The Red Ribbon
by Lily
(Manhattan, New York)
She was as elusive the night, mysterious, yet appealing. Her dark hair contrasted with her skin, translucent, almost as if she had no blood. People thought her hair was what stood out the most, because of its inane color, a mix of dark and light, silver and gold. But I saw her eyes as the most unusual. They were black, with nothing but a simple white circle in the middle. The strangest thing was the red velvet ribbon around her neck.
Of every minute I had seen and known her, never did that ribbon come off. It looked glued on, with the ratted ends sticking to her icy skin. Because of her appearance, humans felt a natural resistance to her. It was peculiar, as if something in their bodies told them to stay away.
I met her on a Wednesday during the fall. The wind was blowing everything around, so I closed my eyes to keep the dirt out. When the wind died down, I opened my eyes to see sinister black orbs looking back at me. I took a step back, and apologized, never taking my eyes off hers. She walked away without a word, the wind blowing her glittery hair behind her.
Later that day, I saw her again. She looked at me, and her eyes seemed to go deep into mine, as if she was looking for something. I glanced away, feeling a tingle down my spine. She stalked over, so quietly I didn't realize she had come until the words were out of her mouth. 'Zoe'.
Her voice was soft as her ribbon, velvety and smooth as she spoke.Huh?' I replied dumbly. It was hard not to be dumbstruck by her, because even though her looks could scare from miles away, she was stunning. 'My name. It's Zoe'.
All I could do was stare. Here she was, this creature, looking curiously at me. Her eyebrows raised high when I didn't answer her. I tried to open my mouth and say words back, but for the second time today, I was speechless. Her pale lips curved upwards, and her eyes began to twinkle with a light I had never seen before. I almost fainted, no joke. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
You know how the story goes. From that day, we were inseparable. Being with Zoe made me lose everything, but I gained much more in return. I was the only one who could make her bare her razor sharp teeth in a smile.
One Christmas, I gave her a necklace. We met in our spot, the same place we met everyday. She walked over, not even wearing a coat in the frosty weather. As she opened it, she looked grim for a moment, and then tried to hide it by smiling at me. But I saw the look. I questioned her, asked her why she didn't like it. Why she never took off that ribbon.
'The ribbon doesnt come off Andrew.' That's all she ever told me. Any time I asked, every time I inquired, the answer was the same. 'The ribbon doesn't come off.'
We were friends for 50 years. How she lived up to even 70, I would never know. You had to look twice at her, or your eyes would scan right past, that's how frail she was. She became paler as the years went on, becoming almost breakable. Then one fall day, she didn't come. Zoe walked over everyday, and I was used to seeing her diamond locks twinkling in the sunlight as she stalked over to me, but today I didn't. I delayed going to see her, because I knew what was wrong.
I marched over one day, determined to see her before it happened. The door was open. I went in without knocking, because she would know it was me. The floorboards screeched as I climbed up her ancient staircase. The dust scattered as my hands went over the railings, weakened with age. When I got to the room, I had to stop and calm myself. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the sight that hit my eyes when I opened the door.
Darkness surrounded the area, curtains drawn and filth floating in the air. She was lying on her bed, but I did not notice at first. My eyes were drawn to the disturbing paintings on the wall, with reds brighter than blood. I inspected every inch of those walls, and saw not one thing I could understand. Finally, when I looked at her, I almost fainted again, just like on the fateful day we had met. She was colorless, literally white and skin ashen, contrasting with the red of her ribbon and the darkness of her sheets. 'You came.'
I watched her with the same eyes that my 17 year old self saw her with. Everything about her had changed since the first time we met. Her hair was more silver than gold now, and her eyes shined with unshed tears. The one thing that had never changed about her was the ribbon. I could only nod, as seeing Zoe in this state made my throat close up.
'It's time for me to go now.' Those words sent chills up my spine. I still couldn't say anything, so she said it for me. 'I need to tell you a secret. One that I have known for a long time, but have not shared just yet.'
A spark of fear went through me, but I stayed still, waiting for her to continue. 'Andrew, untie my ribbon.' I felt as if a barrage of bricks had hit me. 'Untie the ribbon Andrew, its time you knew.'
I numbly stumbled over, picking up the ends of the ribbon. I began to un-knot it, but I stopped halfway through. Zoe smiled at me for the last time, and I pulled the velvet off her neck completely. Within a flash, her ice cold neck was disconnected from her brittle body, and her head and silver hair rolled across the floor.
