The Shaman

After a week of pursuing, a fortnight of friendship and dating, Joey finally got invited to Helen’s place. They were at the cafe. Helen cleaning tables, Joey counting cash, when she asked,

“Any plans for tonight?”

He shakes his head. Mouthing numbers.

“Wanna crash at my place?”

He looks up at her. Helen’s body leaning forward, one leg hovering in the air, other a little bend, hands on the counter, head resting on palm’s cup. Her hairs confined in a bun, liberating some to come on eyes, deliberately, attractively. Her ocean-blue eyes sunk Joey in them.

“We can do Netflix,” she said when he asked what’s her plan. “And chill.”

Joey tucked her falling hairs behind the ear and kissed in approval. Helen gets back to cleaning tables and Joey to check stock.

On the new moon night, they closed the store and marched towards Helen’s house. Helen shielded herself in Joey’s arms stretched to her waist. They stopped at an ice-cream shop. The same where they first talk.

“So, which flavor you’d like to lick?” Joey asked.

She said vanilla. The shopkeeper rinsed his scoop and was about to dip in vanilla when Joey stopped him. He said it won’t be available. The shopkeeper protested but he shushed him. She asked for mix-fruit, which wasn’t available at the shop. Then she goes for chocolate, on which the keeper and Joey both agreed. They bought two ice-cream and continued their journey, licking other’s ice cream more often than theirs.

Before meeting Joey, Helen was a sad, reclusive woman. Her boyfriend termed her ‘bossy’ and dumped her. Joey and Helen worked at the same cafe but never talked much often. One day, a fawn-colored chow-chow bumped into him. Helen came running behind him. Joey thought she’s trying to catch him and being an animal lover, he burst on her. She had a hard time convincing him that he is hers. At last, when she knelt to call him Shaman, and he came running to him, he believes. Joey apologizes and insists to let him buy ice cream for them.

Joey stopped again at a pharmaceutical. He asked Helen to keep walking. She was laughing when he left and laughing when he arrived.

Shaman was waiting for them at the entrance. HE jumped on Helen and start licking her. She gave a kiss and put him down. Joey knelt to pat him. He admires how well Helen has trained him. Chow chow are aloof, quiet, independent breed. They are good at being alone. But Shaman is different. He grows insecure when Helen is not around. He visits the cafe often to see her. Whenever Joey meets him, he looks him in admiration. Like a kid, hoping to walk in his shoe.

Joey pulled Helen from hips to kiss her. Shaman watches how Joey and Helen's tongues twirled, how he lifts her from thighs, and how she stops him to move further.

“Let’s play first.” Helen gaped. She pushed the basement door open and bowed to welcome Joey.

At first, only a single, fluorescent bulb was glowing at the entrance. But Helen turned the whole ceiling as bright as Sun. The basement was as big as the house itself. At the vertices of the room, a wooden almirah was stocked with the jars of black powder. Near it was a big table. Joey could spot burette, pipette, and some other laboratory equipment he did not know of.

Helen declared herself dominant and Joey submissive and ordered him to take off all his clothes and any other ornaments. He acted as an obedient submissive. He flicked his chocolate-flavored condom, but she assured him she has taken every prevention. She pulls a wooden chair imprinted with circles and some unearthly language. The chair had cuffs on the arms, front legs, and on the neck of extension to rest head. Helen made him sit on the chair. She kissed him all over, closing cuffs as she escalates.

“Oh, I love fifty shades of you!” Joey grunts when she kissed his lips at last. As she backed off, Shaman came running and jumped on him. His exclamation turned to comma. He laughed. “Is this a threesome?”

Helen ignored him and his joke, and walked to the laboratory table. She came back wearing a lab coat. She holds a piece of paper in one hand and a bowl filled with colorless powder in other. The only line visible to Joey on paper was: New Moon for New Life. She throws paper and took out a scalpel from her coat. She cut Joey’s hand and Shaman’s paw and collect their blood in the bowl. The powder turned as blue as Shaman’s tongue. Joey was horrified by the cut, the basement, the chair, the Helen. But Shaman lay curled and calm. Like it is as true as breathing. She drew a perfect circle around the chair from the powder. Joey yells than begs her to tell what’s going on. So she tells.

The love of his life, Bernard, was an alchemist. He was working on mixing animals and humans traits. Two years ago, Bernard was trying to inherit a dog’s capabilities. In the process, his souls transferred into the dog’s body and the dogs’ in his. Before they could reverse reaction, the dog’s souls corroded his body, caging him in the chow. The dog is eleven now. The rule of nature: Soul shall die with the body. For Bernard to be alive, his soul must find another body. A body that helps Helen and him to be together. Like they were once.

Joey felt like he is trying to swallow rocks. He searches all over for cameras. He prays for someone to shout ‘Prank’. The baby pink lipstick of Helen itches burns him. The smile that was lovely once is despicable now. Helen moved out of the circle and knelt near it. She watch watch in anticipation. She smirked and lit the circle. Green, cold flames surrounded Joey and Shaman.

When the flames calm, Shaman lay unconscious on the floor. Joey was still cuffed. A smile spread all over his face, vibrating happiness. Helen climbed on him and kissed Joey with love and passion she never did before.

She uncuffed his neck. He stretches it down and right. As he moved for left, his head dived all way down to the chair’s arm. His muscles shrunk to set him free from cuffs. He struggles to stand. The legs turned around, spine turned rigid, mouth dried, teeth rotted, eye sack loosened--left ball fell and rolled to Helen’s feet. He lay twisted like a cloth.

Helen jumped out of the circle. She knelt and muted. The green flames ignite again. When they again calm down, Shaman was still passed out. And Joey gets mixed in the same dust from which he was created. Helen collects him in a jar and labeled it ’Helen II’. She kept that jar in the wooden almirah with thirteen other jars labeled with other female names.

She lifts Shaman, kissed him on lips, and took him to the bedroom. At night, she thinks why Joey would dump him and in which city she should search for him.