Cemetery angels can love too [Part One] 🖤🗝️🪽

*This story is under my folder titled “Cemetery angels”. There are ten chapters to this story, but the word count was too big, so I’m only posting eight. I’ll post the other two soon. Gacha Club character designs are under my forum titled “My character designs<33[2]”. Enjoy!*

Chapter One-Right back…home?

Tessa put a hand over her eyes as she stared at the manor on the hill. The manor was blackened with rot and had windows that were either shattered or boarded up. It sat atop a lonely hill, far away from the zooming, ear-splitting, oddly designed metal carriages. It looked as though it was going to cave in on itself and become nothing but a pile of molding bricks.

But just looking at it, Tessa felt her heart go at a smoother, slower beat. The scent of wet roses grew stronger as Tessa stepped closer to the manor and that special scent was enough to keep her going, what she smelled when she first woke up.

She woke up in the backyard of a small restaurant, wearing a long, white nightgown with pink bows on it. She didn’t remember anything that happened before then except for the scent of wet roses, the fact that she was sixteen years old, and being called “Tessa”. She felt that Tessa wasn’t her full name, but that was what she wanted to call herself, so she kept it.

The small restaurant let her eat food for free, but that was the only time it did. After that, the diner kicked her out and Tessa was left stumbling outside.

She went to other small restaurants (which she later found out were called “diners”) when she could, stealing food because she had no money on her and after that, she stole some clothes (and shoes too!) from a store, because people were always staring at her strangely whenever she went out in her gown.

Tessa still got stares because she chose bright, glittery clothes and people were mad about that, but it was less so than when she wore the nightgown.

The one thing that she stole that was more special to her than the clothes and food was her camera. It was a sleek, silver device with a black hole in the middle. When she took pictures with it, the picture would come out blank, but then what she took a picture of would develop! It’d come up like magic!

As Tessa walked up the hill towards the manor, she wondered if she would feel any other sense of magic, any bigger sense of magic, even! Would anything compare to her camera? Would she finally figure out what happened to her? Would-

Tessa made it in front of the manor. She couldn’t stall any longer. The smell of wet roses was getting to be overwhelmingly powerful, making her eyes sting, that she just had to open the door, reveal the truth.

Maybe she’d finally get answers.

Chapter Two-It’s so safe here

Tessa stepped into the manor, a thin line of sunlight shining in through the cracks of the boarded-up windows. The scent of wet roses was gone, her heart sank in the bottom of her chest.

All she saw was furniture and doll parts strewn about, the sunlight shining dimly through whatever cracks it could get through. Dust settled in every corner and floated pitifully up in the air, like there was nothing left in the manor.

But that couldn’t be true, right? There had to be something she could find, something that would give her a real answer. She couldn’t have walked and searched for the truth only to find nothing! She couldn’t just give up yet!

Tessa walked on, her star heels clicking on the ground. She had stolen high heels with stars on them because she thought they looked cool, but goodness, it hurt to walk with them on. No matter. The way they looked made Tessa feel like she was the rainbow personified, like she had all of the world’s light radiating from her body.

On the cracked walls with peeling paint were portraits of people who looked vaguely familiar to her, but still looked a little odd and mirrors. The mirrors were sparse and few, but when the musty, spotted mirrors were found, Tessa could see how out of place she looked in the manor.

Her blond hair had fake pink hair pieces clipped on, fake hair pieces that she found. At least, she thought that it was fake. She didn’t know. Her shirt was a vivid purple color, a shade she had never seen before, just like her pink skirt, pink and white striped knee-high socks, and purple and pink striped fishnet gloves. The pink bow on her head was something she didn’t know teenagers like her were allowed to wear until the sales lady at the store showed her the bow. The only type of clothing Tessa recognized was a clunky gray belt and that belt was something she remembered men to be wearing.

But still, a smile spread on Tessa’s face as she stared at herself in the mirror, her freckles seeming to multiply from her grinning. Why, she had found clothes that made her look so colorful, like the faeries she…she didn’t know how she heard about faeries, but they were there, in the back of her mind!

Tessa looked deeply at the mirror, trying to catch all the colors reflected back at her, fascinated by how bright her outfit was and-

She jumped back as a rat scurried past her and into a hole in the wall. Were there any other rats in the manor? Probably. She’d have to be careful not to run into them later.

Tessa walked away from the mirror, still clutching her camera. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, just for something “important”. What the important thing was, she wasn’t sure. But she was sure that she would find out soon.

She found a cracking staircase and walked up the steps, peering into the rooms with open doors. All of the rooms looked like hollowed-out shells of what was once happy and warm. Tessa could even feel it from passing the rooms by, a sense of being robbed of something sweet and pure, a sense that something unnecessarily tragic occurred.

