lilly 2 point 0

The Brief Life of Lilly Cobb
The wind gusted through the house, derelict and pronounced condemned
the year before, insomuch that the rafters woke Lilly from her normal afternoon
nap.
Lilly Cobb was a little girl, not even twelve, lying in what would have been
the parlor room. She had long, dark hair that reached past her waist, pale skin,
and a ghoulish visage. She was wearing a frilly purple dress and a frilly purple
hat. On the table nearby was what induced her sleep – a glass of absinthe, the
bottle nearby and the sugar cubes stacked neatly beside it. She enjoyed her
visions, since she never dreamed at night. She reached past it and grabbed a
large cigar, one of numerous collection that were supposed to be very fine, and
lit it up before making her rounds.
She smiled as she walked past the suit of armor, its gigantic axe hanging
above her head. The chandelier in the foyer swung precariously and threatened
to fall. Taking a drag on her cigar holder, she blew a milky smoke ring as she
headed out the manors front door. She surveyed the property and then turned
her way to the back of the house.
She stopped when she reached the tombstones, both recent and aged. The
most prominent ones bore the name of her parents, brother, and sister. The
older ones had weathered away, making most of the lettering illegible. Lilly
smiled wistfully at each of them.
At the edge of the cemetery was a tree. Hello, Samson, said Lilly, smiling as
she looked up at the dying tree. It seems you are about to pass on.
She patted the tree trunk. Lilly took a seat under the tree and tapped
some ash from her cigar onto the ground. I think Ill stay with you during your
final moments before you pass on to wherever it is trees go. Perhaps you'll go
wherever my family is went, or to some sort of afterlife specifically for trees. I
wonder what that would be like. Maybe its some sort of lush, beautiful forest.
Or is it like the Garden of Eden? Perfect and unmolested.”
Lilly took a long drag on her cigar. Its funny how the life of a tree goes,
isn't it. They can live for hundreds of years, they grow big and strong, and yet
their destruction can happen so incidentally, and they can meet their end by
so many different things. Did you ever wonder how you’d die? Natural causes
seem so slow and tedious, especially if you live for so long, but anything else
isn’t dignified enough. Lightning strike is so quick, deforestation is barbaric.”
Lilly let out a sigh and said You were always the favorite tree, Samson.
Don’t tell the others, but if I had to guess, I’d say they already knew that. It’s
a shame that you’re moving on. We used to climb on your limbs and eat your
fruit. Greg always wanted to blow you up, and Dad always wanted to put a
house in you. I guess he figured that we had enough house already, what with
a dozen rooms, half a dozen baths, two kitchens and three chimneys.”
Lilly looked up at the tree and said I think I’ve gotten a very good idea.
Lilly’s eyes sparkled with her plan, and she went to the house to get her supplies.
She raced back with her absinthe and lighter in hand. ”I think that I’ve found
the perfect death.”
The fire burned for a long time. The tree was not nearly as old or dead as
Lilly thought. She wondered to herself if it was a torture for Samson, that he
had wanted to live and die as he should, but fire was a cleansing element. Lilly
turned away as the flames were dying and looked towards the manor. ”Now
maybe that is a good idea."