My Short Stories

Lilly's

'There it is again' , Shay thought to herself as she twirled around the room, the silk laces on her ballet slippers flowing just above her ankle. 'That smell...where is it coming from?' She wondered as the soft piano set stopped on the stereo. She quickly stepped over and shut off the music,more occupied with the strange aroma than she was with her practice at the moment. Shay began to search,the scent fading as she walked further from it. She turned and on an impulse decided to check her garden. Upon reaching the garden,fenced in with white wood and a small gate she froze. 'There it is' She thought to herself as the scent was clear to her now. It seemed sweet,almost like a perfume or a flower. She glanced around,and from the corner of her eyes thought she saw someone hiding, just at the edge of the garden. "Hello?" she called,more curious than threatened like one would normally be. She stepped into the garden and headed towards the edge,when a soft melody played faintly. She turned to look around,half wondering if it was just her stereo...but it couldn't be,she'd turned it off. As Shay turned back around she screamed and she stepped backwards,tripping and falling into the damp flower beds. In front of her stood...no...more hovered a pale little girl with sad looking blue eyes and visibly tangled brown hair,an intact white lily tucked behind her ear. She wore an old,ripped nightgown,bruises on her nearly translucent skin and blood spatters over the chest part of her gown,small holes where her ribs would be. As the girl looked at the woman in front of her,her sad eyes seeming to know of the tragedy to come,Shay grabbed a trowel to defend herself if need be. With a glance at the attic the girl disappeared, and shaking,Shay stood, looking to where she girl had pointed. In more of a rush adrenaline she ran up the stairs to the second floor of her home,pulling down the ladder to the attic. She grabbed the first bar,stopping for a bit as she took a deep breath. Shay had never been in the attic before,when she moved into the home a week prior she'd ignored it's existence and simply placed her things in the separate bedroom that wasn't used. She shook off the feeling of dread she had and climbed up the ladder.

As she reached the landing of the average sized attic,she stood,careful not to hit her head. She glanced around, looking for something...anything to explain what had happened to her moments ago. Seeing a light shine through the small window she stepped toward it,noticing small bits of older glass laying in the window sill. She picked up a piece and looked at it,wondering why it was there when the glass had clearly been replaced,then from the garden below her,she heard a childs voice in a muffled whisper. She leaned against the window,trying to hear the girl when the window pane gave way. With a short shriek in surprise and panic Shay fell,the impact from the two story slip breaking her spine and crushing her ribs,causing her lung to be punctured and blood to fill them. She heard a sad voice sigh and as her vision blurred,she could smell it again, the soft floral scent she'd smelt so strongly around the girl..."Lilly's'" Shay coughed out before her vision faded to black and her heart failed.