Page 15 of Like A Moth To A Flame

It was a female—the males were a bright yellow-green.

After emerging from their cocoons, they lived for only one week. They didn’t sleep, hunt, or eat. They lived only to find a mate, and then when they laid their eggs, they died.

They were born, they transformed, they loved, and they died.

It was like some kind of Romeo and Juliet shit.

And it didn’t deserve to spend the last days of its life in captivity.

I dug my fingers beneath the rim of the glass and lifted it, and the moth took off, disappearing into the shadows with a single flap of its wings.

Underneath the dome, there was another note, written in the same handwriting, with the same dark, splotchy ink. I plucked itfrom the rotted boards and darted into the house. I balanced the dome on the dining room table before I bothered to read the note.

Moth,

You’ve become a beautiful creature all on your own.

I’m so proud of what you’ve become. I can’t wait to call you mine.

Shivering, I hurried back to the door. I locked it, deadbolted it, and slid the chain into place. There was no denying it now. This wasn’t one of my dad’s old cop buddies.

5

Every time I close my eyes, it’s like a dark paradise

Moth

Itried to sleep that night, really, I did. With so many memories floating around and so many thoughts in my head, it was impossible. By the time the first rays of sun began peaking in the window, I gave up and threw the comforter back, hurrying down to the kitchen to brew some coffee.

Today was the day the inspector was coming over, and I was going to need the caffeine.

Waiting for it to finish, I sat down at the kitchen table, in my dad’s old favorite chair. I needed to shower before the inspector got here. I needed to work on the attic and my dad’s bedroom. The hallway and the shed were empty, and I had stripped the kitchen down to bare bones—just what I needed for as long as I stayed here. I had a small pile in the hall closet of things I planned on keeping, but other than that, I was making good progress.

The phone on the wall beside the stove screamed to life, and I yelped, jumping so hard I nearly fell off the chair. Strange, I didn’t even know my dad had kept that old thing hooked up.

Stepping across the room, I picked it up off the cradle and brought it to my ear.

“Hello?”

There was static on the other line, but not much else. It was quiet, and unnervingly so.

“Harper residence. How can I help you?”

Again, there was nothing there. Just when I moved to pull the phone away from my ear, I heard a shuffling on the other end, and then a low growling laugh before the line went dead. A shiver raced up my spine, and I slammed the receiver down, stepping away from the phone as if it were a deadly spider hanging on the wall.

It was nothing. It had to be nothing.

Coincidence, and all that?

Except I didn’t really believe in coincidences.

I stepped out of the shower, pulling a towel through my hair. I felt the weight of my world fall away with the grime, and I took a deep, relaxing breath. It was true what my mom always used to say.

Feeling down? Take a shower. You’ll feel better.

She was right.

Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about the phone call. It had to be related to the letters, didn’t it? Things like that didn’t just happen.

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