“Arsonist’s Lullaby”, Abbey Hochrein ‘22

Yes, I could see it now, my head nodding slightly as I kept pressing down the piano keys. I would kill her; if she was dead, she would have no magic, no power, she would nally be less than I was. Like she was always supposed to be. Like she used to be. e plants and the forest would stop moving like they worshiped her and the night would be left to glow under only the moon. Her magic would seep back into the ground and it would be lovely. Her blood would leave a scar wherever it dripped. All of the options. So many options! Yes, yes, yes. is was it. is is how it was to be done. And perhaps the best All of the options. So many options! Yes, yes, yes. is was it. is is how it was to be done. And perhaps the best part was that she would never see it coming. She was still playing her section of the piano, her eyes were closed and her face tilted ever so slightly backwards, up to the moon, a smile playing on her lips. e owers remained moving, turned toward her like she was the sun. I let my playing fade out and she didn’t change, unsuspecting and naive in thinking everything was okay, completely entranced in the music. A knife, I needed a knife. Why didn’t I have a knife? It’s ne, it’s ne. I would gure something else out. I just A knife, I needed a knife. Why didn’t I have a knife? It’s ne, it’s ne. I would gure something else out. I just needed to think. I looked around to see if there was anything sharp that I could use. None of the vines had thorns and while I could use a rock and kill her with blunt force or strangle her with her beloved plants, I wanted her to bleed. She had to bleed. I needed a mark on the Earth, tangible proof of her death. Sighing in my struggle, I looked down at my hands and ran them softly over the keys, silently retracting them from the piano when I got the idea. Oh, why had I not thought of it before? It was perfect and the irony of it made it all the more so. I ran a nger over the front end of the keys, moving left till I reached the end. I I ran a nger over the front end of the keys, moving left till I reached the end. I waited three bars, the climax of the piece approaching. en, during the loudest part, I pulled a key off the piano, breaking it with a snap. Standing, I walked behind her and extended my hands so they were parallel with her face. I looked down on her then and towering above her I felt powerful and in control, hatred owing through me. Another bar. I lowered my hands to be in line with her neck. One more and the sharp broken end of the piano key was pressed One more and the sharp broken end of the piano key was pressed to her throat. Her eyes ew open as she gasped, staring up at me, peace and content leaving her purple eyes as confusion and fear rushed in. I felt her magic pulsing through her veins before swiftly dragging the key across her throat, blood spraying the black, white, and green of the piano red. And I dragged her body to the ground, her blood And I dragged her body to the ground, her blood dripping through my hands, the beginning of a scar forming on the ground. An ivory key was growing to ll the hole I had made in the piano. e vines reached out towards her once again.