The world was dark.
She couldn't see anything.
She didn't see the man. She didn't see the insufferable woman.
Everything went blank.
She heard a song. A beautiful melody that skittered through the dark, ugly world.
There was something about it.
The ashy scent faded. The fire spurted out. The dark, deadly rage was silenced.
Only the song remained. Pleasant. Soothing.
A memory soaked her.
Clair clapped.
Her mother pulled her to her side. "Oh sweetie. Come here." Her mother kissed her cheek.
Claire giggled.
Stacy-her sister-stuck her tongue at her. "I don't want you to sing that song, mummy!"
"But I want her too!" Claire argued.
"Girls!" Their father laughed. He ruffled their hair.
"You're both going to ruin the picnic if you don't stop arguing. Give us a break."
"But it's Claire that started it!"
Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine. Mummy can sing your song."
"That's so sweet of you, Claire." Her mother placed another kiss on her temple. Stacy cuddled up beside them too.
Claire inhaled the fresh scent of pine.
Then her mother sang.
Claire's eyes sparkled.
There was a richness in her voice that she couldn't explain to her friends.
It was soft yet commanding. Loving yet fierce.
The cool breeze swept past her cheek. Warm. Inviting.
The trees around them seemed to dance. Birds chirped. The grass slithered across one another. The butterflies fluttered.
She closed her eyes-belly full while her mother sang.
Her father began to play the guitar too.
Nothing could beat this.
The screams echoed in her ears again. The scream of shortened life. The scream of pain. The scream of death.
Asher lin! It's time to die!
She jerked back.
Yes. It was his turn to die.
But then she heard the song again.
Her breath frosted. The flames in her hand died down. The taste of blood left her mouth.
An image formed before her.
Light. Bold. Beautiful.
It blinded her.
Claire covered her eyes.
"Hello, Claire." That voice.
It sounded familiar. So so familiar.
"Who are you?" She croaked. Her voice was hoarse-unused for years.
The blurred figure came to stand in front of her.
"You don't remember me, Claire." There was pain in the figure's voice.
Heartbreak. Ache.
She felt it because that was all she knew.
Claire had no idea what to say. Neither what to do. All she knew was that she was seeing something she was supposed to know. Observing someone she once loved-once cherished.
But what did it mean to cherish? To love?
Claire didn't know. She didn't understand.
She couldn't remember.
All she knew was the pain. The blood of children spilled across gravel. The cries of the young until they were finally silenced. The ache of the innocent ones that had done nothing wrong-that did not deserve what had happened to them.
That did not deserve the injustice.
Flickers of images brushed by her. Blood. Screaming children. Snarling adults.
"They deserve what's coming for them." It echoed in the darkness. It repeated like a mantra. The flames in her hands burnt brighter. Her rage soared. The black veins along her skin thickened.
Asher Lin is next.
Asher Lin is next.
Asher Lin is next.
"Don't you see what you've become, Claire?"
Asher Lin is next.
Asher Lin is next.
Asher Lin is next.
Claire replied in a roughened voice. "I have turned dictator. I avenge children that the world refuses to see. But I see them-and I will make sure that those responsible all die."
Burn Asher Lin.
Burn Asher Lin.
Burn Asher Lin.
"You've lost yourself. Where is my baby girl? Where's the girl that loved to help? Where's the girl that loved to sing with me? Where's the girl that-"
"That girl died in flames."
Burn Asher Lin.
Burn Asher Lin.
Burn Asher Lin.
"I know you're still there." The figure cried. Broken. Desperate.
Something pricked inside of her. She wasn't sure why but she didn't like it.
She didn't like the fact that the figure cried. She didn't like the fact that the figure wailed. She didn't like the fact that the figure was longing for someone she wasn't.
Begging for something that had been reduced to ashes long ago.
Burn Asher Lin.
Burn Asher Lin.
Burn Asher Lin.
He killed twins. Killed them with a stick. He left them for dead in the woods.
Burn.
Burn.
Burn.
Claire felt the matchbox in her hand. The same way it always had. The countdown begun.
1-
It stopped. The spark died.
The song still curled through her ears. It was heavy. Very heavy. She didn't know why but it was.
Her hand lowered. Her fingers curled.
She tried again. The countdown began.
1-
Then it stopped.
"That's love."
Claire turned to the figure again. The figure was still blurry. It fazed in and out-flickering like dampened embers.
"I know no such thing."
"It's still there. Within the darkness, the pearl is there. Hidden but still present."
"You speak in rhymes."
Burn.
Burn.
Burn.
"Do I? It's still there. The feeling that you got when I came home every day. The feeling that you got when we sang those songs. The feeling that you got when we skated on the ice."
Something stirred.
Silver sparks fluttered around her.
"I don't-"
"Try again. Remember the time we watched that movie-you were so scared that you had to sleep in with me."
"But I-"
"Remember when we all helped your father in the family festival every year. Our pottage won three times in a row."
"Don't-"
"Remember the time you won Best in your class. You literally ran home that day. I told you I was proud of you."
The silver sparks raced fast. Her world spun. The figure's words got lost in the contradicting thoughts that echoed around her.
Fire and smoke clashed with light.
Her breathing sky rocketed.
Her knees trembled.
The sparks turned to cloves of silver fire. It dashed around her. It was different from the fire she knew. The fire that burnt within her. That left her unsettled.
Restless. Dead.
Then a sphere of silver exploded.
All she saw was silver.
Her back straightened. A shriek erupted from her lips. The world pounded. It blurred.
Black veins fell away-dead. Her pallid skin gained color. A dim blue glow emanated from every single part of her being.
Claire opened her eyes.
Her vision cleared. The figure smiled at her.
Blonde hair. Bright blue eyes. Pale skin.
Mother!
Claire choked on her tears. Her heart thrummed wildly. Her lips trembled. She collapsed into her mother's arms.
"I remember."
Then she broke into a mess of sobs.