The Chest Of Vision Herbs

Virga drove quickly down the highway towards Gorden's Pub. She was intent on meeting Shiggari as soon as possible. The frigid wind blew boldly on her short black dress, exposing just enough of her pale and bony physique to be seductive. She thought only of her plan, her amazing plan, and how wonderful it was going to be. She parked her crimson convertible on the pub's lot. Stepping out, one could gape at how perfectly her auburn hair fell on her shoulders as she admired the familiarity of the establishment. She loved the gray-bricked walls, the large oak door guarding the entrance, and how the roof gleamed in the evening sunlight. She steeped through the door and walked gracefully to the table where Shiggari sat, the way a model might tiptoe down a runway.

"Heyy," Shiggari greeted, elongating the word, obviously unaware that Virga had seen him cheating in the weeks before.

"Hey, hun," she returned with the feigned innocence of a child. "How have you been?" Virga pretended to listen to his answer while she thought back to her fabulous plan, she eagerly thought of how it might go through, forcing herself not to laugh or smile.

"...but all in all, I've been quite well," he ended, interrupting her glorious thoughts. "What about you, love?"

She pondered this for a moment, giving the illusion that she was recalling her experiences since they last spoke. She looked at him for a moment, noticing his dirty blonde curls had been ungroomed and his thin features contorted, as if he was drunk. She looked over the table and saw three empty bottles of sweet tea vodka turned over each other; he was drunk.

"Nothing special, really," she replied and then looked at him, unable to avoid pausing after staring into his perfect eyes. She shuddered slightly due to something other than the cold and remembered her plan. "But that's not why I arranged to meet here."

An extraordinarily ratchet-faced waitress walked up in a disturbingly revealing pink outfit and took their order. They each asked for sweet tea vodka, their usual drink.

"Then, why did you ask to meet me?" Shiggari questioned nervously. Perhaps he suspected her knowledge of his dishonesty. Though he couldn't have been to scared, he always believed her to be weak and vulnerable. How little he truly knew...

The hideous woman returned with six tall transparent bottles in her hands, each containing an amber liquid not usually seen in vodka. She laid one down in front of Virga and the other five were curiously given to Shiggari.

"I've found something," she replied, taking a small sip from her drink and looking into his gorgeous eyes, which were the perfect shade of blue. She would miss those eyes, but never the less she smiled and let the thoughts of her plan return as she added, "A chest of those vision herbs you love so much."

"Vision herbs?" He perked up immediately at the mention of them.

Virga smiled. "Oh, yes. An entire chest of them-"

"Where is this gracious gift from god?!" Shiggari interrupted and then lowered his voice as some of the other customers began to stare. "We must get it before someone else realizes it's there."

"I found it a little ways behind the old Heinson's Estate. I would have brought it to you as a surprise, but it's far too heavy for me to carry," she replied, as if she were remembering a friend's tragic death. How she loved her acting skills.

"How far behind the estate?" He asked in a tone that declared it wouldn't waver his decision to go

"It's a little off the end of the end of the forest trail in the back, not too much of a walk, but it's so heavy...," she trailed off purposefully, hoping he would believe it to be her pondering about it.

"This is going to be so amazing!" He exclaimed, gulping down the last of his vodka and taking pace towards the door.

"It'll definitely be amazing," Virga said as if she too were in love with the idea of having the herbs. She began thinking of her plan, the glorious plan, and she smiled a genuine smile. A wicked smile, but genuine all the same, "I promise you that..."

They walked outside together out of the bar, in complete silence. Then as the pub door closed behind them, Virga caught another glimpse of those eyes. The eyes colored in with the perfectly divine shade of blue, how anyone could resist such a temptation as his eyes was beyond her.

"Are we driving your car or mine?" Asked Shiggari uncertainly.

Virga thought for a few seconds and decided it would be best to drive his truck. It better suited her plan.

"Yours, mine is far too low to the ground to get to the old Heinson Estate," she replied, applauding herself mentally for coming up with the lie.

"Then let's get a move on, V," he answered, headed around the lot to his truck, if one dared to call it that. It was a manure brown ranger more dented and scratched then none dared to acknowledge it; the truck's tires were horribly mismatched and it was missing its front left hubcap, which had been hastily replaced with a super-glued salad bowl. She stepped in to be greeted by a vulgar aroma of tobacco smoke and alcoholic’s vomit; its interior appeared as a collage of ripped leather and splintered wood. The floorboard was a sea of ashes being navigated by cigarette butts. Virga was disgusted but managed to keep a seemingly sincere smile across her face.

The vehicle heaved itself out of the parking lot and rumbled harshly down the highway. Virga stared out the window, thinking of her plan, but managed to think about her reason for coming up with it. She had caught Shiggari with that common skank, Emilia Heinson. Why would anyone choose her over Virga? Emilia was not the slightest bit attractive, she was tall and stocky, wore way too much make-up, and had hair the color of greasy menstrual blood. She was nothing compared to Virga. Yet, Shiggari dared to do unspeakable things with her in the very pub they met in. It was absolutely horrid.

