As The Raven Dreams Podcast - "Lily" By Kenneth Kole

Starting point is 00:00:10 Today's story is Lily by Kenneth Cole. I met Lily in the strangest of ways. Looking back, I can see that it was somehow fitting that my first interaction with her took place just three days before Halloween. She had always had some spooky sense about her, which is part of what led to my attraction. I was visiting a haunted house with my then-girlfriend, Emily, It wasn't just any haunted house, but one of the best, if not the best, in Ohio.

Starting point is 00:00:50 Several of my close friends were actors there, so it made things even more fun for me. I made it my personal challenge to get them to break character, but it only happened a few times. It was a great opportunity for them, though, as I was willing to play along. Actors were not allowed to make physical contact with the guests, but they knew that they could get away with it from me. So it added to the scare factor when other customers saw me getting grabbed and pulled into the action. I had given Emily advance warning, but it still gave her some screams. Emily spent most of the time with her arms wrapped tightly around me,

Starting point is 00:01:32 but we had entered a tight corridor and were forced to walk through single fire. She still grasped my hand with a ferocity that you couldn't imagine. Without warning, someone grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand out of hers. I felt myself get pulled back and was thrust up against a wall in a dark corner. I could feel someone's breath close to my face. Hey, not cool, I shouldn't leave Emily. Before I could finish my sentence, I felt her forcing her lips against mine. I couldn't see her, but I knew that it was not my girlfriend.

Starting point is 00:02:11 Emily was tall, about 5'10, and whomever kissed me was much shorter. I felt embarrassed to admit it, but it was the best kiss I've ever had in my life, and it was from a stranger. She pulled away, and then came close to me again. This time, I reciprocated, and, after a few seconds that seemed like forever, she pulled away again, this time biting my lip in the process. Hard, it drew blood. Then, she left. Just like that, the best glimpse I got of her was from behind, petite, as I had suspected,

Starting point is 00:02:53 and wearing a short baby doll dress. I noticed her flowery scent also. She skipped away into the darkness, and in a sing-song little girl voice said, happy Halloween. Damn. I stood there for... Well, I don't even know how long. It was long enough, though.

Starting point is 00:03:16 And I was unable to catch up with Emily until we were both at the house's exit. She seemed understandably perturbed, but upon seeing my bleeding lip, a concerned look crossed her face. Oh, baby, what happened? Nothing, I said. Nothing.

Starting point is 00:03:33 I mean, I don't know. I'm fine. But I wasn't fine. That girl, that kiss, all I could think about for the rest of the night and the following day, I thought that it must have been a silly prank, maybe even someone that I knew and it meant nothing. Still, I simply could not get it out of my head. It did mean something to me, and I had to know who it was. If it was someone that I knew, a friend, that might be awkward, but if it was a stranger, I needed to meet her.

Starting point is 00:04:13 I mean, at the core of my being, I knew that I needed to meet her. A couple of days later, I mentioned the encounter to my friend Jacob. He was an actor at the house and said that he hadn't heard anything about it. He asked around to see if anyone had been trying to play around with me, but, no one admitted it. There were a couple of new girls in the cast, but neither fit my description, as vague as it was. There was a cast party for Halloween night, after the house closed for the evening. Given my acquaintance with many of the actors, he said that it would be fine for me to attend as a guest.

Starting point is 00:04:55 He suggested that I should, and perhaps my mystery woman would come forward. I accepted his invitation on the spot, not needing a guest. any time to mull it over, I'd become a slave to my emotions. The night of the party arrived. I begged off with Emily, saying that I was under the weather. I couldn't very well take her to the party with me. That would sort of defeat the purpose. Everyone was coming to the party in character,

Starting point is 00:05:24 and even most guests had decided to arrive in costume. I decided to go as the guy who didn't care and simply wore jeans and a button-down shirt. I wanted her to recognize me if she was even going to be there, and I told myself. Well, it turned out that she was not there, at least not that I was able to see. No one there even fit the vaguest proportions of the girl. I couldn't smell her perfume. I felt dejected, to say the least.

