The Mistletoe
Chapter IX

The bus took a long time, but we finally arrived at the lodge, which was almost at the top of a hill, surrounded by fog, in a kind of open field. The hotel was a kind of farm, and they had some places where you could do activities, like a playground for children, and places for campfires.

Downwards we had the trail and upwards, left and right, I could see how the forest obscured the hiking trail, but it seemed that all the hiking trails were very well marked, as the man had said. The scenery was beautiful and I could see a valley, where there was a very rural village, everything had a very similar vibe to my village, but without the lake and the volcano.

I could see the crow perched on the roof of the hotel. The architecture of the hotel was similar to the typical traditional houses of Austria and Germany. It was not very big, but big enough to accommodate a few families.

As I stared at the raven, the lady looked warmly at me and my father and said:

“Ah. Crows are typical around these parts; that one looks pretty big.”

She waved her hands and gestured for us to understand better, as our German was not the best. I looked to the right and saw in the distance, on the footpath, a car marked “Polizei”, and immediately assumed it must be a policeman. The pair of policemen were accompanied by what I think must have been a park ranger, who was saying things to them in German that, although I could hear, the dialect plus the speed made it difficult to understand exactly what they were talking about.

The lady, watching as I watched, said to me:

“Big wolf, two dead.” Waving her hands and pointing her fingers, she looked noticeably worried and sad.

My father wasted no more time and asked about the rooms, and we went straight to the living room. There were two men drinking beers and playing chess, a little girl watching a children’s video with her mother and two teenagers whispering while watching a music video.

The two men greeted us warmly, and the two teenage girls and the mother looked at us and exchanged smiles. We finally got to our room, tidied up and I got on the local wifi.

“I’m going to take a shower, son, make yourself comfortable in the meantime,” he smiled as he went to the bathroom.

“Okay, Dad, enjoy!” I joked.

While connecting to the network with my tablet, I went out for a bit to get some fresh air. There I could contemplate the beautiful landscape once again and feel the fresh air. Two teenage girls came out with another guy, and one of them asked me in English.

“Aren’t you cold?” she joked with a smile.

“Oh...” I said. “Um... No, I think I’m fine,” I replied.

The three of them laughed, and I saw how bundled up they were, which made me realize that I seemed to have a different threshold for heat and cold compared to other people. Perhaps I should take note of that as well.

My dad came out, after showering, with many layers of clothes and a woolen hat. He also asked if I felt cold. I realized I was only wearing shorts and a green t-shirt; I hadn’t changed clothes since leaving Chile because it was summer there and winter here.

“I think for now, we should be careful; we’ve had bad luck,” my dad lamented.

“Why?” I asked.

“The issue with that animal has put people on alert, and it seems it’s not advisable to go out for walks on the trails. One person claimed to have seen some kind of strange black wolf, and two people have died in the last three months; it attacked them in the throat,” he looked out into the horizon.

“Our vacation has been screwed; we’ll have to go to Vienna or Graz, which is closer,” I suggested.

“Hmmm,” my dad pondered. “If it’s a normal wolf, you could protect me. Otherwise, we’re stuck here until the next bus,” he joked.

“Haha. I think I can tell if it’s a wolf or something else, but this gives me a bad feeling. It seems very similar to the Peuchen incident,” I said more seriously after laughing. “If it’s a supernatural being, it could sense my presence and come here. People would be in danger.”

My father looked at me and added, “Explain to the bus line we booked with that you have superpowers and that we need to leave; very few buses pass by here. At most, an ambulance might come to take you to the nearest town. The owner told me that the sightings have been several kilometers away from the hotel, and the police patrol these areas. Besides, if it comes, I assume you’ll know. Right?”

I looked a bit frustrated and said, “Yeah, well, yeah, but I imagined going for a walk, remembering old times, not being stuck in an inn with unstable internet.”

“Let’s see what the police say, along with the ranger team. It’s been a while since the last case; it might be that that creature is no longer around here,” he added. “Go take a shower and wear weather-appropriate clothing; we don’t want to attract attention, plus it’ll be dinner soon, and it’s getting dark.”

“They eat so early here? It’s not even five in the afternoon!” I exclaimed in shock.

“It’s the countryside, Miguel! What do you expect?” chuckled my father.

Finally, I went back to the room, took a shower, put on warmer clothes, and walked to the living room, where I sat next to my dad. They were waiting for us with a kind of buffet with many different foods: they had breaded pork called Schnitzel, Hungarian Goulash soup, rice, French fries, salads, and various dark breads that looked like whole grain, but the taste was very different.

As I was ready, people began noticing us while eating. The girls giggled, and the rest looked astonished as I emptied each plate. My father said, “You should control your appetite; people are noticing.”

