Scottish vocabulary
Sweetie – Sweets, Candy.
Bodach (Glas)– I seem to have confused the normal Bodach with the Bodach Glas, which is the thing I’m referring to in this story. A Bodach Glas is an omen of death, and comes in the shape of an old man. A Bodach is also an old man figure, but in typical fashion, is a figure that comes down the chimney and kidnaps naughty children. A boogeyman meant to get children to behave. I’ve altered the script to correct this mistake.
outwith – Scottish word for outside of, beyond the bounds of.
Story
Believe it or not, there’s a few things I never expect to see in the shop. A smartphone, a laptop made any time after 1985, and everyone’s favourite anti-Madam. I know she’s been in before, many moons ago, but never since.
The bell went, interrupting my game with Chronos, and I took the obligatory glance over, expecting a stranger to be staring around like a bairn in a sweetie shop. Our game was quickly abandoned when my feline pal and I realised who’d walked through the front door. Just as well, I was losing pretty badly as usual. I felt my body tense up as she walked further into the shop, the last echoes of the bell replaced by the clip of her heels on the wooden floor.
Chronos gauged her languidly, and I was half-hoping he’d activate beast mode, or at least give her a menacing hiss, but he wasn’t as bothered by her presence as I was. Reid, probably receiving a distress signal from my familiars’ ring emerged from the aisle he’d disappeared down half an hour before and froze when he realised this was no ordinary customer.
A wee, stupid part of me expected her to pull out Madam Norna’s card and ask to be escorted upstairs. Never one to miss a social cue, Anora spread a smile across her dark lips. It wasn’t friendly or vicious, reassuring or antagonistic. Enjoyment curved her mouth, rested in the fine lines of her cheeks. She liked being feared.
In her deep, smoky voice she informed us we didn’t need to be afraid; she wasn’t here to cause trouble. All of us found that difficult to believe.
Realising that none of us were going to offer her a cup of tea, she came to lean gracefully on the glass counter, a metre or two away from Chronos and I. I didn’t like her this close, didn’t like that she smelled like spices and autumn and red leaves blowing in the wind. Didn’t like that she smelled like the end of something, I just didn’t know what.
She was simply here to tell us something she thought we’d want to know. Fionn was in need of our help. His past had come back, not just to haunt him but kill him in retribution of all his past deeds. I had so many questions I didn’t know what to ask first, so ended up biting the inside of my lip instead. How much did Anora know about Fionn, especially his past? Did she know what had happened at the funeral, and the history behind it? How did she know he was in trouble now? If what she was saying was true, then had she set his vengeful past onto him? Why, though? He hadn’t been unfaithful to her? Right?
Reid was the first one to voice something by asking why we should believe her. Her grin deepened, almost showing the pearl whites of her teeth. As our anxiety began to grow fangs her enjoyment grew with it. Anora shrugged her shoulders with a nonchalance that had me biting so hard on ma lip I began to taste blood.
It was up to us if we believed her, but were we really willing to take the risk? She replied.
I hated that she had a point. I knew I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if something were to happen to Fionn that I could’ve prevented but didn’t just because I was suspicious of Anora. I glanced at Reid, for once not knowing what he was thinking. Ever since the day Fionn told us the truth about his past the atmosphere between my two familiars had been civil at best and downright chilly at worst. It was different from the start when they were bickering like bairns. I wish I hadn’t complained about it as much at the time because I’d give anything for them to start doing that again. The cold civility was torture.
It didn’t sit well with Reid that Fionn had got away with his sins, with the awful things he’d done to people, with not taking responsibility for his choices and actions. Perhaps Reid thought it was time for some retribution, for the debts to be paid. Did I think the same? What if it was Fionn’s fate to die today? What if that was the price he had to pay for his past?
The silence had stretched too long for Anora. Our faces and frowns must’ve grown tiresome. She stood up from leaning on the counter and told me I’d know where to find him whilst she gestured to her pinky and nodded at my own hand, clenched in a fist at my side. The ring.
