The Song of Death

The soft click of shoe against cobblestone was barely audible, and yet, Clarice was more than aware of it. From her perspective, the noise resonated throughout the alley, drowning out everything else, though by others, this idea of such a noise drowning out the commotion of daily citylife would absolutely be scoffed at.

Clarice hardly cared. She’d never cared about others’ thoughts on her; she knew she was strange.

But knowing she was strange had not prepared her for realizing that her life was peculiar, and that it wasn’t just her acting in contrast to the “normal” behavior of the others.

All of this was the payphone’s fault, the payphone that Clarice had made the mistake of stopping at. No matter how much Clarice tried to convince herself that it had all been a prank of some sort, she failed again and again to completely banish it out of her mind.

Be careful of what you wish for...

Clarice had no clue what the payphone meant by saying that, but somehow, she had a feeling that the payphone, which had clearly been rigged to spit out fortunes, hadn’t been a cruel prank.

...or you will follow the song of death, too.

Both parts of the warning the payphone had supplied her was played over and over in her head, relentless in their repetition. Clarice continued to try and focus on each step she took, listening for shoe against cobblestone, to drown out the warning repeating in her head, but the warning only grew louder the more she tried to silence it.

When you try to push it down, remember that when it’s freed, it will come back at you with double the force. For the first time, words other than the payphone’s came back to her. Clarice was never thrilled to recall her friend Agotha’s words, though the word “friend” was hardly fit for a narcissist like her. But now, she was at least relieved to have a distraction from the constant repetition of the fortune’s ominosity.

Arriving at the end of the alley, Clarice slowed almost to a stop. The alley had deposited her on the sidewalk across the street from her apartment, and though it was late, Clarice had no willingness to sleep. How could she, with the payphone’s warning echoing with her every step? 

Instead of crossing the street, Clarice turned and followed the sidewalk down further from her apartment building, and continued to walk. She had no particular destination in mind, but she just needed to get the warning out of her head, and needed to clear her mind in some way.

As it soon became apparent, walking would not be clearing her mind anytime soon, so Clarice cut through more alleys and soon arrived at the apartment complex in which Agotha lived. She was certain that Agotha would distract her, even if it was just for a bit.

Clarice began ascending the stairs without a second thought, following the spiraling shape of the staircase up towards the topmost floor. She had once asked Agotha why, of all the places, had she willingly stayed on the topmost floor, to which Agotha had haughtily replied, “Because why would I sacrifice the view, the peace up here and take the first floor simply for the sake of others’ convenience?”

Clarice had not pointed out that having to climb all those stairs when the elevator broke down twice every week wasn’t a matter of convenience just for others, but also for Agotha, though she had very much wanted to.

After a minute or so, Clarice arrived at Agotha’s door, rang the doorbell, and stood there in the frozen air of the night, waiting for Agotha to let her in. When no one answered the door after almost a minute, Clarice rang the doorbell a couple more times, growing impatient but not concerned— after all, Agotha hardly ever opened the door the first time Clarice rang the bell.

Finally, the door clicked open and Agotha poked her head out, scowling. “Whaddya want?” she grumbled.

“Are you busy?” Clarice asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. All the times she’d spent with Agotha were paying off, however, so she did manage to sound bright despite her inner darkness. “I was just around and thought to stop by.”

The good thing about Agotha was that she never cared enough to ask any questions, so after shooting Clarice a calculating look, Agotha widened the door.

“Thank you,” Clarice said, flashing Agotha a warm smile as she entered. Agotha continued to scowl, though it had relatively softened.

“How are you?” Clarice asked, a feeble attempt at making conversation, as she took a seat in the small living room-like space in the apartment, the only area Agotha allowed people to be.

Agotha shrugged. “Fine, I guess— you don’t need to act like you care every time, you know.”

“Just because you don’t,” Clarice said, treading carefully now, “doesn’t mean no one else cares.”

Agotha managed a snort of laughter, but that was all Clarice got in response. Before either of them could say another word, however, frigid winds stung the back of Clarice’s neck, ruffling her hair, and Clarice whipped around.

“Agotha, why is the window open at this time of night?” Clarice asked, carefully maintaining a kind tone.

Agotha rolled her eyes. “Again, you sound like you’re pitying me,” she said. “And to answer your question— because I like it that way.”

“It has never been open when I’ve come before,” Clarice said, frowning a little.

“That’s because this is the latest you’ve come,” Agotha said gruffly, pointing at the clock hanging  above the door. Clarice followed her finger to see that it was now midnight, a realization that came with a jolt.

“Oh! I didn’t realize,” she said. “I’m sorry if I’m disrupting your... whatever you do at this time.”

Agotha gave Clarice a suspicious glance. “You truly look sorry, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

Her friend’s sudden suspicion made Clarice’s frown deepen, especially as the tidiness of the apartment registered in Clarice’s apparently lagging mind. “Agotha, what’s going on?” Clarice said slowly, no longer making an attempt to hide her inner emotions from creeping into her voice.

“You’re correct, dearie; you are disrupting something,” Agotha said icily, in a way that made Clarice’s mind flash back to the voice at the payphone saying, Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too. Before now, Clarice had hardly paid attention to the last word of the warning, but now, with an increasingly anxious feeling growing in her gut, that was all she could focus on. Or you will follow the song of death, too. Who else would have followed the song of death?

Clarice’s sudden distraction caused her vision to blur together as she stared past Agotha, unseeing.