“Not her too! You already took Breina, don’t take her!”

Those were the words Tessa heard screaming in her mind, the words of a girl sobbing her eyes out, her throat choked with grief.

She didn’t know what the words meant, but her heart still twisted inside upon remembering them. Was that what it was? A memory? It seemed like it from it so suddenly came up in her mind. It felt and sounded true but…what did it mean?

In one room, Tessa could see a form hunched over. It looked like somebody was crouched on the ground, ferociously eating something. She could hear the person chewing as though their life depended on it, drinking away…drinking?! No, it sounded like the person was sucking on something! But what? What was it?

Tessa took tentative steps towards the hunched person, bringing her camera a little closer to her face with each step that she took. One part of her wanted to run, but there was a stronger, persistent part of her that wanted to stay, that wanted to see who was there, that-

As the figure rose up, Tessa snapped the picture, the camera’s white flash assaulting her eyes. Why did it have to be so glaring?

Chapter Three-A curious encounter

“What was that?! How did you make the light come?!” A girl cried out in shock.

Tessa flinched from the shock of hearing the girl’s voice, dropping the camera. The girl sounded so familiar, like somebody she knew dearly, like…like the voice in her mind! But could it be so? Could the silky, harp-like voice of the girl really be the same one in her mind?

She bent down to hastily pick up the camera, for the seconds were already starting to overwhelmingly stretch without the camera and then:

“It’s a camera, the light flashes when I take a picture. I’m sor…my goodness.” Tessa breathed.

For standing right in front of her was a girl around her age with ash-brown skin, long, curly chestnut-brown hair and wide, wild, bloodshot brown eyes. Her lips were dripping with blood and staining her red, poofed-out dress that had many embroidered designs on it, making it almost too beautiful to be real.

There was an enchantment about the girl in the way her bloodshot eyes had a doe-like quality, in how her sort-of-snarl almost looked like a smile, in how her claws were long enough to twirl Tessa’s hair into many curls. Yes, the girl looked ready to kill, but Tessa could smell wet roses from her and just staring at the girl, she could feel her whole world gain control, the noise of the outside far from her mind.

“You…you look like…” The girl said, pointing at Tessa, her eyebrows creased.

“Like what?” Tessa asked hopefully, for what if the girl had the answers Tessa had been searching for?

“Maybe not.” The girl said, raising her hand down.

Maybe not what? What did the girl mean and why did Tessa feel her heart break a little when she saw the glimmer of excitement disappear from the girl’s eyes? Why did Tessa care?

“Would you care for something to eat? I’ll try my best to prepare a meal.” The girl offered, her bloody lips curving up into a small smile.

Something to eat? Huh, the last time Tessa ate was a few hours ago and that was a plate of bacon she stole from someone at a diner! That person was not happy.

“Sure. I’d like that.” Tessa said, the prospect of eating something in the broken-down manor offering a sprinkle of delight in her…for some reason.

The girl grinned even wider than before, her dark-brown eyes glistening gleefully.

“Alright! Come with me, I’ll help you get all settled!” The girl said, clapping her hands together in a “Let’s not waste any time” manner.

In the blink of an eye, she appeared next to Tessa and wrapped an arm around her, walking her down the staircase just as quickly.

Tessa didn’t mind, though. The girl smelled sweet and her arm felt like a deep, inviting embrace.

Chapter Four-Close, but close enough?

Tessa was sat down on a sagging floral print couch, green with age, as the girl fussed away at things in what sounded like the kitchen.

The manor did not have bright lights like the diner. In fact, the girl rushed to close the shades and lit a few melting wax candles as soon as they got downstairs. The manor only had the two of them, no other people. It didn’t have a sour cleaning smell, either. It instead smelled musty and old, flowery and fiery.

Yet Tessa’s heart didn’t race as though it would jump out of her chest like it did in the diners, with all the people shouting at things, yelling at her to leave, looking at her with disgust. No, as peculiar as the girl may have seemed, she let Tessa in and offered to make her something to eat! Tessa wouldn’t have to steal! Sure, stealing helped, but it felt nice to know that someone would let her in without any judgement, without any hostility.

“I’m so sorry, for all I could find was moldy strawberry cake and moldy cheese.” The girl said with a shake of her head, bringing out a wooden platter with a slice of soft, white cheese and a small, bite-sized cake with pink frosting and a single strawberry on top, lined with fuzzy green mold.

The girl placed the platter on the low dark brown table in front of Tessa, putting shining silver utensils next to it, then sat across from her on the couch, close enough to keep her in view, but far enough to not put her arm around Tessa.

