Berceuse for The Suffering (Complete)

11. {Mother}

Two decades ago

"I'm not done Mommy, he has to pay." The words wrapped around Linda's head like a dark cloak and then everything went blank.

When she regained her senses, she looked around and then panic struck her heart. Her mind became a battlefield, her emotions clashing like swords. The sight that greeted her once more lucid mind, was nothing short of horrifying. A dead child lay at her feet, lifeless and still. Her mouth fell agape as she saw her daughter standing in front of her, her own hand and her daughter's hand both clutching a stake. Both dripping with blood.

Her heart raced and her chest heaved with fear and disbelief. How had it come to this? What had they done? The weight of her actions bore down on her like a heavy burden, and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

Linda's mind screened in agony as she struggled to make sense of the situation. She had never been one for violence, let alone murder. And yet, here she was, with a dead child at her feet and her own daughter standing before her, holding a weapon that had caused such devastation.

At that moment, Linda felt like she was drowning in a sea of emotions. She was filled with horror, regret, and a deep sense of despair. She knew that nothing could ever undo what had been done and that the weight of her actions would haunt her for the rest of her life.

She trembled with fear as she heard a low growl emanate from her missing daughter, Lyli. It was a sound that seemed to reverberate through her very soul, like sharp knives that cut deep into her being.

As she turned Lyli to face her, Linda could see that something had changed within her. Her eyes were dark and soulless, and her movements seemed almost inhuman as she crookedly bent sideways, then forward as if possessed by some kind of demonic force.

Linda's hand clutched tightly around the stake, but as she saw Lyli's transformation, her grip slowly loosened, like the grip of a person in the throes of a nightmare.

She stepped away and with each step backward, Linda's heart pounded with fear, like a drumbeat that echoed through her entire body. She knew that she was facing something far beyond her understanding.

As she continued to retreat, Linda could feel Lyli's gaze upon her, like the weight of a thousand eyes bearing down on her.

Slowly, she released the stake, letting it fall to the ground with a clatter that echoed menacingly through the air. She stepped away from Lyli again, her heart heavy with the knowledge that she seemed to have lost her daughter to some unknown force and that she may never be the same again. The child petrified her.

But Linda kept her eyes on her still. Lyli's gaze pierced through her intensely, cutting through the darkness like a laser. And when her eyes locked onto her own, Linda felt her fear intensify, like a flame that burned brighter with each passing moment.

Gazing at her, Linda's mouth fell agape when she noticed that Lyli's irises were in slits and seemed to narrow, as those of a cat, and her corneas glowed with an eerie luminescence that seemed to come from within. Linda felt as though she was staring into the eyes of a demon, and the thought sent shivers down her spine.

"You're not my daughter," Linda whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. She slowly backed away again, her heart pounding like a drum inside her chest.
But then, Lyli called out to her, her words like salt on her wounds that left a sting. "Mommy, I'm home," she said. However, her voice sounded demonic, with an echo that seemed to come from another realm.

Linda's heart skipped in abnormal beats, some part of her wanting to hug the child, despite the knowledge that this was not the same Lyli she had loved and cared for all these years. She could feel the danger lurking within the depths of the child's voice, and she knew that she needed to find a way out of this situation before it was too late.