Chapter Text
The old sirens blared their tinny warnings throughout the camp, wind howling as a sandstorm enveloped it, almost concealing the shriek from within one of the buildings.
The piercing wail had been persisting for hours, sending all into a frenzy over the new arrival. Finally, a few hours past midnight, it ceased, with a healthy baby girl with rosy red cheeks in the arms of her frail mother. The woman's face was paler than her sheets, and her dark hair was plastered to her forehead, but she wore a proud smile as she cooed weakly at the new-born.
“What will name her?” asked her sister, Kira.
The mother, still looking at her child, whispered “Lilah”
Three days later, Kira held Lilah close to her as she wept. The little girl didn’t understand why her aunt was crying, but the noise and the desert sun were upsetting her, so she cried too. Slowly, Kira unfurled her fist and spread the ashes of her sister across the dunes, other loved ones doing the same, until all that remained were memories and grief.