Preface

My name is Mercury Roderick. I have been mute since childhood. I was told by my mom that I didn't cry like other babies when she put me to bed. Instead, I had stare at her with my big baby blues, and my lips quivering slightly. Then I grasped her finger and broke into a toothless grin. Something which stunned the doctor, nurses and my dad.

My mom told me that I didn't cry any day, when I was an infant. And dad was kind of scared at this. But mom knew I was a special child. It was her who gave me the name, Mercury. According to her, a voice had whispered the name into her ears, and she was complelled to name me Mercury.

I didn't produce any sound for over a year, not even when I was crying or laughing. When I was crying, my face would be squeezed into a deep frown with my eyes wide opened, as the tears flowed. And when I was laughing, my shoulders would shake along with me. Yet no sound was made. My parents were very cautious of me. Always checking to see if I was okay, because I couldn't produce any sound, no matter how much they had try to make me. And I was taken to a child behavioral therapist, who confirmed that I was a mute.

The first time I discovered I could seen things beyond the natural, was when my mom got pregnant. I had seen my baby brother there when I was three. The baby was really tiny and curled up inside her womb. There was no way I could tell her that because I was a mute, and I couldn't communicate through paper sheets.

Mom didn't even know she was pregnant.

It was weeks later, she came home and announced this to Dad. They had laugh, kissed themselves, and pulled me in a hug with glee.

The second was when I was enrolled in kindergarten, there was this girl called Penny. An old lady in all black attire, was blowing curly black puffs like snakes at her, making her cough out blood unendingly.

I had seen the lady, and jerked my finger towards her, with my face scrunched up in fear. The lady saw me, and smiled at me menacingly. Causing blood to drip down from her teeth, like some sort of Halloween trick. Her lips were reaching her elf like ears. Giving her this horrible sight. And out of fear, I had try to produce a sound, but I couldn't. All my classmates were busy with their work book, and couldn't see this old woman. Even my Mrs Agatha, our preschool teacher was too occupied to notice Penny coughing out blood, or the mysterious old lady who looked like a witch in the class. It was just me who could see her, not even Penny who was being tortured by her.

Mrs Agatha, our teacher demanded what was wrong through sign language. But I was still slow in learning sign language, so I couldn't explain. I kept pointing ahead of me at the old lady, but Mrs Agatha just snapped her head at the lady, and then back to me with her face scrunched up in confusion.

That was when I knew it was just me who could see the evil lady. That she was invisible to everyone, except me.

I was restless throughout, and began weeping silently. While our pre school teacher tried her possible best to calm me down. The old lady's smile disappeared off her face, and she vanished leaving a cloud of dark some in the air. Then Penny stopped coughing, slumped on the floor and stayed stiff. Mrs Agatha screamed out of shock at this, and called for help.

Long story short, Penny died the following day at the hospital.

The third time, I saw demons looming around the corners of every darkened area, at night. Scary looking, creepy demons with horns and four heads, giant cats that made my heart climbed up to my throat, and baby changelings. I was so frightened that I couldn't sleep at night. I began seeing them every night, until I got used to it. Even most people who were saw as humans, weren't completely humans. Something which was mysteriously unsettling.

The fourth time was exactly a week after Penny's death. Our neighbor, Mr Williamsburg was crossing the road to the other side of the street to go meet a friend who was waving at him, when a black, ugly, scrawny looking cat ran past in between his legs.

Images of him being hitted by a moving truck, and then his head being crushed into pieces flashed through my mind.

With my heart pounding with force in my chest, I blinked rapidly to shove away the disturbing images, and then clutched tightly unto my stuffed toy, as I sat on the first step of our balcony.

I snapped my eyes back to Mr Williamsburg and saw that he was perfectly fine. Shaking hands with the friend of his, and talking.

I blew out a big puff of breath, and then propped my hand under my chin to feel relaxed because he was alright.

But then, I couldn't. Something didn't feel right. Something didn't feel right at all.

Instantly I jerked my head up to look at Mr Williamsburg, just in time to see him crossing the road to come back to his house.

In a blink of an eye, a truck from nowhere came out and knock him over with full force. And this made his head pull out from his body, and ended few meters away from his house.

Loud screams sounded all around the neighborhood; from my mom who was barbequing in our garden, his wife who was holding their son upside down, and his twelve year old daughter. That was how Mr Williamsburg died a terrible death.

Ever since then, I discovered I could see things before they happened. Coupled along with things beyond the natural. And as I started growing up, I knew it was the cause of my muteness. Something which I came to realize was a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because, I could stop evil occurrence and deaths from happening. I sort of have this power, that I could use in protecting myself from these demons and half humans. Because I could see them, and they could see me as well. So eventually, they did come for me on several occasions.

And then it was a curse too, which apparently was because I had to deal with it every single day of my life.