Part 3, Chapter 8

Part 3, Chapter 8

Lily

We stepped into the restaurant and I was immediately overwhelmed. VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels

There was the server greeting us, a dark green skinned demon that was athletically androgynous – their chest being right on the line between coming across as pecs and as breasts, their face being intimidatingly sharp, and their silhouette daring me to try to put them into human categories.

Then there was the restaurant itself. The room was styled after the inside of a cave, the moody lighting accomplished by magic candles scattered across the dimly lit grey walls. The tables were yellow wood, but were much, much thicker than I’d have expected, giving my Earthian sensibilities a Viking vibe. Each circular table had its own cubby hole in the wall, with a stone – or faux stone, I couldn’t tell – bench curving around it.

Last was the people inhabiting the room. Thankfully, I didn’t see my mother yet, something that would’ve surely driven my overstimulated mind over the edge, but what I did see wasn’t much easier to comprehend. Each of the occupied tables were stuffed to the brim with guests and unrecognizable food, the jovial energy of them contained by some kind of magic, maintaining the refined atmosphere in the main restaurant, although they were still barely audible.

Our server took us to a table, swishing their thin, furry tail behind them as they walked. I sat huddled up against Katie on one side and open space on my other, while Katie was next to Kelith and Edith.

I nodded along to everyone else asking for water, and hesitantly examined one of the waxy paper menus in front of us.

What in the Hell is a ghoul sandwich? Or a foxtail? I stared, utterly baffled, at the foreign items in front of me. While my magical language comprehension helped for words and ideas I already understood, it didn’t provide much context to things I didn’t.

Katie, just as confused, turned to the other two, “Is this supposed to be a Halloween themed restaurant?”

“What’s Hallo–” Kelith’s question was interrupted by everyone’s focus shifting to a newcomer.

At first, out of the corner of my eye, I’d thought that a different server was there to ask us if we were ready to order, but after I saw everyone else’s expectant stares, I turned to reevaluate.

My mother was almost identical to me. She had the same colorations as I did, except that her skin was just a tinge bluer, her eyes a shade pinker, and her hair lighter. She shared my shorter, curvier stature, but while I wore my body with a reserved shyness, she had all of the confidence and maturity I didn’t. Her horns were also much longer, curling almost a full hand-length up behind her head, to the point where I wondered if she ever accidentally hit things on them.

She wore a black dress, but where mine was frilly and lacy, hers was plain and soft, the high neckline and short length covering more skin than the majority of demons I’d seen around town, but still being well outside my comfort zone for polite company.

Her mouth was hanging open, revealing her pointed fangs as she stared at me in disbelief. “Is that really you? My– my child?”

When I slowly nodded, she picked me up out of the booth in a flash of movement, hugging me tightly and letting my shoes dangle off the ground. “Oh, my baby!” She turned back and forth, shaking and squeezing my dazed form. “I’m so sorry, sweetie, I didn’t know...”

When she finally put me back down, I stared up at her crying face, realizing she was ever so slightly taller than me, blinking away my confusion. “What do you mean?” I’d forgotten in the surprise of the initial reveal, but Edith had said something similar when we’d first met.

My mother wiped her tears, patted me on the head, and faced our table, where the other three were watching us intently. “Just a second Lil, why don’t you introduce me to your sister before we get into the more unpleasant topics.”

“Um, this is Katie, my little sister.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Hmm. Do you want a hug too Katie?” Zamira watched an exchange of looks between Katie and I before welcoming Katie into her arms, hugging her with more composure, but no less enthusiasm, “So are you two half-sisters?” she eyed Katie hesitantly.

I shook my head, clinging close to Katie as she was released. “She’s my girlfriend’s little sister.”

“We’re all adopted anyways,” Katie clarified, “None of us are related to our mom.”

We sat back down, me sandwiched between Katie and Mom, and Edith moving to our side of the table to sit by her wife. Both of my seat-neighbors stayed close to me as Zamira exchanged greetings with her wife and mother-in-law, before it was finally time for some answers.

“So,” Mom started, “When I left the human world – and I’ll explain that in a minute – I thought I was leaving behind my manipulative sister, a husband that despised me, and my human child. It’s rare for demons to be born to demon-human couples on earth, just as it's rare for humans to be born the same way in Hell – not to mention how hard it is for demons to get pregnant in the first place. If I’d have known...” Another round of tears escaped her, and Edith handed her a handkerchief, doting on Zamira with an abundance of concern.

“Oh,” I let out.

That’s it?

Discomfort swirled in my stomach as my thoughts stuttered, unable to fixate completely on my mother’s sadness or my own feelings about the new information.