Before she left the shop, just as she’d opened the door and the bell had rung quietly, as if not wanting to draw attention, she looked back at me and said she didn’t usually give her help without asking for something in return, but she’d forgo the price this time, as long as I remembered who it was that’d helped me. This went in one ear and out the other at the time, but thinking about it now, it sounds like a warning. Maybe not a warning, but a promise; of what, I don’t know.
Anora left the three of us alone to the silence. I feel terrible now for that silence, for the time I wasted. What was I doing hesitating? This was Fionn, but this could also be Fate. If he was destined to die today then so be it, but I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to save him. I stared at Reid, thinking that the frown of his brow was hesitation, or relish, or reluctance, or whether I was projecting my own emotions onto him.
“Are you coming?” was all I asked.
He hesitates and my heart clenched. Was this who Reid really was? Did he feel that strongly about Fionn’s misdeeds that he’d forget the good things Fionn had done? Were friendships and bonds really so easy for Reid to break and forget? Was taking the moral high ground more important?
If I went, would I lose Reid instead? If I didn’t decide I was going to lose both ae them.
“I’m goin’,” it came out as a growl.
I couldn’t look at Reid on my way to the door, not even in his reflection in the windows. I hated the disappointment in him that was threatening to overwhelm me. I pulled open the door so violently I thought the glass was going to break, only for it to be caught by someone behind me.
Reid followed me out onto the street.
Anora had said I’d know how to find Fionn. I don’t think she was aware of how stupid I was, but even I could see the red string that attached to my familiars’ ring and wound down the street and around the corner. At the other end was Fionn.
How long this mysterious crimson thread was was anybody’s guess. I don’t know how long we were walking away from the shop, following it. Everything became a blur, the traffic, the other pedestrians, the buses, taxis, and bikes. Eventually we made our way to an area of the town that was called Murder Mile by some locals with a dark sense of humour. No one wanted to be here in the dark. It was a dilapidated part of town, you know the ones, all the businesses have been shut up for years, most of the residents are connected in some way to drugs, gangs, or both, and the police have given up patrolling the area altogether. It’s a lost cause.
The thread ran down a dingy alleyway covered in graffiti and overfilled bins, eventually making its way through an ajar door. I peer through the gap, slowly opening it to reveal a tiled room inside, the remnants of a kitchen or butcher. There are two people on the floor, one bearing down on the other. I see the glimmer of cold steel as it reflects the daylight filtering through the doorway.
As soon as the person on top notices we’ve entered, he stands up and stumbles back, away from the other man lying on the floor. I don’t need to see the victim’s face to know it’s Fionn, and the orange floor tiles do nothing to hide the blood that’s now seeping from his body. To my surprise, Reid launches himself through the door to Fionn’s side, his hand pressing on the puncture wounds to try and stem the bleeding.
The attacker makes the mistake of shuffling, of trying to stop himself from falling, but I still see the glimmer of the knife, and I feel the same rush of anger I did at the shop with the academic. The man yelps in fright as the knife in his hand disintegrates, falling through his fingers like sand. I’m not satisfied, I want him to disappear, to hurt, to be nothing but a pile of particles on the floor.
This time’s not like the last. I’m not overwhelmed. It’s like I have a calm kind of control over whatever this power is. I can feel it causing my whole body to tingle, like I can do anything with a simple thought, a simple movement. The man crumples to the floor, drawing my attention back to the current situation. I see the remnants of the knife, the pile of dust it’s become, and want to make a second, larger pile that I can watch blow away in the breeze.
“Maya!”
Someone shouts my name, and the power flowing through my veins evaporates. I glance shakily to Reid, who has Fionn’s head cradled on his knees whilst trying to keep pressure on the wounds on his chest. Reid tells me to leave the man, that Fionn needs me now, needs me more.
The attacker seizes his chance and blows past me out the door. I let him go. I step closer to where Fionn and Reid are on the floor, notice with silent horror as the blood begins to reach my feet. Fionn chuckles weakly and says he’d always hoped he’d die in the arms of someone prettier.
Before Reid can make a retort, Fionn’s gone.
