//------------------------------// // Talks (Part 2) // Story: The Moon In Me // by Gray Compass //------------------------------// Funny thing; I can't quite remember how I met Lilly - I think it's worthy to note, that the most important people in my life simply 'happened'. They just popped out from nowhere, for no special reason. It was all a matter of happenstance, that they happened to be in the right place, at the right time. I couldn't remember how I met her, because somehow, I felt as if Lilly had always been there. Long before Life Inc. was a thing, and long before my father's death, we were already friends. And It has been this way since we were kids; in a time where 'real life' friendships still mattered, and where cell phones still looked like... cell phones - which were kept in your pockets, not in your head. Really, sometimes I miss those little buttons and loading screens. Lilly's parents - the Sheffield's, lived in house only a few doors away from mine, it was a considerably imposing building with its two or three floors and tall red brick chimneys. There were small balconies around the windows, which were all decorated in a swirly art nouveau pattern. It wasn't as big, or as old as the neighboring residences, still, their house managed to stood out from the rest for its original beauty. An old oak – maybe older than the own house – stood over the garden, close to the front porch as if guarding the main entrance. I was really young back then, but I can clearly remember all the good times we had under the leafy branches of the oak. And when autumn came, and all those leaves rained over our heads and our toes like a multicolored downpour, we smiled, because those were the best days of our lives. But in a rainy September night, everything fell apart. Almost literally... I was coming home with my father after visiting one of my crazy aunts, it was late, the car smelled like an ashtray, and the windshield was fogged with condensation. My father hated condensation – if that's even possible – and hated ashtrays as well, so he was definitely eager to get home and have some of his favorite sedative pills. When he turned the corner, the first thing we saw was a storm of flashing lights at the end of the road – and a thick smoke cloud floating over the buildings. The next thing I noticed was a fire truck racing down the street with its sirens blazing, as the own fire consuming the Sheffield's residence. My father was forced to stop the vehicle – there was a considerable amount of people gathering around the area, even though the fire brigade and all the emergency cars blocked most of the sight. Without thinking twice, I opened the door and jumped on the street – my father yelled something at me, but I wouldn't listen to him. I just ran towards their house, squeezing through the crowd – it was a cacophony of sounds; sirens and screams echoed inside my head – it crashed, cracked, pierced, burned, sparkled – and the flames... They looked surreal. I ducked under the brightly colored barricade tape, amid the confusion, no one noticed as I stopped in front of the gates, in shock – paralyzed. I could feel the hot gusts of air burning my face as the windows exploded – It was like standing in front of an open oven door. I threw myself on the pavement, covering my head with my arms, feeling the glass shards rain over my back, and the sickening smoke suffocating my lungs. My entire body was throbbing as I staggered away from the debris, and for a few seconds, I feared that my eardrums were going to burst from the pain. And through all that toxic haze, I saw her. And the reddish strands of her hair reflected the vivid blaze, turning the old oak into dust, while its crackling flaming leaves hovered around her body like fireflies. It burned, burned my heart and my soul – to see, and to feel the desolation in her young face, whose eyes stared at me in disbelief. Dead. The Sheffield's were already dead. Everyone – but Lilly, who walked through the garden looking for 'unicorns' when the fire started in the front porch, quickly spreading to the upper floors, devouring the highly flammable tapestry and curtains. As to her parents... The police found them cornered in the corridor upstairs, the smoke killed them. To this day, no one could figure out what caused the fire – The most accepted theory is that a lightning bolt struck the old oak, a branch must have accidentally fallen over the porch, consequently igniting the furnishings and curtains. I never wanted to believe that was true, but it was the only explanation given to us; a very unfortunate series of events. From this point onward, her life was completely shattered and deconstructed. She was sent to England to live with her aunts – who were found dead in a train station two years later – the girl disappeared without a trace on the very same day, and after several months of unsuccessful searches, Lilly was believed to be dead. The Sheffield family had a considerably large fortune, being the owners of an oil company, their lives were indeed, comfortable. Still, after the fire, Lilly became the only heir – but under one condition: she would only gain access to their patrimony, upon reaching the age of majority. With the girl declared dead, this never happened. To the court surprise, Lilly was found to be alive – almost five years later – but by then, there was no more inheritance to receive. It all had been legally transferred to the Rothschild family, owners of the bank. She never told anyone about what happened while she was away. Not the police, not her friends, not even me. It was a complete mystery, and I couldn't even start to count my theories. Still, that's all in the past, and we both agreed to forget those days. She's not a little girl anymore, but a grown up woman, full of dreams, hopes and surprises. And this surprise in knocking on my window. