“You smell like lavender.” “And you smell like me” A hard knock on the front door, followed by few soft knocks. The interruption erases the smirk on Josh. Lily bursts out and consoles him. Josh quickly gets out of the bed and walks down the stairs. The knock continues. He carefully opens the door to face an old lady. She looks very familiar but he cannot remember her. She watches Josh for a good few seconds and politely says Hello. “My car broke down. It’s very cold right now. I was just wondering If I could stay inside your house until morning. I apologize for the intrusion.” Lily walks down slowly behind Josh. Josh takes a few moments to consider. Seeing she is an old lady he agrees. Lily comes behind him and greets her. A thought briefly crosses her mind. She looks almost like her mother. “Thank you so much. I cannot thank you enough.”. She sits on the couch as Lily brings her some water. “I am going to the next town to meet my son. They are having a baby.” She expresses gratitude for letting her stay. “Don’t worry about it. Have you been here before?” “Yes. Actually , I used to live here.” “What an coincidence!” Lily sits down. “I am sorry. Do you happen to have anything for a headache? I just had a long drive.” “Sure.” Josh stands up and heads for the bedroom. “I am really sorry for troubling you.” Lily assures her it’s no problem. Josh walks up the stairs as they continues talking. He notices a tattoo on her arm. An exact duplicate of what Lily has. What a freaky coincidence he thinks. He grabs some medicine and heads down. Their talking has become quiet for a while. As he walks down the stair, he freezes. The old lady has a gun on Lily’s head. She points her to come down slowly. Before he could comprehend the situation, he follows her order. “I am sorry I had to do this to you Josh.” Suddenly Josh starts feeling dizzy. He falls on the floor. He observes as the old lady does something to Lily. She looks weak lying on the sofa. He tries to crawl with his hand. The old lady caresses Lily’s face. She slowly takes of Lily’s shirt. Lily looks unconscious. The dizziness won’t go away. Josh can hear his heartbeat. The old lady takes a knife out and carves something on Lily’s chest. There is a knock on the door. Rapid and hurried. The old lady seems unfazed as he brims closer to stabbing Lily’s heart. The door breaks open. A bearded man hurries inside. “Josh!” The old lady screams. “But you died. I buried you.” “Not yet Lily.” “You don’t have to do this.” “But this is the last sacrifice. After this we can be together forever.” “No. Lily! We will not. The ritual won’t work.” “It will ! Grandma wouldn’t deceive me.” “She already has Lily. You killed your daughter. Our daughter.” “The knife fell from her hand.” Josh still half conscious, climbs himself toward unconscious Lily. “You are wrong Josh. I must finish what I started.” The old man runs toward her as she grabs the knife to stab Lily on the couch. Josh from behind jumps from the floor and pull her leg. She drops on the floor head first. His mind is still hazy. He sees the knife and the old lady tries grabbing it. Josh grabs the knife and stabs her. She screams in agony. He stabs her multiple times before passing out. Josh doesn’t know how long he has been unconscious. Lily wakes her up. She is shaking. The body of the old lady is still on the floor but it looks like a corpse. They are both shaking. Josh tries to console Lily. Lily grabs him tightly, tighter than she ever has. “I was scared! I love you Josh. I didn’t want to leave you. I want to spend forever with you.” Josh kisses her. “I love you too Lily. Nothing would ever make us apart.” The warmth of their body strangles their thoughts. For a brief moment, they forget about the night. The essence of the night remains.