“Lavenders blue dilly dilly, lavenders green. When I am king dilly dilly you shall be queen.” Little Emily’s voice echoed through the car, singing happily. Lucas looked around trying to find his sister, but he found nothing but empty space. “Call up your men dilly dilly, set them to work, Some to the plow dilly dilly, some to the fork.”
“Emily!” Lucas called frantically, trying to move out of his seat to better search for her, but no matter how hard he struggled he couldn’t move anything more than his head. The night surrounding him was hazy, and out of focus. He could hear voices, but they sounded far away, and he couldn’t make out any words. A lighthearted giggle filled the car, bouncing around the cab. Lucas looked around, seeing his sister in the back seat. The seat that had been empty moments ago. He smiled, glad to have found her, but before he could say anything a loud horn blasted through the night, followed by a blinding light that made Lucas violently flinch away.
Lucas jerked awake with a gasp, breathing heavily. He glanced around, disoriented, trying to remember where he was. Lucas was sitting in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. To his right unfamiliar scenery flew by the window. When he looked to his left, he saw his best friend, James, behind the wheel. Memories came flooding back to him. James and Lucas were spending the weekend at an ocean side cabin with two other friends, Liam and Cody. The four of them were in Jame’s jeep driving toward the coast.
“Are you okay?” James asked, looking at Lucas with concern. Lucas forced a smile.
“I’m fine, just a dream.” Lucas said, reaching over to flick James on the forehead. “Watch the road.” James playfully stuck out his tongue, before turning his attention back to the road in front of them. Liam poked his head up from the back seat.
“Morning sleeping beauty.” He said as he clapped a hand on Lucas’s shoulder. “Have a good nap?” Lucas rolled his eyes.
“Wonderful.” He deadpanned.
“How close are we?” Cody whined from behind James, he was leaning his head against the window with his eyes closed.
“Seriously?” Liam asks incredulously, poking Cody in the side. “We’re playing, are we there yet? What are you five?”
Cody shoved Liam in the shoulder, slamming him against the car door. “Ow!” Liam protested, shoving Cody back. Ignoring his two friends bickering in the back seat, James turned back to Lucas.
“Are you sure you're up for this?” He questioned with concern filling his voice. “We can turn back at any time.”
“No.” Lucas shook his head. “I need to do this. Ready or not, I can’t spend the rest of my life hiding in my room.”
“Okay.” James said. “Just know that we will all totally understand if you need to cut the trip short.”
“I’ll be fine.” Lucas reassured his friend, “But thank you.”
“You better be fine.” Liam cut in. “I will be a supportive friend and leave if we need to, but I have been looking forward to this for months.” Cody punched his arm. “Ow, would you stop that?”
“Dude, try to be a bit less self-centered please.” Cody said. “Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. ‘ Liam said, waving his hands to fend off Cody. “Just stop hitting me.” Lucas shook his head at his friend's antics, while James rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“Can’t go five minutes without a fight from those two, can we?” James mumbled, making Lucas smile. Ahead of the car the ocean came into view, sunlight sparkling on the water. “Hey look at that.” James exclaimed. “We’re here.”
“Hallelujah.” Cody said, throwing his hands in the air. “If I had to sit in this car any longer, I might just kill Liam.” James parked the car in front of a small cabin at the edge of the water. The coast surrounding them was rough and rocky, the dock in front of the cabin seemed to be the only good way to enter the water. About a mile from where the boys parked, the rocky coast turned into a cliff that towered above the waves below it.
The boys exited the car, stretching and groaning after the long drive. Liam caught sight of the cliff and let out a low whistle. “Wow, would you look at that?” Lucas followed his gaze.
“Yeah, that's pretty amazing.” he agreed. Letting his eyes wander over the massive rock formation, that stretched toward the sky like a natural skyscraper.
“Yeah, yeah, nature's cool.” Cody interrupted. “Help me unpack, I want to go out in the boat before it gets dark.” The boys had the car unpacked in record time, putting food in the small fridge, and dumping the rest of their stuff in the cabin to be dealt with at a later time. James went out to the boat to check the fuel levels, while the rest of them dug out the fishing gear, before following him.