Why couldn’t she be a little closer?

“So, what’s your name? Why are you here?” The girl asked, putting a hand up on her chin, her brown eyes filled with flickers of interest.

Tessa tried her best to think of something more, to think of a better answer. The girl’s attention was completely focused on her, her dark brown eyes were zeroed in on Tessa and so, with the scent of wet roses and the girl’s soft gaze, Tessa tried her best to remember more clearly, to dig deep within herself and find out the truth, but all she could come up with was:

“All I know is that I’m Tessa. That’s it. I’m not sure why I came here, I just…I was searching for somewhere to feel safe. Somewhere that had the smell of wet roses. I can smell it now, on you. I didn’t think that I went to the right place at first, but now that I’m here, I…I feel safer than I ever did before.”

Tessa took in the flowing navy blue lace curtains, stained a dim green, the peeling paint, the hushed glow of the candles. There was a stillness in the manor, a stillness she had so desperately been searching for…

Tessa opened an orange painted door and stumbled inside. It was the first place she had found and already, it felt like there was far too much going on. There were people coming in and out quicker than she could comprehend, a silver bell jingling as the door kept opening and closing, people talking in their seats about things she couldn’t understand, people shouting numbers behind a counter, the sound of sizzling and fuzzy, hazy music.

At least, it sounded vaguely like music, not like how she imagined music was supposed to sound like.

Either way, so many things were happening, too much for her to keep count of it all, but at least there was food. Food everywhere, perfectly cooked food that smelled so unbelievably delicious…if only she could get one bite! One bite of food-

What was that? On the counter? A place of eggs and bacon? Could it be? Finally, something to eat?

Tessa ran towards the counter, bumping into a few people in the process, heart racing-

“Really? You don’t remember anything else? Nothing at all?” The girl asked. The girl’s brown eyes looked glossy with frozen tears in the candlelight and in that instance, the manor felt as stuffy as it looked.

No, everything had felt so wonderfully tranquil before! Why did the girl sound so upset by Tessa’s words? What had Tessa done to make that lovely smile disappear? Had she done something wrong? Why couldn’t Tessa figure it out? Better yet, why did she care?

“No, nothing. I’m still trying to figure out what brought me here, exactly. That’s something, right? I was searching for somewhere to go and I came here. That’s got to be enough, right? If you know anything about me, then please, tell me everything. I want to know who I am, I need to know who I am. I just…I can’t keep running for the rest of my life. I can’t.”

Tessa hitched a breath-hitched a breath?! Why was she…why was she crying?! She could feel her heart twisting within her chest and goodness, the girl had to watch! No, no, no! The girl didn’t ask to see Tessa in such a displeasing state! It wasn’t fair to her!

Tessa grabbed the plate with the cake on it and a fork, eating the whole thing in a second. It was small enough to do so, there was no trouble. The important thing was that the sweet, tangy taste calmed her a bit, stopped her from full-out bawling.

“Why’d you eat that? That cake has mold on it! You’ll get sick!” The girl cried out, her ash-brown face turning maggot-white, her eyes wide in aghast disbelief.

Why was she surprised? Tessa was just using her manners.

“You left the cake out for me, so I thought that I ought to eat it. You even brought out utensils.” Tessa said, hoping that would clear up the confusion.

“I was just trying to be a good host. I wanted to give you something to eat, but found nothing good. I only brought it out because it felt right to bring it out. I didn’t expect you to eat it! But…does it really not bother you? To eat something rotten?” The girl asked, the terror in her voice replaced with a faint flicker of…optimism? Was that what the rise in her voice was? It certainly sounded like it to Tessa.

“It’s a little bitter, but I like it. It adds to the flavor.” Tessa beamed, for really, that cake tasted like nothing she had ever tried before and goodness, did she want to try it again!

The girl’s face dimmed down to its normal color, but then, she tapped a long finger to her lips, which she had cleaned of blood and said:

“Oh? Is that so? Well…maybe, if you’re really her, then I should help jog your memory. That would be the right thing to do, right? Right. I should start by telling you that my name is Gehenna and you, you look just like a girl I’ve loved dearly, but who has passed away. I mean, passed away is a very light thing to say, considering what happened…but you’re probably getting bored with all of this chattering! Come now, let’s take a walk through these great halls! It should be fun, especially since you look so much like Taliyah!”

Gehenna got up from the couch, extending a hand towards Tessa, her brown eyes wide and alight with eagerness. She didn’t seem to care or notice that she had just cried out the name “Taliyah” like a declaration, but since it was said, the name picked at Tessa’s mind, just like the blade of a knife when she accidentally cut her finger one time.

