"Empty?" Lilith repeated. She blinked once, her mouth slightly hanging open. The gears in her head worked out what that meant.
"Yes," Amon affirmed. He straightened his back and gave her his full attention. Now that she was 'decent' and behaved, they could finally have a proper talk. "Your mother's corpse is missing."
"W-What?" The image of a dirty skeleton flashed in Lilith's mind.
How long did a body decompose again? If it was fully decomposed, there wouldn't be a body left. That shouldn't be odd.
But why did Amon think that it is? Lilith pressed her lips together and propped her arms on her knees.
"Amon, as much as I'm curious as to how do you know it's gone, nothing is forever. We all turn back to ash or to dirt or to whatever your beliefs are."
The Grim Reaper mimicked her position and stared her down. He hoped she'd take him more seriously this way.
"That's not what I mean, Lilith."
"So what are you trying to say?"
She fluttered her eyes. Her thoughts were going at a hundred miles per hour and Amon's short answers weren't helping.
"Her corpse magically disappeared? Decomposed too fast? I'm trying to recall how long that takes but I just can't remember it—"
"Would you let me finish?" Amon interrupted with an edge to his voice. Not even Gregory spoke this fast. Her energy was too much for him to keep up with.
Lilith bit her tongue again. She really should fix that habit around him. Now that he was telling her stuff, she didn't want to go back to the way things were. That meant she needed to stay on good terms with him.
"I believe that the corpse of your mother had..."
Amon trailed off. Although he asked her to be quiet, he found it hard to relay the news. This wasn't the first time he told anyone this so why was he lost for words?
That thought made him frown.
"Had…?"
Lilith urged for him to continue. When he didn't respond fast enough, she began speculating again what he'd say.
"Had…? Had-Had—risen from the dead and walked??"
Amon widened his eyes. He didn't think she'd be able to piece it together.
"Something of that sort."
Little did he know, Lilith was feeling equally shocked. Her scowl deepened.
"Is she the messiah? Or a zombie? Frankenstein's monster? I don't think my brain can handle more confusing information."
Lilith scratched the back of her head. She lived in a kingdom full of demons. Why did she act like this was shocking? Anything was possible in this world.
Amon sympathized with her a little. His face wore the same look when he first made the discovery. He opened his mouth to assure her that her reaction was valid.
"Wait!"
Lilith stood up abruptly. She started pacing in front of Amon. This time, she kept a short distance.
"You said you don't think my mother is my mother. Why would you say that if you were there when she gave birth?"
"Well…," Amon sighed. "I always had my doubts. You and your mother look nothing alike."
"I'm not sure how to tell you this but that's not how biology works. It's not just from one parent."
"I'm aware of that, Lilith," he hissed through gritted teeth. What did she take him for? "But I have zero information about your father. He wasn't around at the time nor have I met anyone who knew him."
Lilith halted to a stop. Her hands gripped her shawl tighter.
"So my mother gave birth alone? No one was there with her?"
The Grim Reaper bowed his head. "Except for me, no one else was there."
That made sense. Why else would her mother ask Amon to take care of her? If she had a companion, she would have handed the baby to their care or they would have taken her in.
Shifting her feet, Lilith faced Amon but her gaze landed on the floor. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"You think my father's alive? Maybe he found her grave and dug her out because of grief."
"And why would he need to dig her out?"
"To move her. Like a family cemetery or something…?" Lilith thought at the top of her head. A part of her hoped that someone cared for her mother enough to find her and to bring her body to a better resting place.
Amon shut down her idea in an instant. "That could be true except I am more than sure that no one had touched your mother's grave. There was no sign that the bed of soil was touched by external parties. It had to be from underground and only one thing was there that could have done it."
"Are you seriously telling me that you think my mother woke up from her dead slumber and left?" Lilith asked, her eyebrow arched.
"It's a bit to take in, I know but… I stand by what I said." Amon let out a breath. "It's a mystery that I don't have any answers to yet. I don't have a clue about what I'm dealing with. Your father could be an immortal being I haven't encountered yet. Or maybe it's not your father but your mother."
Before now, Lilith never thought of her biological parents for a long period of time. Amon's opinions about them had opened that door for her. She wanted to know more about them and to maybe find answers about herself.
"This is why you shouldn't leave Gehenna where you are protected."
Lilith gasped and tilted her head up. Amon stood in front of her. He had softened his way of speaking, "We are blindsided by what all this could mean. Dangers could be lurking and they could come for you. Then… your mother's wish would be all for nothing."
The huskiness of his tone invited her to listen. She tried searching for his eyes on the other side of his cow-head mask. The sincerity was in his voice but would she find the same in his gaze?
Lilith sighed. "Okay."
Amon practically froze. "Okay?"
"Okay, I understand what you are worried about now."
"Then…?"
"Oh, I'm still going." Lilith snorted. She turned around and flipped her hair.
"What?!"
Amon gaped. He hoped once she knew, she'd see the logic and reasoning behind his actions—or see the risks of going. She also showed concern for her mother so he thought Lilith cared deeply about her dying wish.
"This doesn't change my mind," Lilith explained, only twisting her neck to look at him. "Why worry about something that hasn't happened yet? That's not how life works. You just end up exhausting yourself and miss out on all the fun."
"But, Lilith—"
"But nothing!" She pointed at him and pressed her finger against his chest. "You already agreed to let me go! You are not about to take it back just because I didn't decide to stay."
She wondered if this was his plan all along. He gave her answers and, in return, she would have to stay. How many tactics were up his sleeve?
He seemed like a reasonable fellow for a second there but she shouldn't have underestimated him!
"Lilith…"
She rolled her eyes. "What now?"
Amon averted his gaze.
"K-k-keep your shawl in place!"