“The boat’s ready to go.” James declared as his friends approached the dock. “Let’s get loaded and head out.” Lucas jumped into the boat, stowing the fishing gear on one of the seats. Cody followed, stumbling off the dock, causing Lucas and James to laugh. “Smooth.” James teased.
“Yeah, Yeah.” Cody rolled his eyes, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. He turned toward Liam, expecting a barrage of ridicule, but Liam was still at the end of the dock, with his fishing gear scattered at his feet, his eyes fixed on the cliff. “Dude!” Cody yelled. “You coming?” Liam turned toward his friends, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Do you hear that?” He asked.
“I hear the ocean waves calling my name.” Cody replied sarcastically. “Let’s go!” Liam shook his head slightly before picking up his fishing gear, and jumping into the boat. Lucas noticed the confusion on Liam’s face.”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Fine.” Liam replied. “I just thought I heard something odd, it’s probably nothing.” The boys took the boat out past the waves before throwing in their lines. They attempted to fish for a few hours, moving the boat every once in a while to try and find a better spot. When the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, they headed back to the dock.
“I can’t believe we didn’t catch anything.” James exclaimed as they unloaded the boat. “There is a whole ocean full of fish, how did we catch nothing!”
“Maybe, because none of us know what we’re doing.” Lucas replied. “I mean Cody spent half the time untangling his line, then Liam kept getting distracted, and forgetting what he was doing.” James sniggered as Cody scowled.
“I’ve never been fishing before.” Cody defended himself. “But I have no idea what was up with Liam.” He gave Liam a light shove in the shoulder. “Your brain is somewhere else entirely today dude.” Liam started at the touch.
“Huh?” he asked, the lost look in his eyes making clear that he hadn’t been following the conversation. Cody rolled his eyes, threw his hands in the air then walked toward the cabin.
“Let’s get dinner, so we can get Liam to bed.” He called over his shoulder. Lucas snorted as James put an arm around a bewildered Liam and lead him toward the cabin.
The boys dropped the fishing gear by the front door, then Lucas went outside to start a fire, while James got hot dogs out of the fridge, and Cody dug through their pile of stuff to find roasting sticks. Soon the four friends were sitting around a fire, eating overcooked hot dogs, and fighting over the best way to roast them over the flames. Once all the food had been eaten the boys lounged around the fire pit, lazily staring into the dying flame. Cody eyed Lucas nervously for a moment before speaking up. “I saw your guitar case inside,” He said quickly. “I didn’t realize you had brought it.”
“Um, yeah.” Lucas replied, fidgeting uncomfortably. “Habit, I guess. I haven’t played it since…” He trailed off. Lucas closed his eyes taking a deep breath before continuing. “I haven't played it since the accident, I don’t even know if I still can. My hands were pretty messed up for a while, I don’t know if it will feel different.” There was silence around the campfire before Cody spoke up again.
“In light of this new goal of yours, to try and move on, do you want to give it a try?”
“Yeah.” Liam eagerly joined in. “I mean, we all heard you when you were first learning to play, so it can’t be any more embarrassing than that.” Lucas smiled softly at his friend’s efforts to be encouraging, before closing his eyes to steady himself. Blinking his eyes open, he nodded.
“Alright, I’ll go get it.”
“Nah, I got it.” Cody said, standing up quickly. “I know right where it's at.” Cody went inside to get the instrument. When he came back out, Lucas took the guitar out of the case carefully. He ran his hand across the glossy wood, then put the strap over his shoulder. He took a few minutes to tune the neglected guitar, before starting to play. His fingers felt stiff and clumsy at first, so Lucas had a few miss-starts as he got used to the feel of the guitar once again. As he stretched his fingers across the strings he quickly fell back into a familiar rhythm. Lucas lost himself in the music, letting his surroundings fade away as he played. He began to sing softly as he lost himself to the melody.
