Disease flower

PROLOUGE

The fire cackled and hissed, reflecting in the eyes of a young girl who sat on a red velvet carpet, combing her silky smooth red hair. It was long and freshly cut, reaching down to her hip length. Her eyes were in a trance, the flames dancing around the marble surface of her rich and unique golden eyes. She held her lips in a thin line, biting down on the already chapped and ragged surface and sucking in bits of skin to chew on.

Her heart dwelled in a deep sense of hopelessness, somehow relaxed and less out of hand because of the fire.

The fire itself was strong with flames from fresh redwood and leaves, all hidden behind an iron fence and hugged by cobblestone arches that guided the smoke through the chimney.

The girl's thoughts swarmed over her as rapidly as the storm outside did, lightning and thunder with thick rain that dampened the stone flooring on the porch and cleaned the windows.

When the girl figured she was done brushing, she set down the brush and got up, her slim figure creating a large and monster-like figure behind her. She turned over, straightening her rosy red dress and watching it poof up, and then walking over to the bay window. Admiring the strong rainfall and sudden claps of thunder that made the floorboards creak and moan in agony.

She saw in the reflection of the window herself, a bony pale girl with scars and bruises scattered around her face that were covered up by thick makeup, but visible if you looked close enough. The mere sight was enough to make her smile turn into a sour frown, her lips quivering as a tear threatened to slip past her doll-like eyes.

However, her expression soon became enlaced with fake determination and hope, maybe even a little bit of desire as she continued looking longfully out the window with her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. Within moments of her newfound focus and hope, the clock striked, making a chiming sound as it hit 1AM.

The little girl gasped, choking on the air that was now poisoned with fear and taking it all in. She looked over to the clock, listening to it start ticking after it chimed with wide and fearful eyes. Her hands gripped onto her heart, trying to physically stop her heart from beating so fast as she fell knees first onto the ground. Her breaths soon became more rapid, overcoming the sounds of rain. She bit onto her lip enough from streaks of blood to start running down her chin and stain the floorboards, eyes looking frantically around her as she slid further down onto the floor, swallowing thickly. After moments of panting and whimpers, the door handle creaked and twisted, opened fully to reveal a tall and buff figure. It was a man with a ragged and disfigured look, he wore a long burgundy trench coat with burn marks and patches scattered around it. He let his boots take heavy steps inside the room, making tracks of dirt on the floor and squelching with every step he took, making water seep into the wood.

The small and frail girl looked up to this tall figure in slight confusion but just as much fear as before, he did not speak and neither did she. All he did was hold his hand out and look at her with dark hazy blue eyes that seemed like a chamber of endless secrets.

Somehow, her heartbeat slowed almost to a flatline as she looked at him and her body's heat disintegrated, turning into a freezing temperature. She looked at him for a long moment, waiting for him to speak.

"Ah, names," He spoke with a gravelly British voice. "I'm Ethanol, yours?"

The girl's eyes shimmered with some sort of hopefulness, still completely confused and fearful, she mustered up the courage to speak, clearing her throat before doing so. "Lilith," She muttered quietly, almost too quiet to hear, masked by the sounds of rain and fire roaring. The tall man whose name was Ethanol held a ghost of a smile, tilting his hand lower to the girl who sat on the floor, reinforcing his offer.