Taliyah Taliyah Taliyah the name felt like it meant so much more, the way it twisted at her insides, but still, Tessa couldn’t find the answer to it, she couldn’t make it vivid in her mind, all she felt was the pang of distant familiarity, a sense that it would lead her to where she needed to be, but what? Why couldn’t she find the answer why why why-

Tessa took Gehenna’s extended hand, her other hand still clutching her camera and with a sweep of her dress, Gehenna led the way down the dim, dusty paths of the candlelit manor.

Chapter Five-It’ll never be easy

They both roamed past age-old portraits and faded mirrors, quick enough so that Tessa couldn’t glance at the mirrors, but slow enough so that Tessa could see the rhythm of Gehenna’s dress as she danced-skipped?-throughout the halls, her curly black hair brushing against her face every few seconds. Sometimes, Tessa caught sight of Gehenna’s eyes underneath her hair, which made it look as though they were peering out at her from the darkness, glowing faintly, a liquid, watery sheen on them as though there were tears caught up in there, but instead of falling, they stayed in suspension.

“My whole life, I was raised to believe that the end of this town was coming, that if I didn’t live by the rules of the Starlit Angels, then I’d be doomed to die.” Gehenna said, her voice fading in and out like a ghost hiding behind curtains, afraid to show its true form to the living.

High up in the sky, starlit beings held their hands and danced, dreams and terrors emanating from their fingertips and sprinkling all over Earth. Yet, the sweetest thing to them was none other than a fresh-faced child, eyes wide with the sheer awe of existing, at what the world had to bring.

“For generations, my family did what the Starlit Angels asked, so they’d be spared from dying when the end came. When the stars were in the sky, they’d search for any village children out and then bring them here, to this manor, where they…”

Gehenna hesitated, seeming to gulp down tears. She didn’t stop running, though, so Tessa didn’t either, only in the hopes that she would be able to reach Gehenna and hold her close, clear out her tears, tell her-

“They’d slice their throats open, cut every inch of their flesh, then leave them in the ballroom, where the Starlit Angels would come through the window and…and…oh my…I…I don’t…can’t…”

Gehenna suddenly stopped, breathing in and out, in and out, heaved over as though she were going to throw up. Tessa too ceased her running, her mind spinning at Gehenna’s words and at the sight of Gehenna clutching her chest like she wanted to rip her own flesh apart and-

Bleeding children on a ballroom floor, eyes wide with meager flickers of life, speckled with clawing petrification as though they knew it’d all be over, then, humanoid forms made of glittering white balls phased through the windows and made their way towards the children who twitched but could not run, the children who knew to scream, but whose mouths only gushed out blood, the children…

“They consumed the children! Their starlit bodies engulfed those tiny children in blistering heat and their screams…Tessa, sometimes I still think that I can hear them! Especially when it’s so silent that not even those glimmering metallic carriages are out! It…it was never easy for me to watch, even when I was a kid. But it wasn’t like I could do anything! Believe me, I tried…I tried. But every time I tried to take a kid away, there was always my family around to pull me back, to hold me close while they made me watch as the children bled and…and…”

Finally, the tears that had been caught in Gehenna’s eyes poured out, running down her eyes in rapid streams, the sobs escaping her lips sounding akin to a scream.

Tessa’s own heart was racing just like it did at the diners, when she didn’t know what to do, when her mind was spinning with all the possible choices and all the possible outcomes. What could she say to her? What words would comfort Gehenna? Tessa felt that she should say something, anything, but her mind was all fuzzy. Goodness, why was her mind so useless?! Tessa didn’t even know who she was! Why couldn’t she say something uplifting, hopeful, something like-

Tessa wrapped an arm around Gehenna. She wasn’t sure how that happened, it just came up in her head, right out of the blue, like the rat in the hallway. It seemed right, it seemed true, but still, could Tessa have had it all wrong? Was she wrong? Could she trust her head when it wasn’t helping her before?

Gehenna leaned close to her, her curls resting on Tessa’s chest. Her breathing had slowed down to a normal pace, the crying had stopped. With Gehenna close to her, again, Tessa could smell the wet roses, that softly sweet scent like magic and long dresses and mirrors and photographs and lockets and thus, her fright had begun to fade.

But why? Why was Tessa so happy about comforting Gehenna? Why care at all?

“I think the hardest part was with Briena. You remember her, right? A little brown girl with big black eyes and curly black hair? She looked like me, except she had a lot more curls! You remember how she used to marvel at our gowns and talk about how she wanted to be like us, right? She called us Princesses.”

