DAYBREAK
Prologue
She saw herself rise from the corner of her eye. The shattered pieces of glass reflected her faint figure on their jagged edges, giving her a ghostly look. She had stood up. She realized this now, though she did not know why she did, or where she was or what anything meant at all. It all felt familiar to her somehow, this dark dreary cell stretching out to infinity and yet closing her in with its invisible but solid borders, the cold chill that caressed her cheeks and arms when there seemed no wind at all, the pale glow of light that seemed to wrap itself on her body, and the pieces of shattered mirror and glass scattered around her feet, some wedged onto the black marble floor like teeth rising off an animal's jaws. She was no stranger to these abominations of her waking world. Only here could she see the irony of it all, that what she had lived was nothing more than a lie, an illusion made to deceive her weak heart and her frail soul in order for her to survive. That in fact, this was the real world and she would not last one day had she been thrown into it. It dawned into her, this thought, and she pondered on it for a while as she stood still, looking down. She was bathed in that eerie luminous light that seemed to be emanating from the very pores of her skin to flaunt its softness. Had she been alone, would she survive her world? Would she survive this? She felt fear in her heart. She knew she wouldn't and she couldn't say it. It was the truth she had been running from and the truth this world had been trying to give to her all along, and for all its purity, she didn't like it.
She saw something on her hands. She felt it, smelled it, she could almost taste its salty sting on her lips. It was as though it had crept up through her legs and unto her arms on its own will, leaving behind a trail of glimmering scarlet on her pale body. Yet she had noticed it only at that moment and its implications sank into her. Blood. Dark red blood, sweet nectar of life, on her hands, her legs, her feet, her white flowing dress now stained with its evil sheen, and her face, so innocently afraid of what she had suddenly realized, was tainted by its impure beauty, adding only to the whiteness of her skin.
Bur where did it all come from? She was trembling now, her body seemed as though it were about to break into pieces at the slightest touch. She had never seen anything as hideously obvious before. She was not aware of death in all its despicable forms. This death was not present to her in her world, her happy, safe world where she longed to return with all her might. But she remained in this desolate void and she felt true death for the first time. There it was, as though answering her questions, a body by the side of her feet, and one by one more appeared, so many lifeless corpses strewn around her. Why had she not seen them before? Perhaps they were just illusions played by her mind? No, it couldn't be. She knew they were real, and the light that once enveloped her alone shown upon these bodies as though it meant to awaken her to her surroundings. So real. She placed her hands on her lips. Trembling. Couldn't stop. Her legs began to buckle beneath her and her knees threatened to give way to such heavy helplessness, as her eyes were ready to give way to gushing tears. And they did. She fell unto her feet and she cried for all it was worth, and all it was for was her own misery.
And then it came. This haunting sound from the depths of this shallow grave, where she alone remained breathing, though for how long she could not tell. It came like a sharp wind, whistling in her ears, and then shouting, then roaring, then dying down again into a whisper. A song suited for this place, she thought, but not for her. She was still alive and she did not want to hear such an awful surrender to death! She was a creature of life and this was Hades and this song was the devil's song! It was mourning the souls in the underworld and it was mourning her soul as well, for it was torn and grieved and she felt that she would die. Her mind was swimming in a haze of panicked thoughts. Requiem. She had never heard it before and she ached for the deafening silence that had greeted her when she first saw this place. But it would not come. Perhaps she was a soul who could not accept her own inevitable destruction. She let her hands go limp and they dropped at her sides. She had touched something, something soft and yet firm at the same time. Smooth and lifelike, just like her skin. Not the cold floor, not the icy shards of glass, it had been warm once and it was warm still, though it was fleeting fast. She turned her eyes cautiously to her side where her hand lain. A gasp caught at her throat. No! Not this! Not him! God, let this be a dream! Her eyes grew wide with terror and her hands dared not to touch his still face. He would not move and she shouted and screamed as the song came louder. She placed her wavering hand on his cheek. The warmth she had felt was gone. He's dead! Her eyes welled up with tears. She took his shoulders and shook him, shook him with all the might she could muster up. No movement. She let him go and his head plopped down onto the floor, lifeless. She shook her head. She pounded at him, she slapped him, she screamed his name over and over again but he would not awake. Dead. No longer living. She threw herself at him and cried over his chest. So cold. And when she looked up, she saw that his eyes were still open and they stared past her, not seeing her at all, no longer looking at her but at nothingness, at death. No more love, no more life. Nothing was left for her but this empty shell, and there were more around her. She dared not look at them. She couldn't take more of this. She would not move at all. She would not leave him in this final moment. She took his head unto her lap and she cradled him with her cold shivering hands. Her face was pallid, almost as white as his, as though her blood had flowed from her as well when she saw that his has. She placed her chin on his hair, so fragrant even after death. She closed her eyes and she hummed with the requiem. Yes, it was appropriate after all, this frightening sound. Mourn for him in my arms, dead, lifeless and utterly gone. Mourn for these bodies with no graves of their own, and no justice for their slaughter. Mourn for me for I am in Hades and I am alone. Mourn for me because I have lost all hope and all I feel is unbearable sorrow. Sing for me that I may die in peace and find that they are with me after death. She was humming her own requiem.