It would have been safer not to be involved in this, but I accepted my situation and knew I only had to find out how to survive the risk that came with knowing all this.
Listening to Lily speak, I may have understood her dilemma. She was a strange girl on day one, and not long before, she was a strange creature. Now, she felt more human to me.
It made me wonder if knowing this still made me human, or not.
Was I even human? I was the only one she determined to be blank, even though my humanity was obvious.
I felt that too much was shared that night, and I still felt I knew too little to conclude.
When I returned to my room, I was exhausted mentally, which forced me to sleep.
_____________________________________________
I almost didn't believe it when I woke up with the sun shining brightly in my room.
"I misjudged you," I heard her calm voice as I sat up.
She stood by the window, leaning against it as she looked at me. I was startled at first, then all the happenings of the previous night flooded my brain.
I'm still here.
"I know two types of people who stay up at night. The first group becomes tired by morning and only acts by noon or evening. I thought you were part of the second group who remain active no matter what."
She wasn't wrong for making this assessment, but this was the first time I woke up so drained.
Two hours after that, I was with her by the fountain, and she asked me questions. From what I knew, I was the first human she could freely speak to, and her curiosity demanded answers from me.
Unfortunately, I was right the night before.
Compared to what she shared with me, I had nothing half as valuable to share. A friendless boy raised by his mother alone could not be interesting, whichever way you looked at it.
The only interesting thing I could share about myself was my habit of drawing dead animals I found. It was strange how I developed the habit out of nowhere, and how skilled I was at it, though I'd never learned art.
An insect crushed under the weight of a passing human, a bird motionless after hitting a glass window, a snake covered in blood under the weight of a truck—my personal taxidermy. It was a crude habit, and the only one she found little interest in, but that was it.
She concluded that I was boring. Lily didn't say it, but I could see the disappointment in her expressionless face.
Taylor returned at night that day, and I was out on a walk by then. Lily appeared suddenly and 'chased him away'.
He left with a smile, which would have been warming had I not been his victim and prisoner.
Day three was slow, and I asked about my mother and school. A letter was sent to school explaining that I was on a trip, my mom was still away because of work, and I felt relieved that I was staying with my 'friend'.
I found the library, and my day was spent reading, walking, eating, and thinking.
Lily just stayed silent beside me most of the time. She could have been observing me to find anything of interest, or just keeping an eye on the human pet.
It was quiet most of the time, but slightly comforting.
On day four, I saw her once during breakfast, and she disappeared after that.
Two hours in the library alone was peaceful. In a way, it was no different from the day before. She was quiet when next to me, so I didn't have any reason to be expectant.
I wandered out for a while and found a dead grasshopper being carried by an army of ants. My interest was piqued, and I stayed to observe a little longer. Even in death, it looked unharmed in the slightest. It was clear it wasn't crushed or struck, but attacked by the same ants who now carried it off to consume it.
ten minutes of following them, and I rushed to my room to draw.
I picked up my book and started to create a monochrome of what appeared in my head.
I didn't draw what I saw, but a representation of it.
Fifteen soldiers in silver armor carried a corpse on their shoulders. Fifteen was too many to carry, but it fit perfectly. Their scabbards were empty, and though they were covered in blood, not a single drop was theirs. Cuts were clear to see on some of them, deep and shallow, yet they did not bleed. These soldiers were bloodless. I never saw ants bleed.
The most detailed part of this was the body they carried with them. It was too tall for someone of their kind, and the body was impaled by swords that should have been in their scabbards.
They corpse was from their hunt.
This was how I saw the ants.
When I finished, it was dark, and I closed the book and left my room, searching for Lily. I remember she showed interest in my hobby, though only a little.
I didn't walk too fast, nor too slow, and as I was approaching the stairs, I heard Taylor's voice, which made my body go stiff.
"I heard you stayed away from the boy today. Why is that?"
"..." There was no response, and I heard him chuckle.
"You think too highly of yourself, Lily. You're closer to that human than to us, or have you forgotten your place?"
He sounded so sinister, and his words cruel. I could imagine how it would have hurt for her to hear that. Still, she remained silent.
"Lily, oh Lily. Don't try to force your delusional identity to become real. It's his kind that will accept you, so you should spend more time with him while you still have the time. These shared moments will end sooner than you think. Or are you afraid he'll see those things?"
He left after that, and I stood still with my book in hand, afraid to move. Five words concluded all I heard for me.
Her father also rejects her.