Starting point is 00:06:00 I stayed for hors d'oeuvres and a couple of drinks, then told Jacob and a few friends that I was going to head home. They begged me to stay a little longer, but I'd seen what I had come to see, or rather, did not see who I had come to see. I asked directions to the toilet room so that I could take care of business before I left. Jacob pointed me toward a dark hallway at the back of the banquet room and said it was the last door down. It's difficult to describe how I felt, but anyone who has been in love and gotten hurt knows the feeling. The knot in your stomach, the tightness in your chest. After washing my hands, I headed back up the hall,

Starting point is 00:06:44 but as I passed a set of double doors on the left, I heard a voice, a girl's voice, softly singing a haunting melody. It was a voice, I thought, I hoped. that I recognized. I backed up and slowly pushed the doors open, stepping inside. A storage room of sorts. It was quiet, aside from the singing and dimly lit,

Starting point is 00:07:12 all dark with a few pools of light under the bare bulbs spaced around the room. The singing stopped, and I called out, Hello? Hello? Then she, yes, I knew it was her, stepped in, into one of the pools of light. There was no doubt in my mind. Aside from the scent of lilies,

Starting point is 00:07:35 she was as petite as I had remembered and seemed to be wearing the same baby doll dress. Only now, I could see that the beautiful girl I had imagined met all of my expectations. Her skin was utterly white and as smooth as porcelain. Her eyes seemed overly large. She had the most amazing eyes.

Starting point is 00:07:58 I was reminded of glittering emeralds. She had an upturned pixie nose, and her frame was framed by curls escaping from a head, a fiery red hair that had been pulled up into a bun. She was breathtaking. She introduced herself as lily, an apt name, for more than the fact that she smelled like the flower. Someday I would find it ironic that the lily of the valley, is, despite its beauty, decidedly poisonous.

Starting point is 00:08:34 I would be remiss if I did not mention the fate of my relationship with my girlfriend, Emily. I'm ashamed now to say that once Lily and I began seeing each other on a regular basis, I dropped Emily like so much dead weight, not giving a second thought for her feelings. That was so untypical of me. At the time, though, my heart and mind. were faithfully focused on Lily. Lily and I quickly became friends, and then lovers. I was completely devoted to her,

Starting point is 00:09:09 even though I did not know whether she shared the same feelings for me. It was difficult to imagine that she didn't, as we eventually began to spend every waking moment together. Eventually, Lily ended up staying the night. I woke before her the next morning, and once the blurriness cleared from my eyes, I glanced over at her. The sheets had been tossed aside and the sunshine filtering in through the curtains played on her naked back.

Starting point is 00:09:39 Something confused me. I got out of bed and threw open the curtains, allowing the full morning sunlight into the room. To my horror, I saw that Lily's alabaster skin was covered with bruises. There were the most appalling discolourations of the room. all around her lower back and belly, even along the tops of her thighs. It had been dark, but I was quite sure they were not there the previous evening. I shook her awake, softly prodding her as to not cause her any pain. Lily?

Starting point is 00:10:13 I whispered, and then louder. Lily. She came awake with a start, eyes barely open. She rolled over to face me. Oh, good morning, she yawned, and then bled. She pulled the sheets up to cover her nakedness. Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry. I...

Starting point is 00:10:33 Sorry for what. I suppose that I was a little forward last night. It's very unlike me, but for some reason, well, I feel something special with you. I shared her feelings and wished that I could have taken the time to tell her, but I was too concerned with what I had seen. Lily, your bruises, you're covered with them. Did I do that? I'm so sorry. She pulled the sheets aside and examined herself.

Starting point is 00:11:03 Huh. That's odd. No, they don't hurt. I can barely feel them. I'm sure you didn't cause them. I think I just have delicate skin. Delicate skin? I didn't think that explained it at all.

Starting point is 00:11:18 Every time I attempted to bring it back up, she deflected the issue and changed the conversation. I eventually gave up thinking that I was caught. causing her embarrassment. By the time I saw her again, the bruises had miraculously healed. I suppose that she recovered as quickly as she bruised, and perhaps she was right. Perhaps she just had a certain problem with that. Perhaps everyone bruised to some degree in her pastel complexion just made it more obvious.

Starting point is 00:11:49 Still, that was disturbing. I tried to be careful, but I noticed it often as we spent more. time together. Once I pulled her toward me playfully and purple blooms appeared on her arm in the shape of my fingers. The lightest touch seemed to cause her flesh to bruise, yet she did not complain a whit. I tried to push aside my thoughts concerning her problem. Aside from that, she was the perfect woman. She was beautiful, but acted as if she did not know it. She was controllable, yet capricious, and accomplished courtesan who acted like a virgin. as a lover, she was insatiable and astounded me with her intensity of interest when in bed,

Starting point is 00:12:31 and yet, after a time, our lovemaking would leave me with a certain distasteful feeling. She seemed cold, like cool, wet meat. Then there was the bruising. She always seemed renewed after a while, though bruising gone, smelling of lilies, and as soft and warm as a lamb. The closest I had come to finding out the truth under, well, better circumstances, had been during a conversation over beers with my friend Jacob. I had explained to him that Lily was the girl that I had told him about.

