Lily Lane--Grace

 

A stranger at a crosswalk. That’s all it took for Ayla to be reeled back into the past.

Having long left behind their research on anomalies throughout the world, Ayla had found

themself at a crosswalk while making their way through the daily commute to their office job. It

was the route that they took every weekday without fault, and the day had seemed as if it would

be no different than every other. But, a stranger managed to change it all.

“Look for Lilly Lane,” the stranger had screeched.

Ayla, having just begun to walk as the signal had indicated, was stunned mid-step. The

words the stranger had uttered were ones they had heard before. They were the same words that

their partner had last screamed towards a camera before being dragged away by masked men and

never to be heard from again. Just before Ayla’s partner, James, was taken -- there had been a

breakthrough. An anonymous call had been made to their facility and James had been the only

one there to answer, in the moment of the call he had looked ecstatic. Though, before the call

could even end, his brief moment of happiness was robbed when the door of the facility had

come crashing down. Without a moment to waist the masked men took him, and quickly thinking

of the hidden cameras, James screamed knowing their research depended on it. Ayla had been

bereaved, in a single moment their dependable partner was taken and the facility with decades of

research had been compromised. It was only made worse through the fact that Ayla had to watch

James' last known moments through a recording, unable to help in the slightest. Knowing only

James' last words, and not what was discussed in the call, Ayla caved to fear and sorrow.

Choosing to neglect what had happened, the years leading up to the encounter at the

crosswalk were filled with repetition and dissatisfaction, Ayla had become a corporate mind,

with no questions of their own. But, hearing the words once more had awakened a passion

thought to have long been burned out. With a renewed fire they immediately began searching for

the stranger, though they were lost in the sea of bodies moving across the street. Reluctant to

stop, unlike last time, Ayla broke their routine and raced home to do exactly what was asked of

them -- Look for Lilly Lane.

It had taken endless searching with no rest, yet Ayla had done it, they had found Lilly

Lane. They had found the anomaly.

Lily Lane is a street which has no discernible problems, seemingly ideal and perfect in

every way. The sun is always out, there always seems to be a light breeze, and the weather is

perpetually cool. Never is there a storm, or even a single drop of rain. Walking down this street

would be enlightening. Not a single screeching bark would assault your ears, and never would

you have to watch for cars. Blue hangs above, with large white strokes painting its surface.

Flowers planted in front of each home are in bloom, and with the light breeze they, along with

the branches of nearby trees, lightly sway back and forward. Taken by the wind, leaves and

petals flow about in the air, slowly drifting off to places unknown. The sun is hanging high in the

sky, looking down on all. A brilliant light shines down, creating shadows that creep up along

each and every house that sits behind a perfectly cut lawn.

But the sun, despite the arched windows showcased on every home, doesn’t manage to

reach inside any of the houses. Rather, inside each home it remains dark. So dark that one

wouldn’t be able to see their own two hands in front of them, let alone the furniture and families

the homes are meant to house. However, as Ayla found, there were no families or even furniture

to be discovered inside. All the houses on Lily Lane were nothing but shells with a facade on the

exterior. When beginning to search the home, Ayla had to bring a flashlight in the middle of the

day to begin their search. Not only were the houses empty, the insides were nothing like what

was expected given the outside. While the outside looked well kept and regularly updated the

same could not be said for the insides.

Behind the front doors that weren't even locked, was flooring which looked to be rotting

away and walls with large holes that held wallpaper ripped to the edges. In very few words, the

homes looked as though they would have already been condemned. Though, in Ayla’s search of

the houses there was a similarity found in all that wasn’t just relative to their conditions. On a

single wall in each home, behind the wall paper that had long begun to rip and peel, was a

symbol. The symbol was painted with a black liquid that gleamed in the brightness of Ayla’s

flashlight. It was a symbol which Ayla did not recognize, with a raven encircled by writing in a

language Ayla couldn’t read or place. In all their years of research never had they come across a

symbol such as this or a language that looked even similar to what was written. On the spot, Ayla

knew that this was the beginning to the next step. Their research would soon begin anew with no

stopping until all the answers were uncovered. Coming to Lily Lane was only the beginning.

There in those homes, no questions were meant to be answered, it was a place meant only as a

stepping stone to continue their journey. Soon enough, time will pass in what seems to be a blink

of an eye and Ayla will be able to tie loose ends. Knowing deep down that James is still alive

somewhere, Ayla will find him. They will find the men that took him, and they will learn what

went down on the phone call that caused everything to spiral. No matter how long it takes Ayla

will never stop their investigation, forever searching to fix the oddities found in life. Never will

Ayla stop looking for the truth, and never will Ayla back down again.