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Home for Christmas

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Her daughter Lilith came home for Christmas, with a smile on her face, and she killed her stepfather 5 minutes after she came through the door. A pointy, wooden stick through the heart. And Jessica screamed until Lilith punched her and everything turned black.

Her daughter came home for Christmas, tied her to a chair and paced around her like a tiger in a cage. Lilith' black hair was shorter now, her skin paler, a scar running over her arm. But her steps were easy, and there was a smile on her face. Jessica couldn't remember the last time she saw her daughter smile. She thought it must have been a while.

She looked so much more like her father now.

Jessica could see her husband's body a few feet away from her, his blood colouring more and more of his shirt until the white had turned into different shades of red. Lilith stepped through her vision from time to time ignoring her mother, ignoring the man on the ground.

Lilith started to sing. Softly, at first, tunes Jessica couldn't define. Then, there were words and familiar melodies, memories of years gone by with every tone.

Lilith came home for Christmas and sang chorales over the corpse of her mother's husband. It's only then that Jessica started to be truly afraid. She thought she would die hearing that sound.

There were noises coming from the hallway, something breaking, loud footsteps, and Jessica thought of police and help and thank God, thank you. Instead, there was another girl in the doorway, dark-haired and wild-eyed like Lilith, and there was another stake in her hand.

Jessica thought of screaming then, but didn't. Couldn't. She just stared, watched as the other girl took in the scene with grief and recognition in her eyes. Jessica didn't understand.



Two words and too much silence, and when Faith stepped into the room Lilith backed away. When Faith spoke, she sounded weary but calm.

"You shouldn't have done this."

A shrug, grace in such a careless movementand Jessica could only stare at Lilith. Her daughter never moved like this before, her daughter had never been so sure.

Her daughter had never killed someone.

"But I did."

Faith put away the stake then, hands held up in front of her body, a tired smile on her face.

"You have to stop now, Lilith."

Laughter, happiness echoing over a corpse, and Jessica wished herself away, wished she wouldn't hear that sound.

"I won't."

"Lilith, listen…"

But her daughter didn't, just moved, jumped, attacked and the girls were going down in a whirl of punches and kicks. As fast as they fell they were up again, swinging and ducking, fighting like dancing. For a moment, it was beautiful.

But the beauty vanished as Lilith pulled a gun, sleek, black and perfect, and Faith moved faster than anything human should and there was a shot ringing in Jessica's ears. And her daughter went down, a body falling to the floor, all grace gone.

Her daughter came home for Christmas, and her blood was on the floor now, dark red fingers stretching over the wood. And Faith looked down, gun in her hand, something broken and lonely on her face.


Jessica didn't know who whispered her daughter's name, didn't know if it had been Faith' voice or her own. But the word broke the silence and Faith was on her knees, hands on the hole in Lilith' chest, gun forgotten on the ground.


Don't die, Jessica thought. Please don't die. But she didn't speak, and no one listened to her thoughts.

Lilith came home for Christmas, and she died on the kitchen floor with a woman named Faith holding her hand.

Her daughter came home.