***
When I was a bairn I used to go swimming. Sometimes, instead of going up and down the pool, doing laps like I was supposed to, I’d hold my breath and plunge beneath the water. All of the noise of splashing, of screaming bairns, shouting parents, the radio station coming through the speakers, was gone, like I’d been thrown into a vacuum. The moments after Fionn’s death were like that. The world collapsed to that small room on Murder Mile.
Suddenly there’s a darkness about the room, a shadow that wasn’t there before. It’s barely noticeable, but there’s a shift, as though something’s looming over this place. Feeling a presence at my back I whip around and don’t know how I managed to stifle the scream.
My grannie used to tell horrible stories when I was wee, about the monsters and ghouls of Scotland. She even had a book full of pictures and tales of them. One that always stayed with me was the bodach glas (bot-ach). A cloaked humanoid figure whose face is never seen and who only appeared when someone was about to die. What scared me the most was the mystery of it. All of the other creatures, fairies, mischief makers, and hags, all had faces, had descriptions, but the bodach glas was a figure cloaked in darkness, no discernible teeth, fangs, eyes, or face.
It moved past me, taking no notice, and made its way towards Fionn. I knew what this presence was, of course I did.
Death.
I watch as it moves silently across the tiles towards my two familiars. Reid doesn’t seem to notice, his eyes fixated on Fionn’s peaceful face. This thing was death, this creature in the same room with us.
I tell it to stop. I don’t know how I found my voice, or where I pulled the courage from, but I wasn’t prepared when it turned around to face me, looking exactly like the bodach glas from my childhood. Almost too much like it, an exact replica. Wasn’t Death supposed to be the grim reaper with skeletal face and large golden scythe? Had I missed something?
It still has no face, but I know I have its attention. Especially when it greets me and calls me Fate’s Apprentice. Aye, it would know who I was. It tells me it likes my choice of image; it’s been a while since it’s been a bodach glas. I recall a similar conversation, not so long ago, with another entity. Fate needed people to give it a form, was Death the same? To me Death was fear, and fear was a bodach glas.
I beg the bodach glas not to take Fionn. The plea falls from my mouth even though I know it’s impossible and that he’s already gone and that you can’t reason with Death. My mind draws blanks, reeling from watching as Fionn’s blood inches closer to me. I have no leverage, no clever plan, no witty retort, no charm.
I have nothing.
I don’t remember seeing the Bodach glas move, but it does until it’s a breath away from me, close enough to reach out and touch. Every fibre of ma being screams at me, but I stand my ground. Somewhere in the background Reid asks me who I’m talking to, but I ignore him. Apparently, only I can see Death.
It may have been my imagination, but I swear the figure sighs. In truth, it says, Fionn wasn’t scheduled to die that day, it was why they were a wee bit late. Since that was the case, they supposed they could make a deal, since it was with Fate’s Apprentice.
Unfortunately, Fionn was already dead, so couldn’t be brought completely back to life in the wider world. However, the shop was a neutral zone, outwith the usual rules and regulations, so Fionn could happily “live” within its boundaries.
But we weren’t in the shop, I pointed out stupidly.
The orange tiles beneath my feet were replaced by wood, the emptiness replaced by the chaotic clutter of the shop. In a breath, we were inside the neutral zone. I noticed Reid’s confusion as he glanced around, everywhere but at Death who stood in front of me. Fionn would live as long as he was within the shop’s boundaries, Death confirmed, but as soon as he stepped foot outside he’d be dead for good.
All I could do was nod.
The bodach glas disappeared, taking the shadow with it. I felt sick. I thought I was going to collapse, but before I could, I heard Fionn take a large gasp of air.
Fun fact: the red string that connects Maya to her familiars is inspired by the red thread of fate in eastern folklore. I mainly learned it from Japanese culture, but I believe it originates in China.
Scots-ish language version
Believe it or no’, there’s a few ‘hings I never expect tae see in the shop. A smartphone, a laptop made any time after 1985, and everyone’s favourite anti-Madam. I know she’s been in before, many moons ago, but never since.
