The question caught me off-guard.
''Ah… I don't know. Do they go to heaven?''
Dahlia giggled. ''Heaven? I don't believe in heaven. You know what I think is waiting for them? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I imagine death to be… like suddenly… ending up in nothing. Everything goes dark. You lose all sense of self. You're nothing now. You can't think. You can't dream. Once your body stops functioning, it's all over. You're buried 6 feet in the ground and everyone else moves on ahead of you, forever leaving you behind,'' Dahlia whispered, looking out the window. There was a cold, yet sad glint in her saffron eyes. ''Doesn't that scare you? All it takes is one stab to cut off someone's future. They'll become nothing. They'll know nothing. They'll see nothing. They'll experience nothing…''
Listening to her soliloquy, gazing at her solemn expression, I teared up. It scared me. It terrified me. One day, everything would just… end. Dahlia noticed my discomfort and smiled. ''As one grows old, one readies themselves for their end. However, I end lives unexpectedly. Perhaps they had plans for tomorrow, next week, next year even. Perhaps they were going to get married and have a family. Perhaps… they had a loved one they wanted to spend more time with. But I took it all away from them. I turn people with dreams, hopes and ideals… into nothing more than a pile of bones with rotting flesh on them.''
''Even after all of that, do you still… love me?''
There was a deep silence between us for a long time. My brain worked at full speed as the minutes ticked by.
''I… Dahlia… why do you kill?'' I asked. Such a simple, yet loaded question. Dahlia looked taken aback for a few seconds before recovering, flashing me a brief smile. ''...What if I told you it's because I enjoy it?''
I have to be honest, the thought of that shook me up at the time. I was hoping for her to say it was for revenge, or something along those lines. Something that could be justified.
''Well, we all have our… hobbies,'' I weakly replied, trying my best to smile.
Dahlia exploded with laughter, her black hair falling around her face. ''Hobbies… oh my god…'' She eventually calmed down after a few minutes, looking at me with an amused look in her eyes. ''Never before have I seen someone as much in denial as you are right now. You're really going to make excuses for me being sick in the head?''
Speechless.
What was I supposed to say?
Seeing how conflicted I was, Dahlia stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. ''Come, let me show you something.''
She led me out the kitchen, down the hallway and, finally, outside. There was a chilly breeze out and about, fluttering her nightgown. She shivered a little. Still holding my hand, she led me towards the only other building in the small clearing - a small shed. As we approached, the first thing that hit me was the smell - the smell of iron and rotting food.
Suddenly, I didn't want to see what was inside it.
''Where are we going…?'' I asked reluctantly.
''I'm going to show you what's inside, of course. After all, aren't you curious about what happened to that body?''
''I… I don't think I want to…''
''Oh just shut up and man up, will you?'' Dahlia grumbled, pulling me forward for the last time. I stumbled and regained my balance right in front of the shed door. The smell was overwhelming this close, making me gag. I already knew what was inside. However, a part of me, up till that point, still believed that Dahlia was just playing a joke on me. That, back then, what I saw was an animal carcass or the like.
That little shred of hope was torn apart when she swung open the shed door.