Lacrimosa Pt. 5

The audience:

A middle-aged woman, Maribeth she was called, who took pride in the fact that she was going to watch a play and ‘not some cheap movie the kids are watching nowadays’ sat beside her husband in the middle part of the orchestra. She had pearls dangling from her slim neck and a pair of purple gloves that looked out of place.

Richard, a young hopeful playwright living in a run-down apartment just across the street, sold his kitchen sink in order to afford a ticket. “I have the bathroom sink, I can live,” he says to himself as he received money from the junkyard. Richard sits at the far back of the mezzanine; he smiles at the person next to him.

Harry was a little boy who insisted to come with his parents to watch the show. “It is not for young boys like you Harry!” his father said but Harry was persistent. He cried and wailed and rolled on the floor until his parents agreed to buy a ticket for him just to shut him up.

—-

The demons:

At the backstage, everyone was busy getting into their costumes. However, unlike a normal backstage of a normal play, they weren’t rehearsing their lines. They knew just what they had to say. This is after all, not a normal play.

Momo slid inside the costume of a plump, little pig, much to her mother’s disdain.

“What are you wearing, young lady?!” Lillith raised an eyebrow.
“I want to be the pig.” Momo said.
“No sweetheart. I’ve already arranged your costume” Lillith snapped her fingers and an elegant dress of red and black fell from her hands.
“I want to be the pig.” Momo repeated and turned her back against her mother.

Lillith was losing her patience, she appeared in front of her feisty daughter and held her chin. “You keep pushing it Lacrimosa. You keep pushing it!” she growled.

—-

The audience:

Maribeth felt hot sweat trickle down her neck. Why is it suddenly so hot in here? she takes off her purple gloves as her meek husband fans her with the pamphlet.

Richard takes off his worn down newsboy cap and fans himself as well. He whistles, quite loudly, and then smiles again to the person beside him, “It’s quite warm, isn’t it?” he grins. The person next to him said nothing.

Harry grimaced and tried hard not to cry and complain. If he does, his parents would only tell him “I told you so! You should’ve stayed home!” and Harry hates it when his parents are right.

—-

The demons:

A hand grasped Lillith’s white wrist. “The show is about to start darling” Mr. Lucy’s saccharine smile was both endearing and terrifying. Lillith’s aura calmed down. She sighed and watched Momo walk away and towards the stage. “Where is Serafina?”

“Here, mistress.” a voice that oozed like butter said from behind Mr. Lucy. With Serafina was a man with six wings. A broody man, who looked like he didn’t belong anywhere.

Lillith smiled. She was very strict with Serafina only because Serafina had Lillith’s full trust. Stroking Serafina’s hair Lillith kissed her, lightly on the lips. “Beautiful as ever, child” she smiles and Serafina bows low.

—-

The audience:

The temperature was back to normal. It wasn’t that warm anymore and there was a communal sigh of relief from the crowd. Although Harry was getting impatient, he tried his best to keep himself occupied.

Richard on the other hand, took notice of the setting:
There were chairs encircling what looked like a pole with chopped wood piled high around it. It looked like that place they tied Joan of Arc to when they burned her at the stake. Richard gulped. If things will go as his mind dictates, then this play would be rather violent to the imagination. Considering of course, things remain on the stage.

Maribeth was about to stand up to get some fresh air. Her husband tugs her back down when suddenly someone walked up the stage.

—-

The stage:

“Come my children. Tonight we talk about the end of the world.” A man wearing the black of night as his robe and who, strangely, was also wearing a fedora hat sashayed towards the stage.

First came out a pig. It tottered towards one of the chairs and sat down, decisively. She looked at the audience. “So many of them tonight. Sinners most of them. But… there are a few strange ones–”

“Hush, Lacrimosa. We have special guests. They are what the foolish folk would call… Angels.” Mr. Lucy licked his lips as he said the word, like a man savoring the taste of a meal already finished. “Hypocrites. I call them.”

—-

The backstage:

“That’s not all. One of the Virtues.” said Aion, whom Momo sometimes called Ai. Momo knows everyone in hell. But because they change form so frequently, she has lost track of how they look like. Regardless, Momo could see their heck form and upon seeing it, she would immediately know their names. Every single one of them. Heck was a big place but for their group who were assigned to roam Earth, their heck seemed so little. Aion sniffed the air. “One of them. One of the Virtues. In the Mezzanine. We have to be careful if we don’t want t—”

“Woah, you really do love to talk huh?” Mack said. “Of course there are angels here. He WANTS them here. Why do you think he’d set up such an obvious meeting place?” Mack peeked out at the audience and spotted one of the angels. There. Right in the middle with the pearl necklace hanging onto her slim, white neck. “Right.” he said.

“Will they fight?” Serafina asked.
“I doubt it.” Aion said. “The angels would not put the lives of the innocent at risk.”
“Oh? How can you be so sure?” Mack mused.

From behind them, a svelte figure stood and tapped her foot impatiently. The three demons turned around and found Lillith standing there with her left hand resting on her hip. “Okay guys. You know what to do.” Lillith flipped her hair. “Just tell Mr. Lucy over there what you have been doing the past century. And how you do it. Oh and since we have visitors, you might want to throw in something that would ruffle their fluffy angel feathers a bit” Lillith smiled and traced her index finger down her chin.

“Oh and you’re late Staelle” she scolded at the demon who just arrived. “Hmp. At least not as late as the others. You know what to do?”
“Ice cream.” he said simply.
“Ugh. Yes, yes well you better do a good job if you want something out of this” Lillith turned her back on them. “I have to make some… arrangements. Break a leg, you guys” Serafina watched her mentor leave the room.

Mack was watching intently and waiting for his cue. But then again, he can just come up on stage anytime he wants. There were no rules. He thought about what he was going to say.

Aion said nothing but his eyes were fixated on the angels and one of the Virtues in the audience. A feeling deep in the pit of his stomach told him that something big was going to happen.

Staelle was found looming over the sleeping curtain-man. He had his teeth dug deep into the sleeping man’s skull and he heaved and munched on the man’s dream. “Stop that Staelle! That’s disgusting!” Serafina snapped. “Mpppfffon Offf yfforr bifffnuthhh” Staelle continued to munch. When the sleeping man wakes up, there will be no scars on his head, there would be no recollection of any dream either.

“Ugh. Disgusting little freak, what did you say?” Serafina asked.
“He said none of your business, Serafina.” Mack said absent-mindedly. He was formulating a scene in his head. A grand entrance, something SPECTACULAR!

—-

The stage:

“Little pig, let us show these–” a cough. “–angels what is it that makes us so powerful!” Mr. Lucy stood tall and proud while facing the audience. He was looking straight at Maribeth.

Momo cleared her throat and faced the audience herself. She prepared the words in her head, the words that would explain to the crowd how miserable they are and how she was only a catalyst for their ultimate fall to depression and despair. “Maybe… maybe someone else ought to start first, sir” she said finally.

She looked expectantly backstage.