The wind swept fingers through her hair and gently caressed her cheek. It pulled her in, whispering the wishful words of the deceased, happy to have finally found ears to listen. Lorelai had taken to going on midnight strolls through the cemetery in the woods. It comforted her when she couldn’t sleep. It was a small plot of land nestled in the center of the trees, however instead of being dotted with flowers, well wishes and tears of bittersweet sorrow, it was barren each headstone seeming abandoned.

In the dead of night when she felt the loneliest she found that the sounds of the dark kept her company. The rustle of the leaves lulled her frantic thoughts. The wind soothed her feverish skin. The trees felt like a protective wall.

On this, her third visit, the moon was high in the sky illuminating the clearing perfectly, drawing out the secrets of those passed on. With the light glinting off each stone, Lorelai strolled past the graves inspecting their inscriptions. Most had the ordinary odes to mother or fatherhood and droned about how they were a perfect spouse, son, or daughter. However, one in particular caught her eye. The inscription was not a sugary homage but a single sentence that would’ve been heavier than the headstone itself if made into an object.

Lorelai leaned in closer and squinted at the worn words.

“Destroy what destroys you.”

Just as she was trying to figure out what those words meant to the person, the scene around her shifted. She turned and watched with wide eyes as each of the headstones elongated, growing taller and taller until they towered over her small body. Lorelai held her breath, frozen in her spot. Then her ears grasped a howl that shook her awake. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and her lungs constricted. Then her legs started moving without her. She dashed for the edge of the clearing but was hit by an angry gust of wind. It knocked her backward as her legs tripped and twisted, her body tried to catch itself. However, the wind pushed her again and she fell into a deep grave. As she opened her eyes and looked around she saw dirt walls stretching past her face toward the sky. She saw the headstone she just read leaning over her as if in mocking. Lorelai stood and clawed at the soil intending to climb out. Dirt flew everywhere, it leaped down her nightdress and into her shoes,

With each attempt at creating a foothold, the dirt simply replaced itself.

She slowly put her hands down, and just looked at them. Tears welled in her eyes threatening to cascade like a waterfall. Lorelai sniffed stubbornly, keeping the tears at bay. Crying never helped anything. She stared up out of the unexpected grave, the tall headstones watched her as the trees were moved by another gust of wind. Only this time instead of a howl she heard words, just as before.

“Dying is the easy part….”

The air above her grave became gray, forming a cloud of darkness. It spun and swirled, she felt leaves falling on her head. Her heart was pounding out of her chest threatening to break through as sweat trickled down her neck. Then the spinning got faster, violent, it screeched with the effort. Lorelai held her head as the sound sliced through her. In the chaos her hands became warm and sticky -blood poured from her ears. It slid down her neck soaking her dress. She tilted her head back and let out a similar scream as her vision became blurry, then red. Blood began to trickle from her eyes, she laid on her back kicking at the air trying to deter the murderous smoke.

To no avail her feet whooshed through the air hitting nothing. Slowly she ceased the movement, her chest rose and she felt air enter her lungs just before the cloud above her spun faster and faster and finally plunged toward her. It came to a point and pierced her chest as she exhaled a final breath.

Silence filled the air.

Leaves fell to rest.

Trees became statues.

The headstones shrank to normal size.

Lorelai’s body lie motionless.

Devoid of life.

Then slowly but surely, her body started to inflate like a balloon. Her chest expanded once more and fell slowly as her legs turned into mist. Followed by her hips, stomach, chest, arms, and finally her head. Left in its place was the cloud of dark smoke which lifted from the dirt and followed the rising mist. It caught up to the mist and was swallowed by it, Lorelai was now part of the air.

Wind came through the clearing one final time and there was no one to hear her final regretful thought.

“I am the monster you created.”