Lucas had completely lost track of time, when he heard the faint laugh of a little girl echoing through the air, followed by a familiar tune. “Call up your men dilly dilly, set them to work. Some to the plow dilly dilly, some to the fork.” He stopped playing abruptly, jerking his head up. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched for the source of the voice that sounded like his little sister.
“Lucas.” James’s voice brought him back to himself. “Are you okay?” James and Cody were looking at him with concern. Liam was looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. He glanced at the cliff, then turned his attention back to Lucas.
“Yeah.” Lucas answered. “I just thought I heard…” He trailed off, shaking his head, trying to clear it. “Never mind. I’m just tired.” He stood up, leaning his guitar against the chair. “I’m going to head in.” Lucas stood and headed into the cabin, leaving his guitar, and his worried friends behind. He went to bed, trying his best to ignore the voice that had followed him inside. It started out as Emily’s young voice before shifting into the beautiful voice of a woman.
“I love to dance dilly dilly, I love to sing. When I am queen dilly dilly, you’ll be my king.
Lucas eventually fell asleep, and once again, he found himself sitting in a car. Emily’s happy giggle bounced around the space, as if she was running around in the car. “Lucas.” She called. “Listen to my song. I can sing just like you.”
Lucas looked around for his sister worriedly. “Emily sit down before you get hurt.”
“Lavenders blue dilly dilly, lavenders green. When I am king dilly dilly, you will be queen.” Vaguely aware that he was dreaming, Lucas half expected to hear the horn, but instead Emily's voice shifted to the woman's voice Lucas had heard that evening. “I heard your song as you played on my shore. Come up to me and you will play forevermore. I love to dance dilly dilly, I love to sing. When I am queen dilly dilly you’ll be my king.”
Lucas was pulled from his dream by James shaking his shoulder. “Wake up.” He said urgently. Liam is gone.” Lucas sat up quickly, his dream forgotten.
“What do you mean he’s gone?”
“He’s not here.” James explained “His phones on the bed, and all his stuff is still in the cabin, but I can’t find Liam anywhere.” Lucas got off the bed searching for his shoes.
“Is the boat gone? He asked, as he quickly pulled his shoes on.
“No, is still tied to the dock.” James answered. “I already checked. Cody is outside trying to get a cell signal. None of the phones are working.” Lucas and James hurried outside, running into Cody.
“I can’t get a signal anywhere.” Cody fretted. “We’re going to have to drive back toward town to get a signal, or go look for him ourselves.”
“We can’t just leave.” James protested. “Liam could be in trouble.”
“If he’s in trouble, we’ll need help.” Lucas interjected. Cody bit his lip nervously, before giving his input.
“We need to split up.” he said. “Someone needs to go get help, while someone else goes to look for him.”
“I’ll go look for him.” Lucas volunteered. “I think I might know where he went. James, you drive back toward town and try to get a signal.” James nodded in agreement while Lucas turned to Cody. “Do you want to come with me or James?” Cody thought for a moment.
“I’ll go with you.” He answered. “You shouldn’t go up on that cliff alone. That is where you think he went, right?”
“Yeah.” Lucas nodded “he was staring at it all day yesterday.”
“I’ll be as fast as I can.” James said worriedly. “You two be careful.” The group split up, James getting in his jeep and driving as quickly as he dared down the road, while Lucas and Cody headed across the rocky beach, toward the towering cliff. When they reached the bottom of the cliff, Cody whistled softly.
“How are we supposed to get up that thing?” He asked, waving his arms in the air. “It goes straight up.” Lucas scanned the rocky surface for a moment before replying.
“Right there, look.” He pointed at a space between two large rocks where he could see what almost looked like a trail leading up the cliff.
“Not much of a trail.” Cody said, eyeing the path nervously.
“It’s probably used by animals, not people.” Lucas explained. “Come on.” He started walking up the small path, Cody reluctantly following behind him. The cliff side was rocky and steep, but despite the appearance at the bottom, there were plenty of ledges and walkways on the side of the cliff, once they had started their climb.
