Her name was Lilly. She was from a small country town at the base of a mountain that nearly never saw outsiders. Lilly's mother relentlessly doted on her daughter for she believed a twelve year old girl should not be as small and frail as Lilly was. This smothering built a rebellion within Lilly whom had become quite the social recluse, confining herself to her room for hours at a time. She would often find herself staring into the distance wishing she had the life of the teenage girls from the TV shows that her mother used as constant background noise in the otherwise quiet house.
As far as a father was concerned, Lilly had never met hers. Her father had supposedly passed away while her mother was with child, and her mother had never spoken of him otherwise. Lilly often daydreamed of a life with a fully functioning family in a large bustling city where she could walk to shops and get ice-cream with girls her age. Her life in the quiet country was too slow for her and so she decided to hide from it all together.
Lilly's mother was a nurse at the local care-station who worked late through the nights which left Lilly to her own devices for hours at a time. Around late September when the wind rustled the fallen leaves and blew ominously through the tall grass was when Lilly began to take evening walks on her own.
On the third night Lilly strolled aimlessly along the outer perimeter of the forest which ascended the mountain so far that the most distant trees looked like small shrubs to her. Lilly especially liked that she could hear birds calling and foxes barking through the distant brush. The sky was clear and bright which allowed her a clear view of her surroundings.
The wind picked up and Lilly figured it would be smart of her to return home before she caught a chill. She walked quickly with her tall brown boots brushing against the back of her thin, knobby knees. When the lone street lamp from the front of her homes driveway was visible a harsh gust of wind blew that nearly knocked her backwards. A lone coyote howl went off in correspondence with the wind. Lilly shuddered and hurried home. She took one quick glance over her shoulder to the forest and imagined how wolves, which were such beautiful creatures, could cry as if loneliness consumed their entire being.
"Lilly, why are your nice boots so dirty?" her mother shrieked from the front door. The sun had just begun to rise, and Lilly's mother was just arriving home from her shift, exhausted and cranky, she always gave Lilly her day's chores in the morning. "Firstly, clean your boots off, they're brand new! Secondly, I'd like you to dust the dining room, and tidy the living room…" Lilly tuned her mother's instructions out. They were nearly always the same, but no matter how many times Lilly cleaned the house, they were still the only two who saw the inside of it. Company hadn't come to visit in a very long time. "LILLY!" her mother exalted. "Quit daydreaming! What did I just tell you to do?"
"I heard you, mom! I'm going to dust the dining room, and tidy the living room…just like you said"
"And what else?" her mother stood before her with crossed arms and a furrowed brow. It was true that Lilly tuned her out after that last instruction and wasn't sure.
"Well…I love you and I hope you have a good night's sleep" Lilly answered matter-of-factly. Hoping her false sweetness would lure her mother away.
"Close, but no. I forgot to get the meat for dinner this morning, so whenever you're done around the house I need you to run to the butcher and pick up our order" This news excited Lilly, it wasn't often she was allowed out of the house. And to be able to run into town was very exciting to her.
"Sure thing" Lilly said with a smile. She watched as her mother dragged her feet up the stairs and closed the bedroom door behind her.
That day Lilly did her chores faster than ever. So fast even, that at one point in the living room she lost her breath and had to stop for several minutes to recoup. She was excited to walk into town and see the other kids her age. At half past noon Lilly had finished vacuuming the small area rug from under the living room coffee table. She hung the dust-buster from its designated hook in the hall closet and shuffled quickly over to the foyer where her tall boots were.
After she retrieved the small pack from the butchers Lilly dawdled a bit in the town square. She stopped for a moment taking in the brisk air and the liveliness of the town. Kids ran back and forth playfully, shouting at each other. Teasing each other and tagging each other. Suddenly, Lilly wanted to go home. Although she was surrounded by people, she felt lonelier than ever, and she craved the warmth of her bed, the comfort of her quilt. In her mind she heard the lone coyote's cry from the night before. Startled, she looked around. Nothing strange met her gaze, except for a young man with long brown hair, who was still much older than she sitting on a bench adjacent to her. Their eyes locked for a brief second, Lilly shuttered and ran towards home, the paper bag that held that night's dinner had molded in her fist.
When night fell, Lilly wished her mother a good night and watched as the car lights faded into the distance. She dawdled around the house until darkness fully engulfed the entire neighborhood before she put her boots back on.
She walked the perimeter of the forest again that evening. On this night there were a few clouds in the sky, but they stood against the blue as the whitest of whites, crisp and clean. Tonight the rustling of the small animals in the forest seemed to have stopped completely. A little dismayed, Lilly walked further and further, until she neared the point where she was convinced she had heard the coyote's howl from last night.
"I thought I may find you here" a voice spoke from within the forest. Lilly froze in her tracks. Her mind blanked for a brief moment. A brisk wind rustled her short blonde hair and her windbreaker.
"Where are you?" Lilly called out, her voice shaking with adrenaline.
"I'm right here." And sure enough, right in the opening of the forest she saw a glimmer of skin. As the figure emerged further, she stepped back. "Are you frightened Lilly?"
"How do you know my name?" She muttered, retracing her steps backwards. "I don't know you." The man smiled kindly, and knelt as soon as he emerged fully from the woods.
"I'm sorry. This must be weird to you. Lilly, I am you, you have created me." The man had a gleam of excitement in his eyes. Genuine happiness shone from his irises. He believed these words. Lilly was sure he could see the pure fear that grew steadily in her own eyes. She took several more steps back, so that they were easily 50 feet or so apart. Louder this time, he spoke again: "Lilly, please listen to me. The coyote of this forest heard your heart last night." What was he saying? And why was he saying it so confidently.
"Lilly, you've been lonely for a very long time, haven't you?" At this Lilly grew angry for the first time.
"Who are you? To say such assuming things to a lady!" She scowled, although fear heightened her senses, and her breathing was rapid behind her words. "I don't want to know, I want to go home" She registered aloud.
"Lilly, you can go home, I won't follow you. But think, think of your lonely thoughts. And of how they have made me. I will wait here for you." He spoke with a calm, deep voice. He words were sincere. His hair blew in the wind. Lilly could feel a strange aura about this man. Who was he? Could she really have created him in her mind?
Lilly ran as fast as her feet would carry her. She ran home and kicked off her boots in the foyer, and slid into the kitchen on her socks. She grabbed her inhaler from the top shelf above the kitchen sink and took three deep breathes from it.
In her bed, Lilly lay awake thinking of the coyote howl she heard just the prior night. Did I really imagine up such a man in my own thoughts? She thought drearily. His presence hadn't been frightening, yet she was frightened. What was she afraid of? After thinking for many, many hours, Lilly's heavy eyes finally closed, and her racing mind had finally made a decision. She would return again the next night.
Waiting for nightfall to arrive was like waiting for Christmas to come again even though it was December 26th. She felt as though she waited years for her mother to finally leave for work. But when she did, Lilly grabbed her boots and headed out the front door.
When she arrived at the same spot as the last two nights she was greeted by a familiar presence. "I'm glad you came, Lilly." Tonight, she wasn't afraid of those words. She took them in like a gulp of cool winter air.
"What is your name" she stated.
"Coyote, Coyote Starrk"
"And you are me?" She asked, moving closer.
"Yeah" he said and he stuck his hand out gently patting her short mop of blonde hair.
"Where are we gonna go?" she asked, allowing him to keep his hand on her head.
"Let's go everywhere," he stated, "together."
"That sounds nice" she said. Grasping his hand with her own.