The Lady in Red

 

by Aishwarya Yeramilli (20121) 11th Grade

The Lady in Red sits at her doorstep, humming the same tune everyday,

a song so sweet it’s bound to...

lure any poor soul who comes her way.

Patiently she waits for hours or days, the whole time wearing a smile,

she knows they’ll come to her eventually even if it takes a while.

She looks different to each one she meets, but for that red dress,

tall or short, brunette or blonde, but beautiful nonetheless.

Her smile turns to a smirk and one eyebrow twitches up,

as she watches another soul crawl to her like a lost pup.

There was a time when she sang and cried until her throat was raw,

perfecting every note she sang and fixing every flaw.

But now they come to her like tiny moths drawn to a flame;

they come for the light and the shine, but they burn all the same.

She gets up now, her footsteps quiet as she walks to go meet

the poor boy who walks her way with blood covered feet.

With a voice as sweet as honey she called to him and said,

“Come my dear, I’ll replace all your bad thoughts with good ones instead.”

His face lit up with a smile as he limped towards her door,

she spoke again, “This is my home but think of it as yours.”

She couldn’t help but shake her head as she ushered him inside,

these humans with their troubles and problems were getting far too naive.

“I hope you’ll find all that you desire while you stay on as a guest.”

as far as he knew that’s all he was, but he’d soon find out the rest.

She took him to this room filled with girls and boys just like him,

and shut the door behind the boy as the lights began to dim.

He turned around, confused as the air began to smell of smoke,

he could barely get a word out before his vision blurred and he started to choke.

The faces of the boys and girls started to melt like wax off a statue,

Each smile turned to a frown as they yelled, “Run! Before she can catch you!”

He turned back, tears filling his eyes as he started to pound on the door,

he tried to run and he tried to hide but his feet stayed cemented to the floor.

This poor boy hoping for a new life was left surrounded by the dead,

like many before he felt blue when he arrived but when he leaves, all he’ll see is red.

All this while the Lady in Red walked through the empty halls,

She heard as the screams rose to a crescendo and then began to fall.

To any other it would feel like a nightmare to hear those echoing screams,

But to her it sounded like a lullaby right before drifting into a dream.

The Lady in Red sat back at her doorstep, humming the same tune she did everyday,

a song so sweet it’s bound to lure any poor soul who comes her way.

Patiently she’ll wait for hours or days, the whole time wearing a smile,

She knows they’ll come to her eventually even if it takes a while.