Seth's Delight - Lydia's Love

I felt as if I were in a haze as my reverie was interrupted by a small, cold hand cupping my cheek. When my eyes adjusted to the present, it was still cloudy, but a slight break in the clouds let the sun peak through for just a moment. Then there was Lydia and her big eyes that were as dark as midnight, narrowed in worry. " What's wrong Seth? I heard you ¼you were whispering someone's name. William. May I ask, who is William?" Her voice was small in her desperation to find out what was wrong with me. I stared at her for a moment, just studying her face. Lydia looked like her mother, which was a blessing. If she had looked like her father, it wouldn't have been easy to just plainly tell her.

"William was my younger brother."
"Was?"
" Yes, he was. He's dead now." Maxwell killed him, I wanted to say so bad, but if I'd tell her of her father's crimes, life would wouldn't be the same. I didn't have the heart to tell her, even if it was her right to know. She looked fixedly at me with tears glistening in the early morning light. Instantly I felt calmed. Lydia blinked and the tears began to trail down her face, in straight lines. " I'm so sorry Seth," she said. I hugged her in my arms and kissed her forehead. " I'm sorry ."
I shook my head . " No Lydia, you have nothing to apologize for. The one who did this will be judged for what they have done." My voice came out in a whisper as I held her close, breathing in her scent of Lavender. I breathed deep. She nodded, understanding me and wiping tears from her face. " Hey," I said, " you're cold. Let's go inside."

MAXWELL

My chest tightened at the nightmares that had been haunting me for a little over two years. Each night, I'd fall asleep, afraid of what I was going to see while unconscious. There were many faces, so many dark and gloomy faces that seem to be eyeless and without a mouth, yet they could see me and spoke my name. As I sit in the dark now, I feel the same numbness on one side of my body, and the same tightening of my chest. Beside me, Elizabeth lay there, snoring lightly. I watched the dark room all around us, seeing if anything moved. Was that footsteps I just heard? In the hall? Maybe it was Seth or Lydia going to the bathroom. I heard someone sneeze and was instantly relieved by it. It was Lydia.

I laid back upon the bed and starred up at the ceiling, contemplating. What would life had been like if I hadn't took charge? I had done just as my father and his has done : I did what I could to survive. Scheming was in our blood. It was a sixth sense to us. When the opportunity arose, we took charge and nine times out of ten, we where granted what we lusted after. We weren't always rich. But I did what I had to do in order to survive. Living on credit would only get us so far, and in the future it would most likely fail. Luckily, I still have my wits about me, if not entirely. I can see what is going to happen.

I fell asleep right there, only to be awoken a moment, or what seemed like a moment, later. All around the room, darkness seemed to radiate. There were shadows, despite it being dark; black creeping shadows. They seemed to call my name, whispering it. I shrank deeper into thick, green blankets.

"Seth..." I heard the whispers. It was someone that I recognized from long ago, someone whom I had know to be dead. " Don't kill Seth..." I heard. My heart was beating, drumming against my breast. It was William's voice. William had been dead for years, very dead indeed. Why did he have to come back and haunt me? Death was supposed to be a relief for him, and a new life for his brother Seth who had skipped town and disappeared. Just yesterday, Joe came to me and told me he had seen Seth while in Canada. I had to convince myself of that. Although I knew it was my old age catching up with me, but sometimes, I saw Seth in Lydia's new husband. This boy favored Seth, but they were nothing alike.

Seth was a heathen from London with a whore for a mother and a weakling for a brother. Although I admired his devotion and loyalty to his family, he was also too straightforward and had a good head on his shoulders. I couldn't have that, not when my title and side "business" was at stake. Soon he would be running every whorehouse and thug den in New York. That kind of completion would've put me down.

Besides, Seth didn't have shoulder length hair, nor did he had a tattoo beneath his jaw on his neck. Anyway, most likely Seth is dead and William,... He's just a figment of my imagination.

It seems that no matter how many times I think of repenting and asking for forgiveness, it can't happen. Perhaps it's time I met my maker.