My Neighbor Is a Silver-Haired Banshee 4 Betha MacSweeny Thursday, 1 August 2019

Pure shade of darkness with phosphenes were moving about like stars. The brightness concealed behind them became more vivid as Apollo's eyes squinted to see Gab's face examining him. "My goodness, dude. You scared the shit out of me." A recollection of what happened gave Apollo chills but as he scanned the room to realize he was in Gab's place, relief took over.

"Dude, I had the scariest dream you could ever imagine." He said in a hoarse voice but a woman's presence by the door brought back the horror of that implausible memory that Apollo felt strongly happened in real life. He curled up and covered himself with a blanket the way that Harry Potter would use his invisibility cloak.

"Relax." Gab expressed. "I would've passed out too like you did because I was scared as hell, but she climbed up and helped bring you down from the oak tree. She's not a bad person at all, dude. Otherwise, why would we both be here still alive? Right, Nike?" He wanted Nike to explain things herself so he beaconed to her with a nod as an affirmation that she can speak.

Apollo's gaze went from Gab to Nike who was no longer an old hag. She gave her most angelic smile and Apollo gave away. How can you be scared at her looking like that? But then what if she transforms again? Would I faint every single time? Apollo thought overwhelmed by the indecisive feeling that was running through his system.

She moved closer and sat carefully at the right end of the bed. "Betha MacSweeny." She said and extended her hand, hoping she'd get a handshake. "It's my real name."

"Oh." That was all he could say. Gab tilted his head, signaling Apollo to shake her hand. When he did, he thought, she didn't feel cold, so she wasn't a ghost. She was human though he was skeptic at first. "Na…nice to know your real name." He stuttered.

She smiled once again, and Apollo felt that he might be able to get used to this. All she had to do was smile and the world was normal again. "My mom's Irish and my dad's American so I'm half Irish, half like you guys. I was raised here though. Maybe just two towns away from Summerland."

"Okay." Apollo said.

Still not knowing how to ask her about what happened, Gab must've read his mind. "Why don't you explain everything to him like you did to me so he could start acting normal again? He still looks reserved and I'm not used to it." He giggled.

"Yes. Of course." More than serious, Betha looked relaxed. "You might've been taken aback by what you saw…"

"I was petrified." Apollo interrupted.

"I'm sorry. It's something that I couldn't control. It happens every now and then but not always." She sighed. "I'm a Banshee."

What did she say? The clueless look on Apollo's face was too obvious.

"Have you ever heard of Mothman, The Jersey Devil or Bigfoot?"

"Maybe?" He said, still not following.

"They're American folklore characters. There is no concrete evidence that they are real. They're just myths. And we also have Irish folklore. We're known for mythical creatures or characters like leprechauns, fairies and of course….yours truly…Banshee." She paused, looking at the shift of Apollo's expression from clueless to attentive as he gave occasional nods. "Unlike other folk tales or folklore characters, Banshees are real. Well, of course you should know that because you have witnessed it. Books, internet, comics about Irish mythology always say that Banshees are women of the fairy mound or simply fairy woman or a spirit that proclaims a death of a family member by shrieking but a big part of that isn't true. Well the shrieking part is true but I'm not a spirit and I'm definitely not a fairy. I'm human just like you and Gab." She nodded at him. "And we don't just lament whenever there's death in the family. We also uncontrollably do it whenever someone from approximately 5 kilometers away is about to die whether it's a family member or not."

"And the transformation?" Apollo asked. He figured, if she was going to be his wife someday, he'd better be ready to know all the facts.

"It's horrible. I know. But it's given. I start losing control when someone is about to die. While in a trance, I get my grey cloak, walk towards a door or window of the person, the fluttering that sounds like birds flying is a sign of a Banshee's presence. From then, we transform to a very old lady with silver hair, although so far, I'm the only silver-haired Banshee, most have white hair. Then we shriek. Once done, we transform back to our normal human form and that's it."

"You mentioned we. How many other Banshees are there?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm the only one here. Everyone I know is in Ireland. I just wanted to be away from there because my parents died, and the house was just too lonely for me to handle. I was taken by St. Mary's Centre. It's an orphanage but at the age of ten when the house was sold and I got the money from our very trusted attorney and realtor, I took off. And so here I am." Her face looked content and happy despite the woeful story. Apollo didn't want to ask how her parents died because it might strike a painful memory that she had already forgotten.

Gab had the same facial expression as Apollo did; neither pity nor staggered. Just simply glad that she had survived, and she had shared it with two people she just met the previous day. Then Apollo remembered the fact that she was outside Luke's window. "Where is Luke? Is he okay?" He asked, wishing he was fine but the reactions that she and Gab displayed confirmed that something bad happened. "Well what is it?"

"He had a heart attack so he's in the hospital now. You were asleep I think for about three hours. Nike and I called 911 so the rescuers were there just in time. If she hadn't known that something bad was about to happen to Luke, he would've died. Or he probably was really bound to be rescued because we were supposed to meet him anyway. Nevertheless, I think this is all because of Nike. I mean, you would've never asked him to give me a gig because he likes your mom and that makes you uncomfortable."

"What?" It was just an expression. Apollo didn't' really have any rebuttal because he was right.

The night seemed too long considering everything that had happened for the past 4 hours or so. It was almost midnight and Apollo was about to call his mom whom he noticed had been calling him when he checked his phone. He was surprised to see fifteen missed calls. "I gotta go home. I think my mom's getting worried."

Nike…or Betha suddenly looked hypnotized and at first, Gab and Apollo didn't know what was happening because she was too stiff and wasn't responding. "Betha." Apollo called out. When she took the grey cloak resting on Gab's recliner chair by his desktop computer, they instantly knew she was about to turn into a Banshee. They looked at each other and followed her lead as she went outside. She looked weightless, walking the clear pavements. It was good that Summerland rarely had anyone awake late at night. Both gentlemen served as bodyguards walking with her on both sides and Apollo felt kind of cool. but the feeling easily deteriorated as he recognized the familiar path they were taking. They were three houses away from his place. An unsettling sensation went through him as he looked at his mom's missed calls. Is there a reason why she has been calling? God, please don't let anything happen to my mom. This is even scarier than our Banshee encounter yesterday.

Apollo's worst fear happened. Betha stopped right in front of his house's entrance door. No! This is not happening!

Chapter end