Would it be weird to hug her? I don’t really know her at all, even if we look identical.

How am I supposed to feel about that? I already decided that her reason for leaving doesn’t matter at the end of the day, so it’s not important whether she was justified or not, although I still don’t understand why she left in the first place.

“And if she made a single round-trip to Hell, I would’ve had everything I needed to complete my project. Her marriage was already falling apart because of course it was, so I suggested she should take a vacation back home to get some much needed rest, but she was uncharacteristically stubborn,” my mother’s eyes lit up with momentary irritation, “until that fool approached me again, this time asking me to exorcize the demon possessing his wife.”

I munched on my pizza using my one available hand, eying Sophia out of the corner of my vision. She wasn’t eating, instead facing forwards with a wide-eyed stare. I scooted closer to her, trying to comfort her as my mother continued.

“When I revealed that, she finally listened to me, making preparations to leave. Of course, I needed to make sure she returned or it would all be for naught, and of course, she wouldn’t ever bother returning for me, so I told her I’d get her husband to come around, and she could return to her happy life.”

Sophia broke out of her stupor and nudged me, whispering in my ear, “I’m pretty sure Zamira is Lily’s mom...”

I spit out the pizza in my mouth, hunching over and coughing into my fist.

What?!!?

I turned to eye Sophia accusatorily, not sure if I was asking if she was serious or why she hadn’t told me sooner. I shoved the distant implications of the information to the back of my mind, trying to focus on the story and taking in the new context.

“...and he needed something to latch onto while she was gone, so I told him there was a group of demons that were trying to infiltrate his church, and that I’d slay them for him, explaining all of the complications that came with killing a demon, how there would be no body to bury and everything.”

She shrugged, “Whether he believed me wasn’t that important; I just had to placate him until Zamira came back,” her posture shifted, a rare moment of vulnerability as she crossed her arms over her chest, “But she never did, the backstabbing cunt.”

“And you just told him she was dead?” Sophia filled in.

“It was just one name in a list of ones I’d actually killed – and she really is dead to me.”

“Huh,” I let out.

Lily

I picked at my meal with my spoon, the comforting flavors soothing my rebelling stomach. It was something in between curry and porridge, and the chunks appeared to be bits of fruits and vegetables native to Hell.

“At that point,” Mom said, “I’d made it back to Hell, sure, but I had nowhere to go, no one to rely on. I couldn’t return to Earth and trigger whatever scheme my sister had cooked up, and after over a year of my husband... Well it could’ve been worse, but...”

Edith massaged the tops of her shoulders from behind, whispering in her ear.

Zamira took in a shuddering breath and spoke, “I didn’t want to return to him, even if I could. It hurt so much to leave you behind, to leave Scarlet and my husband behind – even after everything she’d done... I wish I’d done more to fix things.”

Her wife whispered in her ear yet again, shaking her head this time.

“But I don’t get it – you just left me behind? You didn’t try to tell the Hell police what your sister was trying to do or get someone else to check on me? You didn’t just take me with you?!” I pleaded, still pulling from my endless well of hurt.

Edith continued shaking her head, “Lily, your mother was not the person she is now when she left the humans. She was hurt and confused, and it took a long time for things to get better,” she sent me a pointed look, urging me to be more careful.

Mom started crying again, dabbing the wet handkerchief to her face, “No, she’s right – I knew I could’ve asked you to go check on her at some point, but I was scared.” Her sadness dried up as her self-hate ignited. “I thought that he would be as nice to her as he was to me when he’d thought I was human. I didn’t want to think about the slim possibility that she wasn't human, because that would reignite my hurt all over again – and that’s my fault for being weak.”

A tense silence settled over the table, Zamira waiting to hear me condemn her and everyone else waiting for me to tell her it wasn’t her fault.

But it kind of was.

“...”

I stared down at my food, something stuck in my stomach, deep and visceral. It was partially grief – the sadness of mourning what could’ve been – partially anger – anger at Scarlet, at my dad, and, most pressingly, the crying woman in front of me – and partially disappointment that Mom wasn’t as perfect as I’d imagined she was.

I could go on and on about all the ways she’d hurt me, the ways that her stupid decisions messed with my life, I could yell and scream, tell her that I hated her and she’d never earn my forgiveness – and for a brief moment it might feel pretty good.

But is that what I want – to hurt her because she hurt me? I closed my eyes, searching deep in my soul for what I was supposed to do.

There wasn’t a single feeling in my heart telling me to forgive her.

I leaned in, wrapping my arms around her small frame. “I forgive you, Mom.”