Devil's Backbone » Stefan Salvatore

01

Little Talks
OF MONSTERS AND MEN
❝ Don't listen to a word I say. The screams all sound the same. ❞

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Flashback, 1998

Delilah Amoretti was a sweet young girl. She stood 3'6" feet tall, her hair always parted neatly down her shoulders on both sides.

Let's set the scene. A grand piano, a little girl, a large audience, and two proud parents. She took a seat on the black piano bench and placed her delicate fingers upon the keys. Delilah let her skinny fingers glide along with the keyboard, creating a mellifluous tune that only she knew the meaning behind. Her small shadow silhouetted against the white curtains that blew back and forth through the open window of the living room which overlooked a very bright city.

As her fingers pressed down on the keys, little Delilah couldn't help but smile to herself. The grand piano brought so much serenity to her. It was her passion, her great escape. Suddenly, there was a dramatic moment of silence. Her audience sat before her in complete silence, wondering whether she would continue on or not. Delilah then lifted her hands from the keys and stood up in front of the group. They applauded her excellence and she gave them a small bow as her "thank you." It was a piano recital, you see? She had attended many recitals, but this one she held dear to her heart... Because for the first time, her Aunt Loretta smiled at her. After the recital, Delilah was greeted by her parents who congratulated her with proud tones.

"Félicitations, mon amour! Vous avez effectué étonnamment!" Her dad greeted her, kissing the top of her hand.

"Merci, père," Delilah said with a small blush and hugged him close, her mother wrapping her arms around her husband and daughter. It was truly a picture-perfect moment...

Present Day

That was the last thing she remembered about her parents. The day her aunt had visited her to bring the horrible news to her, Delilah felt as if her whole life has been turned upside down. Delilah loved to play the piano as much as she loved her parents. Ever since she was a child, she'd spend a fourth of her time doing so. She was always a happy, determined girl who was prepared to face whatever obstacle lay ahead of her.

The piano resembled life to her. The white keys were happy moments in life while the black were sad ones. But, yet, they are always played together to make sweet harmonious music. One couldn't play a song without both the black and white keys. At that time, however, Delilah only thought her piano contained only black keys. It was like a disease. When her parents died, her love for the piano died as well. That's the saddening, but true part of it all.

Delilah glanced out the window of her Aunt Loretta's car as she drove down the streets of what soon would be their new hometown. She took in her new surroundings. This place felt odd and a bit off to her, it didn't set the vibe she was hoping for. After her parent's death, Aunt Loretta took her into custody; Delilah practically begged for her aunt to do so. No matter how much she truly despised, the girl did sure did not want to go into foster care.

They left their small town in France and move to the United States in hopes to start a new life, a better and improved one. They found themselves in the state of Virginia... Delilah never knew why her aunt chose that place out of all other forty-nine of them. But she dared not question her aunt's authority. She learned that the hard way once.

Aunt Loretta pulled her vivid red car up into the driveway of what would become their new house. Delilah stepped out from the passenger's seat and squinted up at the house.

"Oh, how lovely taste you have in houses," she said to her aunt. The paint of the house was worn out, chipped and very ghastly-looking. Delilah honestly expected better, but to Hell with it. She could obviously tell what they needed was a day to just work on the house and clean things up.

Delilah helped her aunt bring in the many boxes they had into the living room. She brought her boxes up into her soon-to-be bedroom, taking a look around the empty place. She let out a soft sigh and began to unpack while her Aunt Loretta remained downstairs to work in the living room. She began to slowly unpack and picked the first item in her hand, a framed photo of her parents and herself.

The girl smiled at the photo and held it close to her hear, her eyes slipping shut. Oh, how she missed them terribly. Once the two young women got settled in, Aunt Loretta ordered a Chinese takeout and the two sat down to eat dinner with one another. As they ate, Delilah was the first to interrupt the silence. 

"What's the name of this town again?" She questioned and her aunt glanced up at her, her dark eyes piercing her niece's. She set her glass of whiskey down and wiped her mouth politely with the napkin from her lap.

"Mystic Falls," Aunt Loretta replied with. "We will have the time of our lives here, love. You'll see."