Starting point is 00:13:13 He looked at me in an odd way, but continued our conversation in a light-hearted tone. So, Lily, huh? He arched his eyebrows. Yeah, I said. I met her that night in the house, then again at the party. That was it for me. She's had me wrapped around her finger ever since. Jacob stared into his beer, a smirk on his face, nodding.

Starting point is 00:13:38 Yep, she's a quiet one, isn't she? I laughed. At first, yes, but since she came out of her shell, well, she's the most passionate lover I've ever been with. Oh, wait, so you... Jacob set his beer on the bar. Every night, he sat there, assessing me, his jaw hanging open for an awkward amount of time. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but his change in attitude concerned me.

Starting point is 00:14:08 Then, a huge smile cracked his face, and he burst into hysterical laughter. Oh, you, he wagged his finger at me. You had me going there for a second. Half the time, I can't even tell if you're being serious. Scary, man. Scary. I made a couple of jokes and then turned the conversation away from Lily. I suppose that I didn't want to know anymore.

Starting point is 00:14:35 I thought that maybe he knew something about her that I didn't, and that made me feel jealous, angry. I'm not entirely sure what I was feeling, but I didn't like it, and so I never brought up the topic of Lily again. The problem was that Lily was getting sicker, and sicker as time went on. In addition to the bruising, she began having, I suppose, that spells is the best word for it.

Starting point is 00:15:04 I would find her doubled over, clutching her belly and moaning, obviously in great pain. She would always say that she'd be fine, though. Give it some time, and she always was fine within a day or two. Seeming like nothing ever happened, I would have thought that she was experiencing psychosomatic symptoms or perhaps faking it for attention, but there was the smell. During these spells, her usual flowery scent would be pervaded by something rotten.

Starting point is 00:15:39 It was hard to be near her at times like those. I knew that it was those times she needed my support the most, but I felt too weak to handle it. She seemed resigned to it, though, and so I couldn't convince her to see her to see her talk Well, as a matter of fact, she did say that she was seeing someone. I gathered that he wasn't a medical doctor per se, but more of a holistic healer. Just as I was about to give up, at my wits end, the truth came out, the awful truth. I had stopped to meet with Jacob and a few of his friends for drinks after work. I tried to avoid the subject of Lily, as usual, but somehow things always circled back around her.

Starting point is 00:16:30 It was as if Jacob and his friends were fascinated by her, by my relationship with her. So, uh, Jacob turned to me smiling. How are things going between you and Lily? His friends snickered. Well, okay, I suppose. He came in close to me, close enough that I could smell the sour beer on his breath. No, really. He gave me an exaggerated wink.

Starting point is 00:17:01 How are things going? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Everyone chuckled again. The anger was crowing inside of me. I could feel my face turning red. Enough, man. Lily and I are fine. End of story.

Starting point is 00:17:18 For some reason. Jacob and his friends thought that was hilarious and burst into laughter. I shook my head in frustration, downed the dregs of beer in my glass, and excused myself. I needed to use the men's room, I said, but planned on sneaking out the door afterwards. I was done with this sort of talk. I stood at the urinal, shaking off the last drops when Jacob's friend Jim walked into the men's room and took up a place at the urinal beside me. For a few seconds, he stared at the wall.

Starting point is 00:17:50 ahead of him while he relieved himself, and then began talking. I thought that he was just rambling on to himself, but I soon realized that he was addressing me. So, you've been, um, he hemmed. You've been taking Lily home with you? Is that right? My eyes narrowed. I was suspicious and entered the conversation cautiously. Yeah, taking her home with me might not be the right way.

Starting point is 00:18:20 to say it, but yeah, she and I have been spending a lot of time together. Uh, yes. Lily is, unfortunately, I suppose, really popular with the boys. What the hell is that supposed to mean? I yelled, maybe a bit too loudly for a public restroom. He kept talking calmly as he zipped up and washed his hands. Nothing, please, don't misunderstand me. You and Lily have something special, I can tell.

Starting point is 00:18:50 And if anyone can understand her, it's me. What? Just be careful. She always comes crawling back to me in the end, and I hate to see her get hurt. When I arrived home that night, Lily was nowhere to be found. I tried calling her but received no answer. I really wanted to talk to her. My interest was piqued, but at the same time, I was afraid to know what the hell Jim was going on about.

Starting point is 00:19:18 was Jim her lover? Did they have some type of understanding? Was he just a friend who knew about something going on, something bad? Or did he know something regarding Lily's illness? That must be the worst of all. At first, that she would confide in him and not me, and second, it made me wonder if it was that bad. A thousand thoughts raced through my head.

