The Mountain Road (Short Story)

Photo by Rosie Fraser

This was not the first time Lilith had run away without saying goodbye, nor would it be the last.

The first snow had not come yet, but it would soon. And when it did, the mountain roads would be too dangerous to take. Each day was colder than the last, the sun’s warmth slowly seeping away.

She could not afford to wait yet another month, for yet another new moon, to set off on the next leg of her journey, and so on this night of the dark, she sat by the soft candlelight, scribbling down the last words in a note for Marwa. A pang of guilt hit her—she had never told Marwa the true reason for her stay. But that information was too dangerous to give out. She was not the person Marwa thought she was, not the person Marwa knew, not the same person she was before.

At least, not after she had joined the Black Stallions. Because now, Lilith had a mission to accomplish. A goal to pursue. A role to fulfill. Her heart had hardened, and she was no longer the childish, ignorant person she used to be.

Lilith packed the few things she needed; if all went well, she should reach the next destination by dawn. The items in her satchel were few: a single compass, a canteen of water, a knife for defense, a message to deliver, a vial of poison. She snagged a lantern and some fruit from the table, assuring herself that it wasn’t stealing, that one day she would return the favor, even though she knew she most likely wouldn’t.

She left the note she had been writing on the table. A word of thanks was not nearly enough, but it was all she had to give.

Lilith donned her black cloak and set off into the night. Into the mountains, surrounded by the crisp air of the outside. The road of her mission was long and tedious. The means of success could be cruel. But sacrifices were necessary for the greater good. At least, that’s what she told herself.

But she knew that she was almost certainly aiding in someone else’s death, perhaps partaking in something unforgivable. Directly or indirectly, she was on a mission to kill.

Soon Lilith reached the mountain road, where the path twisted and turned inside the forest. She walked steadily on, the crickets chirping, the owls calling, the leaves crunching under her boots, the dim light from the lantern illuminating the path in a soft glow. She took a deep breath of the crisp air and whispered a prayer into the wind—the same one she said every time she traveled the mountain roads:

"Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. For the new moon will not shine tonight, not after the evening sun tires. "