Purple Lady
by Zvi A. Sesling
It was an online ghost story reading
comprised of people in Los Angeles, New York City, Detroit, Japan, England and
several other U.S. cities. Anyway, the one in Detroit, Alicia Vanderwall, is a
writer who was having trouble with the computer, she said, and we all tried to
help her make her computer screen brighter, but we could not.
As the reading began, there was a
black tail waving back and forth and sideways across our computer screens which
Alicia attributed to Medusa, the cat. As we stared at the tail, we saw Alicia’s
face was purple, her black hair sticking out and up and to the sides as if she
had stuck a finger in an electric outlet in a Tom & Jerry cartoon.
She was downing glass after glass of a deep red liquid I assumed was wine.
Every once in a while, I would see her gulp some more from a carved green
crystal glass.
Then the tail reappeared swishing around and I wondered if it
was the cat’s or really her tail. I mean,
why not?
“That cat’s got
quite a tail,” I said.
“Most cats do,” Alicia
answered.
“I know, but the
way this tail moves, it looks attached to you.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, I
have what you
guys call a tail, but not a furry one like that.”
I laughed and thought about commenting
on her purple face and electricity-spiked look, but chose to keep quiet, which
for me is always difficult.
The reading finally ended around 9
p.m. and I watched a movie on TV. It was midnight before I finally got to bed.
I lay there staring at the ceiling thinking about the tail. How could a human
have a tail like a cat? Was it an
anomaly or something else?
Suddenly, the
purple face appeared on the ceiling.
I stifled a
scream. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, big boy, you complimented
my
tail.”
“No, I didn’t,” I responded.
“Oh, yes you did. And you had
thoughts
about my face and hair.”
“H-how do you
know that?”
“My computer is a living entity,
it
can read people’s thoughts, even computer to computer. I can speak through its
thoughts and it understands what the people I am dealing with are thinking. It
told me about your curiosity about my purple face and hairdo. Through my
computer. I am able to project my image on to your ceiling.”
“That’s crazy. I . . .”
I did not get to finish my sentence.
The next thing I knew, she was in the room. She was larger than I assumed
seeing her online. Despite the features I have already described, she had a
nice figure and wore purple fishnet tights, knee-high purple leather boots and
a matching purple bustier. Her accent was a bit strange and reminded me of a
combination of New Jersey-Boston. But what I noticed most was her lemon-yellow
eyes that seemed to glow when she spoke.
“I can also travel anywhere
through my
computer. I give it a command, like say Pittsburgh, three hours, 12 Brickledge
Road, and zoom, I am there.”
With that—Poof!, —she
appeared at the
end of my bed. I sucked in a lot of air and stared. I estimated she was six
feet tall and not too heavy. And then, the tail swished out from behind her,
her face grew a deeper purple, and the spiked hair grew an inch.
“Who . . . what
are you?” I stammered, still wanting to seem brave.
“I am the daughter of Mastema
who you mortals call the devil. He has endowed me with the powers, and you have
recognized them and so you must be taken to him. Others at what you call
readings have gone before you.”
Her tail was swishing faster; she
seemed to grow a foot taller. Her face continued changing to a deep purple, with
hair spreading. Then she spread her hands and chanted something in a language I
did not understand.
I began to rise horizontally out of the bed and float toward
her. She took my hand as we traveled to meet Mastema.
She said, “Do not
be afraid . . .yet.”
Zvi
A.
Sesling, Brookline, MA Poet Laureate (2017-2020), has published numerous poems
and flash/micro fiction and won international prizes. A five-time Pushcart
Prize nominee, he has published four volumes and three chapbooks of poetry. His
flash fiction book is Secret Behind the Gate. He lives in
Brookline, MA. with his wife Susan J. Dechter.
