The Song of Burning Souls (COMPLETE)

38 - Roommate

They wouldn't let him alone after that.

His mother had become so upset by his disappearance in the hospital, she had to be medicated. She slept two floors down in the psyche ward.

Andrew knew they wouldn't believe him if he tried to explain, so he faked a mental fog as police officers questioned him as much as the doctors would allow. He refused to tell them why a harmless old man would stuff a child into a furnace. 

His foot was indeed badly burned and required a partial amputation, which occurred the following day. Andrew would walk with a limp for the rest of his life. The burns were painful and treated with bandages and ointments. They would heal in time but would eventually become shiny scars that would cover over one-third of his body, so he was told. 

He was also told that, other than his limp and his scars, he would go on to lead a normal life. 

Andrew knew that was a lie. His life would never be normal again.

His mother, having recovered from her anxiety, never left Andrew's side for the entire month of his hospital stay. She tried to get him to play games and engage in the world, but Andrew could not stop thinking of Taggerty . . . his "almost" self.

And he couldn't stop thinking of her.

He withdrew further into himself, barely noticing the hospital around him, barely eating or responding to his mother's constant questions. Finally, as he was beginning to practice walking again, his mother had an idea.

"We're moving you to the children's ward so you can socialize with other kids who have gone through terrible things. We want you to make friends."

Andrew grumbled as he was wheeled to the other side of the hospital. He was made even more depressed by the sight of the sick kids in the passing hospital rooms; kids riddled with terrible diseases. They reminded him of the children Taggerty lured into the furnace.

"You are going to be sharing your room. Now, I'm heading out to lunch, I hope you are able to make friends!" his mom said, perhaps a bit too hopefully, before she left.

There was a curtain separating his bed from his roommate's. Andrew ignored the curtain for several minutes and stared at the ceiling. The last thing he needed was a friend, another reminder about how abnormal his life had now become.

But, he heard his roommate shuffling around and became rather curious so he pulled the curtain.

A girl sat in the bed on the other side. For a moment they stared at each other. 

She had dingy blonde hair, a round face and unusually light green eyes.

"We're wearing the same outfit," she said dryly.

However, they weren't wearing the same bandages. She looked to be perfectly fine, with not even an IV in her arm.

"What are you in for?" she asked.

It took him a moment. "I—I got burned," he said.

"Is that what all those bandages are for?" She slipped off the bed and looked closely at them. "You shouldn't play with fire, you know."

He managed to smile.

The girl  returned to her bed. "Well, I'm in here because I died for a whole five minutes."

"What happened?"

"Drowned about a month ago. I was in a coma!" she said this excitedly, then winked.

The way she winked made alarm bells ring in Andrew's mind. His hear pounded. "Where did you drown?" 

"Oh, the Sound, just a few blocks away."

Andrew tried to speak, but his mother returned to the room with a nurse from the burn unit. "Oh good! You made a friend. Time for your wound cleaning. Sit over here." She pulled the curtain closed.

Andrew tried to open the curtain again but the nurse guided him back to the bed and began removing his bandages. "Now, don't fight it. I know it's not your favorite part of the day! Sit still, okay, move your arm!"

But Andrew didn't listen. Instead, he began to sing.

He spoke to words to the song of burning souls. It was the first time he had heard the words since Taggerty burned.

"Come, come to the place where regrets eat! Where peace sleeps, where memories feast!"

From behind the curtain, the girl began to hum along. 

"Is he okay?" his mom asked the nurse.

"His medication?" the nurse said. 

"Could you stop, please, Andrew?"

But Andrew sang only louder, as did the girl behind the curtain hummed louder until they both sang the same strange, haunting song.

His mother was very worried now. "Let's get the doctor?"

The nurse nodded and the two rushed out of the room.

Andrew stood and pulled back the curtain. The two stared at each other for awhile. No longer singing, they didn't need to.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

But he didn't need an answer. He already knew.

"Lithe," she said.

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That's it! I hope you enjoyed The Song of Burning Souls! Please comment, like and fave if you did. I also welcome any feedback! This story will be up for six months before it goes on Amazon. Thanks for reading and don't play with fire :)

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