Lilith Between Flesh And Spirit

Chapter Eight: Make Him Say Sorry

The sky moves from a hue of blue to a bright orange, and with it, Norea's eyes shut. It has been her first peaceful sleep in days, clinging to Lilith's waist and at the back of a motorcycle.

In her dream, Lilith and she are Thelma and Louise, two fugitives from the material world. They would meet Elaios on their run, who would make obscene gestures to them, and they would pull over to make him say sorry.

A few shotguns would do to burst it all into smoke, but that is just a pipe dream, and Norea wakes up, drools hanging from her mouth as Lilith just steps off her motorcycle.

"Did you fall asleep, Norea?"

The latter wipes her mouth, still drowsing. "No, not at all; I was just," her words linger as she staggers up to look at the stars above her head, nighttime again. "Just wondering why we have to stop at the Noah's Ark?"

Lilith turns around and looks at the glowing-up sign with a quick breath down to her lungs. "We need fuel!" And with this, she walks towards the place with an uneasy Norea holding on to her arm.

"Lilith, there is no pump for fuel here!" Norea darts her gaze around, but Lilith has already disappeared inside the building.

Right at the entrance, Norea's mouth falls open. "That's a leprechaun!" She screams in a high-pitched voice before her eyes rounds at the being in front of her. "He is so cute!" Another yelp, another discovery. "Holy Molly, that's a vampire, Lilith; have you checked the length of his canines?" Lilith rolls her eyes, feeling the flush of embarrassment crossing over her face, and it becomes even more reddened when Norea points her finger at her last found. "There is a unicorn sitting at the bar!"

That was the last straw on the camel's back.

Lilith grunts and grabs Norea by the collar, pinning her against a wall. "Hey Norea, I call you by your name and no other names, so do the same. Show some respect, and the ladies' toilet is just right behind you!"

Norea looks over her shoulder at Lilith's head movement and sees a white door with the logo of a silver woman on it.

With a heavy heart, Norea sinks into the image of the worst public restroom one could find in a place full of strange creatures. She expected graffiti wallpaper, a muddy-patterned floor, and soapless, broken sinks. In the back of her mind, she could even imagine the outline of a blocked toilet crying in a fountain of smelly piss, holding on to an empty roll of toilet paper as its remains were discarded all over the place.

Yet nothing has prepared her for this.

When they cross the door, the bar's bathroom is clean in a spotless white tiled long tunnel, neat with rows of free sinks and rounded, lightened-up mirrors bouncing over the wall. Slapping her hands against her cheeks, Norea's mouth falls open as the soap's smell rushes to her nostrils, with the shiny hand dryers almost winking at her. Her fingers then spread, pressing on her chest harder when she looks around to notice the free hygiene products in a pouch, and she nearly faints at the sight of the pile of warm and folded towels with a mint candy on top of them.

She holds on to the wall, recovering from what she would call a small skip of a heartbeat. "Is this really the Ark, Seth, and I burned down?"

Lilith answers with a rub of her brows, as if to ward off an imminent headache. "See you in a bit!" After this, Lilith steps into one cubicle and vanishes, leaving Norea alone.

Her stomach tenses over how and where to begin. She would freshen up a bit in the sink and use one of those towels to pat her face dry, but really, her first need is the toilet. Norea draws in a deep breath of air and opens the door of the cubicles next to the one of Lilith.