A flash of black went by Virga's window, interrupting her thoughts. She stared out of it into the chilled evening glow, and running by the truck was a solid black timber wolf. It ran full speed, keeping perfect pace with the vehicle, before Shiggari spotted it. He turned the wheel slightly and shoved the beautiful creature out of the road. Virga gasped, punching him in his gut for doing such a thing. He laughed it off, but the hurt in his eyes, his seductively mesmerizing eyes, told her she had caused him pain. The plan again entered her mind.

"We're here," Shiggari said, jumping incautiously out of the ranger. There was no real reason to be careful. Old man Heinson had died months ago and Emilia inherited the estate, but she refused to live in it.

"Wonderful," Virga replied, hopping elegantly from the truck. "I'm assuming I'm the only one who knows where were going?"

"Seems like it," he replied. "Lead the way my beloved."

Without another word, she began walking behind the beautiful home. It had white paneling all the way around, its tall roof a ruby red; silver gothique-style windows lined both stories of the home and its entrance was a simple wooden double-door. In the back yard she noticed several dozen large pins where farm animals used to be kept as well as several silos blowing intricately around in the wind, performing a naturalistic tango with the fallen leaves. She turned down the trail and into the pine forest. Using what light the sun had left to guide her through. Her plan was succeeding, she told herself excitedly.

"Hows long till' we gets thar," asked Shiggari, the alcohol taking its effect, only making her more sure of her plans success.

"Not too long, sweetie, just trust me," she deceptively assured him, trying her very hardest not to giggle in spite of herself.

"Otay, I trussst yew," he slurred in reply.

"Good" was all she said in response. They continued walking through the forest, constantly going deeper as the sun was slowly engulfed by the night sky. It had not been another twenty minutes of walking before the trail disappeared under their feet, replaced by intertwining weeds.

"H-How much f-farther vvvV?" Shiggari asked. Virga couldn't tell if he was stuttering from the cold or nervousness. She made a sharp left.

"Just a few more steps, hun, I promise."

He did not reply, only nodded. Then in the distance, she saw the hole she dug earlier that afternoon. Her adrenaline began pumping, her heart racing, her mind shivered in anticipation. The plan was the only thing that was clear in her mind. She stopped two feet from the hole, causing a drunken Shiggari to bump into her.

She turned, pointing to the ground.

"It’s right down there," she said. Shiggari lit up immediately, pushing his moist succulent lips against hers. Their tongues performing a dance together in close quarters, not unlike the last dance at a high school prom. After several moments they parted, Virga unable to lie to herself about loving every moment of it. Her thoughts were covered in a thick smog, making her forget that he’d ever done anything to hurt her. She looked up into his eyes, caressing him as if the world was in her hands. His eyes were the perfect shade of blue as always. So compassionate, so trusting, so loving, so...

Fake.

She immediately remembered why she was out here. Remembered the plan. "You'd better jump in the hole and grab that chest," Virga said, looking at the ground in a mockery of shyness.

"Alright, my love," he whispered sensually into her ear, nibbling it gently, and regaining his senses slightly, "I'll grab it and be back up and just a moment."

He jumped into the hole, not realizing it was ten feet deep and his leg snapped loudly. It sent an echo across the woods. He screamed in horrible pain. Virga wished he could see the burning tears in his eyes.

"Now you know what it's like to be lied to by someone you trust," she whispered into the hole, knowing he would hear her.

She began scooping dirt into the hole by hand.

"What are you doing?" He cried.

Scoop by scoop, her pain subsided.

"Please, Virga, quit this madness!"

Scoop by scoop, her tears trickled to a stop.

“You’re better than this!”

Scoop by scoop, her remorse dissipated.

"I love you, don’t do this!"

Scoop by scoop, her mind was cleared.

"Darling, please!!!”

Scoop by scoop, her heart healed.

"Virga..."

Scoop by scoop, her plan succeeded.

"Sorry..."

Scoop by scoop, scoop by scoop, scoop by scoop until her job was done. She patted down the dirt thoughtfully and sprinted back to her small log cabin, forced to think about her act the whole way there. Then she fell into a placid sleep upon her purple painted porch swing, where her dreams were not haunted, but refused to come at all.

She was awoken by a howl hours later, just as the sun was being slowly regurgitated out of the ground. She looked around quietly, and shockingly saw a beautiful black timber wolf limping slowly towards her. She did not take her gaze away from it, merely admired its fearlessness as it stopped right in front of her and dropped things lathered with saliva into her hands. She closed her fingers around them, without looking away from the amazing animal that she saw get run off the road a few hours before. The angelic creature then left her yard making a sound like laughter, almost dancing away.

Virga looked down at her hands, opening them, and there laid two eyes staring back at her. Eyes, the perfect shade of blue...

-FIN.