The Delicate Darkness

chapter 1

Aella sat on the small landing outside her crammed Brooklyn apartment, mug of hot chocolate in hand. There were rarely any stars, yet tonight the polluted sky seemed a little clearer, letting the gentle moonlight caress her frost-bitten cheeks.

It was just two minutes until midnight. Meaning it was also two minutes until Aella Kingsly was an official adult. Eighteen.

She didn't know what to make of that information. Was it really that big of a deal? Just another number. Just another day. The only people who had ever really cared about her birthday were her father, a lonely middle-aged man who had been dying of loneliness and heartbreak since the passing of her mother almost eighteen years ago. Aella knew that he loved her unconditionally and would sacrifice anything for her happiness, yet she'd always yearned for more. More than their tiny apartment or niche little flower shop/ café. Something more... spectacular. She dismissed the thought as fast as it came, guilty for feeling ungrateful for even a second.

The other person was Lilith Burns, Aella's best friend. Lilith had attempted to 'borrow' Aella's Nutella sandwich on the first day of junior high, declaring them lifelong friends. The two girls were never similar in the respects of fashion or lifestyle. Lilith tested the limits with her dangerous combat boots and black on black layers. Aella, on the other hand, opted for the 'safer' approach. A pair of converse and ripped jeans can never go wrong.

A small, feeble pot plant sat idly on the cold rickety stairs of the landing caught Aella's attention. Its leaves were shrivelled and discoloured- clearly dead. A thought flashed across Aella's mind. Maybe...

She lifted a cold, quivering hand and let her index finger touch the closest leaf of the mint plant. Suddenly, a brilliant glow ignited in the green leaf and spread across the stems, right down to the root. The dull, pathetic brown sprung back to a glorious green once more. She quickly retracted her hand, almost as if the reborn plant had burnt her.

"Again?" She muttered to herself incredulously, flitting her eyes from her fingers to the plant and back again. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Over the past week or so, Aella had experimented with this this new... talent.

It started while she was helping out in the shop, and had spotted a dying rose bud in amongst a bouquet. She had stroked a sunken petal, a small gesture but that was all it took. The petal regained colour and returned to its former beauty in an instant, so quickly that if you blinked you would have missed it.

She experimented several times since the incident, and every time she had the same outcome, no matter how long the plant had been dead.

She sighed deeply and took a sip of her hot chocolate, but scrunched her nose when she realised that the beverage had turned luke-warm in the chilly autumn air. Deciding to get some sleep, she peaked at the time. 12:00am.

"Happy birthday to me." She sighed again and crawled back through the window into the living room, closing it behind herself. Careful not to wake up her father in the room just next door, she tiptoed across the living room floor.

A curt knock on the door brought Aella to a screeching halt, the sound echoing around the tiny apartment. She stood, rooted to her spot, with cup of luke-warm-chocolate in hand. She tried to convince herself that it was just her imagination and continued on her path to her bedroom.

Another three impatient knocks followed after a few seconds of silence, leaving Aella to believe that it wasn't just a trick of the mind. Slowly, she placed her mug on the countertop and tiptoed toward the front door. In her peripheral vision, she spotted her polka-dot umbrella and held it firmly in her right hand. Her heart thundered against her chest, jackhammering so loudly she was almost sure it was audible to the visitors.

Hesitantly, she peaked through the fish-eye peep hole and looked out to the stairwell that led down to the attached florist and café. There, in the flickering light above the front door, stood two men. Their eyes were hidden with opaque sunglasses, their muscular bodies clad in all-black suits. She recoiled herself from the door and stood back a good few feet, clenching the umbrella tightly.

"Aella Kingsly, we know you're in there. Please open the door and come willingly, or we will have no choice but to use force." A deep, gravelly voice spoke. Aella froze and gripped the umbrella tighter, to the point where her knuckles turned a milky white. She returned to her position at the peep hole and looked out at the two ominous figures.

"Who-who are you?" She stuttered, inwardly cursing herself. "How do you know my name?"

"All your questions will be answered, Aella Kingsly. All we ask is that you come with us immediately. You're wasting time." She hesitated, terrified and confused on what to do. A moment passed before a different voice spoke, less hostile than his companion.

"Please, Aella. We promise not to hurt you as long as you come willingly. We don't mean you any harm." She paused for a moment, analysing the situation. Against her better judgement, she allowed herself to twist the lock on the door and pull it open just a crack.

"Promise?" It was a feeble request, and immediately she wished that she hadn't said it. The man on the left, the one with the gravelly voice, snorted at her petulance. The other, however, offered a hand to take the umbrella out of her iron grip.

"We promise. Don't we, George?" He gave his partner a pointed look. With reluctance, George nodded. "Please, Aella. We're running out of time. He'll be getting impatient."

"Who will be getting impatient?" Aella frowned, subconsciously opening the door an inch wider.

"The Lord of the Underworld, of course. Hades himself."