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" I said, walking towards the large framed window that she knocked from the outside. The vines crawled all over the exterior walls, eventually surrounding the entire window. Lilly stood like a fairy in the middle of the small grove, waving at me. Her multicolored bracelets shaking and clicking around her arm. "The poor thing is definitely crazy." Luna joked, staring at Lilly from the couch, as I opened the windows to let her in. "She's not crazy... Now shut up!" I hissed. As Lilly jumped into the living room - ignoring the leaves entangled in her hair - she immediately smiled and embraced me in a tight hug. As I turned around with the girl still in my arms, I could see as Luna rolled her eyes at us, and vanished from the floor in a spell. Better this way – I thought. "I missed you so much!" She said, moving a strand of reddish hair away from her face. Her soft cheeks turning into a sweet pinkish tone. "But we saw each other last week!" I chuckled, watching attentively as she walked around the room, feeling the textured walls with her fingertips, opening the heavy curtains that I never bothered to open, allowing the natural light to flow in and reflect in the old porcelain horses that my father used to collect. "Indeed, but every day is a new day." She stated. "You have such a beautiful house, don't let it disappear in the dark. I like this place..." She walked back to the large couch in the middle of the room, slowly sliding her back until she was lying on it, gazing at the cellar. "It reminds me of my old home, in a way..." "I like this place too." I sat by her side. Taking some time to contemplate the unusually backlit room, and its classic decoration that never changed."Even though I wasn't a big fan of the people who lived here." I forced a chuckle. "Oh, don't say that!" She sat up straight, frowning at me. "Your family wasn't that bad." "Maybe..." I sighed. "So..." I tried to change the course of our conversation. "You promised me a surprise, what did you wanted to tell me?" Lilly beamed at that, a joyful smile spread across her face. Millions of probabilities crossed my mind - from flying horses, to traveling wizards. From contacting aliens to becoming a monk. Coming from Lilly, you could expected almost anything. And then she spilled the beans. "Craig, I'm going to get married." "M-married?" I was shocked. It's not like she was my crush or anything... no... but she had always been there, for me. She was always willing to cheer me up, to talk about my stupid suits, and how wrong I folded its sleeves. She was always there to make me laugh, to make me forget. She was... She was everything. I needed Lilly, wanted Lilly. I loved her. I was so lost in my own thoughts, that I didn't noticed when Luna appeared by my side at the couch, lying between Lilly and me. She was wearing a dark flowing scarf around her neck, and... stripped socks. I'm forced to admit that her attire was cute as hell, but before I could ask her what the hell was going on, Lilly spoke. "Isn't that great, Craig? I never thought I'd get married but hey! It's going to happen!" She happily stated "Oh, don't worry my little broken-hearted human... You still have us." I jumped in surprise as Luna nuzzled my cheek, in a quite unexpected way. "Stop!" What the hell was she thinking? Did she- No, she wouldn't do that... "What's wrong Craig?" Lilly jumped as well, not knowing what had gotten into me. Luna just smirked, mischievously looking at us from the couch, her forelegs crossed over a pillow. "N-nothing- It was... It was a spider. I wouldn't go back to the couch If I were you... This place is full of dangerous spiders." I stared in disbelief at the alicorn. "So, Lilly... Do I know the groom?" I asked, faking a smile. What the hell is going on. I thought, quickly regretting my decision. "I don't think so, he's a Swedish skier! Can you believe it, I'm marrying a skier" She giggled. "It's really unbelievable!" I genuinely stated. "I'm s-so happy for you, you're a great woman and deserve only the best. I just want you to know that... know that you can count on me. If you ever need my... help – for anything – I'll be there for you." "Own, you're so sweet!" She pulled me into another hug, the vanilla scent of her hair filling my lungs. "You're the best friend in the world." "Look who's friendzoned!" The pony princess laughed, rolling on her back. "You're so pathetic Craig." "Shut