Dark Haven
Guardian of the Grave
Luke wiped away his tears with his hand. He wished he could stop crying. But the tears kept coming, no matter how hard he tried. They came down with the cool drizzle falling from above. Until now he'd been too numb to cry; the last few days had gone by like a hazy dream, absent of feeling. It wasn't until he'd come here alone that it had finally hit him.
His clumsy little fingers caressed the freshly moved dirt on the grave. His mother was under there. How would he ever get over that?
The rain stopped. For a while everything was very quiet, except for the sounds of his sobbing and water dripping off the nearby trees. Mist crept through the woods, as the day grew darker. Eventually it dawned on him that he'd better get home. But as he rose from the dirt to go, he heard unruly voices echoing through the trees and froze. The voices drew nearer, and he heard one of them say, "Give me another swig of that stuff," followed by the sound of liquid sloshing inside a bottle. Two figures came into view. They were older boys from town, sharing whiskey. They staggered toward the direction of the cemetery. Luke crouched; those boys were drunken bullies... he didn't want them to see him. But by moving, he caught their attention.
"Did you see that?"
"No, what?"
"That thing... moving over there." The boys came over toward the grave. "Wait, look! It's Sissy Willow. He's been spying on us!"
Luke tried to run, but couldn't. He was paralyzed. The boys grabbed him and pinned him against his mother's tombstone. "Let me go!" he cried.
"Look who's been crying like a baby," the taller boy crooned, "What's the matter, did your Mommy die? Are you all alone?"
Luke tried to struggle from their grasp. But it was hopeless. He wanted to yell for help, but no one else was around for nearly a mile. There was nothing he could do. The taller one asked the shorter one, "You got a shovel? We should bury him up to his head in this place." Metal scraped eerily against rock. For a moment Luke thought they'd already found a shovel. But the sound was too far away to be coming from any of them. The boys froze, scanning the cemetery with wide eyes.
"What was that?"
"I don't know. I think someone's here."
Luke was relieved to see that someone was there. A tall, dark figure stood among the trees nearby, backlit by the pale mists.
"Help me!" he cried out to the person. His voice sounded small and pitiful. It was a miracle anyone heard him. Nevertheless, the shorter boy started to cover his mouth, but realized it was too late, and let him go. "We don't want no trouble!" he blurted out to the person, sounding shaken.
The darkly clad person drew out a sword and replied, "Yes you do." It strode toward them with authority, and as it drew closer, everyone saw that it had red glowing eyes.
The older boys cussed loudly and fled. One of them tripped on a grave marker on his way out. Luke shrank back against his mother's tombstone unable to budge; now he was afraid of the person too!
The person stopped near the grave, looking to where the older boys ran, and then looked down at Luke. She was at least seven feet tall. "You need not fear me, Luke," she said, putting away her sword. Her voice was rich and soothing.
"Come, I will lead you home." She extended her pale hand. Luke gingerly took it, terrified, and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Dark Haven," she replied, leading him away from the cemetery. "He sent me to watch over your mother's grave."
"Are you an angel?"
"Yes."
"How come you're so scary?"
Dark Haven laughed. "Many angels are scary."
Luke looked thoughtful, and then asked, "How come you're watching my Mother?"
"I am not watching your mother; she is not here. Your mother is in another place where there is no sorrow. She was one of God's most faithful servants and it was time for her to be with him. I am merely guarding your mother's tomb."
"Oh. Why?"
"Because he cares about all matters great and small. It gives his children peace when the tombs of their loved ones go undisturbed."
Dark Haven took Luke under his arms and lifted him over a wooden fence, then climbed over the fence herself. It was getting very dark. Luke had no idea where they were, but he felt safe now. They walked on in silence for a while. Then Luke said, "I'm glad you rescued me from those other boys. They were drinking, and I don't know what they were going to do to me."
"You are welcome."
"Will my mother miss me in heaven?"
"No. It will be but an hour to her before you join her. But to you it will seem like an eternity and you will miss her greatly, even though she is in a better place now."
"Oh. But I do miss her something fierce."
"Of course you do," she replied, laying a hand on his shoulder, "You loved her, and you will never stop loving her. But with time your sadness will diminish."
"How long will it take before the sadness diminishes?"
"Awhile."
Dark Haven stopped walking and pointed on ahead toward some lights. "There is your home. You have been shown the way."
"Thank you, Dark Haven," he said, giving her an impulsive childish embrace. "You are welcome," she replied, pulling him back. She leaned over (actually she had to kneel, she was so tall), took his head in her hands, and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. Turning him homeward she said, "Go. They are looking for you."
Luke walked forward a few steps, and then asked, "Will I ever see you again?" But when he looked back her way, she was gone.
The background music on this page is "Angels", performed by Ilya Gordan. Free downloads by this artist can be found at Download.com.
The Doll
Dark Haven was made using a "Princess of Korea" Barbie doll, from Mattel's Princesses of the World collection. All of her factory face paint was removed, and she was given a full repaint. Also her head was placed on a different (more suitable) body than the one she had.
2 mm faceted crystals were set in her eyes to give them their red glow. Depending on the lighting, the crystals looked very dark, flashed brightly, or glowed a deep ruby red.
She was painted as one who could be both dangerous and gentle; her darkly lined red eyes clashed dramatically with her serene pale lips and the overall softness of her expression.
Her long black hair was coiled into a braided up do, then red and silver seed beads were sewn in. A few strands of hair, which had been left out, were then curled into perfect spirals, using heat and strong gel.
Her earrings were made from beads and strong wire. Because of the way they were jointed, they dangled just right, and had a life-like movement to them. It took a couple of hours to make them, partly because of the strength of the wire.
Around her neck dangled a cross necklace. It had a classic Gothic look. The cross itself was intended to be one of the brightest parts of her ensemble. To help achieve that effect, a dark smoky metal chain was chosen for it; the dull chain did not detract from the cross's brilliance.
The Costume
Dark Haven's gothic costume was a very detailed, time-consuming endeavor. Overall, the costume was very "texture rich", compensating for its dark colors.
The form-fitting dress bodice was the hardest part to design and sew. Getting it to fit so perfectly required plenty of trial and error. Also the bodice had to be stitched entirely by hand, because its panels were so tiny, one little slip of the machine would have ruined it. The hand stitching was as neat and fine as any machine stitching.
Some fun beadwork dangled from the bottom of the bodice, adding a touch that looked slightly out-of-this-world.
The outer skirt of the dress was made of crinkled faux velvet. Parts of it were lined with black lace.
The hooded cloak worn over the dress was transparent, and slightly reminiscent of something a wraith or ghost might wear. Very haunting.
The back of the dress used laces, which helped greatly with the bodice's form.
Underneath it all, Dark Haven wore beaded lace-up sandals with high heels.
The Sword
Dark Haven's sword was made from Sculpey Premo!. The hilt and the blade had to be sculpted separately, and then glued together. The sword was then painted like dark metal. Dark Haven's dress had a beaded loop sewn onto it to accommodate the sword.
Auction
Dark Haven was sold on eBay in March of 2005.