"Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."

- Dante Alighieri -

Darkness. That is all.

I stumbled clumsily through it, not knowing where I was going, or where I was. My fingers scrambled through the air, trying to cling onto something, anything. But there was nothing. I wanted to fall on my knees and to never get up, because what was the point of walking through this darkness? But I knew I couldn't. I had to find out where this darkness lead to, because it had to end somewhere.

I carried on walking until I noticed a faint, white light in the distance. Shielding my sensitive eyes from the light, I walked towards it tentatively, not sure what it was going to lead too. Then, a large figure walked in front of the light, so the figure was a silhouette against the light. I stopped walking, suddenly fearful of who, or what, this figure was.

"Lilith," the figure hissed. Its voice echoed around me, sending chills up my spine, and causing the hairs on my arms to rise.

"Who are you?" I called out to it.

It did not answer, but merely walked away in the opposite direction, its silhouette becoming gradually smaller and smaller until it disappeared altogether.

I woke up screaming, beads of sweat rolling down the side of my face. Pushing my hair back out of my sweaty face, I swung my legs over the bed and buried my face in my hands. My breaths came out as pants, as if I had just run a marathon. I steadied my breaths and lifted my face from my hands, my eyes darting around my dark bedroom cautiously.

I had had that nightmare before, I was sure of it. It seemed different this time, though, but I wasn't sure what had changed. I heard a muted knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in!" I called softly. Seth walked into my room and closed the door quietly behind him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting down beside me.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I just had a nightmare. Nothing to worry about."

"Well, your screaming woke me up, so I'm guessing it was a pretty bad nightmare."

"I'm sorry I woke you," I whispered.

He laughed softly. "You don't need to be sorry. Just tell me what it was about. Maybe speaking about it will make it better."

"I don't think so," I answered, shaking my head. "It didn't even remotely make sense. It was just a stupid nightmare, Seth. Don't worry about me."

He sighed. He knew I was lying, but Seth isn't the type of person to go on about something if you didn't want him to.

"Okay," he whispered. "If you need me...well, you know where to find me."

"Yes, Seth," I laughed. "Thanks."

He squeezed my hand gently before leaving my bedroom. I climbed back into bed and fell back asleep, praying that the figure in my nightmare wouldn't visit my dreams again.

Breakfast the next morning was a quiet affair, as usual. I slowly chewed my buttered toast, avoiding eye contact with my parents, especially my mother, after what had happened. After breakfast, I headed for the front door, picking up my bag on the way there. Before I could leave, however, my mother stepped in front of me.

"Mom, I've got school..."

"Lilith, please don't be back late from school today," she said.

I frowned. "But..."

She opened the front door for me, and I knew that our brief conversation was over. For now.

When I arrived at school, I almost fell off my bike when I saw who was waiting in front of the main doors. When he saw me, he grinned and walked over to me.

"Hey, you," Elijah smiled.

"Hey," I said, breathlessly, trying to steady myself before I fell over.

"Do you want to go somewhere today? I'm...well, how do I put this...not feeling school today," he laughed.

I'd never bunked school before. If my parents found out, I wouldn't be allowed out of the house for weeks.

"Sure," I smiled, trying to be as casual as possible, but I knew the redness in my cheeks would give away my falsities.

We walked over to the bike rack together, where I propped my bike up; I would fetch it later.

"So, where are we going?" I asked Elijah.

His hand found mine and we walked out of the front gates. My heartbeat started to gradually increase as I realized I was actually skipping school. With Elijah Collins. It hadn't properly sunk in yet, but his hand in mine brought me back to the ground, and I was able to steady my breathing.

"We're going somewhere that I haven't shown anybody yet," he said, winking at me.

My heart fluttered slightly. "I'm flattered," I laughed.

He chuckled. "I found it a couple of months ago. It's incredible."

We were walking down the street, but I'd never been to this part of the neighborhood before. The houses became gradually more scarce, and he eventually led me down a pathway that was partially concealed by tall grass. We waded through the grass until we reached a small forest and we walked through an opening in the trees.

The forest wasn't dark; in fact, it was the complete opposite. The large openings in the canopies above cast sunlight to the ground, illuminating everything. I heard the distant sound of the soft, rushing water of a stream.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, afraid that if I spoke too loudly I would disturb the peaceful preservation of the scene in front of me.

I looked up at Elijah, and a single ray of sun that had escaped through the canopy was shining on his face, causing his hazel eyes to sparkle in the light.

"You haven't seen the best of it yet," he grinned at me.

We carried on walking until the sound of the stream became more defined. Eventually, the trees opened into a clearing where a stream was gently rushing. I knelt next to the water and peered into it. The water was so clear that I could see the rocks that lay on the bed of the stream.

I looked back at Elijah. He was sitting on the grass away from the river, smiling at me as I stood up and walked back to him. As I sat down next to him, I realized that this forest had made me forget about my nightmare. It gave me a sense of protection, a sense of refuge.

"How did you find this place?" I asked Elijah.

"I just found it accidentally," he shrugged. "I always come here when I need to be by myself."

"The most popular guy in the school needs to be by himself sometimes?" I laughed. "Hard to believe."

"Yeah," he murmured, focusing his eyes on the stream.

"Are you okay?" I asked, afraid I had said something wrong, or that I had hurt his feelings in some way.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he smiled, looking at me. "It's just...I don't want to be known as 'the most popular guy' anymore. It's...I don't want you to think of me like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Being popular...in the past, it made me do things I'm not proud of, things I regret."

"Nobody's perfect, Elijah. Everybody's done things that they regret," I said, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah, I know. But they changed me as a person. I never want to go back to being the same person I used to be. Never," he sighed.

I was curious about what these 'things that he regretted' were, but I didn't want to ask him. I didn't want to ruin this perfect moment. I knew I had to savor it, because as soon as I leave this forest, I'm back to being the girl that everyone stares at because they know the secret that my family insists on keeping from me. But here, within the trees, I could be a different person.

When I arrived home that afternoon, I prayed that the school hadn't phoned my parents to alert them of my absence. Luckily, my mother didn't say anything about me skipping school when I walked in through the door, but rather ushered me into the living room where both Seth, and my father, sat. Seth looked agitated; his hands were shaking around his cup of coffee.

"Um...what's going on?" I asked, my voice slightly unsteady.

"Sit down, Lilith," my father said.

I sat down next to Seth, but he refused to look at me. What was going on?

"Lilith, we are going to tell you something that we should have told you a long time ago," my mother said. Her lips raised into a smile, but not even a smile could comfort me.

"I know you've always wondered why we are the most hated family in this neighborhood. Would you like to know why?" he asked.

I nodded slowly. Of course I have always wanted to know why. But now, I wasn't so sure.

"We worship Satan," my mother said. "And if you decide you do not want to follow our beliefs, then you will no longer be a part of our family."

A/N

I'm finally back! I know...it's been so long, but I'm back with a bang!

What are your thoughts on that ending?! Did you see it coming? Or was it a surprise?

What do you think Lilith is going to do next?

- Olivia Clarke -

GIF: Elijah Collins - KJ Apa

Song: Bad Dream - Ruelle

© Olivia Clarke 2017

The Devil's Daughter