Lucifera's Mask

Gabby DeLoof

March 24, 2012

Lucifera’s Mask

In the deep, dark night of the bustling city of Detroit, there lays a man scantily clothed. His body is strewn about the alley where the fumes of smoke, dirt, grease, and garbage permeate the air. One would think that there is no life left in this pale bony corpse with ribs protruding through the once white t-shirt upon his chest. Many tears can be seen in his shirt which reeks of sweat from not being washed in weeks. He wears some holey jeans that don’t fit right, but sag below his hips. His brown eyes protrude from his deep, sunken and sullen white face. He is so dehydrated and malnourished that no more tears can he cry.  He is just trying to get by like all the other bums on this hot, humid, summer night.

This bum is no ordinary Joe Blow, but the name on his tarnished I.D. tag reads, Benjamin Gold. Next to the I.D. tag on his chest shines a beautiful 18k gold chain fit for a king. Its brilliance is not hard to miss against his dirty white shirt. The chain sticks out like a sore thumb. In addition to the chain, at the end hangs a beautiful 18k gold cross. The cross itself is about 2 inches long with a figure of Christ upon it.  At the top of the cross is embedded a glimmering quarter karat diamond. The story behind the gold necklace is a much happier one, of times when life was better. He received the chain as a gift on the occasion of making his first Penance/Reconciliation from his mother.

Benjamin’s mother played an integral part in his life as his father died when he was only three from cancer. They had a special relationship and the necklace served as a remembrance of his mother since she was no longer living. He treasured his last sole possession and cherished the memories that he and his mother shared. However, someone else too, admired Benjamin’s chain.

On that hot, miserable evening in the motor city, Benjamin was approached by a gypsy woman. She looked like the fortuneteller type with numerous rings, gold hoop earrings dangling from her ears, and tons of bracelets that weighed her arms down. There was something odd about her. She wore a mask upon her face. The mask created a sense of fear within Benjamin. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as she moved closer. Despite the mask, one could tell that she had a large, rather pointy nose with a curved tip. The mask itself was sharply demarcated down the middle. The left hemisphere was a pure white, while the other was butterscotch yellow in color. Around the openings of the eyes were painted elongated diamonds. The right diamond was ruby red and the left was jet black. Single, black dots were noted to be placed directly above and below the diamonds which gave the mask a marionette appearance. The lips were half black and half red to match the diamond eye openings. There were thin black arches placed as eyebrows bilaterally. Also, blue and red ribbons spewed forth from the temples.  Her hair and eyes were as black as the night.  Her skin was wrinkled and body small. She must have been no more than five feet tall. She had long red painted fingernails that stuck out against the black garments she wore. Her voice was low, but with a nasal quality that made it hard to understand her words. They called her Lucifera.

As Lucifera approached Benjamin, his limp body became erect and his ears perked up with curiosity as to what this woman could want. Her voice unwavering, proposed to Benjamin a deal that he couldn’t believe his ears. He even pinched himself to make sure that he was not dreaming.  Lucifera asked for a simple exchange of a winning million dollar lottery ticket for his gold chain and cross.  She explained to Benjamin that she had a good eye for jewelry and would love to been seen in his chain. Lucifera was not able to use the ticket as she was an illegal alien so she could not cash in on the winnings. She had watched him from afar and chose him to be the recipient of this most precious gift.

Benjamin wanted to agree right away, but he needed time to think. He didn’t know what was underneath this woman’s mask. She would not reveal herself. Although this was a great deal for Benjamin, he had second thoughts. This was the scariest woman that he had ever seen. After several minutes of silence, Benjamin agreed to her deal. As he reached behind his neck to unclasp his chain, there was a loud clash of thunder that made the earth move. Rain poured down from the sky. His hand began to tremble. Next, he felt an electric shock go through his hand as he handed his chain over to Lucifera in exchange for the gold ticket. Lucifera grabbed the necklace and quickly disappeared into the smoky mist.

Standing alone, gazing at the ticket and wondering what was underneath the mask of the mysterious woman, Benjamin felt stiff and frozen. Little did he know that there was a curse placed upon the ticket by the evil gypsy. In a few minutes, Benjamin came back to life and sauntered his way to the local corner drug store. There were a lot of people buying booze, food, and making all kind of commotion as he approached the counter around midnight. He handed the clerk the ticket, and the clerk congratulated him on his winnings. The clock struck twelve. Again, a loud thunder clap resonated outside that shook the building as if the heavens were trying to say something.

As quickly as Lucifera came and left, so did Donald’s life change. In a matter of days he was seen living in a mansion on Lakeshore in Grosse Pointe with a black Mercedes GL550 in the drive. In addition to his amenities, there was delicious food and many women. However, no one could compare to the beautiful Aida.  Her eyes were a pale blue with fair skin. Her blonde hair had gorgeous tendrils that highlighted her face. Aida’s lips were ruby red. She was the fairest in the land.

Benjamin fell in love with Aida and soon the two were married. He spoiled her and she cast a spell over him. One night Benjamin had a dream wherein his mother appeared to him and questioned what he had become. She told Benjamin that he needed to donate his money to charities and help the poor. Benjamin awoke the next day perplexed with what had happened in his dream, but he sought to do what his mother had instructed. He got out of bed and had noticed something different in his room. There was a mask on Aida’s dresser. The mask looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen it before. As his eyes glazed over the mask, it hit him all of a sudden that the mask was the one worn by the gypsy woman during that hot summer night in Detroit.  Immediately, Benjamin screamed for Aida and she came running into the room. When Benjamin inquired about the mask and how it came to be, Aida had remarked that it belonged to her mother who gifted it to her when she was younger. Thoughts were running wild within Benjamin’s mind. He didn’t know what to say. He felt that he couldn’t share his secret about his horrible past and the incident with the gypsy woman who had the exact same mask. Instead, Benjamin chose to forget about the mask and proceeded to do what his mother had instructed in his dream. However, when Aida got wind of what Benjamin planned to do she drugged him and got him hooked on heroin. She stole the majority of his money and none made it to help any charities. Benjamin became a junkie and soon his health started to deteriorate. His name was slandered and no one wanted anything to do with him.

Again in a dream his mother tried to talk some sense into Benjamin. She told him to change his ways. His mother begged him to stop the drugs and give to the poor, but above all get rid of Miss Aida. Suddenly the loud sound of thunder was heard and woke Benjamin from his sleep.  He was so frightened that he tried to make amends and seek help. However, it was too late. He did not have any money to give away because Aida had taken it all and skipped town. There was a note he had found. In it Aida wrote, “Thanks for all the good times. Lucifera sends her best. I leave you with something so that you will never forget me.”  Benjamin was heart-broken, devastated and once again all alone. Without his chain he had nothing. Benjamin hadn’t the strength to go on.  He became sick with many infections and rashes. He lay in bed all day as the mask of Lucifera stared him in the face.  Benjamin soon learned what Aida meant by her note. He had contracted AIDS and Aida’s mother was the gypsy woman he had seen that one summer night. Lucifera had always been with him, watching his every move through the mask. Lucifera watched Benjamin’s slow, painful death. Each day brought a new affliction as if being tormented by the devil or should one say Lucifera.