The bell went, interuptin’ ma game wi’ Chronos, and I took the obligatory glance over, expectin’ a stranger tae be starin’ roond like a bairn in a sweetie shop. Our game was quickly abandoned when ma feline pal and I realised who’d walked through the front door. Just as well, I was losin’ pretty badly as usual. I felt ma body tense up as she walked further intae the shop, the last echoes ae the bell replaced by the clip ae her heels on the wooden floor.
Chronos gauged her languidly, and I was half-hopin’ he’d activate beast mode, or at least give her a menacing hiss, but he wasnae as bothered by her presence as I was. Reid, probably receivin’ a distress signal fae ma familiars ring emerged fae the aisle he’d disappeared doon half an hour before and froze when he realised this was no ordinary customer.
A wee, stupid part ae me expected her tae pull oot Madam Norna’s card and ask tae be escorted upstairs. Never one tae miss a social cue, Anora spread a smile across her dark lips. It wasnae friendly or vicious, reassurin’ or antagonistic. Enjoyment curved her mouth, rested in the fine lines ae her cheeks. She liked bein’ feared.
In her deep, smoky voice she informed us we didnae need tae be afraid, she wasnae here tae cause trouble. All ae us found that difficult tae believe.
Realisin’ that none ae us were gonnae offer her a cup ae tea, she came tae lean gracefully on the glass counter, a metre or two away fae Chronos and I. I didnae like her this close, didnae like that she smelled like spices and autumn and red leaves blowin’ in the wind. Didnae like that she smelled like the end ae something, I just didnae know whit.
She was simply here tae tell us something she thought we’d want tae know. Fionn was in need ae our help. His past had come back no just tae haunt him, but kill him in retribution ae all his past deeds. I had so many questions I didnae know whit tae ask first, so ended up bitin’ the inside ae ma lip instead. How much did Anora know aboot Fionn, especially his past? Did she know whit’d happened at the funeral, and the history behind it? How did she know he was in trouble noo? If whit she was sayin was true, then had she set his vengeful past ontae him? Why, though, he hadnae been unfaithful tae her? Right?
Reid was the first one tae voice somethin’, by askin’ why we should believe her. Her grin deepened, almost showin’ the pearl whites ae her teeth. As our anxiety began tae grow fangs, her enjoyment grew wi’ it. Anora shrugged her shoulders wi’ a nonchalance that had me bitin’ so hard on ma lip I began tae taste blood.
It was up tae us if we believed her, but were we really willin’ tae take the risk? She replied.
I hated that she had a point. I knew I wouldnae be able tae look maself in the mirror if somethin’ were tae happen tae Fionn that I couldae prevented but didnae just because I was suspicious ae Anora. I glanced at Reid, fae once no knowin’ whit he was thinkin’. Ever since the day Fionn told us the truth aboot his past the atmosphere between ma two familiars had been civil at best, and doonright chilly at worst. It was different fae the start when they were bickerin’ like bairns. I wish I hadnae complained aboot it as much at the time because I’d give anything fae them tae start doin’ that again. The cold civility was torture.
It didnae sit well wi’ Reid that Fionn had got away wi’ his sins, wi’ the awful things he’d done tae people, wi no takin’ responsibility fae his choices and actions. Perhaps Reid thought it was time fae some retribution, fae the debts tae be paid. Did I think the same? Whit if it was Fionn’s fate tae die today? Whit if that was the price he had tae pay fae his past?
The silence had stretched too long fae Anora. Our faces and frowns mustae grown tiresome. She stood up fae leanin’ on the counter and told me I’d know where tae find him, whilst she gestured tae her pinky finger and nodded at ma own hand, clenched in a fist at ma side. The ring.
Before she left the shop, just as she’d opened the door and the bell had rung quietly, as if no’ wantin’ tae draw attention, she looked back at me and said she didnae usually gee her help withoot askin’ fae something in return, but she’d forgo the price this time, as long as I remembered who it was that’d helped me. This went in one ear and oot the other at the time, but thinkin’ aboot it noo, it sounds like a warnin. Maybe no a warnin, but a promise, ae whit, I dinnae know.
