Robert Beatty - Serafina and the Black Cloak

She looked at her father, sitting with his back against the wall. Now that he had finally told her the story, he seemed exhausted, like a man who had shared a great burden.

He picked himself up off the floor, brushed off his hands and walked slowly to the other side of the room, deep in thought.

‘I’m sorry, Sera,’ he said. ‘I reckon it ain’t gonna do ya no good on the inside knowin’ all that, but you’re right, you’re growin’ up now, and ya deserved to know.’ He came over to her and squatted down and held her so that he could look into her face. ‘But whatever you do with it, I want you to remember this one thing: there’s nothin’ wrong with you, Sera, nothin’ at all, you hear?’

‘Yeah, I hear, Pa,’ she said, nodding and wiping the tears from her eyes. There was turmoil in her heart, but one thing she knew for sure: her father believed in her. But, even as she stood there looking at him, thoughts and questions started weaving through her mind.

Would she have to stay hidden forever? Could she ever fit in with the people of Biltmore? Could she ever make any friends? She was a creature of the night, but what did that mean she could do? She looked down at her hand. If she grew out her fingernails, would they become claws?

In the distance she could hear the sound of the search party moving through the basement, and she tried to block it out. She looked over at her father again. After a long pause, she quietly asked the question that had been forming in her mind.

‘What about my mother?’

Her pa shut his eyes for a second as he took a good, long breath, and then he opened his eyes, looked at her and spoke to her with unusual softness. ‘I’m sorry, Sera. The truth is I don’t rightly know. But when I see her in my mind I think she must have been beautiful, both lovely and strong. She fought hard to bring you into the world, Sera, and she wanted to stay with you, but she knew she couldn’t. I don’t know why she couldn’t. But she gave you to me to love and take care of, and for that I’m much obliged.’

‘So maybe she’s still out there someplace . . .’ Her voice trembled, uncertain. Her pa’s story had made it feel like there was a tornado twisting inside her, but the thought of her momma felt like the bursting of the sun.

‘Maybe she is,’ he relented, gently.

She looked at him. ‘Pa, do you . . . do you think that . . . do you know if she was human or –’

‘I don’t want to hear any talk ’bout that,’ he interrupted her, shaking his head. She could see in the tightness of his mouth how upset her question made him. ‘You’re my little girl,’ he said. ‘That’s what I believe.’

‘But in the forest –’ she began.

‘No,’ he cut her off, ‘I don’t want you to think about that. You live here. With me. This is your home. I’ve told ya before, and I’ll tell ya again, Sera: our world is filled with many mysteries, things we don’t understand. Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there, both dark and bright, and they will ensnare your soul.’

She stared at her pa for a long time, trying to comprehend his words. She could see the seriousness in his eyes, and she felt it too, deep down in her heart. Her pa was the only person she’d ever had in the world.

She heard men coming down the corridor outside the door. They were searching the rooms of the sub-basement. The hair on her arms tingled, telling her to run.

She looked at her pa. After all he’d done for her by telling her this story, she didn’t want to bring it up again, didn’t want to make him angry, but she had to ask one last question.

‘What about the man who took the girl in the yellow dress? What kind of demon is he, Pa? Does he come out of the forest, or do you think he’s one of the fancy-dressed swells from upstairs?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I’ve been prayin’ to God in heaven that it was a figment of your imagination.’

‘It wasn’t, Pa,’ she said softly.

He didn’t want to argue with her any more, but he looked straight at her. ‘Don’t get it in your head you’re gonna go out there, Sera,’ he said. ‘It’s just too dangerous for us. You see why now. I know you’re hankering to help her, and that does ya credit, but don’t worry about the girl. She’s their kin, not ours. They don’t need our help. They’ll find her. You stay out of it.’

At that moment, someone pounded on the heavy wooden door to the electrical room.

‘We’re searching the house!’ a man shouted.

Serafina glanced around even though she already knew there was no way out of the room.

‘Open this door!’ shouted another man. ‘Open up!’

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