Gehenna’s voice had gone back to a sing-song state and she had even faintly laughed, the sound a mere, hardly-there wisp. Pinpricks of discomfort crawled up Tessa’s skin, for hearing Gehenna’s voice loop like felt as though she was holding a skeleton speaking from faraway. It didn’t help that they were in an abandoned house, that looking at Gehenna, there was a deathly essence about her, even though she had cleaned herself.

But it’d hurt Tessa even more if she left Gehenna alone with her turmoiling mind. Why, Tessa had been alone for far too long and it was nice to gently hold someone who wouldn’t scream at her, who only wanted love in return.

Gehenna looked up at Tessa, tears running down her eyes silently and slowly, not like before. Her lips parted slightly like she’d breathe for the final time but-No. No terrible thoughts like that. Gehenna had lived in the house alone for a long, long time. Nothing bad would happen to her, ever. Most certainly, in fact.

“I’m so sorry, Tessa. I’m supposed to be helping you get your memories back, but I can’t treat you like Taliyah. No, no…I have to prepare for the very real possibility that…that…that you might not be her.”

Gehenna didn’t keep her eyes away from Tessa. She didn’t get up and leave, either. She just sat there, with Tessa holding her close, making no move to push Tessa away, so she was left staring at Gehenna’s wistful eyes, her heart and head ringing with an overwhelming sense of longing, like the moment would end in any second and she had to hold it as close to her as possible, before-

“I don’t know why my family picked Briena when they said that they were giving away the other children so that we wouldn’t have to give up our family members. They said something about her being “special.” I don’t remember all of it, but I know that I tried to take her away, I tried to take her with us, but they took her and then they took you! I tried my…but no. You shouldn’t see me cry like I did before, not at all. No, we must do something fun together. How about we go out to my family’s garden? The sky is getting to be a dusty pink, I imagine. The perfect time to admire the flowers!” Gehenna smiled, though her eyes were still watery.

Tessa pursed her lips, a tad caught off guard by the shift with Gehenna’s topics. It seemed that whenever they both got close to crying, there’d be a distraction, something “more colorful” to think about. Also, Gehenna had called her “Taliyah” yet again, as though she had forgotten what she said before.

It didn’t make Tessa feel mad. No, not a bit. It was just…it just…it felt puzzling without it needing to be.

“I’d love to see the garden.” Tessa replied, for maybe seeing the garden really would help and besides, Gehenna was being such a wonderful host, so how could Tessa say no?

Gehenna grinned as though she were satisfied with that answer and got up from the ground, wrapping her arm around Tessa’s shoulder and leading her down.

Just like before.

Chapter Six-You’ll always come back to me, it’s destiny

When Gehenna had finally reached the back doors and opened them, Tessa was met with the sun setting into a magenta hue, with splashes of subdued orange and a stretching garden of dried, beat-up, withering brown flowers. It seemed as though the day had calmed down, like there was still time to be awake, but there was no blistering pressure to do so.

Tessa couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of it.

“It used to be alive back in the day, but with everyone dead, it’s become…this. Truly, I’m sorry that it looks this way. I wish it were as bright as it was when we first met.” Gehenna sighed, fidgeting with her hands as though she wanted to run off and hide somewhere, but had no idea on where to go.

But it still looked lovely even with all of the dead flowers! The flowers still had their petals, as papery as they looked, they were still petals. They were still remnants of the flowers’ beauty. They-

Days and nights growing up in a house where the flowers curled around the marble, where the air was filled with soft, sweet scents. Where the lace curtains flowed from the wind, where the ground made echoing sounds if someone tapped to the right melody. But still, no one to talk to. No one to play with.

“You were picking some of the flowers in my garden, under a starry sky. I wanted to rush you back to your house, but then I saw how happy you were and…”

Next to home sweet home was a manor on a hill, filled with so much life and yet, so utterly somber. Tessa wondered what they did in there, why they all had to be so high up.

“I couldn’t just tell you to go away! I’ve never actually spoken to someone of my age, so I let you stay for a while. We picked the flowers together, giving each other the prettiest of the bunch.”

Her parents had always told Tessa not to play outside when the stars were out, for the Marwood family would be out, searching for children to give to the Starlit Angels.

“My family was back, so I had to usher you home. But I never forgot the way you smiled when I spoke, the way your freckles seemed to multiply from your grin.” Gehenna gushed, stepping forward and walking amongst the dead flowers.

Like before, Tessa followed after her, like she was chasing a reality just out of reach, but waiting for her all the same.

But Tessa wanted to know what happened at the house. Most of all, she wanted to go to the garden they had in the backyard, wishing to find any sign of blooming life, just out of curiosity.