Anora left the three ae us alone tae the silence. I feel terrible noo fae that silence, fae the time I wasted. Whit was I doin hesitatin? This was Fionn, but this could also be Fate. If he was destined tae die today then so be it, but I knew I couldnae live wi’ maself if I didnae try tae save him. I stared at Reid, thinking that the frown ae his brow was hesitation, or relish, or reluctance, or whether I was projectin’ ma own emotions ontae him.
“Are you coming?” was all I asked.
He hesitates and ma heart clenched. Was this who Reid really was? Did he feel that strongly aboot Fionn’s misdeeds that he’d forget the good things Fionn had done? Were friendships and bonds really so easy fae Reid tae break and forget? Was taking the moral high ground more important?
If I went, would I lose Reid instead? If I didnae decide I was gonnae lose both ae them.
“I’m goin’,” it came oot as a growl.
I couldnae look at Reid on ma way tae the door, no even in his reflection in the windaes. I hated the disappointment in him that was threatenin’ tae overwhelm me. I pulled open the door so violently I thought the glass was gonnae break, only fae it tae be caught by someone behind me. Reid followed me oot ontae the street.
Anora had said I’d know how tae find Fionn. I dinnae think she was aware ae how stupid I was, but even I could see the red string that attached tae ma familiars ring and wound doon the street and roond the corner. At the other end was Fionn.
How long this mysterious crimson thread was was anybody’s guess. I dinnae know how long we were walkin’ away fae the shop, followin’ it. everything became a blur, the traffic, the other pedestrians, the buses, taxis and bikes. Eventually we made our way intae an area ae the town that was called murder mile by some locals wi’ a dark sense ae humour. No one wanted tae be here in the dark. it was a dilapidated part ae town, ye know the ones, all the businesses have been shut up fae years, most ae the residents are connected in some way tae drugs, gangs, or both, and the police have given up patrolling the area altogether. It’s a lost cause.
The thread ran doon a dingy alleyway covered in graffiti and overfilled bins, eventually makin’ its way through an ajar door. I peer through the gap, slowly opening it to reveal a tiled room inside, the remnants ae a kitchen or butcher. There are two people on the floor, one bearin’ doon on the other. I see the glimmer ae cold steel as it reflects the daylight filterin’ through the doorway.
As soon as the person on top notices we’ve entered, he stands up and stumbles back, away fae the other man lyin’ on the floor. I dinnae need tae see the victim’s face tae know it’s Fionn, and the orange floor tiles do nothin’ tae hide the blood that’s now seepin’ fae his body. Tae ma surprise, Reid launches himself through the door tae Fionn’s side, his hand pressin’ on the puncture wounds tae try and stem the bleedin’.
The attacker makes the mistake ae shuffling, ae tryin’ tae stop himself fae fallin, but I still see the glimmer ae the knife, and I feel the same rush ae anger I did at the shop wi’ the academic. The man yelps in fright as the knife in his hand disintegrates, fallin’ through his fingers like sand. I’m no satisfied, I want him tae disappear, tae hurt, tae be nothin’ but a pile ae particles on the floor.
This time’s no like the last, I’m no overwhelmed, it’s like I have a calm kind ae control over whitever this power is. I can feel it causin’ ma whole body tae tingle, like I can do anythin’ wi’ a simple thought, a simple movement. The man crumples tae the floor, drawin’ ma attention back tae the current situation. I see the remnants ae the knife, the pile ae dust it’s become, and want tae make a second, larger pile that I can watch blow away in the breeze.
“Maya!”
Someone shouts ma name, and the power flowin’ through ma veins evaporates. I glance shakily tae Reid, who has Fionn’s heid cradled on his knees whilst tryin’ tae keep pressure on the wounds on his chest. Reid tells me tae leave the man, that Fionn needs me noo, needs me more.
The attacker seizes his chance and blows past me oot the door. I let him go. I step closer tae where Fionn and Reid are on the floor, notice wi’ silent horror as the blood begins tae reach ma feet. Fionn chuckles weakly and says he’d always hoped he’d die in the arms ae someone prettier.
