How Lilies turn Black - Chapter 3

A few words barely escaped from Lilia’s parched throat.

“I was just, uh, wondering how you were doing.”

— What, good. I’m doing fine. What’s wrong? Why do you ask such an out-of-place question?

“Haha….”

Lilia shook her head bitterly, regret staining her pale face.

‘Not out of place….’

Maybe so.

In the past, she’d been overconfident that Angelo was doing well, and she’d been drunk on that belief and focused on making ends meet.

It’s not like they don’t realize they’re the only family they have left after losing their parents… Why I didn’t care more.

“Everything’s fine… I just thought we should call each other more often.”

— Suddenly? I don’t know when we’ve been like that before. I’m busy. Not only that, but I’ve got to go.

I haven’t even called his name again.

Tut, tut, tut…

Only the machine echoed at the end of the call.

Lilia stood dumbfounded as she listened. The short call felt like a dream.

‘This isn’t a dream. This can’t be a dream.’ 

She hugged the telephone tightly to her chest and took a deep breath. A shaky breath passed between her lips.

As if she was struggling to come to terms with the reality that Angelo was alive and well.

Sadly, his heart wasn’t in the same place as Lilia’s. It was just a heartbeat away, like a heartless call-end tone.

It’s understandable. Angelo would never know what she must have been going through, during the next decade or so of her life.

Besides, by this time, he and Lilia had settled in different boroughs within the city of Demercy, and had naturally grown distant from each other. He knows it would be embarrassing for him to talk about family ties in public.

‘Let’s take it slow. Don’t rush things.’ 

Lilia calmed herself, ‘Let’s take it one step at a time, both to get closer to Angelo and to keep him out of harm’s way.’

The year is 1961, and Angelo is exactly one year away from death. There’s still plenty of time.

In the meantime, let’s get him to quit his position at the union, move to the neighborhood, and find a new, safer job.

Angelo was an adult, and Lilia didn’t want to stop him from doing what he wanted to do. She knew he could take care of himself.

But it was a matter of life and death. The last thing she wanted was for him to get involved with the Corella family.

‘I’ll protect you this time, Angelo.’ 

Angelo has no idea that a dangerous world lurks beneath his feet, right behind his back. I would make sure of it.

Of course, I had no intention of leaving the Corellas alone, and neither did the Benedettis.

For whatever reason, I don’t know how… but I know that if I return alive, I must not end this life a failure. That was the only thing that mattered.

‘Give them a taste of what it’s like to have everything you’ve built come crashing down, to lose the person you care about most.’

And I’d avenge Wayne’s death at their hands.

As her thoughts reached that far, a heavy weight settled on her heart that had floated to the far reaches of the expanse.

“Ah… Wayne.”

Wayne Boyd. He wouldn’t even know Lilia existed at this point.

No, he might never know. If Angelo doesn’t die, there’s no way he’d ever meet her.

‘Yesterday we had the same last name, and today I am Liliana Moretti, not Liliana Boyd.’

Lilia covered her face with her hands and let out a sigh that sounded like a groan. Her brittle, pale platinum hair spilled over the backs of her hands.

Ring!

Just then, a loud ringing sound pierced her ears. Lilia’s head snapped up as she swam through her thoughts.

‘Angelo?! It can’t be…’

She panicked and picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

But the caller was far from expected.

— What are you doing, not even going to work? What time is it, and you’re holed up in your house? Are you crazy?

“…”

Lilia fell silent, embarrassed.

Why hadn’t I thought of that? 

She should have been working by now, when she was struggling to make ends meet.

“…I’m afraid I’ve had a personal emergency, I apologize.”

She said calmly, but her mind was racing. What on earth was Liliana doing in 1961?

Fortunately, she didn’t have to keep thinking long.

— What the hell? I guess you know how to be sorry. But what you’re sorry for is none of my business. You’re going to ruin the show tonight!

How could I not be grateful for an angry scolding?

Lilia realized that she was working with a small performance team this time of year, and she remembered that the woman on the phone was Betty Bailey, a vocalist about her age.

She thought, ‘Oh… that’s awful. I can’t get used to being suddenly back in the past, and now I have to work.’

I was in a quandary, but I had no choice but to go to work. The performance was scheduled, and there was no way to cancel without notice.

Lilia propped the phone up with her shoulder and rummaged around on the table.

‘I’m sure there’s a schedule of performances…’

There was a small commotion on the other end of the line.

— Please answer the phone.

— Oh, come on!

— I’ll talk to her.

After a moment of panic, the phone was transferred to someone else.

— Hello? Lilia?

A man’s voice came on the other end, his tone relatively gentle.

— Can you… can you be at the Golden Ames by the hour? We need to be set up before 5:30.

What a kind coworker, euphemistically giving her a place and time, just in case she’d forgotten her schedule.

Lilia, in her hustle and bustle, picks up the stack of papers.

“I’ll get ready now.”

— Okay, I’ll be waiting.

Over the other end of the receiver, I heard Betty shouting, 

— Tell her to get dressed and come over here right now, that red dress!

And then the line dropped.

The apartment quieted as a storm had swept through, but Betty’s shrill voice still rang in her ears.

“Ha…”

Lilia pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment. It finally hit her.

The sordid, gutter life that Liliana Moretti lived in ’61. And that she had been thrown into the middle of it.

✨

“How many spoons of sugar did you put in it? Did I tell you to put three spoons or not?!”

What a freaking greasy fountain.

One would think they were great singers, but the reality was far from it.

Their performance team was nothing more than a bunch of amateurs who played hotel and restaurant stages, not the majestic Mellon Music Hall that every performer dreams of.

“I told you to pay more attention to what I’m going to drink before the show than anything else, and I told you to get it in your head because it’s a recipe that works for me!”

And Lilia was, to put it nicely, a manager. In reality, she was nothing more than a handyman who did all sorts of behind-the-scenes stuff.

For example, she’s in charge of scheduling performances… checking speakers and microphones… basic set-up, such as setting out music sheets and tables… and even the nagging reminder to pour personalized drinks.

As she busily organizes the music sheets, she takes a breath and turns to face Betty.

“Do you think you could add an extra spoonful or two of sugar, Betty?”

“Why should I do this, you do it.”

“Because I’m in a hurry right now and…. I’ll beg your pardon. It’s not a very difficult task.”

“So you’re asking me to do something that’s not too hard?”

Hot ginger tea overflowed from Betty’s mug. It splashed over her neatly organized sheet music.

“…Oh!”

Lilia exclaimed, pulling up her sleeve to hastily wipe the sheet music. But the tea water had already stained it.

‘Maybe if I let it dry, it’ll be okay.’

She turned the sheet of music back and forth. The performer’s skit interrupted her again.

“Can’t you hear me?”

Why couldn’t she get a piece of her own?

Betty Bailey’s nasty behavior hadn’t changed. Exhaustion washed over her, and she let out a small breath and rose to her feet.

Betty flinched for a moment, but then a wry smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched Lilia return with the sugar bowl.

“Yes, from scratch, fine–”

Her words trailed off. She didn’t get to finish her sentence, because Lilia took one of the sugar cubes from the canister and popped it straight into her mouth.

“Now that’s sweet.”

And with that, Lilia turned away sharply.

It was something she had fantasized about in the past, at night after work.

‘I never thought I’d live it, but here I am.’ 

Was I afraid of losing my job immediately, as I had before, or was I afraid of Betty losing her mind?

Neither, so there was no reason why she couldn’t take a stand now.

Betty was silent for a moment as she processed the implications of what had just happened. It was a while before she spoke up.

“You… have you… gone mad? What do you think you’re doing?!”