London, 1832

It was a chilly night in London. It was the night of the grand ball, all of London high society was there. Everyone was wearing their finest attire.

There was a mad woman who had escaped from an asylum. They say she would walk the streets of London at night. They called her the street ravaged woman and she would try to solicit money from well off men.

One man had not gone to the ball that night. He had important business to attend to that night. He was on his way home, when he ran into a woman.

"You are nothing, but a kind sir, I have a feeling."The Street Ravaged Woman said.

It was dark out and the street lights were dim. The man turned around quickly and saw he was facing a poor woman. Everything about the woman seemed destitute. She had long brown hair with hints of gray in it. She wore a dark grey coat covered in dust, underneath was a baggy brown dress.

The man in contrast had a very clean appearance; he wore his dark coat and light trousers. He had red hair that wasn't very long and it was covered by a top hat.

"I don't talk to people like you "The man said hardly able to look at the woman.

The woman looked at him and it made the man uncomfortable. The woman began to go through her things, she carried a sack around.

"I knew you once in a previous life." The street ravaged woman claimed.

She started hum a melody that was rather simple, she spun around. It was as if she was in her own world. The man became frightened, he wanted to leave, but he couldn't. There was something about the women that made him stay.

She began to sing a song; it was a popular poem the man had heard before.

In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace—
Radiant palace—reared its head.
In the monarch Thought's dominion,
It stood there;
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair.

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow
(This—all this—was in the olden
Time long ago),
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A wingèd odor went away.

Wanderers in that happy valley
Through two luminous windows saw
Spirits moving musically,
To a lute's well-tunèd law,
Round about a throne where, sitting,
Porphyrogene,
In state his glory well befitting,
The ruler of the realm was seen.

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was the fair palace door,
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing,
And sparkling evermore,
A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty
Was but to sing,
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch's high estate;
(Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow
Shall dawn upon him desolate!)
And round about his home the glory
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
Of the old time entombed.

And travellers now within that valley
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms that move fantastically
To a discordant melody;
While, like a ghastly rapid river,
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever,
And laugh—but smile no more.

She stopped singing; the man looked at the Street Ravaged Woman oddly.

"You're truly mad." The man exclaimed.

The Street Ravaged Woman laughed and smirked. The man couldn't understand how she was so calm, even though someone had just called her crazy.

"I knew you once in a previous life." The street ravaged woman claimed.

The Street Ravaged Woman put her hand on his shoulder; she brushed off a piece of lint off his coat.

"But I have only lived once." The man stated quickly, he was getting more nervous by the second.

"You are wrong about that sir, you know I have seen your wife dance" The street ravaged woman said.

The man pictured his wife dancing, she was breathtakingly beautiful and an amazing ballet dancer. He pictured her long auburn hair pulled up in a bun. He recalled how beautiful she smelled, when she would lay close to him.

"My wife is just wonderful at dancing, don't you think?"

The man had to admit this was the oddest encounter he ever had. He couldn't make sense of it, no matter how hard he tried.

"Your wife will pay for your sins." The Street Ravaged Woman said.

The man froze and tried to brush the crazy woman off. How could she say such a thing?

"She will not."The man replied in haste.

The Street Ravaged Woman smiled at the man. She could hear the devil voice in her head. The devil always sounded like he was hissing.

"The damage has already been done." The Street Ravaged Woman replied.

The man was confused, he didn't understand. He hadn't done anything wrong, he was a good Christian.

"You're talking in tongues." The man stated.

The whole experience was beginning to get too strange for his tastes. The encounter reminded him of when he was younger and his mother would tell him scary tales.

"I speak for the devil; he wants me to tell you that the devil lures even the most faithful followers of Christ."The Street Ravaged Woman stated in an eerie voice.

The man had never been this close to the devil before. It didn't seem possible to him, the good lord was supposed to protect him.

"I would never follow the devil."

The Street ravaged Woman laughed and turned so she wasn't facing the man. She paused for a moment; the man wasn't sure what she was doing.

"It's only a matter of time."The street ravaged woman said before she walked away into the darkness.

Song by Edgar Allen Poe! Let me know your thoughts!

~Rose~