1
Devereaux
Today was a new day.
A beautiful one, too. Though I could not feel it, I knew there was warmth in the sun's bright rays that fell upon me, and the clear blue sky was only interrupted by gentle white wisps of cloud. Above the bustling sounds of townsfolk and horse hooves on cobblestone, I heard songbirds calling to each other. Sometimes, if I was lucky, one would land on the tip of my snout and let loose its beautiful melody. But that was rare. I could count on one set of claws how many times a sweet little bird had perched upon me.
Today, I would do the same thing I did yesterday and countless days before.
I would wait.
I did not know how long I had waited. The days blurred together with nothing to anchor them, and truth be told, there was nothing in my life to look forward to except one thing—and I was not sure it would ever happen.
Regardless, I persevered. I waited. Because there was no other option.
I was cursed. That was one thing I knew. The other thing I knew was my own name: Devereaux. One word. Sometimes I was not sure if it truly was my name. Sometimes I wondered if I made it up and convinced myself it was true. After all, nobody called me by that name. Nobody called to me at all.
I could not turn my head, but I knew there were others like me. I saw them in the corners of my gemstone eyes. Lining the walls of the castle were other grotesque stone statues lost to time.
Gargoyles.
Were they like me? Were they cursed, too? If so, I wondered about their sins.
I wondered about mine.
Perhaps my crimes were lesser than theirs. Because unlike the others, my position was special. Below me was the beautiful courtyard fountain, flowing and full of life. I was the lone gargoyle who overlooked it. Though I did not have much, I had this. The sight of the fountain was one of my only joys. Birds and people all flocked to it, so it was never boring.
It reminded me that, though I could not move or feel, I was alive—and that there was more to life than my cursed existence.
There was one more thing I knew, but I was unsure how I possessed this knowledge. It was the fact that there was only one way to break my curse.
And it was something impossible.
My thoughts were interrupted as a commotion broke out in the courtyard below. The castle was home to the royals, of course, but the courtyard was open to the public, and during the daytime, commoners could come and go as they pleased. The fountain brought joy to the town.
Or was it a city? I was not sure. I had no knowledge of what lay outside the castle grounds, for I was unable to leave. Not even at night.
When the sun set each afternoon, my stone shackles were broken and I transformed into a man. It was yet another mystery.
Some nights I shifted into the unknown man named Devereaux to stretch my legs and inhale the night air and feel its coldness on my skin, for that was the only time I could feel anything. Some nights I did not move at all, because what point was there in roaming the courtyard alone? Nobody knew I existed. I may as well have been a ghost. There was nobody to talk to.
Well, there were bats. But bats made poor conversation.
Where was I?
Oh, yes. The commotion.
Through my gemstone eyes I turned my attention to the now-bustling courtyard. A handful of sparrows chirped and flew away as a human couple ran towards the fountain. I watched them with deep curiosity.
Couples always intrigued me. They manifested in so many ways. Sometimes two men, sometimes two women, sometimes one of each, sometimes in genders indiscernible to me. They ranged in sizes and shapes and colors and ages.
But there was one common trait they all shared: they were always happy.
I wanted to be happy, too.
The couple below me burst into a fit of laughter. Hearing their joy filled me with a spark of it, but at the same time, I felt like a voyeur, like I should not be partaking in their private moment.
You are always a voyeur, I told myself.You are a gargoyle literally attached to a wall. Besides, they are in a public space. If they wanted privacy, they would find a room.
