O Willow Waly (the Innocents) ~ Ashley Serena Info
Elara felt a sudden, bone-deep chill. The lyrics shifted in her head, the "broken heart" of the song feeling less like a metaphor and more like a physical weight in the room. She looked out toward the pond. There, beneath the arched branches of the willow, stood a figure in a sodden white dress. The woman didn't move, but the song swelled, vibrating through the floorboards. “But now her hope is dead and gone...”
"She’s come to take us to the shaded bower," the girl chirped, a terrifyingly sweet smile pulling at her lips. O Willow Waly (The Innocents) ~ Ashley Serena
As the final, mournful notes of the song faded into the wind, the nursery door creaked shut behind Elara. The candle blew out. In the sudden dark, the only sound left was the rhythmic drip, drip, drip of water onto the rug, and the faint, ghostly humming of a melody that never truly ends. Elara felt a sudden, bone-deep chill
