It's twilight.  Bright day is gone; deep shadows are forming.  They are welcome veils.   I'm waiting for David.  The tapers are lit, bringing romantic, flickering allure to the gracious table I've prepared.   Here are all his favorites, and for the end, a beautiful scarlet wine. I must reward him for rescuing me from Silent Hills.

   I had a peace-filled life before I went to Silent Hills.  My mother and father were perfect parents.  I loved them.   For twenty years they loved and protected me.   Just days ago they were alive.  A mysterious truck forced their car off the highway into a ravine, then sped off into the night, leaving death for them and pain, confusion, and horror for me.

   I knew they were not my real parents.  When I was fourteen, they told me about my birth mother.

   "She is beautiful, Syn.   When she came to our door with you, it was as if an angel had appeared," Mom told me.   "Her eyes are the same color as yours, a lovely lavender-blue that looks silver when light shines on them.   I've never seen anyone else with eyes that color.  And her hair!  The same long, shiny black silk as yours.   She was tall and slender, too.   You look just like her."

   "She told us your name is Syndyl and that she needed to protect you," my dad added.  "And so we received the best gift anyone could - a four-year-old bundle of beauty."

   That's all I ever knew about my birth mother.  My parents said she called occasionally to ask about me, but the conversations were quick and she spoke in a whisper, always emphasizing the need to keep me safe.  They said she had never defined the danger.   Thinking back about it now, I suspect she told my parents why I needed protection, but they didn't believe her.   Well, now I know.   She was trying to keep me from Silent Hills.

   That black night after my parent's funeral, I fell into a fitful sleep and had the same nightmare that had plagued me for twenty years.  A blue ray chased me through billowing chambers that lost substance as I entered them.  It was a cold light, sending out sapphire shards trying to reach me with their icy touch.   I ran from them, terror making me scream while phantoms whispered and laughed around me.   My screams startled me awake; fear and sobs shook my body, but there was no one left to comfort me.

   The waking nightmare, the one from which I will never be free, started the next morning with the sound of the doorbell.  When I opened the door, there stood two petite ladies, twins, who were my complete opposite.   They were dressed alike, wearing dark brown suits that fit with the precise cut of their short, blonde hair, and matched their large, chocolate eyes.   Their age was hard to discern because, although they appeared to be in their forties or fifties, there wasn't a wrinkle in their beautiful twin faces.

   "Oh, my dear," said one.   "You look just like your mother!"

   "Elizabeth," said the other.   "Don't be rude.   She doesn't even know who we are."

   "I'm so sorry, dear," Elizabeth said.  "We were friends of your mother.   This is Marybeth and I am Elizabeth, and we are so very happy to see you."

   Although they looked exactly alike, from that moment on I was able to tell them apart the moment they spoke.

   "May we come in?" Marybeth asked.

   I let them in. I wish I hadn't. Now I am forever tied to Silent Hills.

   They told me they had sad news for me. My birth mother had died just yesterday.

   "I think she was trying to get to you, dear, to comfort you." Elizabeth said. "She had an accident."

   "Accident!" Marybeth snorted. "Maybe . . . maybe not."

   The sisters insisted I accompany them to their home in Silent Hills so I would not be alone with so much sorrow and so I could attend another funeral. My first instinct was to run upstairs to my room, hide under the covers, but I knew I must face this new hurt. I threw some things into an overnight bag and accompanied the ladies to their limousine.

   During the ride to Silent Hills Elizabeth kept up constant chatter about the town and their home, as if she thought I was to become a permanent resident there. I was going just for the funeral, another funeral to leave me even more lonely, so I didn't pay attention. My interest was piqued, however, when the limousine rounded a curve and the valley town came into view. It road leading into what appeared to be an old English village. Nestled high above the trees on one hill I could just see the top of a castle. It was like riding into a dream. It was impossible to imagine the dark terror I would find there.

   We skirted the town to go up a winding road to the castle. These eccentric twins lived in a castle! Inside were more blonde people who were overwhelming in their welcome to me. Men and women who seemed to glow with perfection surrounded me. Bits of words said to me registered before I fainted: ". . . just like your mother . . . the crystal . . . protect you . .. ."

   I became conscious, felt softness under me, but I kept my eyes closed, hoping it had all been a nightmare and when I opened them my world would be back in place.

   "The poor dear." It was Elizabeth talking. "So much suffering in just a few days. Too much for her."

   "Those fools crowding around her are what caused this!" Marybeth snapped.

   "At least David wasn't here." Elizabeth said.

   "Ha! He's not a fool!" Marybeth returned.

   "No, he's not that." Elizabeth sounded angry.

   I opened my eyes. I was lying in a bed centered in the largest, most beautiful and unique room I had ever seen. From a twenty-foot ceiling hung soft, quivering partitions, dividing the room into a kaleidoscope of gossamer chambers. There were colors I had never before seen.

   "Are you all right, dear?" Elizabeth asked.

   "Yes. Thank you. This room is so wonderful. The colors!"

   "Well, Syndl, Marybeth and I can't see all the colors. We can see some of them, but only your mother could see them all. This was her room. You see . .. ."

   "This child has been through enough, Elizabeth," Marybeth cut in. "Save your explanations for later. This is your room now, Syndyl, and we will leave you to explore it, or rest, as you wish. Come on Elizabeth, let's give the girl a chance to relax."

   "We'll be back in a bit, dear." Elizabeth patted my arm, then followed Marybeth out the door.

