Lydia

•Part: 2•

Lily was overwhelmed with happiness.
"Do you remember my cousin Lydia?" She asked her friend Simon Gibbs.
Simon tried hard to recall and then nodded. "Of course I do!" He replied.
"She is coming here today." Said Lily, excited.
They were sitting in the garden of Lily's house. A ray of morning sunlight fell on them, making Lily's golden hair shine. She closed her eyes. "How funny those childhood days were!" She thought to herself. It had been three years since she last met Lydia. But it felt like yesterday. The separation of these few years seemed nothing. They grew up together. There was a special bond between them.
"Lily!" Called Mrs. Ashlynn Avery. She was standing at the front door, looking worried.
"What is it mother?" Asked Lily.
"Your grandmother's health has worsened." Said Mrs. Avery. "Your father and I intend to visit her."
"You should mother!" Said Lily at once.
"Will you be alright by your own?" Mrs. Avery seemed concerned.
"Of course mother!" Lily assured her. "And I shall not be alone. Lydia will be here with me."
"Are you certain Lily?" Mrs. Avery was not convinced.
"Yes mother! I shall be fine." Said Lily.
She was afraid too but decided to stay strong, as it felt unfair to keep her mother with her while her grandmother was taking her last breath. Simon lived in the neighbourhood, which was a relief. Although he rarely visited her. And the Catholic Church was near. She could run to father Francis for help, if needed. "There is nothing to fear." She told to herself. In the afternoon, Mrs. Avery left home with her husband for her mother's place. She looked at her daughter through the carriage's window and waved at her, smiling.
Lily spent her whole day cleaning the entire house. They had no maid, so no one was there to help her. She did the laundry, washed the dishes, swept the floor and wiped it. Then she baked a big apple pie for Lydia. Tired Lily sat down in the veranda, in the evening. She was eagerly waiting for her cousin's arrival with an oil lamp in her hand. The church's bell rang for eight times. It was late and there was still no sign of Lydia. Lily became impatient.
Finally, around 9 o'clock a carriage stopped outside of the house. In the darkness, a girl got out of the carriage. She was wearing a light pink dress with a white hat. Her chocolate brown wavy hairs were loosely tied up. Lydia was looking like a princess. Lily almost ran towards her to embrace. "I have missed you!" She said.
Lydia seemed numb. "I have missed you too." She said in a dull manner. "Mr. Barney, you may leave now." She added, looking at the carriage driver.
"My goodness Lydia. You are so cold!" Said Lily, worriedly. "Come, let us get inside."
Lydia entered the house with Lily. The hall room was pretty smaller than the one of Lydia's house. It was no fancy. Just a square shaped room with a couch in a corner. Lydia sat down on it, silently. The event of the previous night was still haunting her.
"Come Lydia, sit beside the fire." Said Lily, adding some woods in the fireplace. Lydia said nothing. She did not move from the couch and remained quite. Lily was taken aback. The Lydia she remembered was loud and noisy. She was so much different from the person sitting in front of her. Lily fell silent too. Soon enough the only sound present in the room was the crackling of burning woods.

The dinner occurred in silence as well. Lily gave Lydia two large pieces of the apple pie she made earlier. Lydia did not even touch those. She was not hungry but thirsty. Thirsty for blood. Lily on the other hand, was starving. She took a piece of pie on her own plate and began to eat.
"Taste it!" She said to Lydia. "It is good."
The thirst of blood did not seem to leave Lydia. It grabbed her even more. She could sense the veins throbbing in Lily's neck. She wanted to plunge her teeth there and drink the blood. "No! She is my sister." Lydia thought to herself.
"Are you okay?" Lily sounded concerned.
"Yes." Said Lydia. "I think I shall just take a shower."
"Oh! Let me warm the water for you then." Said Lily, standing up to go to the kitchen.
"No need." Said Lydia at once.
"How will you take shower with cold water?" Lily was shocked. "You are freezing!"
"The cold does not bother me anymore." Said Lydia, calmly.

Lily was lying on her bed. She tried hard to sleep but could not. There was something in the air of the night that gave her goosebumps. She kept thinking about Lydia. Something was wrong with her behaviour. She did not even care to ask why Lily was alone in the house.
Lily did not realise when she fell asleep. She woke up in the middle of night, interrupted by something. At first she thought it was the extreme cold that had awakened her. But soon she realised, someone was trying to enter her room. Whoever it was, did not knock the door but was trying to unlock it.
"Lydia! Is that you?" Lily asked.
The stranger did not reply and continued to twist the door knob. Lily covered her face with blanket. She was trembling. The stranger finally gave up after a few minutes and the noise stopped. Lily waited for some time and then she fell asleep again.
Sunlight entered into Lily's room through the window and fell on her face. She blinked her eyes and sat up in her bed, shivering at the thought of the previous night. It all started to feel like a bad dream. Lily tied her golden hair up in a ponytail and exited the room, still wearing her blue nightgown. She was walking towards the guest room to wake Lydia when she spotted something on the corridor floor. Lily knelt down to have a better look at it. It was a cat, which seemed to be killed very brutally. There were several bite marks on it's body but not a single drop of blood was coming out of those. As if someone or something had sucked all the blood out of it.