Lies - Story Day

Settle in with your popcorn and ice cream, folks, 'cause this is the last Story Day that you're going to be getting.

*waits for gasps of shock, disgust, horror, and relief to die down*

For a month, that is.

*waits for gasps of recovering heart attack victims to die down*

That is to say, I'm not going to post any Story Day posts in June. In case you missed it, I'm going to be gone at camp for pretty much the whole month and would rather save up stories to post in July after I get back and am too full of dead brain cells to write any stories instead of scheduling stories to post in June. Which means your post content will be cut in half for the next month.

Sorry. XD

However, I am planning on scheduling a lot of the most-wanted posts from this survey in June, so keep your eyes peeled for those! :)

Alright! *claps hands* Now that that's out of the way, may I present today's microfiction, Lies.

The Prompt

(Yes, I made a special little graphic for this one. XD)

The Story

Everything about her was a lie. "I'm okay." "Don't worry about me - I'm doing fine!" "I'm happy with my life." "I can handle it on my own, thanks anyway."

So when Cyra found her crying under a tree in the park, she was confused.

"Hello? Lilyth? You okay?"

"Huh?" Lilyth looked up, but jerked her head behind her knees a moment later, hiding the ruined makeup Cyra had caught a glimpse of. A muffled, "I'm fine", was denied by the waver in her tone.

Cyra chewed her lip, unsure how to proceed. Clearly Lilyth was not fine. But she was one of the most popular girls in school, and Cyra was the clumsy, none-athletic, awkward New Girl who didn't know the first thing about 3,000 student public schools.

Sighing, Cyra lowered herself onto the grass next to Lilyth. The older girl stiffened but didn't move away.

"You're not fine." It was a statement of fact.

Lilyth hesitated. An unattractive hiccup escaped her lips. "I'm... I will be."

"But you're not now."

Silence.

"Can I help?"

Lilyth swallowed. "No."

"Why?"

"Because this is so much bigger than you - or anyone else - knows. No one can help me." She lifted her head, showing Cyra the dark smudges of mascara trailing through the layers of foundation and liquefying Lilyth's lipstick.

Cyra edged away slightly, taken aback. "Your eyes--"

"I know." Lilyth sighed. "I cried so much my contacts fell out."

"But - but-"

A tear traced its way down the familiar path in Lilyth's makeup. "Are you afraid of me?"

Cyra forced herself to study Lilyth's new emerald eyes, forced herself to see and acknowledge the slitted pupil and non-existent whites. "No," she decided.

"Maybe you should be." Lilyth looked down at her lap again. "I told you: this is so much bigger than you know. It's too late. No one can help me - or you - now."

---

You're welcome. :)

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth! ;)

-Joelle