“You kept coming. I wanted to stop you, I wanted to tell you “no”, I wanted to push you away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not when I saw how joyful you looked whenever you visited. Not when I felt the joy that you gave me…the joy that wasn’t so easy for me to feel at home.” Gehenna said, her voice drooping like the trees that bent over at the last words.

Tessa could see bits and pieces of memories surfacing in her brain, she just had to listen more closely to Gehenna so that it could all become fully recognizable, so that it could finally make sense!

Tessa had run all the way up the hill when her parents were asleep, when the stars were dangling high in the sky. She had run up the hill until she had made it to the Marwood garden, where she had played on the dirt and smelled the flowers stained by rain, all alone with her own thoughts, until-

“I loved you so, so, so much, Taliyah, but my family found you one day. They found you and they took you away because they saw you as a “distraction” and thought that you were better off given to the Starlit Angels. Already, they took Briena, but then they wanted to take you! You!” Gehenna screeched at the end, tears pouring down her eyes yet again.

A brown girl with curly black hair in a gray dress and white sash approached her, her brown eyes wide in terror as she told Tessa to run away. But why? Why couldn’t they stay and play together? Tessa was so happy that the girl was there, because she loved playing with other kids, especially girls. Girls were Princesses, ready to keep the world fresh all while wearing a pretty dress! So Tessa stayed and spoke to the girl and then, the girl started talking to her too!

“But they wanted me to “think about what I did”. They said that I couldn’t fall in love with someone who lived in this town, with someone who was “not aware” like they believed you to be, so they…they killed me, but then they brought me back. As a vampire. As a monster of the night. I’ve been in this manor for centuries, feeding myself rats! Rats! Once I was eating at the family table, now I eat squirming rats! Can you believe that, Taliyah? That curse made me as pathetic as I was in spirit: I was too scared to follow my family in starlit nights, I couldn’t save the children, I couldn’t save Briena and I couldn’t save you. You’re just a ghost who will fade away once night falls and I’ll be all alone again, with only my decaying manor and those awful star creatures to keep me company.” Gehenna said.

She had stopped walking, huddling her arms close to her chest, her head facing down. Gehenna swayed side to side, as though she were trying to soothe her own thoughts.

But how could anyone be calm when looking at Gehenna’s swaying? When seeing how frightened Gehenna was, how much she seemed to want to work herself far, far away? As Tessa’s mind started to pull forth old memories, tears formed yet again from her eyes, spilling out, as she recalled how a smile fit Gehenna’s face so much more-

Tessa couldn’t just leave the girl all alone! Not after all the fun they had talking to each other about life, about fears and dreams! Not after Tessa’s heart felt like it would rise on butterfly wings…what WAS that feeling all about, anyway? It felt like just all of her other happy feelings before, but more. Soft like rose petals, but hard like their thorns. It was like friendship, but…friendship didn’t seem like the right word for it. Friendship felt too cold, too bland. So what was it? What was the feeling?

The smile that Gehenna had when they first met! When they were just little girls! When they played and spoke of all things beautifully imaginary and all too real! The smile that Gehenna got every time Tessa made her laugh, every time that Tessa gave her dead bugs outside, every time that they stared at the moon as they held hands and promised to stay with one another forever and ever, through all the horrors of the Marwood family and all the flickers of happiness they had when they were together, because Tessa clearly, undeniably-

“I remember, Gehenna! I remember it all! I’m really-“

“Don’t say it. We’re outside. It’s getting dark. We have to go inside, right now.” Gehenna warned through gritted teeth, her hand on Tessa’s mouth, her brown eyes still ringed with fear, but with a tint of urgency, the kind that said to run as fast as you can and don’t look back.

Tessa looked up. Sure enough, the pink-orange sky had become a bleary-eyed purple, reaching towards that bruise-blue color, which would soon bring the stars and with the stars, the Starlit Angels always came out.

As soon as Gehenna removed her clawed hand away from Tessa’s mouth, she wrapped an arm around Tessa’s shoulders and rushed her inside, before they could find her.

But would it matter? What if they already saw?

Chapter Seven-What can love really do?

Gehenna led her up the stairs, her arm still wrapped around Tessa’s shoulders like she was afraid that they would find her. Not that Tessa really wanted to let go, after she had remembered it all. In fact, Tessa wrapped an arm around Gehenna’s waist, just so that she could smell the remnants of a living garden on her, so that she could be closer to the person her heart had been looking for all that time in a world that howled nonstop.