Before Reid can make a retort, Fionn’s gone.
When I was a bairn I used tae go swimmin’. Sometimes, instead ae goin’ up and doon the pool, doin laps like I was supposed tae, I’d hold ma breath and plunge beneath the water. All ae the noise ae splashin, ae screamin’ bairns, shoutin’ parents, the radio station comin’ through the speakers, was gone, like I’d been thrown intae a vacuum. The moments after Fionn’s death were like that. The world collapsed tae that small room on murder mile.
Suddenly there’s a darkness aboot the room, a shadow that wasnae there before. it’s barely noticeable, but there’s a shift, as though something’s loomin over this place. Feelin a presence at ma back I whip aroond and dinnae know how I managed tae stifle the scream.
Ma grannie used tae tell horrible stories when I was wee, aboot the monsters and ghouls ae Scotland. She even had a book full ae pictures and tales ae them. One that always stayed wi’ me was the bodach glas (bot-ach). A cloaked humanoid figure who’s face was never seen and who only appeared when someone was aboot tae die. What scared me the most was the mystery ae it. all ae the other creatures, fairies, mischief makers, hags, all had faces, had descriptions, but the bodach was a figure cloaked in darkness, no discernible teeth, fangs, eyes, or face.
It moved past me, takin’ no notice, and made its way towards Fionn. I knew whit this presence was, of course I did.
Death.
I watch as it moves silently across the tiles towards ma two familiars. Reid doesnae seem tae notice, his eyes fixated on Fionn’s peaceful face. This thing was death, this creature in the same room wi’ us.
I tell it tae stop. I dinnae know how I found ma voice, or where I pulled the courage fae, but I wasnae prepared when it turned aroond tae face me, lookin’ exactly like the bodach fae ma childhood. Almost too much like it, an exact replica. Wasnae Death supposed tae be the grim reaper wi skeletal face and large golden scythe? Had I missed something?
It still has no face, but I know I have its attention. Especially when it greets me and calls me Fate’s Apprentice. Aye, it would know who I was. It tells me it likes ma choice ae image, it’s been a while since it’s been a bodach. I recall a similar conversation, not so long ago, wi another entity. Fate needed people tae give it a form, was Death the same? Tae me Death was fear, and fear was a bodach.
I beg the bodach no tae take Fionn. The plea falls fae ma mouth even though I know it’s impossible and that he’s already gone and that you cannae reason wi’ Death. Ma mind draws blanks, reelin’ fae watchin’ as Fionn’s blood inches closer tae me. I have no leverage, no clever plan, no witty retort, no charm. I have nothin’.
I dinnae remember seein’ the Bodach move, but it does until it’s a breath away fae me, close enough tae reach oot and touch. Every fibre ae ma bein’ screams at me, but I stand ma ground. Somewhere in the background Reid asks me who I’m talkin’ tae, but I ignore him. Apparently, only I can see Death.
It may ha been ma imagination, but I swear the figure sighs. In truth, it says, Fionn wasnae scheduled tae die that day, it was why they were a wee bit late. Since that was the case, they supposed they could make a deal, since it was wi’ Fate’s Apprentice.
Unfortunately, Fionn was already dead, so couldnae be brought completely back tae life in the wider world. However, the shop was a neutral zone, outwith the usual rules and regulations, so Fionn could happily “live” within its boundaries.
But we werenae in the shop, I pointed oot stupidly.
The orange tiles beneath ma feet were replaced by wood, the emptiness replaced by the chaotic clutter ae the shop. In a breath, we were inside the neutral zone. I noticed Reid’s confusion as he glanced aroond, everywhere but at Death who stood in front ae me. Fionn would live as long as he was within the shop’s boundaries, Death confirmed, but as soon as he stepped foot outside he’d be deid fae good.
All I could do was nod.
The bodach disappeared, takin’ the shadow wi’ it. I felt sick. I thought I was gonnae collapse, but before I could, I heard Fionn take a large gasp ae air.