“Something that I have been anticipating for years now,” Agotha added, her voice sharpening further as she leaned forward to stare into Clarice’s eyes.

Snapping back to reality, Clarice looked away, suddenly uncomfortable. “Well, then, I’m sorry,” she said hastily, getting to her feet, a sudden fear overtaking her. “I must get going.”

In one large stride, Agotha was in front of Clarice, inches away from her face.

“Uh—” Clarice shifted her weight from foot to foot, and then attempted to go around Agotha, who shot out a hand at lightning speed and grasped Clarice’s wrist.

“Agotha!” Clarice exclaimed. “What’s wrong?”

“You’ve interrupted,” Agotha said, her voice sounding much unlike her own. “You’ve interrupted... and you shall pay!”

“Interrupted what?” Clarice cried, her voice growing increasingly high-pitched with each word. “Agotha, tell me, what is going on?” As Clarice met her friend’s eyes, alarm rolled through her at the sight of the glint of hunger, of greed in her gaze. “Agotha,” Clarice said imploringly. “Please... Let go, and I’ll be off...”

“You can’t leave now, Clarice,” Agotha said, almost sounding apologetic. But she would never be apologetic; Clarice doubted whether Agotha had ever apologized in her life. “You can’t.” And then she slammed Clarice back into the chair.

“What do you mean, I can’t?” Clarice nearly shouted, flailing against her friend’s iron grip. “Agotha, tell me what’s going on! Why are you acting like this? Agotha!” She stopped struggling to gaze pleadingly at her, giving Agotha her most innocent look.

However, Agotha’s eyes had glassed over, and Clarice had the distinct impression that Agotha was staring into her soul instead of seeing her physical body.

“Agotha?” Clarice’s voice now came out as a pathetic little squeak. “Will you please tell me what’s going on?”

Suddenly, Agotha yanked Clarice to her feet, her hands lashing out in a way that made Clarice flinch; but they landed on her shoulders, and Agotha roughly turned Clarice around just as fireworks lit up the sky.

“The time has come! Wish,” Agotha said. Her wicked smile was audible in her voice, which rose in both volume and pitch. “Wish, dear girl, wish!” She ended with a maniacal shriek that left Clarice’s ears ringing.

Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too.

Upon second glance, Clarice noticed what she thought were fireworks were actually shooting stars, one after another, casting the city in a light that turned night into day. 

This time, the warning came louder than ever: Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too.

Clarice jerked out of Agotha’s grip, and then whipped around to face her friend, who was staring, transfixed, at the stars, mumbling wish after wish under her breath to the point where her words were slurring together to make what sounded like incomprehensible noise.

“Agotha,” Clarice begged. “Agotha...”

Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too.

The stars behind her showed no sign of slowing. As Clarice gazed in fearful wonder, they pranced across the sky in a dangerous dance of powerful magic, and for a moment, Clarice’s captivation took over. I can wish, Clarice thought dreamily. I can wish for anything I want... and it will be granted.

The warning came again, ringing in her ears: Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too. It jerked her out of her trance, and as it did so, her heart picked up pace. She whirled once more to face Agotha, and she shook her friend, slapped her, did everything she could to get her to stop.

Agotha showed no sign of slowing. With every new star came a new wish, and the wishes poured out of Clarice’s friend like a horrible waterfall of emotion. Every word Clarice caught was like a knife to her heart, which panged with guilt that she couldn’t have been more for Agotha.

It wasn’t Agotha’s fault; everyone had left her to her insanity, and Clarice, one of the few people who had positive interactions with Agotha, hadn’t been enough.

“Agotha!” Clarice shrieked. “Please, Agotha!” Her hands were on Agotha’s shoulders, and she was shaking Agotha, harder, harder. Clarice’s entire body was trembling, but she wouldn’t let go, she couldn’t.

And then the light died down. Clarice let go of her friend in shock, and whirled around to see the still sky, no stars in sight.

Clarice let out a long breath, but her relief came too soon; Agotha was still in a trance, and she dissolved in to mad laughter as Clarice stood, horrified, watching it all happen.

Through the open window came the tinkling of music, grim in its beauty. Agotha slowly lumbered to the window, gazing out... and then began to climb.

“Agotha!” Clarice shouted, lunging for her friend— she caught onto Agotha’s sweatshirt hood, and began tugging Agotha back up.

Undaunted and undeterred, Agotha slipped her sweatshirt off, and fell; Clarice screamed, hugging Agotha’s sweatshirt as she watched her only friend be swallowed by the darkness of the night.

Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too.

But this time, a new memory surfaced, a memory Clarice had done her best to forget about: Never lose your trust in fear of losing worse. Another of the payphone’s fortunes. Another ominous warning.

Her mind suddenly clear, Clarice slipped Agotha’s sweatshirt over her head, ending her shivering by doing so. She then took a deep breath, and climbed over the window, gazing down into the darkness that blanketed the city.

And then, without sacrificing another moment to hesitation, she let go of the window, let go of the life she once knew, giving up everything.

But I’m not giving up everything, Clarice said. I’m gaining a life.

The wind rushed past her as she fell, a thrill running through her veins. Clarice smiled, and then began to laugh, and continued to laugh harder even as she was swallowed up by the same darkness that she had watched swallow Agotha.

Be careful of what you wish for, or you will follow the song of death, too.

But what if all she wished for was to follow the song of death?