As they went up the stairs, they both passed by a few mirrors. They were going at a slower pace, so Tessa could take the time to look at them and see that only her reflection showed, Gehenna’s was nonexistent. Tessa wondered if Gehenna felt unseen even before she became a vampire, even before her family-if Tessa could even consider them to be-had cursed her, before-

It was yet another night at the Marwood garden. Taliyah was sitting next to Gehenna in the rose bushes, their hands very nearly touching, but not quite. Only their fingertips touched. Taliyah had been visiting Gehenna ever since they were both eleven and Taliyah was still visiting her, at sixteen. It was in the still moments where they hid from the stars that Taliyah would wonder what would happen when they got older, if they’d see each other again as they grew up. She tried her best not to think about it, but still, bits and pieces of it came up in her mind anyway, haunting her, taunting her. It was screeching in her mind the other night, when Taliyah was in the garden, waiting for Gehenna, who didn’t come. Surely, she had a good reason not to, right? Right. There was no need to worry or-

“I’m sorry I wasn’t around last night. I…my sister was taken.” Gehenna said, her voice shaking as though she wanted to whisper into nothingness.

“Taken?! You mean, they TOOK her?!” Taliyah cried out, for she knew of the murders that the Marwood family committed for the Starlit Angels, but never imagined that they would give away…Briena Marwood.

“I tried to stop it, but they held made me down…made me watch…I tried, but…maybe I didn’t try hard enough. Maybe I should have fought more. Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe…maybe…”

Gehenna broke off into sobs, bringing her hands up from the ground and wrapping them around her knees, curling herself up into a ball.

No, no! Gehenna never, ever participated in the murders and she fought for the kids’ freedom. Taliyah knew from what Gehenna told her and from just being with Gehenna, for Gehenna was not a vicious, malevolent soul.

“No, no. It’s not your fault. It never WAS your fault, okay? You tried your best, what more could you have done? If anything, I should have at least broke into the house and tried to help the children escape. Who cared if they found me? I was too much of a coward to even-“

“Don’t you DARE say that, Taliyah. It was right of you not to come over. I don’t think I would have been able to handle it if they took you, if they snatched you away. It wasn’t your responsibility to save them. It was mine, all mine. All of this is…it’s my fault. All of it.” Gehenna said, curling herself up even more.

Taliyah frowned. What could she possibly say that would make Gehenna feel better? Were any words appropriate for that moment? Could any words fix Gehenna’s guilt?

But then, what if Taliyah didn’t have to say anything at all? What if a simple action could help? Maybe it would be too much, but…maybe not. She wouldn’t know unless she tried.

So, Taliyah brought Gehenna close to her and ran a hand through her curly hair, the scent rubbing off from Gehenna to Taliyah, for they were Gehenna’s favorite flower to pick. Gehenna didn’t push Taliyah away, instead relaxing in her arms, her sobs slowing down until there was nothing at all, until there was pure silence save for the few chirping crickets.

Taliyah wondered if she should say it in the shared silence, if she should say what had been haunting her mind ever since she was fourteen. Would it be appropriate to do so in that moment? Would Gehenna feel the same or would she push her away? Would it help Gehenna feel happier with herself? Would-

“You could never be as horrible as them, Gehenna, because I know you. I know how much you care. I know how big your heart is. I know that you’ve tried and that you’re still trying now. You’re a good person in a bad situation. I know you and for that, I love you, much more deeply than I ever could as a friend. You don’t have to feel the same way, I just want you to know that there’s always going to be someone out there who has you in their heart no matter what happens.” Taliyah said.

She had done it. She had said it. There was no way she could take it back. But did it even matter, in the long run? Would Gehenna even understand what she said? Did her feelings for Gehenna really hold any weight with what happened to Briena? Did they help Gehenna at all? Did-

“Oh, it’s a relief to know that you love me as deeply as I love you! Maybe we can run away together and search the world for solutions! There’s got to be hope for those children! If you can love someone as wretched as me then maybe the Starlit Angels can be ended! Tessa, your words have opened the doors to roads of rainbow iridescence, the kind of cheer only found in fairytales! And here I sat, only moments ago thinking that I would never feel any kind of joy ever again…but first, a kiss? For our love and all the good things that we’ll do together?” Gehenna asked, raising her head up so that she could look at Taliyah’s face.

Taliyah caressed her hand against Gehenna’s cheek, her heart skipping a beat as she nodded at Gehenna’s request, as Gehenna’s nickname reserved only for truly wonderful moments fluttered throughout Taliyah’s mind. Yes, of course they could kiss. They could share a moment of peace before the troubling times began, before they’d have to fight for a better future.

With that in mind, Taliyah and Gehenna got closer and closer, about to bridge the gap, about to save each other from the evil that always persisted, almost near what would be the closest thing to ascension and then-

Gehenna had reached the top step and opened the door, slamming it behind her as though the evil had followed them both inside.

Was that possible?

