It was dark. Well, that’s how all stories started out. Let’s say, it was more of a cloudy night. No, no that’s too boring. You know what? Let’s restart this, shall we?

It was a chill evening; the sun was already starting to go down into its own slumber, as the moon was ready and dressed for success in its shining glory. Other people were dressed as well, for the party of the century; Halloween. Though, one person wasn’t. The person was not just a person, but a monster in their own words. Nor did anyone notice them, as the turtle neck they always wore shed their face from other beings, and the umbrella shading any light onto their structure.

Regular people passed back and forth, left and right, the creature watching some in only pairs, smiling and laughing. All of them in costumes, as this town celebrated Halloween with such a might, that it was taboo to not celebrate it. The creature celebrated it in his own way; visiting his family in the graveyard. It was a tradition of his own. A holiday of mourning.

The creature was snapped out of his thoughts, walking past the gates of the smoky cemetery and spotting a young group of people. They all dressed the same way in their fun little costumes; except for one. A man, tied in rope, and screaming into a cloth. For once, the creature felt as outraged as the night his family had passed. No human that was unlike him should be treated as a toy, or whatever the group was going to do to him.

The group gathered, smiling as the placed the man down, before one of them spoke.

"Do you have all the supplies, Kaylence?" One of them asked, as the man looked up at them with fear, as tears rolled down.

"It’s all ready for action, man." One of them answered, and pulled out a lighter, as a liquid was poorer onto the man by another.

‘Oh god, not me. Please, not me.’ The man thought to himself, screaming into the cloth, pleading at the group with his own eyes.

Before the one with the lighter could even ignite it, they were knocked out, as a tall man was discovered behind them.

"Oh no…" The others muttered, all in unison, before the man pulled down the turtle neck, and walked towards the group slowly, his breathing slowly exiting and entering the hole where his nose used to be, and the mouth that was only bone. The air was like a smoke now, as the group only started to run when the man, or whatever he truly was, raised his umbrella again.

"Start the car! Go, go, go!" And "Never again, never again!" was heard as they ran away, the man that was tied watching them, before looking at his…. Savior? Hero? What was he, to be exact? And to be honest, the man didn’t know. But he really didn’t want to know, because it didn’t matter. The person saved him, and that was all that mattered.

———

It had been only two weeks since the incident happened, and now the pair sat quietly in the parlor of the creatures old and dark mansion. The only light coming from the fireplace with the wood that was gathered by the creature, since he didn’t want the man to even get cold. The creature cared for the man, and the man had no idea why.

The man raised his teacup to his lips, only to find not a single drop in his cup, and sighed. The sigh caught the creatures attention, and he grabbed the kettle with his gloved hands, and offered it silently to the man. It made the man smile, as he placed his cup down and the creature poured some tea inside it.

The man went back to his book as the creature added enough sugar and enough milk to the herbal mixture, and tapped the cup two times to alarm the man gently. The man looked back up to see the creature sit back and enjoy his own book again before grabbing his tea and drinking it slowly, still not knowing how the creature knew ho to make his tea more tastier than he could do on his own.

Before they both knew it, they were below a painting in one of the halls. One looked like the living man, and the other was the same height as the creature. Now the man knew why the creature cared so much. Because he knew him before. Not in this life, but another. And all his silence was shown with a dash of love. A dash of living again.

A dash of a beauty, and a beast.