Angelina

I began to talk.

My grandmother and my mother were werewolves. I learned about my superpowers from both of them when I was born.

I couldn't call it power at the time because it always put me in trouble with the other kids. I would snap and fight everyone as if I was possessed.

I had to be home-schooled by two women. I wasn't just taught arithmetic and the English language. I was taught embroidering, sewing, makeup, and, most importantly, how to control my power. I learned to manage it for a long time before I was allowed to go to a standard school. My mother and grandmother had always stayed in this town. I was the first to settle out of town.

There was the truth: I was a werewolf, and the only problem was “love”.

It was the weakness of the two women in my life. The men they’d loved had to die a cruel death, and they had to live the rest of their lives alone, not falling in love, not giving marriage or love a second chance. My mother failed. My grandmother failed too.

There was always that moment when something went wrong; they snapped out of control in the presence of the lovers. Then they attacked and killed them, killing their lovers to death. I'd been running away from this all my life. And it was because of a witch's spell.

I exhaled as I spoke about it. I told Collins everything and the warnings my grandmother and mother gave me. “My grandmother was an aggressive advocate of the danger of taking love seriously. She said that I should never get carried away,” I said.

I exhaled and stared at Collins's neck and the gash created by my own teeth.

The tears would come down like an impending rain meant to create more chaos on earth, and then I would open my mouth and exhale. I needed more fresh air in my lungs every second.

"So what's going to happen to me," Collins asked.

I stared at the wound on his shoulder. Then I picked up the bottle of liquor. "Hold tight," I said. Then I poured the alcohol on the wound.

He yelped and gritted his teeth. "Should I be afraid?" he asked.

I could sense it. The fear beating through his chest was loud and clear, and I shook my head. I couldn't stop the tears that began to pour again. Then he reached for my shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"It's not your fault," he said.

No, it was my fault.

I was warned.

***

Collins

Something must kill a man.

Romeo and Jack both died for love. It was my turn, and I thought I was going to die. So I sat on the couch as Angelina took care of the wound. I could guess what would happen next, but I waited till she would tell me. Angelina spoke skeptically as if she was talking in a language she didn't understand too well. But I understood why she didn't want to explain what would happen next. It's a sad tale.

It was a spell! Before today, I could have argued that magic wasn’t real or that Angelina wasn’t a werewolf. We were in 2012, for goodness sake.

How things change!

Angelina walked to the window and cried while looking at the street, where I stood some hours ago when I was waiting for her arrival. The same spot where she tried to jump out.

"You should know, Collins, I have never loved anyone else. I always wanted to date you," she said.

She was still standing by the window, crying her eyes out. I was trying to save her from jumping down from there a moment ago. She would have gone out to the street, and many other people would have met their untimely deaths, their last Christmases.

I shifted on the chair and glanced at her. I didn't know what she was thinking, but standing at the window with the wind blowing her hair didn't sit well with me. I wanted her away from there. The worst had happened already, and I would tell my story in another full moon or so.

"I need some help here," I said. "Can you help me with some water?"

She stepped away from the window and went to the dining. She came with a glass of water. Then she sat beside me and watched as I drank. I sighed and rested my head on the couch.

"You sang when I transformed. How did you know to sing for me?"

"Your grandmother once told me."

"She did?"

"She didn't say you were a wolf. She said if it ever happens that you are angry and out of control, I shouldn't panic. I should sing for you."

"Oh!"

"I remember what she meant now."

"Thank you," she said, "you didn't run away."

"I guess it would have been worse."

After some minutes, she placed a hand on my chest as if she wanted to know how fast I was breathing.

"Are you trying to measure my heartbeat rate?"

She shook her head. "There will be a full moon today, and I don't know what to do to save you," she said with a sad face.

"You said your grandmother and your mother both attacked and killed their partners."

"Yeah," she nodded.

"So that's why you grow up without a father."

She nodded and sniffed. "Yeah. They didn't survive it. They died instantly."

"See? I'm lucky to be alive."

She shook her head, then started crying. "No, I – I don't want to watch you like this."

"Yeah, I know. I wish there’s something..."

She came close to me. Her hand shook when she laid it on my chest again. She gazed at the wound, and for a second, I thought I had been bitten by someone else.

She cared.

"I would really prefer to be in this house when I finally die," I said, looking around the room.

She got up, turned around, and folded her hands on her chest. When she turned to face me, her eyes were red.

I had been holding back tears, too, but now I let loose the fluid.

"You won't die, alright?" she snapped. “You should have died by now. It means you won’t die, but…”

"But what? What will happen to me? I don't want to become a werewolf."

She nodded. "You will become a wolf. You will only have the chance to become a human once a month. But that's the thing we are going to figure out. It won't be a permanent situation," she said.

“I read about that. Didn’t know it would be my story.” I frowned and winced in pain as I tried to sit up. "So tell me how we are going to change the situation."

"We will need a witch to turn you into a real wolf. Like me, my mother and grandmother."

"Good God. How will I survive that? How do you find a witch?"

"You will survive it, alright. I am going to find a witch."

I stared around the room, the cleaned space that smelled of air freshener. I had plans for the day. We would walk around later and say merry Christmas at the top of the mountain, where we played as kids. The idea was to be in each other's company throughout the night. It was ruined by an unfortunate incident. I didn't want the day to go like this. I wanted to lay down and talk and say things I had wanted to say to her for years.

But now, I was like a dying man counting the hours to the moment he would lose everything, his house, his wealth, and the life I had started to build in London. I already owned a house and a car. Everything would be gone, and I would become a werewolf.

I thought I had a good life in London, but there was only one missing piece. Angelina. I thought if I could ask her again to be my girlfriend, and she said yes, my life would have been close to perfect.

"We have to go, Collins. My grandmother might find something."

I laughed. "I will become a wolf," I said, "once the moon comes out tonight." It was supposed to be the luckiest day of my life, but that changed. I laughed again.

"Don't do this, Collin," she said. Angelina was crying again. "I know you will be fine." Then she laid her head on my chest and wept. She cried hard like she'd lost the biggest thing in her life. I patted her head and hair, telling her it might be better to let go, to be separated, but she wouldn't listen to me.

I looked out of the window and stared at the sky. The moon wasn't out yet. I shifted back on the couch anyway and put a hand under my head. Life would put you in a situation where you can have all the good things except one. She was all I wanted. I was afraid of losing her forever, and now I had to lose my normal life.

As a werewolf, there would be fewer human activities I could do. I would have to join a pack, which shouldn't be that difficult. I had seen this in movies. I said these things to Angelina and laughed, using humor to mask my anxieties. But she shook her head and said it was more complicated than that.

"If you can't turn to a human on your own, things can be dangerous," she said. She sighed, looking down.

I wanted her to look at my face, but that was buried in my chest, and I couldn't lift her head with one hand. So I tried another attempt. I had a few hours left as a human, and I would rather talk about childhood than wallow in pain.

"Since this would be the last conversation we would have… as humans till the next full moon, probably. Why not share with me all the secrets," I said.

She lifted her head, placed her left palm on my chest, and looked at my face. The pain in my arm was getting worse, but I managed to smile. "What secret?"

"Any secrets at all? Surprise me." I said. As I tried to lay on the couch conveniently, my hand began to shake, and the veins were swelling.