act one - down the well

"dear children, dear children don't-don't swell."
"dear children dear children don't be guile."
"don't come close if your friend fell."
"stay away, from call of the well!"

a poem, a warning?, or...
something else?

but yet, 'warnings' fade to time.
curiosity is not just man's greatest gift.
but also mankind's greatest threat.

speaking of curiosity.

once there was a cat; a curious one...
curiosity killed the cat, they say?—

that cat right there is Lylith, a peaceful sleeping Lylith.
well — was, peacefully sleeping. "LILLY WAKE U-" someone yells as they approach. while, Lylith strides to her feet as she responds "hey Apple man!"

"..."

"GO FUCK YOURSELF!"
the grass sways with the flow of the wind.
its blades as green as the sun is bright, stretching infinitely in all sides.
its beauty; blinding. and through the grass treads, this 'Apple man.' his expression
is a simple smile, almost too suspicious. he runs to Lylith with a letter. softly
chuckling. "for you and just you, my lady." he affirms, bowing deeply.
not in respect. but mockingly.

Lylith's eyes twitch with the sudden, quote-on-quote 'formalities.'
she snatches said letter, like a cat ripping its prey open; she looks inside.
the letter is etched with gold, its deep red hue pulsates against the morning sun.
Lylith reads the letter's contents, curiously.
then she reads again. then reads again, again.

"Tv hat?"

Lylith speaks at last, her voice skeptic.
"who the fuck is Tv hat?" Lylith asks, genuinely confused.
Apple man gives a smug smile to her, then reaches to roll back his sleeve.
"it's almost six, we should be heading to his place. dear lady?" arrogance
practically lives in Apple's mouth as he calls Lylith 'lady' as if it's an insult.
"you know, Apple man, ...you don't have a watch."
they depart—

the air is sweet, but laden with a sickening scent that hits Lylith — a drop in her stomach, like something trying to pull her through the dirt. her breath becoming uneven, as a foul, faint stench of something rotting makes her cough loudly. cough
"we must pace ourselves, dear lady," Apple man chirps, his voice bouncing over
the field of green. he goes to adjust his collar, though there is no breeze to
dishevel it. "timing is an art form. we must arrive exactly on schedule!"

Lylith's eyes narrow as she responds —
"the schedule can fuck itself." she mutters under her breath.
the sun shines as bright as it has. morning dew drops off thorned plants.
a path lined with white pebbles carved with Lylith's name is stepped upon.
Lylith glares at the peculiar sight. her boots stepping over another smooth,
white stone. L-Y-L-I-T-H, the groove in the rock reads underneath her heel.
the path followed by her and Apple, as they make their way for — 'tea.'
in the distance, they can smell and hear a house made of wet bricks.
Apple man's face rests with calm relief. the wind blowing through
Lylith's hair strands stops before the concrete shelter.

both their footsteps echo more and more as they come close.
CREAK Lylith kicks the door open; making poor Tv hat flinch.

"oh, dear!" the television headed host exclaims. "i wasn't expecting
visitors so... soon?" Lylith walks in, kicking the door back onto Apple man's face.
"hey, rude!" Apple man calls out to Lylith while he tries to get his face off the door.

the interior is... interesting. the wet bricks seem to sweat, beads of moisture
sluggishly tracing the cracks of the concrete walls. and the only thing inside
being a large table with just cups and a teapot doesn't help Lylith's suspicion either.

but our curious little cat takes a seat nonetheless.
Apple man, following in pursuit of a cup of tea as well — sits down. "good morning,
my dear guests!" Tv hat bows down, this time seemingly in respect. Lylith however,
doesn't show any. and decides to spit on Tv hat's face after he stands up.

"a lovely establishment, isn't it?"
Apple man remarks, trying to lighten the mood,
his fingers drumming against his porcelain cup. he doesn't lift it to his lips yet.
the cup is empty... he pretends to be interested in the dark reflection of the
ceiling rippling in the puddle on the floor.

the heavy, tense silence in the room grows as the glob of saliva slides down
Tv hat's glass-like face. a stain on his pristine broadcast of a face; that now
hitches a sharp line of black-and-white static cutting horizontally across his eyes, while a tiny, metallic sound rings from his speakers. "it's time, is it not,
Apple man?"

"we shall begin the tea party!" Tv hat exclaims.
his smile twitching at the seams. Tv hat elegantly picks the kettle as he moves
towards Lylith, pouring her some tea; then doing the same to Apple man.
Lylith takes an aggressive sip, murmuring about the tea smelling like...
'flies and rot.' then takes another as she throws the cup on the floor.
Apple man watches with a wide smirk as he spills his tea.

the cup breaks.
the floor breaks.

the floor boards turn to ash.
while Tv hat hangs tight, gripping between the bricks, smiling at them.
Lylith and Apple fall down into grey-water. down the well.

end of act one.
to be continued in—
act two - river of sticks.

credits:
starring-
Vessel pierce'her as Lylith.
Quazar jester gravastar as Apple man.
Retro synthem as Tv hat.