Berceuse for The Suffering (Complete)

24. {In The Name Of The Son}

The room appeared as if it was devoid of color, a desolate and otherworldly landscape that was engulfed in a thick, impenetrable fog. The furniture was shrouded in dust as if it had been abandoned for years. In the center of the room stood a solitary bed, and seated at the edge of it was Lyli, her form barely visible through the haze. A nursery rhyme floated from her lips, a melody learned long ago from her mother. She twirled a scrap of cloth in her fingers, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a beam of light shone through the room. Lyli's smile widened as her eyes fell upon a creature much like herself but also wholly different. The creature was on all fours, her eyes alight with an unearthly glow, her skin a sickly green. She growled at Lyli, and Lyli merely smiled in response.

"There you are," Lyli said. "I've been waiting for so long. Where have you been?"

With a fierce growl, Lyli circled the other Luli as if in a primal dance, beckoning her to come outside into the unknown. But the Lyli who was seated on the bed remained resolute, refusing to heed her call. "They don't care," she muttered, resigned to the futility of her efforts.

Undeterred, the other Lyli by the door growled again, her urgency palpable. Lyli shook her head, her resolve unshaken. But then, a voice from beyond the room shattered the silence, a voice that Lyli longed to hear.

Her father's gentle voice, barely a whisper, reached out to her, asking the question she had yearned for. "What really happened that day, hon?" he said. "Tell me everything. How you felt. I want to understand how this happened to you." As if called forth by his words, Lyli rose from the bed and made her way toward the door, her heart heavy with emotion.

The light that flooded her vision blinded her momentarily, but she pushed forward, leading her into her father's car. There, she saw him crying and felt the weight of his love and concern. Though she hesitated at first, Lyli found the courage to speak her truth, answering her father's question and opening up about the pain and struggle that she had endured.

***

Kaneshia stood beside her niece, watching as she slowly made her way out of the hospital room. The weight of the past hour was heavy on her shoulders, the knowledge that her brother seemed to be fighting for his and his son's life against someone worried her. Antonio had been a mystery for the past twenty years. Her brother had changed so much and then there was her niece. As much as she hated what Antonio revealed to her an hour ago, she couldn't find it in her heart to turn them away.

As they walked towards the elevator, she could feel the tension in the air, the sense of unease that seemed to permeate every inch of the hospital. And yet, despite it all, she remained resolute, determined to be there for them, to support them in whatever way they needed.

But just as they reached the first floor and made it near the front door, her phone rang, shattering the fragile peace that nestled in the hospital walls.

The worried and terrified voice of her brother rang in the phone, screaming, "Go back, hide, hide my son Kaneshia, hide him. I beg you!"

Kaneshia's heart leaped into her throat as she heard the desperation in his voice. She knew that something was wrong, that her niece was in danger, and that she had to act fast.

Without hesitation, she turned to Billy, her voice firm and steady. "We have to go back," she said, her eyes fixed on the elevator doors. "We have to hide. I think she's here."

Her niece's face became a canvas of dread and then he nodded in agreement, the fear in his eyes mirrored in Kaneshia's own. They rushed back towards the elevator, her brother's voice still in the other line, yelling, "Run Kaneshia, run," pushed their steps quicker, the urgency of the moment driving them forward.