Annabekke Sullivan.

Lillith sat on the grave of her mother, stroking the scar on her face. Her mind kept relaying back to that week. That day. That night. For today, was her parents anniversary, and her sister's birthday.

On her mother's grave she had a banquet of roses; yellow for everlasting love. On her father's grave, a ring, which he had given to her as a child. On her sister's grave, a small doll she had retrived from the abandoned house that was once her home.

Even as she sat on her mother's grave, stroking the scar she was born with, her mind was not at peace. She was not grieving, nor was she remembering. No, that night, she sat on the gravestone deep in thought of her older sister, Clairessa. The long-lost sister of hers, whom she hadn't seen since that dreadful night where the bond between them as sisters had been tampered with. From the night onwards, whenever she went near or touched her older sister, she felt unbearable pain and was covered in scars. Upon seeing this, her sister had fled in order to keep Lillith from being hurt.

Memories flashed in Lillith's mind. The unfaced man; the tribal-marked dagger; the scars that appeared all over her body; her sister running from the room, staring at her hands tearfully; Lillith calling out for Clairessa to come back.

Her mind was then filled with ways to find her long-lost sister. She got up from the gravestone and dropped down to the floor. Looking around she headed towards the dark forest, just east of the cemetary. Placing each individual step slowly and carefully, she silently made her way through the land of the dead.

As she crept towards the enterance of the forest, she felt a prescence behind her. She froze, then slowly turned around.
"What do you want with me?"

"Lillith, darling."

Lillith froze in her tracks. The hair on the back of her neck rose and she felt the blood draining from her face.

"A-Annabekke?"

"Oh Lillith, darling, you remember me!"

"... How could I forget?" Her voice was hoarse and raspy. She cleared her throat a few times. "What are you doing here? I thought you were--"

Annabekke clamped her hand over Lillith's mouth. "Don't say it, don't say it!"

Lillith looked down at the hand on her mouth, then back at Annabekke. Annabekke released Lillith, the looked down at her feet. She tugged at the bottom of her shirt, straightening out any creases in her clothes, before looking back to face Lillith.

"Yes, I was... well, you know. For quite a while."

"How come you're not... you know?"

"I... don't know. That's why I came to find you Lillith, darling. I was hoping--"

"That I could help you find out? And why would I want to do that?"

"Because..." Annabekke smirked, "I can help you find your sister."

Lillith's mouth went dry and any remaining blood fled her face. "You-you know where Clairessa i-is?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"What do you mean, not exactly? Do you know where she is or not?"

"Well... I don't know where she is, but I know someone who knows where she is..."

"Who?"

"Well..." Annabekke smirked, "I can't tell you that until you help me."

Lillith clenched her fists, "what do you want from me?"

Annabekke smirked, "I knew you'd agree to help me."

"Don't make me change my mind," Lillith growled. "What do you want from me Annabekke?"

 

Annabekke's gaze drifted from Lillith to the gravestones. As her eyes swept over each grave, her face seemed to get younger. Her eyes became less fierce and more soft. Lillith saw her changing into a little girl before her eyes.

Annabekke quickly snapped out of it and looked back at Lillith, the fierceness back in her hazel eyes. "Follow me," she commanded, making her way through the graveyard quickly. Lillith strugged to keep up.

 

Suddenly, Annabekke came to a brief halt in front of one of the gravestones. It was a roughly large stone, with cracks making their way this way and that. Moss covered the sides, slowly making their way to the base in an attempt to dominate the slab. Dirt hid the words on the gravestone, encrusted in each letter.

Annabekke knelt down and rubbed away the dirt and moss from the gravestone, exposing the name and date. Lillith looked down at it, and her heart sped up as she read the inscription.

 

Here lies Annabekke Eliyza Sullivan. Beloved daughter, lover and friend. 1978 - 1997. She will be greatly missed.

 

"So... t-this is your grave?" Lillith asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, this is my grave." Annabekke replied. Her face was blank of any emotion as she stared down onto the inscription.

"What... what are we doing here, Annabekke?" Lillith asked, keeping her eyes on Annabekke's emotionless face.

"This is my grave," Annabekke replied. "This is where they buried me... when I died."

"Yeah..."

"I need to see if my body's there." She looked up at Lillith, making eye-contact. "I need to see if I'm truly dead or..." She trailed off, looking back at the gravestone. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"And you want me to..."

"Yes... Yes, please. I don't think... I don't think I could do it by myself."

Lillith looked at her, and saw her vulnerable side again. One again, the fierceness in her eyes had been replaced with sorrow, confusion and grief. She looked just like a lost little girl, and Lillith realized that behind the tough act, that's all she was. A lost little girl wondering what had happened to her.

 

"I'll do it," Lillith said. Annabekke looked up at her and smiled.

"Thank you, Lillith. I knew I could count on you."

Lillith smiled back, "I'll need something to dig with..."

"No problem," Annabekke replied. She rushed off and was back in a couple of minutes armed with a large shovel. "Here," she pushed it into Lillith's hands. Lillith took it and grasped the end.

"Do you want to watch or would you rather I dig, look in and tell you the verdict?" She asked, positioning the shovel.

"I... I'll watch," Annabekke replied. "I have to."

"Whatever you say. Although you can turn away at any moment," Lillith replied, before jumping on the edges of the shovel, pushing it into the ground. She pushed it in farther, before pushing it forwards and lifting it back out, carrying a chunk of the earth with it.

 

Annabekke stared down at the earth as it was lifted up and tossed aside. A few tears trickled down her cheek, and Lillith could see the fear in her eyes. She didn't know what she wanted to happen... if she wanted her body to be there, or not. She was scared, and Lillith understood that. Lillith understood that very well.

 

Seconds turned into minutes which turned into hours, and Lillith kept digging. She didn't stop once. She knew how important this was to Annabekke, and she was determined not to stop until she'd unearthed Annabekke's grave. Giving it all she had, she shovelled several more chunks of earth before her shovel bounced off something solid, sending vibrations up the wooden shaft to her arm.

 

She looked over to Annabekke, who's face was now completely empty of all emotion except fear. Annabekke looked back at Lillith anxiously. Lillith gave her a reassuring smile before she began to dig sideways, scraping away the dirt from the wooden coffin. After another few minutes of work, she'd unearthed the top half of the coffin. Giving Annabekke another reassuring smile, she set to work on the bottom half.

 

Once she'd done, she laid the spade down next to the large pile of dug up earth and climbed into the hole she'd dug, looking up at Annabekke.

 

"You ready?"

"I... I'm ready..." Annabekke said shakily, taking a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Lillith nodded and looked down at the coffin. She took a hold of the side of the lid and, with a small grunt, began to lift it upwards. She swung it open and laid it to the side, then peered into the coffin...