The Book of Exi

Prologue

For as long as Lilith could remember, she had loved watching the tiny critters which lived within and visited her family's garden. It didn't matter whether or not it was a caterpillar, a stream of ants, or even a wasp—and wasps had always been her favorite besides the sweet spider she hid under her bed—she cherished all of her small friends, to her family's disdain.

"Focus on your studies indoors, Lilith. You must be more eloquent, so stop mumbling when you pray."

"Be quiet, Lilith. You mustn't speak up unless spoken to, especially at that rude volume."

"Keep your back straight and your body poised, Lilith. I won't have you embarrassing the family once you enter high society."

"Get rid of that detestable bug, Lilith. No lady should be harboring anything like that in her room."

"Young ladies should not assist in the work of the lower class, Lilith. Come inside and stay inside this time."

It was the same as always, for as far back as she could remember, and today was no different. 

More lessons, more etiquette training, more daydreams, all in a room where she could only view the garden through a small curtained window.

Lilith's eyes shifted, moving from the softly-colored chalk marks on the blackboard, all the way back to the window. Strands of sunlight shone into the room with golden threads, looking so tangible that she was tempted to reach out to try and touch them.

It was never that she wanted to be distracted as her tutor taught her, but it always sort of just happened regardless of how she felt on a topic.

History lectures were something that she usually latched onto, but the topic of technological advances within the last five centuries just didn't quite click with her.

With something as simple as holographic technology banned within her family's premises, it meant Lilith lived every second of her day wondering if what the average Bayisrian considered 'essential' was as necessary as they claimed. Even visualizing what it looked like was difficult, and something Lilith could only ever see in her dreams or messy sketches her tutors drew on the chalkboard.

She smiled as a wasp entered her line of vision, perching on the window ledge. The nest that resided in the garden was always so friendly with her, likely due to the small berries or drops of sugar water Lilith would leave out for them, as well as the crumbs she'd offer after afternoon tea.

According to the gardeners that her family hired, the adults in the nest had to work hard finding proteins to feed their young, and would no longer accept small bits of meat once there were no more larvae left in the nest.

The clock in the room quietly hovered over both Lilith and any teacher who stayed in the room with her; it was a very old and vintage item, designed to look like an angel with wings that cradled a ticking moon.

She wondered if there had ever be an angel whose wings were the shape of a wasp's, or any insect for that matter. It would be nice to see something like that, maybe in the form of a painting, or a doll.

It would be her eleventh birthday in only a few more days, meaning trying to ask anything this late would be a fruitless endeavor. She was always too indecisive to know what to say when asked abruptly by others weeks and months prior, but also too late when her mind did finally determine a good idea.

So instead of feeling upset at that revelation, or the fact that she'd likely forget about the present idea by the end of the class, she fantasized about what an angel would look like with all sorts of different insect wings, and if their voice would be as sweet as her arachnid friend was.

In Lilith's youthful haze of daydreams, she never noticed as her teacher's voice quieted down, or as their eyes followed her gaze to the window. It wasn't until long before the wasp finished its bathe in the sun, and flew away from the window's view.

Later that day, as Lilith was reciting a prayer before her afternoon tea, she saw her teacher whispering into the ear of her mother. Both were out of earshot regardless, but it was the look on the teacher's face which caused Lilith to wonder what had been spoken.

I thank the holy and beloved angels who lie above—

Her mother paused and said something back, her expression shifting as she did so.

Mortal souls tempered with divinity, raised to bleed for us—

Whatever it was, Lilith could tell she wasn't pleased about it.

I thank them for building Bayisria's darkened walls—

The teacher nodded.

For providing this meal, and all future sustenance—

Lilith's mother looked outside the window.

And for blessing us with great fortune and their eternal love.

The very next morning, after a serene breakfast—uninterrupted by even a servant—Lilith pocketed a few raspberries off of her waffles, and began planning where she should set them out for the garden wasps.

As she made her way outside of the house and into the garden, she finally noticed the estate seemed much emptier. Her movement lifted up in a cheerful skip at the realization, and slowed down to a stop almost as fast as it had sped up in the first place. 

Lilith stared at the sawed off bump where the branch with the wasp's nest had been only a day prior, before her eyes finally registered all of the shiny, dead wasps which littered the garden's pebbled paths.