An Undying Love : Melodies in the Dark

"I'm coming, Elwynn! Won't be a minute!" Tillybeth shouted down the basement stairs. The buxom middle-aged woman turned on her heels to face her children.   "Go on then, go down and give your father a kiss, then off to school with you!" Tillybeth's voice bellowed throughout the house. At this, her daughter's face brightened, and she skipped happily down the stairs. "And be sure you kiss him on the left cheek, Annaleigh. His right cheek is still healing”.   Tillybeth then turned her attention to her son, Gavin, who stood submissively with his head aimed at the floor and his fingers threaded behind his back. She'd been having more trouble with Gavin lately. She felt like there was an argument between Gavin and his father, as Gavin hadn't spoken to him for more than three days now.   "What's this? Are we getting too old to kiss our father goodbye for the morning?" Tillybeth's eyes tracked Gavin's facial expression, noting his trembling lips tightening and forming a thin slit of a smile.   "Nay, Momma. It's just that ... “, Gavin stopped his words abruptly, his eyes darting to his mother's to gauge her reaction.   "Go on then! It's just what?" Tillybeth blinked in surprise at the intensity of her words and realized she had scared her boy to the brink of tears. She moved closer to him, knelt down beside him and gave him a firm hug. "I'm sorry love, Momma didn't mean to bite at you. What's going on between you and Poppa? You can tell me; I promise I won't be mad".   Just then, Annaleigh leapt into the room from the basement stairwell, skipping towards them on an invisible hop-scotch board. "Come on Gavin! Daddy says he wants to see you off. We can't be late for school else the Missus will make us stay late again!", Annaleigh reminded.   Gavin returned his eyes to his mother's. "Nothing, momma. It's just that.... it smells down there." Gavin winced, expecting a slap to his face. He knew better than to say that his father was the one who was stinking. He'd gotten in a mighty trouble for saying that last week. He hoped that by blaming the smell on the basement, he'd be better off and still be telling the truth.   Tillybeth searched her son's eyes for a lie; they held none. Seeing her son in turmoil cut at her womb. "Gavin, thankee for telling Momma the truth. It's alright". She leaned in to whisper in his ear "I think it's his bedsheets. You go off to school now and I'll tell Poppa that you were running late and had to be off to school". Leaning back, Tillybeth's brow furrowed. "But you owe him double kisses when you get back from school, Gavin. I'll have those sheets cleaned by then, so no excuses." Gavin nodded his head in resigned agreement, turned to his sister and grabbed her hand. He then turned his head towards the basement door, "Pappa, I love you! I gotta run to school but I'll see you afterwards!". Gavin waited for a reply but got none. Tillybeth nodded at him, then motioned her children to leave.   Tillybeth stood at the front door and watched her children run off hand in hand until they turned the corner and out of sight onto Craft Street. Straightening her back, she subconsciously straightened and smoothed her apron before walking over to the pantry. There, she withdrew a dark colored jar half full of clear unguent, then gently pushed the pantry door closed. "Alright Elwynn, I'm coming! Going to clean those bedsheets today too, but first your medication." Tillybeth walked firmly, creating a staccato rhythm as she clomped her way down the basement stairs.   The basement was bone-cold and smelled of a soil rich with minerals; so rich you wanted to eat it, knowing you would somehow be satiated despite its clay texture. The room was roughly square in shape, seemingly clawed into existence with rough tools and clawed hands. Elwynn sat in a chair next to his bed, his head slumped forward, his chin resting on his chest. Tillybeth smiled lovingly at her husband, then walked to him quietly. "Come on now love, it's time for your lotion. Mustn't let those wounds fester or they'll be the death of you". Tillybeth gently pulled her husband's head upwards and turned his face to meet hers. Elwynn's hollow eye sockets sagged and moved with a viscous sloshing motion as his face inclined. His mouth hung agape, revealing a withered black root of a tongue.   "There now love", Tillybeth sung as she smoothed the ointment over Elwynn's right cheek. "This will make you feel so much better".