Lavender

Prologue

                                                                                January 13th 2019

"Perhaps it was foolish of me. "

"What was?"

"Believing we could leave "

 A calm silence followed Lilith's sentence as she danced down the stone path. The sound of the river made her pipe up into a toothy grin. flipping around she paused for a moment, seemingly taking in the boy who stood in front of her.  Lilith's eyes traced his rough complexion. soft eyes that looked auburn in the light. His long brown hair was tied back with one of Lilith's favorite scrunchies. she snapped herself out of the captivating daze as her face fell slightly. a more serious tone replacing the light whimsy. 

"Paxton. do you think mother is right about us?" 

The boy froze in place. For a moment his once calm demeaner had been replaced with a grimace of pure disgust. His posture straightened in defense Looking as if he was trying to find the right words he sighed gently, moving closer to Lilith.

" That woman is  not our mother Lilith, she a cruel old hag with no life left in her. She doesn't get to have a say in who we are or what can be. She doesn't get to decide where we go with our life."

Lilith looked down to her feet. Her tattered yellow sneakers gently kicked at the ground.

" I know that Pax, but she's all we have."

Lilith's voice fizzled out into a soft whisper as she said the last few words. Paxton could only look at the girl with pity. A pity that was placed on both of them. Pity that followed their every move as they walked the town streets everyday. Pity that bore into their backs as women and men would come to their home looking for a new addition to their families. Pity that would never go beyond that. Not sympathy or empathy, just the sad looks of folks who knew nothing of these orphans and what brought them here. That pity is The exact reason the two teens would run off into the woods before supper each night. the boy and girl would trek across the fields for hours before finding their favorite spot.

"Were here!"

Lilith's spirits quickly jumped up as she ran into the purple lands of lavender. Dipping down to roll on the floor she cheerfully giggled, a smile ten times bigger than anything Paxton would ever see anywhere but here.

"Haha! You get so excited even though we do this at least twice a week"

Paxton walked up and plucked one of the flowers before moving over to Lilith who was now sitting on her legs, her hair a scraggly reminder of their adventures. Without a word Paxton knelt down to gently slide the flower behind her ear. 

"What a funny look that is for you "

Lilith blushed wildly, her heart began to beat faster as she looked at the boy in front of her. The two of them were complete opposites. Lilith reached up to touch Paxton's face when a crack sounded through the air.

The two stopped dead in their tracks. nobody knew of this secret place and for a moment they both wondered if Mother had followed them their to scold and berate them for such silly actions.

"Is someone there?"

Paxton stood cautiously , reaching a hand out he helped Lilith off the ground. Their hands intertwined as they slowly walked to the source of the noise. It was silent but neither of them could shake the sinking feeling of danger that coiled around their stomachs.