Chapter Eight-It’s not all impossible

Gehenna lit up a few candles and hastily closed the curtains as soon as they were both in the room. Tessa could see from the outline of the window that the room they were in was the same one where Tessa had reunited with Gehenna. In the light of the candles, Tessa could see a large bed with auburn-colored sheets covered in dust, a mirror with a crack running down the middle and faint, watery spots on the glass framed by dark brown wood that almost looks black, hanging over a dresser in a similar color. There was a dark brown desk next to the curtained window with a dark brown wood chair that had red velvet cushioning. Next to that desk was a dark brown candelabra as big as the wall and another candelabra by the door.

But what caught Tessa’s attention the most was a pile of dead rats, right where Gehenna was hunched over. She still remembered the first few hours that they reunited, right down to where she found Gehenna. She must have been eating the rats when Tessa arrived. It was necessary for Gehenna’s survival, but still, Tessa’s heart sank in her chest as she thought of Gehenna all alone in her house, feasting on nothing but rats, living like an animal, when she remembered all the conversations they had together, how alive Gehenna was, how much she really cared. It wasn’t a life that Gehenna had ever deserved and with Tessa back, she hoped that they’d both get to find happiness together, that Gehenna would feel less like a demon.

“After they killed you and let go of me, I took your body. I wasn’t going to let the Starlit Angels take you, so I’d thought that I’d bury you in the backyard instead. But right when I was going to do it, I remembered something. A ritual. Something that could make you alive again. It was a spell that would only work for lovers, for the kind of love that took time to bloom, unlike the kind of love for family, which one is oftentimes born with.” Gehenna said, stopping in the middle of the room and folding her hands together.

Her eyes soon lit up and so, Gehenna was pacing in the room yet again, declaring:

“I pulled out your heart, pulled out my own heart with the same claw and then, I took a piece of wood on the ground and impaled both of our hearts through either side until they were both in the middle. I then took a necklace that you were wearing and a necklace that I was wearing and wrapped both of them around the hearts. After that, I kissed both hearts and made a wish to the sky that you’d return. I was always hoping that the ritual would work, but my goodness, I never thought that it would actually happen!” Gehenna beamed.

She rushed off to go next to the desk, while Tessa stayed on the bed, looking down at her feet. Lying on the ground was the photo that she took of Gehenna, except it only showed a dusty, darkened room lit by thin, weak slivers of sunlight. Of course it did. Gehenna was a vampire, her reflection wouldn’t come out.

In a way, they both weren’t human. Both of them were still alive without hearts. Both of them only met in the rose bush. It was as though they were both ghosts that would flicker away at any second and sitting on that bed, Tessa felt a dreadful, doom-ridden sense of finality.

“It worked, but I only get two days with you. One day has already passed, it’s getting to be night now.” Gehenna said, getting up from behind the desk and holding a piece of wood that had two hearts in the middle, dried up and peeling a bit, two glittering necklaces strung about them.

Even though the hearts looked and smelled like they had been unearthed from the dirt, the necklaces still had their shine. Even though Gehenna grinned, Tessa could still see her lip twitch as though she wanted to cry and maybe never stop.

Tessa could feel it too: The end. She’d only have two days with Gehenna and then she’d be back to nothingness. Why, just remembering all the lovely things about her life, about Gehenna, she couldn’t imagine going back to feeling nothing, to thinking nothing.

“If we can only have two days together, then let’s make it count. You said the ritual worked when you thought it was impossible, right? Well, maybe we can find a way to save the children from looking at spell books. That’s where you got the ritual from, isn’t it? Maybe we can find an answer there.” Tessa said.

It felt sour and wrong to say those words, to talk as though Tessa were going to disappear any second and Gehenna would be all alone again. They never had a proper moment together, they needed more time, more peace, more anything.

“Yes, I suppose so. The ritual was in one of the spell books upstairs, in the attic. We could go look in there to find the answer! Come on, let’s-do you want to take my hand?” Gehenna asked, her claw extended towards Tessa, yet a bit hesitantly.

Gehenna hadn’t asked Tessa if she wanted to take her hand the whole day, but she didn’t need to. Tessa felt as though things would only be made right if they were together, if they held one another. Her heart had been searching for Gehenna all along and the fact that Gehenna was asking in the moment showed Tessa that Gehenna was beginning to believe that she was real, that she didn’t have to keep ushering her away like she’d blink out of reality.

Tessa took Gehenna’s claw with a grin. The urgency was still there, but they had each other to help one another out. So, it almost looked as though they glided out of the room.

As though they were spirits trapped in a mirror, unable to be understood by others, but still seeing the beauty in one another.

If only they had forever.