Third time's a charm

When two souls meet

There was something about the garden that always fascinated her. Despite them living in harmony with mother nature, the forest-like garden; that seemingly spawned to infinity was a mystery. They were surrounded by it, and she'd yet to see the end. What would happen if she did? Would she fall out of the earth? Those were the question running through the eight years old mind. Curious as she was, she'd try to adventure herself through it, each time coming further and further, before heading back home. It wasn't like there was any danger. The animals knew not to attack them, so as long as she didn't get lost, all was well.

Her parents found her curiosity, for the most part, amusing but bore no answers to what lay beyond the garden. No one did. And if they did, they didn't want to tell her. They didn't see the point in looking further. Why would they? The walls of the city, the garden, it was enough to sustain them. It was perfect as it was. But for some reason, it wasn't enough for the eight years old. So she kept on exploring. 

That day she'd reach a new part. She'd found it by accident after tripping and falling through a denser ingrowing of trees. While most of the garden looked idyllic, that part looked more spooky than anything. Where the rest was basking in the light, this part was darker, the sun rays barely peeking through. As the little girl pushed through the vines, she reached a clearing with, at its center, a beautiful peach tree. Throughout her short eight years of life, the little girl had seen many beautiful things, but the tree looked more magnificent than anything she'd ever laid eyes on. 

As she looked closer, tho, she could see the outline of someone sitting by the tree. The figure was huddled into a ball. They seemed to be crying. The little girl decided to approach them. As she neared closer, she realized that it was a girl. A girl that couldn't be older than herself. A girl that looked so strange, the sight made her stop in her step. Firstly, she'd never seen her. The little girl knew everyone in the city, and she would have definitely known someone relative to her age as they were so few. Second, the girl's clothing was weird; scrabs of fabric pasted together, and was that fur? Thirdly, her hair. Red-Orangeish hair. The girl tilted her head to the side in confusion. She'd never seen anyone with that kind of color. 

As if the other could sense her presence, she looked up, and for the second time, the little girl found herself confused. Her skin looked sickly pale. No one was as pale here. Everyone's complexion always ranged from olive skin to a deep dark as herself. But the most shocking was her eyes. Blue eyes stared right back at her. They held each other gaze for a little while before the girl stood up and ran away into the forest. 

The little girl wanted to run after her, but she'd been out already for so long; her parents would start to look for her. So, reluctantly, she turned around and walked back to the city, promising herself to come back the next day. 

She didn't get to talk to the strange girl until the fifth day, as she kept scurrying away before she got the chance. When she finally managed to catch her before she could run, she realized; that the girl spoke in a tongue foreign to her. But still, she could make out some words and sentences. It wasn't perfect, and while she could somewhat understand her broken language, the other girls couldn't comprehend hers. This frustrated her. And for a while, the little girl considered telling her parents about her friend deep in the garden but decided against it. It was her secret friend. 

So they made it work, talking through gestures and the little they could understand from each other. 

"What's your name?" She'd finally asked her strange friend, eager to put a name on the face. Her friend looked at her confused, obviously not understanding what she said. The little girl pointed to herself. "My name is Eve." Then, she pointed expectedly towards her friend, but the latter stay silent. The confusion still visible on her face. With a little huff of frustration, Even motioned to herself once again and repeated her name. "Eve"

This time her stranger got the hint and gave her her name. "Lilith."