief Raven Wing. The legend says that Winona was taken hostage and dragged through the forest by rival tribesmen." Eliza, in full storyteller mode, stopped underneath a large, swaying oak and lowered her voice.

  "You see," Eliza continued once she knew she had Izzian's undivided attention. "Winona was the prettiest, cleverest, most desired Native American in Sudden Bluff. Her long, thick, luscious hair was darker than a crow's feather and her most prized possession. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had an unusual skill for potion making.

  "The very day of her birth, the medicine man foretold of great things for her people, and it was true. Winona's tribe flourished. Her people loved her, her father adored her. Winona was considered to be a goddess, come to earth." Izzian shifted uncomfortably at the mention of coming to earth.

  "For her most valued potion, Winona had to journey into the forest under a full moon at midnight. She would chant her prayers and pick a Moonflower in bloom. The Moonflower potion allowed her tribe to stay healthy and prosper. It was thought to have magical powers beyond any other spells or brews.

  "Even rival tribes worshipped the girl; such was her exquisite beauty and legendary Moonflower potion. Eventually, her potions and beauty would prove to be her undoing, as others became jealous. Others coveted Winona and swore that by stealing her, their tribe would prosper too.

  "One night, while picking the Moonflower, she was abducted by the cruel chief of a rival tribe, stolen like a piece of property. The thing Winona feared the worst, being taken away from her family and loved ones and everything she had ever known was happening." Eliza was practically whispering.

  Izzian had to strain to hear. A fresh wind arose suddenly, causing trees to groan, leaves to rustle and the branches to creak.

  "Finally, after being dragged through the woods, far away from her tribe, the poor girl escaped the clutches of the evil chief and ran through the trees. Well, having grown up near the forest, she knew her way around. Winona realized that she may not be able to outrun her captors, but she could certainly outsmart them.

  "Winona knew there was a small ridge, just over the edge of the bluff. Her plan was to climb over the edge, and hide on the little outcropping of rock which was barely big enough for a child. If her plan worked, the evil chief would believe she had accidentally fallen over the bluff.

  "By the time he went below to search for her body, she'd be long gone, safely back in the protection of her own people. With a fierce look in her eye and the determination of a warrior, Winona ran for the bluff." Eliza paused for a second, adding drama to the story.

  Izzian had seen the bluff at the edge of the forest. In fact, if it weren't for his plascreen flashing a warning, he may have tumbled over the side of the cliff himself. He had been terrified, peering out over the bluff, into the steep valley below and hadn't returned since.

  His plascreen suddenly flashed the image of a clucking chicken, pecking at invisible seeds. Izzian blushed. I'm not a chicken. Wait. Since when do I care what a stupid plascreen thinks?

  Eliza noticed the fear in Izzian's eyes and, satisfied that she was scaring him properly, continued. "A storm had been brewing and the wind had been blowing, much like it is today. Winona feared that around every turn or behind every tree, the fiendish chief hid, waiting to grab her. She heard footsteps close behind. The brutal winds whipped her long black hair, covering her eyes and disguising the way."

  Eliza's voice grew louder and sounded panicky. "Suddenly the path became unfamiliar. Had she passed the old oak yet, the tallest tree
in the forest? Or was she closer to the blackberries, near the stream? Winona was confused and fearful that the evil chief was gaining on her."

  She paused dramatically again. Eliza was a seasoned storyteller who knew how to captivate an audience. She waited for a formidable gust of wind to sail through the trees.

  As the wind blew, a lonesome whistling sound echoed through the forest. "Wooo…wooo..."

  Izzian felt a chill creep up his spine, despite the heat of the day. "Well? What happened? Come on Eliza, tell me," Izzian begged.

  "It might have been fear and confusion that caused the beautiful tribe princess to lose her way. Or it might have been the wind, blowing her long black hair into her eyes that caused her to take that fatal step-the step that ended her life. We will never know.

  "But before Winona knew that she had gone too far, the ground gave way and by then it was too late. She found herself floating through the air. For a split second, right before she hit the ground, she imagined herself still running through the woods of her childhood, picking a Moonflower.

  "You see, Winona knew these woods, better than anyone," Eliza said, opening her arms as if presenting the forest. "She didn't know she had died. She still doesn’t know.

  "After Winona plunged to her death, her people grew sick and weak. Some said that without Winona, the tribe had lost all of its magic. The people renamed the dead girl's spirit Black Winny; because every time she rises from the bluff in the dead of night, her long dark hair floats around her like black ink, rippling in the air."

  Eliza's voice had grown quiet. The wind whipped up again causing the creepy sound, "Wooo…wooo..."

  "She curses anyone who is unlucky enough to see her. If you ever pluck a Moonflower in bloom, her doomed spirit will arise and hunt you down. And if you listen carefully, you can still hear Black Winny, The Witch of the Bluff, calling out mournfully to her tribe…"

  Eliza had timed her ending perfectly with another gust of wind. She waited for the gust, but it didn't come. Instead, the air remained still; not a leaf stirred, not a hair moved.

  So when again the mournful sound was heard, without the benefit of a breeze, both Eliza and Izzian looked questioningly at each other.

  Again, a sorrowful cry resounded through the forest, "Wooo…wooo…"

  "Uh…Eliza, was that you?" Izzian asked, trembling.

  "No, was it you?"

  The breeze never returned, but the sound continued. Eliza grew confused by the ghostly whistle.

  "Owls are nocturnal, right?" she asked, knowing good and well that no owl had made the creepy noise.

  "Wooo…wooo..."

  "Let's get out of here," cried Eliza.

  "But not towards the bluff, okay?" Izzian answered with a cry of his own.

  Izzian grabbed Eliza's hand. She pulled away to snatch her black notebook off of the forest floor.

  "Leave it," Izzian commanded.

  But Eliza returned for the journal. It was her most prized possession and it contained every secret she had. She'd never leave it lying around on the ground, even if Black Winny had come to hunt her down.

  The frightful sound was unrelenting. "Wooo…wooo..." They both turned, ready to flee for their lives.

  A head full of dark hair jutted down from the branches, blocking their path. Izzian and Eliza both screamed and reached for each other.

  Trembling, they clung together tightly, thinking they had stirred up The Witch of the Bluff, as the dark headed creature swayed in the branches of an old oak tree.

  ***