The Fairy Lights Under Phoenix City

Chapter 10

Sylvanna was young when she met Henry. He was a lively, charming young man back then. So full of life. He wanted to be a journalist. You could see the fire in his eyes. The fires of determination to achieve his dream. That's what she loved him for. His spirit.

They were married when they were young and started a family right away. They both knew that life was short and agreed that they didn't want to waste any time. Irene must have blessed them, because they had no difficulties bearing children. Soon they had a daughter on the way. Henry agreed to the name "Aphmau," which honored his wife's religion. Their daughter was a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Life was perfect, so it seemed. But it wasn't going to last.

The new family settled in a small apartment downtown. They didn't have much money. But they had love. That was all they really needed. Henry was a natural father. He loved books and writing and used his talent to tell his little girl stories. Even if she didn't quite understand them. She still fell in love with the energy he put into telling his stories.

Slowly, his life seemed to drain. Slowly ebbing away with his health. Sylvanna noticed immediately. At the tiny downtown clinic they found out that Henry had lung cancer.

The news was devastating, but they never lost hope. Since they had caught it so early, they were hopeful that Henry would pull through.

Medical bills piled up. Henry was getting worse every day. He never lost his smile. He refused to show his daughter how much pain he was in. But Aphmau knew. She was young, but she knew he was dying. She could smell it on him. The smell of vomit and decay followed the young man. Aphmau heard him crying in the bathroom. She knew he was dying. Soon, Henry stopped telling stories.

There was nothing on the news about Henry's death. A young man whose life was tragically lost so early. Who left a broken family behind. The world forgot Henry. As did Aphmau.

Aphmau was a very young girl indeed, standing outside of the cremation factory with her mother, waiting for the ashes of a man she scarcely remembered. An older man in a slick black suit handed her a plain white ceramic urn. She struggled to hold it's weight in her arms. Her mother smiled weakly down at her daughter. Though Aphmau had always looked more like her mother, all her grieving mother could see was her late husband.

Sylvanna took her daughter home alone. Wishing she could still hear her husband's bad puns from the seat beside her. She remembered teasing him about his puns, telling him that she wouldn't miss them if he stopped telling them. Now she wished she could eat her words.

There was already a space cleared out on their old oak bookshelf for the urn. Sylvanna watched Aphmau slide the container into it's place. It blended in immediately, as if it had always been there. She let Aphmau wander off to play while she knelt down and began to cry. But eventually she left him behind. The urn on the shelf was forgotten for many more years. And Henry was truly abandoned.

—•♤♧♡♧♤•—

Aphmau picked up her cellphone. She was tired of being ignored. She angrily punched in Aaron's phone number and placed the speaker up to her ear. Listening to it ring.

Aaron reached over and picked up the phone. Not bothering to look at caller ID. "Hello?" He asked.

"When are you going to stop ignoring me?" Aphmau asked furiously.

Aaron immediately contemplated hanging up. But he didn't. He took a deep breath before speaking. "I've been busy with work." He said smoothly.

"Bullshit." Aphmau spat. "You've always had time for me."

He sighed. She was right. He did have time for her. A lot. He had squandered it feeling sorry for himself and drowning his sorrows in whatever bottle of alcohol he could find in his cupboard.

"Alright." He admitted. "I was afraid to talk to you."

"Why? I don't have fangs or claws." She said. "All I have is a whole lot of nothing and a heart full of hurt because I feel like you're ignoring me."

"I'm not going to lie to you and say that I haven't been ignoring you." Aaron said. "I feel it would be an insult to your intelligence."

"Why?" She repeated.

"Because..." He sighed. "I failed you and your mother. I didn't protect you like I said I would."

"So what?" She hissed. "So what you didn't protect me? Yes you did! You fought an armed man with your bare hands for me! I'm alive because of you! You said you'd be there for me! Where the hell are you when I need you?!"

Aaron paused to think about it. She was right. He had protected her. He charged into a room where a shooter was and punched him in the face. If that wasn't holding up his end of the deal he didn't know what was.

"I'm coming over." He said.

"About time." Was the last thing she said before hanging up on him.

He smiled a little. A half guilty, half happy smile. Even in times of darkness she still seemed to bring a little light.

—•♤♧♡♧♤•—

Aphmau sat up when she saw him. He was a goddamn mess. His three o'clock shadow stood out like a sore thumb with dark circles under his eyes to match. He looked as though he hadn't brushed his hair in the week they'd been apart.

"You're a mess." She told him.

He nodded.

Aphmau patted her bedside. "Sit down. Let's get you cleaned up."

Aaron silently obeyed. Facing opposite to her. She brushed his hair in silence. Aaron leaned into her touch, trying not to moan at he feeling of her fingers running over his scalp. It felt great. Not in a sexual way. Just a relaxing way. He heard her humming something soft. A sad, almost spooky tone. It sounded familiar. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What is that?" He asked.

"You've never heard Irene's Lullaby?" She asked.

"Ah." He nodded. "Yeah. Of course I have. Hasn't everyone heard it?"

"I thought so." She said. "But you're a pretty unusual person."

He hummed his assent.