Starting point is 00:19:44 It took two glasses of whiskey to get me to sleep that night. I finally passed out, phone in my hand, with Lily's number on speed dial. It was a harsh morning. I had way too much to drink the previous night, and combined with my anxiety over Lily, I was nauseous. I downed a cup of coffee, took a shower, vomited, and took another shower. I wanted to crawl back into bed, but I needed to know. Suffice it to say that I became wary of what I said. to Lily. I tried to coax information out of her, information about Jim, but I was trying not to be

Starting point is 00:20:24 too obvious. Her answers were always cryptic. I'm embarrassed to say that I started checking up on her. I'd follow her to see where she was going after she left my place. She spent so many hours working at the house that I'd always picked her up there after her shift. Apparently, even in the off-season, there was was plenty of work to do around a haunted house attraction, preparing a new scary experience for the coming year. Lily usually left before morning, and I had never given thought to where she was going or how she got there. What I did know, and was beginning to weave together, was that Jim also spent a lot of time at the house. He was sort of the master makeup artist for the and had been responsible for developing

Starting point is 00:21:16 some of their unique props and special effects. There was a reason that it was considered the best damn horror house in Ohio and Jim played a large part. My paranoia finally came to a climax, and one night after an evening of lovemaking, Lily quietly slipped out of bed and got dressed. I faked a deep sleep so that I wouldn't interrupt her.

Starting point is 00:21:42 She kissed me on the forehead softly. and quietly exited through the front door. No sooner than hearing the lock of the door snick into place, I was out of bed and at the window. I saw Lily standing at the curb and talking on her phone. After a few moments had passed, a car pulled up and she got in. As they pulled away, they passed under a street lamp, and the driver's face was illuminated.

Starting point is 00:22:08 I felt a cold lump in my stomach when I realized who it was. It was Jim. The way I saw it was that I had three choices. I could pretend that nothing was wrong and continue seeing Lily as if I knew nothing. That would be the easiest and most pleasant choice if it weren't for the horrible heartache I was feeling. I could just stop seeing her altogether. I'm sure that she would figure out the reason, and she would either be angry or indifferent. My third choice was to confront them.

Starting point is 00:22:40 Although I knew that would gain me nothing but the scorn of Lily and most likely the ostracism from Jacob and his actor friends, it also seemed to be the most satisfying option. I wanted, no, I needed to see the looks on their faces when I caught them in flagrant delicto. After giving them a short head start, I jumped into my car and sped off, catching them about two streets down and then dropping a few car lengths behind them. It had started drizzling, and with the light flaring through the raindrops, it was difficult to see. Unless they suspected that they were being followed, they would never know. We drove around for about ten minutes, and finally ended up back at the haunted house.

Starting point is 00:23:27 So this is where they met. How tawdry! How sickening that Jim would stoop so low as to refuse to take her back to his own apartment, or hers, for that matter. I felt a twinge in my chest when I realized that I, in fact, didn't even know where she lived. I saw them walk in. I waited in my car. Five minutes? Ten minutes?

Starting point is 00:23:53 Should I have just given up and gone home? No. Thirty minutes had passed before I screwed up the courage to approach the rear door of the house. I entered a shadowy hallway. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized that I was in the same hall as the storage room that I had met Lily in that night at the cast party. I noticed light coming from under the double doors and the sound of a radio playing Metallica. Not exactly mood music for two lovers, I suppose, but I already knew that this was no normal

Starting point is 00:24:25 relationship. I sidled up to the doors and put my ear to the crack. I could hear Jim's voice, humming, singing along with the music, but I heard nothing from Lily. I knew that she was there, though. I could smell her perfume, the tell-tale scent of flowers and stronger than ever. My throat was dry. My eyes burned, and I realized that I hadn't taken a breath in what seemed like ages. My lungs were burning.

Starting point is 00:24:57 Finally, I burst through the doorway. I suppose that I wasn't as intimidating as I had imagined to myself. Jim acted as if he had barely noticed me come in. He just looked up from his work, set high, and lowered his eyes to the table again. His work. Lily lay on a table, split open from breast to groin, where one would expect to find blood and entrails. There was only a slush of thick, purple juices. There was something that seemed to resemble bones, but they were strangely joined together with

Starting point is 00:25:37 grisly wire and metal rods. Heaving and rippling bags of soaked cloth approximated the position of where her stomach and guts should have been. Lily's beautiful face was an eerie character of her normal self.

