Pale silvery moonlight illuminated a quiet graveyard. Old stone markers rose from earthly beds. Above them stood ivory sentinels, angels carved with such anguish, tears were said to move down your own cheeks. A small crack broke the silence as a girl stepped into the clearing, hair dark as night woven down her back, clear eyes surveying the haunting scene. The nearby village warned the girl not to approach, that she would find unimaginable horror. Yet the girl brushed it off, what could possibly be out here besides the occasional critter? The girl walked forward, transfixed by the sight. A faint shimmer in the air seemed to warn her, but the girl brushed it off, too mesmerized by the tragic beauty of the scene. As she fully stepped into the cemetery the girl paused, nothing happened. She approached a grave, reading the name of the deceased, admiring the intricate decorative carvings on the stone. The girl wandered from grave to grave, sating the burning curiosity inside. But as she turned to leave, as her foot crossed the boundary line, something caught the girl’s eye. The beautiful angel, wasn’t she looking the other way? The girl shook her head dismissing the thought, continuing forward. But the spine-chilling shiver of being watched unsettled the girl. She turned around and screamed. Frozen before her was the mourning angel, but it wasn’t beautiful anymore. The stone carving stilled in a lunge; her outstretched fingers sharpened into piercing talons. The girl shakily stepped back, but a noise from the right caught her attention, another angel was frozen mid-attack. Looking around, the girl shivered, all around her were horrifying, weeping monsters. The girl felt something wet on her cheeks. She was crying. Tears streamed from her eyes just as the angels’ were, only hers were ones of pure terror. The girl bolted, fleeing into the forest. The ragged sound of her own breath filled her ears. She glanced over her shoulder; another scream ripped from her throat. There the pack of demented spirts stood. Frozen in their pursuit. The girl continued to run, her legs burning, breath ripped from her chest. She stumbled, gravity taking a hold of the girl as she collapsed on the ground in an exhausted heap. But as she looked behind her the terrible angels paused, still in pursuit. The girl weaved through the trees, trying to lose the lurking beasts. She stumbled forward, right into the clearing in which she had begun. Crumbling into a defeated heap from exhaustion, one last scream tore through the air, as stone cold hands cut off her air, the girl finally surrendered to the encompassing darkness. When the sun rose the following morning, no signs of the horrors from the night before remained. The graveyard quiet as before. The same gravestones rose from the earth; the same sentinels stood in their silent mourning. But lying in the very center, a new stone appeared marked:

Sophia Luna Pierre

March 2, 1998 – October 31, 2025