Silence

Fire. Death. Alone.

Fire. Death. Alone.

Hahahahahaha!

A very small and pale Lilith doll hung limply in the middle of a swirling blood red maelstrom. Ghostly figures paraded and pranced around in a macabre dance. Flames flickered and grotesque shadows frolicked. And above it all was that face.

His face.

“Hahahahahaha!”

“What did you do to my mother?!”

“I can’t get her to wake up! She’s always up by now and so I went to check on her and she won’t wake up and there’s a syringe and Lilith, I know my mother doesn’t do drugs.”

Fire.

Death.

Alone.

Hahahahahaha!

“Lilith, stop staring off in the distance and talk to me! I know you did something to her. She was fine until you came, and then she took you in and you…you…you hurt her! I’ve already called 911. God, stop looking like that!”

Bella. Crumbling angel. Broken pedestal. Angel. Friend.

She didn’t want to do this. Somewhere inside the tiny Lilith doll she knew she didn’t want to do this. But the fire was in control. It was hot and it hurt and he was laughing at her and she just wanted it to stop. The words spilled out on their own.

“So you’re saying that you think that I killed your mother? And you came unprotected and unarmed and alone to tell me that?”

Cassandra’s eyes widened with fear.

Everything went red and silent.

The silence ran thick like blood. Lilith wanted to cry, to scream, to let it all out. She wanted to beg forgiveness, to explain that she had no control over herself, that her mind had gone all red and burning. She wanted to run to Bella, her fallen angel. She wanted to hear the voice. Oh God, she wanted the soothing beautiful pleasant voice. She didn’t care now. She didn’t care that Bella hadn’t told anyone about Seth. What did that matter? All that mattered now was peace and quiet and an end to this pain.

But none of it would come out. Her throat was choked by smoke.

The sudden sound of the doorbell interrupted their standoff.

Cassandra turned and ran out of the room. Lilith watched her from far away.

After a while she followed Cassandra, feeling as though she were moving through a huge cotton ball. She found herself sort of almost hoping that it was the police, that they would take her and put her in a room all by herself.

A nice quiet room. With soft white soundproofed walls. And a very secure lock. And all the ice cream she wanted. That would be nice.

Cassandra ran on ahead. She hadn’t said that Bella was dead, had she? She’d said that Lilith had hurt her, not that she was dead.

Bella couldn’t be dead.

Please, not Bella.

“He doesn’t look like the police. Or the EMTs.”

Lilith heard her own fear echoed in Cassandra’s voice. She’d heard herself say something about killing Bella, but Cassandra had only said that she wouldn’t wake up. They’d stayed up late last night. Maybe Bella was just really really tired.

Please. Without her golden voiced angel Lilith would drown in the flames.

By the time she’d gotten to the kitchen, Cassandra had already opened the door.

And when Lilith saw who it was, Cassandra disappeared. The whole world disappeared.

“Lilith! Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here!”