“I don’t care,” I said with my mouth full. “I’m very hungry,” then licking my fingers after finishing.

My father sighed. I must have emptied like three plates of each. The trip had given me quite an appetite. After arranging the dishes and putting them away, one of the attendants looked at me surprised and said something like:

“It was delicious, it seems, eh!” and laughed.

My appetite had grown since I began this sort of metamorphosis, so to speak. When I have to live alone, I’ll have to save money for food since I really eat a lot.

We put on our pajamas, and my dad went to his room with his book, after saying goodnight. I stayed there, looking at the tablet, visibly frustrated with the poor internet connection.

“Disgusting bandwidth they must have here!” I thought, sighing.

I felt some tapping on the window and let out a jump that almost tore my soul apart, imagining the Peuchen.

“God! Damn Raven...”

I looked towards the window and saw the animal staring at me, moving its head from side to side, surely wanting something. I had never seen a Raven live, so I didn’t know what to give it. I took out some fries I was snacking on and gave them to it. It seemed quite content, then it flew away.

I left the tablet aside and tried to sleep, visibly frustrated for not being able to watch online videos. As I couldn’t sleep, I started thinking about all the events and recalling my childhood, plus all the strange events, and there was something particularly odd that struck me, something I had never noticed.

Since I couldn’t sleep, I decided to take a breath of fresh air and go out for a walk. When I stepped outside, I saw a small dog sleeping, while the cows and chickens were also resting in their respective spots. I sat on a balcony, accompanied only by a cat, quite large compared to average cats.

I assumed it was one of the farm cats, but my supernatural senses picked up something different about it, albeit very subtly.

It was a completely black cat, and I was amazed at how big it was. It also had long and shiny fur. It elegantly approached me, swaying its long tail from side to side. Its eyes were of an intense yellow and seemed to shine in the fog like two luminous beacons. Something in its gaze stirred a strange sensation in me, a mix of curiosity and wariness.

The cat stopped in front of the bench and stared at me silently. I felt as if it could see through me, reading my thoughts. It tilted its head, observing me with curiosity, and let out a faint meow. Its fur seemed to emit a faint glow in the mist.

I didn’t know what to think. It looked like an ordinary cat, but my senses told me there was something supernatural about it, something mysterious. I decided to stay very still and keep observing the strange black cat in the mist, attentive to any movement or sign that could reveal its true nature.

The cat finally approached me, walking gracefully, and I got the impression, from its movement, that it could be a female, don’t ask me why. It sat next to me, and after a few seconds, as if it seemed to know me, it settled on my lap, allowing me to pet it.

“Ah, big lady. Taking care of the house, huh? Here we are, both unable to sleep, gazing at the full moon, trapped by this damned fog. You’re very affectionate, huh?”

At first, the cat tensed slightly at my touch, but then it started purring softly. I ran my hand over its black fur repeatedly, amazed by how pleasant it was to pet it. It was like touching a velvet night, so dark and velvety.

The cat stared at me and blinked its striking yellow eyes. “Weird,” I thought. I had never felt a static shock when petting cats. But I didn’t give it much importance. I must have rubbed my hand against its fur in a way that caused that sensation.

As I petted its belly, it seemed to enjoy the game and bit my hands, then licked them.

“Are you hungry, little lady? Too bad I don’t have anything to give you here. No, no, no... you can’t scratch me; my skin is very strong, you know? You’re so naughty and flirtatious!” While playing, it really seemed very intelligent to me.

I smiled and continued petting the peaceful black cat, enjoying the company of one of the farm’s cats on that foggy night.

The cat perked up its ears, and as if we both felt it at the same time, we suddenly looked towards a corner of the forest. I tensed up, feeling the familiar supernatural presence among the shadows, and the cat beside me hissed and growled aggressively towards the spot, then disappeared suddenly into the fog.

For a moment, I worried about the cat going into the foliage, but I thought farm animals tend to be very smart, so it wouldn’t have problems returning. I could see in the shadows the silhouette of what seemed to be a large wolf, black as the night. Unlike the cat, this one gave me the impression of something wild, primal, and unpredictable.

“This must be the scoundrel that came to ruin my vacation...” I murmured. The wolf, with eyes very similar to those of the cat, observed me, trying to measure me, and we made eye contact. It was robust, with some spots or darker stripes than others, teeth as sharp as needles, and large hooves.

“Damn... It’s bigger than a bear,” I exclaimed.

I looked at the axe I had next to me and considered going for it, but I wasn’t sure yet. The Peuchen had given me a lot of trouble, and the axe hadn’t worked in that encounter. As I debated going, the beast had already disappeared, and I had stopped feeling its presence.

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