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Starting point is 00:26:22 apply so apply. Her mouth hung open tongue lolling to one side eyes staring at the ceiling

Starting point is 00:26:31 I thought that she was dead killed by this maniac but half realized that She had never been alive. Or was she?

Starting point is 00:26:43 It was so confusing. One of her eyes rolled my way and focused on me. I knew that she could see me, but she didn't speak. I could swear that I saw some sort of embarrassment there in her distorted face. Please, I gasped as my legs went out from under me. Please, explain. I had passed out. As I started to come around, I saw Jim leaning over me.

Starting point is 00:27:10 He was kneeling next to me and splashing water on my face. He helped me sit up but encouraged me to remain on the floor. He also took up a position on the floor opposite, cross-legged, and stared at me. After a moment of silence passed between us, he said, This isn't what it looks like. I exploded. Isn't what it looks like? What the hell does it look like?

Starting point is 00:27:37 What in the holy hell is going on? Well, you see, I originally... I created Lily as an attraction for the haunted house. I had good ideas before, but I could tell right from the start that she was going to be exceptional, and she was. A big hit, right from the beginning. I debuted her around three years ago on Halloween evening. Unlike my human actors, you could do anything with her or to her. nail her hand to a wall, pluck her eye out, cut off an arm or leg, I'm still impressed by

Starting point is 00:28:14 how well my experiment turned out. However, even when she didn't undergo any vicious, maiming in the name of the art, she still became ill every week or so. I can never figure out why, but each time that I revitalized her, I added in a little extra, something to make her more human. What you see today is the result of years of fine tuning. I felt sick to my stomach. So, so, what is she then? A robot? Oh, no, no, no.

Starting point is 00:28:49 Nothing so simple. Then what? An automaton. A biological organism. Something inanimate, something alive. At some point, I really lost track. Maybe even, and I could tell, that he wasn't joking around. A little bit of magic.

Starting point is 00:29:09 The point is moot now, however, because now she is sentient. That's ridiculous. Well, you tell me, what do you feel when you're with her? When you conversed with her, when you kissed her, when you were intimate with... Stop it! I screamed. She, I mean, it is an abomination. For the love of God, man, how can you keep this up? She should have been destroyed long ago.

Starting point is 00:29:35 For the love of all things holy, please end it. Jim was silent for a moment. It looked like his eyes were tearing up, and he quietly said, No. I stood and walked out. I would end up going back to settle things later, but at the time, I was overloaded with emotions. Fast forward to today, I've put all that behind me now.

Starting point is 00:30:01 After the fiasco that was my relationship with Lily, I couldn't stand to face my friends anymore. I am married now. I have a great job, a nice house, and have moved very far away from Ohio. I have not spoken to Jacob or any of my other friends from back in those days. I stay away from Facebook or any other form of social media because I'm afraid that someone will look me up. I don't want to have that conversation. I do keep in touch with Jim, though.

Starting point is 00:30:35 He eventually perfected his creation and eliminated the need for him. revitalizing treatments. He went on to great success, and works in Hollywood now. He even has his own studio. In fact, I just got off the phone with Jim a short while ago. I guess

Starting point is 00:30:52 that's what brought all these memories flooding to the surface. We arranged a visit, and my lovely wife and I will be flying to California next week, where he has invited us to stay at his estate. We will be spending quite a bit of

Starting point is 00:31:09 time with Jim over the next several months. You see, Lily is pregnant. So that, my friends, was once again Lily by Kenneth Cole, an amazing author who just blows me away with his ability to write these stories. I've done two of his stories in the past. One of them was quite a while ago. The name of the story was Foli Adieu.

Starting point is 00:31:46 A fantastic story. Very, very much loved that one. The other one was a story called 12th Step. That one was more recent and very well received, because this man is one hell of an author. Not even going to lie on that. So thank you, Kenneth, for letting me read this story and your other ones. I really do appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:32:05 And I look forward to reading more of your stuff, because legit, it's amazing. All right, friends, if you did enjoy this and would like more content like this, please do consider joining Nevermore to do so. All I got to do is hit that little subscribe button, the bell icon next to it. Makes you part of the never more. You can also support the channel by following me on all my social media

Starting point is 00:32:23 or supporting the channel through Patreon or coffee. All of it optional, all of it appreciated beyond words. So, all that said, make sure you check out the links down below for Kenneth's Amazon page. Make sure you support him. Let him know what you thought of the story. And make sure you have a good night and a good day. And I make sure you're primed and ready for the next video, right? All right, I'm going to stop talking.

Starting point is 00:32:49 Sleep well.

As The Raven Dreams Podcast - "Lily" By Kenneth Kole

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