Year: 3665 BC
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
— MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
“So, what was it like?” Shem asked eagerly upon my arrival. I shook my head, unable to put into words what I had just experienced. It had been so different from what I was accustomed to. Lilith was nothing like what I had expected her to be, and I found that she had successfully planted a small seed of doubt within me.
Surely Yahweh had just not spent much time with her. He couldn’t truly think that little creature with her whip-smart mind and library full of knowledge was evil, could He?
“It was like nothing I have ever seen,” I breathed, and Shem laughed.
“Well, Ram, seeing as you have only existed for a year, I’m not sure that’s saying much.”
I grinned and punched him in the shoulder, shaking my head.
“Trust me, Hazai. Hell is not what Yahweh has described. It is like an eternal night. There are so many stars and Lilith… Lilith is…”
Shemwas hanging on to every word I said, and there was a fire burning in his eyes like I had never seen before. “Lilith is like what?” he breathed, and I looked at him, hoping he could see on my face what I thought of Lilith because I was afraid to say it out loud.
“Oh,” he murmured, and I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Well,” he said, grinning. “I’m looking forward to hearing about your next trip down there.” I frowned, feeling a flutter of anxiety in my chest.
“I fear I have angered her. She seemed upset with me when I left.”
Shem shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets as we approached Yahweh’s Sorter of Souls. We were due to meet Him to give our daily reports.
“So, find a way to make it up to her. You’re her emissary to Heaven; you two will have an eternity together. It would be in both of your best interests to get along.”
I frowned. “Yahweh warned me against getting too close to her,” I said hesitantly. Shem scowled, glancing around furtively before leaning into my ear.
“Don’t you ever get sick of doing whatever Yahweh says?” he asked, and my stomach flipped. Those words were sacrilege. Angels had been put into purgatory for less. Shemhazai must really trust me to say something like that with such conviction. I thought about it, and although I had only existed for a year, I was already beginning to understand why Shemhazai always seemed so bored, especially after returning from Hell to the endless white abyss that was Heaven. I wanted what Lilith had. I wanted room to experiment, books to read, and stars to gaze upon.
I looked at Shem, who was watching me expectantly, his eyes shining. I nodded.
“Yes, I get tired of it,” I agreed, and he grinned at me.
“I knew we were going to be friends the moment I met you, Ramel,” he purred, just as Yahweh appeared to collect our reports.
Lilith wascold to me on my next visit. I missed the warm smiles and the kind looks she’d given me on my first visit to Hell. She walked ahead of me, leading me across the bridge. Though her inky hands made me nervous, I worked up the courage to reach out and touch her shoulder.
The moment my fingers brushed against her skin, a spark of electricity shot up my arm and directly to my heart. She froze, and my breath caught in my chest. Slowly, she turned to face me, her mossy eyes burning with indignation.
“What is it, Ramel?” she asked, her tone flat.
“I wanted to apologize again. I am relatively new to the world and have no experience outside of what I am exposed to in Heaven.”
She glared at me for another moment before she finally softened. Her little pink lips quirked up at the side. “You have much to learn then,” she murmured, and I nodded eagerly.
“Yes. Teach me,” I breathed, hoping she would agree. My mind was racing with exhilaration. Shem would be so excited to hear about all the things I might learn from Lilith, the Queen of Hell.
“Alright, Ramel. I will teach you.” She smiled, and my heart soared. I was thrilled that I had been able to find a way back into her good graces. Instead of taking me to the manor, she turned at the edge of the bridge, and we walked down the black sands of the beach that surrounded her island. Glowing green specks of soul dust mixed with the sand, making it feel like we were walking across the night sky.
“Everything is so dark here,” I murmured in awe, taking in how the black sand met with the ebony sea. “In Heaven, everything is so bright. Yahweh tells us that the dark is synonymous with sin. Do you think that is true?” I asked her, genuinely curious as to what she thought of Yahweh’s lessons in sin.
Lilith glanced at me, shrugging. “I believe in balance,” she explained, and I frowned.
