The Daughter of Lilith | A Story of Love and Power in the Shadows

Part 5

Leanne was never the one to avoid her responsibilities. But when the perfect opportunity arose she took it. 

Much to her surprise, her father announced about going on an unexpected visit, leaving his two children alone at the house. After some conversation, Leo was granted permission to sell a few items at the market, to her disappointment, Leanne was left to be with her mother. 

Leanne sat at the edge of her mother's bed, chatting to her while she mended the rest of the clothes. The torn clothes were piling up like never before.

Leanne did this every morning whenever she had the time to spend. Either mending her clothes or embroidering. 

Her mother was awake, Leanne knew. Although her eyes were closed. Leanne had fed her some milk and porridge for breakfast and she took it down easily. 

Leanne glanced back at her parent and felt a wave of helplessness and disgust. Her mother laid there, pale with her cheeks hollowed out. Her hair was a mess although Leanne had brushed it earlier. Her mother still had her nightgown on. She had given up trying dressing her everyday. 

There was a time where Leanne thought it important to make her mother look nice, but she had long since given up. Instead, she followed the physicians orders and manually moved her and cleaned after her. 

Her mother's breathing was shallow, and not as deep as one would be if they were asleep. Leanne wondered if her mother could hear her. Did she care enough to listen? Or was she too lost in her own mind to care? 

 Throughout her one sided conversation, she heard the change of breathing and Leanne knew she was back in a deep sleep. 

She got up from her spot in bed, tip-toed out. Today was the perfect day to slip out. She didn't know when her father or brother would be back, but she assumed it wouldn't be until late afternoon. 

The forest was damp by the time she travelled there. It had been misting all morning and her dress was slightly moist from the constant wet weather.

Leanne found her friend where they always met. She never knew how, but her friend was always there when she planned to visit. 

The redhead girl looked up when Leanne approached and smiled. She was drawing with a stick in the mud. Leanne couldn't make it out from where she stood, but it looked like a small star. She quickly wiped it away as Leanne walked to her. "Hello."

"What were you drawing?" Leanne asked. 

Fern shrugged coolly. "Nothing. Just something I saw from a dream."

Fern was always like that. Nonchalant. Always talking about her dreams like she took everything to heart. "Really? What was it about this time?"

Fern gazed at Leanne with her golden brown eyes as she sat down on a rock next to her. A faint smile blessed her lips. 

"Not much," Fern admitted softly. "The world around us is always changing, but at the same time it's not." 

Leanne waited for her friend to explain more, but she didn't offer any further explanation. Fern was like that, Leanne mused. Always saying the oddest things but never any insight to them. She figured Fern didn't have much going on in her personal life except to reflect on the future. 

"Have you tried finding them yet?" Leanne asked subtly. 

Leanne met Fern in the forest in the beginning of the year. When the winter was the coldest and snow blanketed the world around them. She couldn't remember the exact context of how she found her. Only that she heard soft crying on her way to the market where she found Fern in a small ravine.