Lucas was so focused on looking for any sign of Liam, he didn’t notice how far they had traveled, until they stopped to take a break. Sitting on a rock, Lucas looked at the water far below. Emily’s voice was still haunting him, singing the song that had been etched into his brain since the night of the accident. “Lavenders blue dilly dilly, lavenders green, when I am king dilly dilly, you shall be queen.” Lucas glanced over at his friend, noticing Cody staring at the rocks above them intently.
“Cody?” Lucas questioned apprehensively.
“Do you hear that?” Cody asked, keeping his eyes on the rocks. Lucas felt dread pool in his stomach.
“Hear what Cody?” Lucas asked slowly.
“The singing.” Cody answered, finally turning his gaze toward Lucas, though his eyes never focused on his friend’s face. Lucas took in a sharp breath. He thought the song was an echo of Emily shadowing him, but as he compared Cody’s odd behavior to Liam’s, he was starting to realize the alluring music was somehow connected to the cliff. He opened his mouth to warn Cody of his suspicions, but a high giggle had him whirling toward the noise. Lucas caught a quick glance of a little girl, before the small form disappeared behind a large rock. He cautiously moved toward the rock, peering around the corner. There was nothing there. He heard the giggle again, this time from above his head. When he looked up, tears filled his eyes. There was a little girl twirling on a ledge. A little girl who looked exactly like Emily. She danced on the ledge, giggling as she sang.
“Lavender's green dilly dilly, lavender's blue. If you love me dilly dilly I will love you.” Remembering his missing friend, Lucas forced himself to ignore the figure. He tried to remind himself that it couldn’t possibly be Emily, but a sharp pain still tore through his heart as he turned away. With shaking hands, he returned to where he had left Cody, but he was gone.
“Cody!” Lucas shouted frantically, searching for his friend. Out of nowhere, a pebble bounced down the cliff wall, rolling past his feet. Lucas looked up to where the pebble had come from, spotting Cody scaling the rocks. “Cody!” He shouted again, quickly chasing after him. “Cody, stop!”
Lucas caught up to his friend on another ledge. “Cody.” Lucas grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around. “We need to go back down, there’s something up here.” Cody yanked his arm away roughly.
“No.” He practically growled. “I have to find her.” For a split second Lucas thought Cody was talking about Emily, but that didn’t make sense. Cody had only met Emily a couple of times, he wouldn’t be chasing after her ghost. Lucas pushed the torrent of emotions down, determined not to lose another friend.
“Cody, whatever you're seeing, it's not real, and we really need to go.” He tried to grab Cody’s arm again, but Cody backed away, out of reach.
“No! ” His eyes darkened, as he glared at Lucas. “You’re trying to keep her from me.” Cody accused.
“What?” Lucas asked in confusion. “No, there's something up here trying to get into our heads, and we need to get away right now.” Cody growled animalistically, causing Lucas to take a step back in surprise.
“You are not going to stop me from finding her.” Cody's voice was low and dangerous. He took several aggressive steps forward until he was inches from Lucas, towering over him despite their minimal height difference. Lucas’s heart was pounding in his chest as he fought against primal fear. Forcing the fear aside, he tried to reach his friend one more time.
“Cody,” Lucas started, but was interrupted when Cody flew into a rage.”
“I am going to find her! And you are not going to stop me.” Cody put his hand against Lucas’s chest and shoved, hard. Not expecting the push, Lucas tumbled backwards, sliding off the edge of the rocky shelf they had been standing on. He skidded down the rocks, desperately trying to grab onto something, to slow his fall. His head slammed into something hard, and the world went dark.
A few minutes later, Lucas slowly opened his eyes. He blinked in confusion, trying to get his bearings, before his aching head reminded him of what happened. Sitting up slowly, he groaned, as he rubbed his throbbing head. His hair felt wet when he touched it, so he pulled his hand back down, seeing the red covering his fingers. Lucas braced himself on the rock wall behind him, pushing himself to his feet. He looked up at the cliff face above him, then down to the ground below, debating whether to risk going after Cody, or make his way back down to the beach to wait for James.