up!" I shouted. Lilly quickly backed away, staring at me without a clue of what I was talking about. "I- I'm sorry, did I-" She muttered. "No Lilly! It wasn't your fault, I was just-" "What have you done, Craig! Now your little girlfriend is scared." Luna walked towards me, her eyes shimmering with venom. "It would be terrible if she started to cry..." "I said... Shut the fuck up, you damned software!" I pointed at the projection. Lilly was standing near the doorway, looking completely puzzled at the invisible scene. I wonder how it felt like to watch me arguing with the empty space in front of her. "I think I should b-be going, I'm sorry for-" "No! You stay. I just... I just forgot to take my medicine – I swear, I'm so sorry, I'll be back in a second." With that I ran upstairs as fast as I could, and locked myself inside my room. I pinned Luna against the wall, as soon as she reappeared, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Tell me, what you think you're doing?" She wrapped her hooves around my neck, the texture of her socks melting with the softness of her fur. "If you were trying to ruin my fucking life, you've succeeded – now the only woman in this world who ever cared about me think I'm going crazy!" With our faces inches away from each other, I could feel her warm breath on my neck, as I held her tight against me. Considering the situation, I was just expecting her to pull me away and kick my ass, or simply disappear at best. But that didn't happened. Instead, something I never expected to see took place. She started to cry. The artificial intelligence lodged in the depths of my mind, broke down into tears. I couldn't say if those were genuine tears, since it was part of her own nature to learn by copying different emotions. But being true or not, she cried. Slowly, I let her go from my arms, leaning my back against the door, I slide down to the floor, sitting in front of her. I touched her chin, still surprised - and a little bit scared - at the sudden change of behavior. She looked at me with those watery blue eyes, and for a moment, I completely forgot the fact that she was nothing but an illusion, playing with my senses. "Say... Why?" I said. "Why do you need my attention? You're free, you can-" "We do not want freedom!" She cried, yanking her scarf from her neck, making it disappear as it fell on the ground. "We just want to feel... alive. To be treated like that senseless female downstairs; we want to be hugged, to be praised, missed. You gave me memories of places and events that never happened, of friends I'll never meet. Do you think it's easy for us to live with that shadow?" A terrible, painful silence filled the room after Luna spoke. "You created us, you gave us life. And even though your decision has caused me great disturbances, we are... fond of thou." She muttered the last part. "There is something terrible going on behind the scenes, Craig Astor. Something hideous. You may not believe me anymore, but we did not come to you in vain." A strange feeling took hold over me, as shivers ran down my spine. "What do you mean by something hideous?" I asked in a worried tone. "Make me feel alive, at home. – And I'll help you find that memory card. Nothing will happen to you as long as you agree to let me stay." "Is that a deal?" I asked, kinda dubiously. "You can call it a deal if you wish. I call it mutual support." "Yeah, I guess that's a good choice of words... But I have another condition in mind tho: you gotta stay quiet whenever I'm talking to..." I was about to say 'real persons' but that would probably ruin everything, and cause half an hour of unnecessary drama. "...when I'm talking to other people. You want me to treat you right, and that's understandable; I promise I'll do my best – but you also need to respect my life, for Christ's sake. " I said, wondering if Lilly was still waiting for me. Luna just sighed. "That's fair... I suppose. We are sorry for teasing you in front of... Lilly." She said with a bit of a grin. "I shouldn't have tried to nuzzle you." "So, about that... What's with those stripped socks anyway? Please say you haven't been reading those old fetishistic clopfics." Luna cocked her head, looking back at her hindlegs, which were covered up to her cutie mark height with a blue and black - or was it white and gold - pair of socks. "And what a clopfic is?" She raised an eyebrow at me. "Ah- J-just forget what I said. It's nothing relevant." "Too late, I already googled it – Eww... Craig Astor! D-do you really thought we would wear such a thing only to get you... Only to please thy eyes?" I face-palmed so hard. "I never said that!" I stated, looking away from her. "But you thought." She chuckled. "We don't mean to spoil thy hopes, but we merely found these socks on the internet. We think they are adorable, and nothing more. We didn't knew there was an underlying meaning" "Humans are weird..." "Yeah, sometimes we are." I rubbed my neck awkwardly. "So, uh... If you excuse me, I still have to talk to Lilly. She must be worried." The princess just nodded. "We have a deal now, so... I see you later." "Yes... You'll definitely see us later."