Thank you so much! I was rereading Parody of Society, and I just realized how much the end was influenced by the Everybody's Fool video . Anyways, my short story

“A Night Like Any Other” (As in, A Title with No Originality)

It was a night like any other; cold and drab, clouds hanging menacingly low in the near-black sky. I sat in the second-story window belonging to my bedroom, staring out and waiting, daring a raindrop to disturb my peace. I blinked and smiled as the wind fluttered back my raven hair, framing my ebony face with a look of pure serenity. Beauty filled the air as lightning struck some miles away, along the dark giants of the forest growth. Mummy and Papa were still away, drinking and dancing ‘til their faces turned peachy from exertion. They wouldn’t be back tonight, but rather when they were through with their night of ecstasy; when they’d come back to face their problems, their responsibilities. Back to face the being that had darkened their lives for 14-and-some years.

Thunder roared across the sky as rain pelted the ground, icy and abusive. I slid from my windowsill to the hard wood of the floor, crouching there as I pictured Mummy’s face when she saw the old chain swing that hung from my favorite oak tree, Daddy’s disappointed expression as he remembered who they had raised. Something dark and forsaken, belonging to another world full of lies and misconceptions. I knew what I was to them, I always had.

I glanced at the scars lacing my right arm, glowing in the light of too many candles to count, as I traced the thicker, fresher ones. Mummy would laugh, if she knew. Daddy would go back to reading his newspaper, but not before nodding toward his wife, never without that. Mummy needed the go-ahead before she allowed herself that psychotic smile, that glint of mania in her eyes, to sharpen a slap across my face. It always stung worse when he grinned at the resounding echo.

But now they were gone, mere shadows, for the night. Silently I crept out of the room, down the padded stairs, and into the extravagant kitchen. My bedroom had once been the nanny’s room, back when houses had nannies to clean up after their residents. It was small, with a slanted ceiling, but it fit me, as I was small myself, with little purpose other than to serve those in charge and stay out of sight whenever possible.

I breathed deep, collecting my courage, and reached up to the cabinet above the sink where mummy kept her headache medicine. There it was—a thin, silver necklace with a dragon dangling off it. My breath caught as I reached, reached—stretching toward my sole treasured possession. Thunder broke through the front door, raising a scream in my throat which I quickly swallowed back down. No, no, what if she sees? I can’t do this. Slamming the cupboard I backed away, eyes wide as the necklace called to me, tempting me again… I fled for fear of myself; back up the stairs to lean against my bedroom door, gasping for air as the rain pounded above my head, unrelenting. Not even Seira’s gift could protect me from my mother.

I floated to my window once again, hand plastered to the glass. If only, if only, I was as free as the wind, playing through the flashy bullets of water streaming down. I shivered as a bolt of lightning split the sky, wondering what it would feel like to be out there. Suddenly, to my surprise, I was—the window reopened and me standing on the slightly-tipping roof outside it. I raised my arms to the sky, offering a sacrifice to any God willing to accept it. But nothing came, no lighted path or stinging fury. I sighed and lowered myself to the tiles beneath me. The rain massaged my back and I smiled faintly, remembering Seira’s last words.

“Don’t ever give up, Tilly; don’t ever let them break you. You ain’t a slave, and you ain’t a doll. You teach them that you’re better. You decide who you wanna be.” I’d hugged her at the time, believing her passionate words. They were filled with such raw energy that no doubt had crossed my mind as she’d slipped the dragon around my neck, fastening it with a satisfied smile. “This is yours now. It ain’t about to do me no good if you ain’t there to help it.”

But then she’d broken, allowed herself to show what she was feeling. “I’ll miss you, Tilly. Don’t you ever go forgetting me, you hear? Else wise I’ll come back to haunt you from the heavens. And I won’t be no guardian angel then; no, I’ll just be another soul botherin’ your own.” I’d hugged her, tears welling up in my eyes as I stared at the pristine tiles of the hospital floor. I knew this was my fault; Seira would never have been here if my dependence on her hadn’t stressed her heart so much. Fate couldn’t allow me to love anyone. I’d always been a black rose in its garden of pure, faithful souls.

I found myself standing at the peak of the roof, gazing over the acres of land in our backyard. Far away I could see a road, buzzing as the headlights of a dozen cars flew over it, quick with their busy nature. Rain pounded on my skull, creating a dull throb that flourished as icy wind bit into my eyes. I edged toward the tip of the roof, wondering how far away the ground was. It seemed close, but were my eyes deceiving me? Perhaps things always seem this way, small enough to challenge but not to squelch doubt. Queasiness spread through me as fear fueled my growing doubt. No, I was not free this way. Nothing good ever came from surliness. Turning, I slid back down the tiles to my open window and crawled inside. Doubt could be questioned another day.

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