“Let the birds sing dilly dilly, and the lambs play. We will be safe dilly dilly out of harm's way.” Lucas leaned back against the rocks behind him, unable to keep himself upright as the song returned. “Come on Lucas.” The little girl suddenly appeared in front of him, gesturing at him to follow her. She looked exactly like his sister, even wearing the same clothes he had last seen her in, but her eyes were blank, and she didn’t seem quite solid. She giggled, a happy sound that didn’t match her empty eyes, then turned, racing around the corner, and out of sight. Overcome by an overwhelming grief, Lucas closed his eyes, struggling to breathe normally. “Lucas.” The apparition of Emily returned, her voice right in front of him. “Why won’t come with me.” Lucas refused to open his eyes, shaking his head in denial.
“You’re not Emily. You're not real.” There was no reply, and as the silence stretched on, Lucas opened his eyes. There was no one in front of him. Pushing himself up, he took a few shaky steps, before hearing the song once again. This time it was not Emily’s voice singing the tune, but the same beautiful voice he had heard the night before.
“I love to dance dilly dilly, I love to sing. When I am queen dilly dilly you will be king. Who told me so dilly dilly, who told me so? I told myself, dilly dilly, I told me so.” The voice was coming from the direction the fake Emily had tried to lead him to. It was hard to think logically after the intense emotional roller coaster of the last two days. Unable to endure any more grief, Lucas gave in, following the voice. He robotically walked along to the ledge, then climbed up an outcropping of sharp rocks, until he came to a cave with a flat stone courtyard in front of it. The courtyard wasn’t natural, it had been carved into the rocks surrounding the cave.
Standing on the edge of the courtyard was a young woman in a brown, knee-length dress, and bare feet. Her long hair was blowing in the wind as she turned to look at Lucas, smiling sweetly. Lucas was captivated by her golden, falcon eyes, but her most striking feature was the large, feathered wings growing out of her back. “You finally came.” She said. She wasn’t singing, but her voice still held a hypnotic, musical tone. “I wasn’t sure you would. You’re different from the others, your greatest desire is something you know you can’t have.” Lucas was breathless, he had a million questions, but when he opened his mouth to ask them, he couldn’t remember what they were. His brain felt foggy, like he couldn’t hold on to his thoughts. Lucas knew he had traveled up the cliff for something important, he could still feel a sense of urgency, but he couldn’t quite recall what it was.
“What's your name?” He finally settled on asking.
“I’m Ava.” She introduced herself, reaching a hand out to touch Lucas’s cheek. He winced as a pain shot through his head, reminding him of his injury, and the events leading up to receiving it.
“Where are my friends?” He demanded. Pushing Ava’s hand aside, and backing away from her. She stuck her lip out in a pout as he moved. Sighing, Ava shrugged her shoulders, making her wings ruffle with the movement.
“I don’t know.” Ava waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I wasn’t interested in them. They were following my sister’s call, not mine.” Ava moved forward, closing the gap between them. “You're hurt.” she stated, tilting her head like a curious bird’s. She reached out to examine Lucas’s injury, but he flinched away from the touch. Ava lowered her hand, and began to hum. As her soft voice reached his ears, Lucas could feel his mind begin to fog, his memories drifting away in the haze. He tried desperately to hang onto them, but the more he listened, the less important they seemed.
“What do you want?” He managed to ask before he lost his grip on the question that had been nagging him. Ava smiled, gently taking his hand.
“You play music so beautifully. I want to hear you play again.” Ava tugged on his hand, guiding him toward the cave. Lucas didn’t fight her, he no longer remembered why he wanted to. He had a feeling he was forgetting something, or someone, important, but Ava’s was the only face he remembered, so he pushed the feeling aside, and followed her into the darkness.