   I stared at the shimmering screens all around me for a while, then decided to explore. Each time I entered an area, the colors changed. This was the place of my recurring nightmare, but there was no blue light trying to assault me. Instead of fear I felt calmed. For a time, I seemed to float through other worlds. In one area was a huge statue of a magnificent winged creature that summoned childhood memories of a delicate dragon. It was made of some strange materials, almost as if it had been real and preserved. When I touched it, I felt a gentle vibration through my body and pleasant music fell softly all around me. In another section was a place that held me for a long time. I looked at the faces and into the eyes of what must have been my relatives; they matched the person I had seen in the mirror for twenty-four years. The renditions varied from paintings in oil to what resembled still-standing movie clips. Lost in reverie I barely heard my name being called from the center of the room.

   "Syndl, are you here? Syndl?" It was Marybeth calling to me. "Child, where are you?"

   "I'm here Marybeth." I thought it strange she couldn't see me. I could see Elizabeth and her very clearly. "Can't you see me?"

   "Syndl dear, we can't see through the barriers," Elizabeth answered.

   "Oh, I'll come out." Reluctantly, I left the place where I was beginning to feel a belonging I needed and went into the indifferent space where the two ladies stood.

   "Is it lovely in there? Oh, I imagine it is," Elizabeth said.

   "Elizabeth!" Marybeth said.

   "I'm sorry, Syndl. It is of course not for me." Elizabeth surprised me by reddening in true embarrassment. This was their home not mine. I couldn't imagine why, but there was a subtle change in her attitude toward me.

   "It's fine, Elizabeth."

   "Well, child, we came to take you to see your mother. She'll be buried tomorrow, so we thought you would like to go to her tonight." Marybeth didn't look at me while she said this. Strangely, this stern and honest person seemed to be experiencing an awkward embarrassment of her own.

   "We'll stay with you if you don't mind, dear," Elizabeth said. "It's sure to be a traumatic time for you."

   I followed them through the ornate halls, down steps, and out to a separate stone building. There we paused in front of a thick wooden door. I could tell their nervousness exceeded mine from the hand twisting Elizabeth did and the shaking hand with which Marybeth turned the latch to open the door. We entered a cool, dark room that held a casket. I walked up to it, looked down, and screamed.

   I had expected to see a lovely face. I had expected her to resemble all the wonderful people I had seen just a few minutes ago captured in many mediums in a place of beauty. The person who had created all that splendor should have looked like an angel, as my parents had described her. But, the face I was looking down on was hideous. She was horror personified. It was if all the evil in the world had centered in one person and drawn itself on her face.

   Around her neck was a chain and attached to it was an oval blue jewel. It started glowing. I touched it. I had no choice. It pulled at my mind and directed my hand. This was the blue light from my nightmare. Memories from early childhood flashed at me. My mother, beautiful then, filling me with terror if I went near the blue monster. I screamed again. Marybeth grabbed my blouse and awkwardly drew me from there, back to the castle.

   "I'm so sorry, Syndl," Elizabeth said.

   "What happened?" I whispered.

   "Child, do you need a doctor?" Marybeth asked. "I didn't realize . . . she didn't look that bad before. I knew her looks would be a shock, but I had no idea . . . Damn him!"

   "I don't need a doctor. I just want to know why she looks like that." I could hear the hysteria in my own voice. I was shocked. How could anyone except the devil look like that? "Was she bad?"

   "Oh no, dear. She was a lovely person. Gentle and sweet. She wouldn't have caused anyone a minute of harm." Elizabeth had tears flowing from her eyes. "I'm so sorry . . . so sorry. We didn't know."

   Something tightened in me. I was afraid of these two women now. I couldn't trust them. I wanted to go away from there.

   "I want to leave."

   "Oh no! Please don't. We'll love you just as we loved her. We'll protect you. We'll be your family." Elizabeth pleaded.

   "Syndl, I'm going to call the doctor. We'll take you back to your room. You can rest until he gets here." Marybeth and Elizabeth walked on each side of me to escort me back to the room. I was captive here. That was becoming obvious to my bruised mind.

   I did lay back after they left. I just stared at nothing until I heard the door open, turned my head and saw blonde hair. I jumped up, ready to run through the barriers of my nightmare. A smooth male voice kept my attention and stayed my flight.

   "Hello Syndl. My name is David. I'm Marybeth and Elizabeth's nephew. I imagine you're ready to escape from here by now. Right?"

   He was tall and handsome and the smile on his face was kind. His words caught me. I remembered the ladies had mentioned him as not being one of the mob clustered around me like vultures when I first came. I desperately wanted to get away from Silent Hills.

   "I would like to leave, yes."

   "I can help you." He reached out his hand to take mine. It was a gentle handshake. I was relieved to be touched by someone. I felt real again.

   Now I wait for David at this beautiful place by the ocean where he has hidden me since yesterday when we stole away from Silent Hills. There are bars on the windows and doors. They are locked so that no one can get in. David went somewhere today, but he said he would be back in time to dine with me. During my long day here, I finally remembered the warnings from my birth mother about the blue jewel. I understood why she tried to protect me from going to Silent Hills. Bits and pieces of memory and all that had happened in the last two days combined into terrifying clarity when I looked in the mirror.

   We came here from another place, somewhere beyond this sun. On our own world we were healers. But here on this earth, the blue jewel, once impressed, causes us to take the aspect of evil onto our own faces. The one who touches us is left youthful and beautiful, though it doesn't remove the corruption from inside them.

   I found some poison in the gardener's shed here. After David drinks his deadly wine, I'll call Marybeth. She and Elizabeth were so careful not to touch me after my contact with the blue jewel. I'll tell her I need to live in my birth mother's room. I'll tell her I know, as I'm sure she does, who killed my parents and my birth mother.

   The only one who touched me was David. When I looked in the mirror this morning, pure evil looked back.