Silence filled the room as the two young women stared at each other, with horror inscribed in their eyes. Marble’s mind raced as she kept darting her eyes to her open wounds and back to her elder sister. Limestone, on the other hand, was stunned to not only see the open flesh, but the other scars upon her baby sister’s grey arm. Some ranged from minor cuts that could be written off as being scratched by a small cat to major inflictions that screamed death's name begging to be set free from this material world. Compared to Marble’s, Lime’s cuts were a baby’s first steps.

A loud ding sounded throughout the bathroom which snapped Lime out of her trance. Marble dropped the knife in the sink, a salty stream flowing from her eyes; the youngest Pie tried to utter a word but couldn’t bear to do so. Her throat felt as if an accursed parasite was choking her; choking gasps were all that passed through her lips.

Limestone swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed. Removing her gray dress, leaving her only in her underwear, she gently tugged at Marble’s arm and held it out. She then proceeded to wrap her dress around the young one’s wounds and tightened it. The makeshift bandage was tight enough to apply pressure to the wound.

Marble looked as the grey fabric soaked up the crimson liquid spilling from her being. Her thoughts began to ease, the pit in her breast began to fill, and all senses of sheer terror left. She looked up at her sister, but quickly averted her gaze as she realized Lime was near-nude. Yet the awkwardness was being drowned out by the feeling of anxiety.

“L-Lime, I-I-I wa—“

Marble was interrupted by her sister's calloused finger on her lip.

“Shh,” was all the eldest said.

Lime pulled Marble in for a hug and kissed her forehead, causing the young Pie to break into tears again.

The two of them headed back upstairs to their room. When they arrived Limestone again gently tugged at her younger sister to her bed. Marble looked at Lime’s bed and was confused, but as she met her sister's gaze all was revealed. A spiritual string connected two weary souls that felt flushed by the greater realm where they resided.

Marble laid in the bed first and scooted over to make room for her big sister. Lime followed and wrapped her arms around Marble’s waist.

“Gute Nacht, Marble,” was all Lime said, to which the purple-eyed youth responded, “Mm-hmm.”

For the next week the two sisters carried on with their daily lives. Lime mined for minerals and Marble focused on her school and part-time job. Not once did either sister bring up what happened that evening. The silence between them was deafening for Marble. Each day the sisters didn’t talk about that night a piercing scream grew. Day after day, night after night, the pit within Marble’s breast grew.

Friday, 28th of January, Marble and Limestone were tasked by their mother to help cook the rock carrot stew. Marble cut the carrots, while Lime organized and mixed the spices. Each cut Marble made brought with a rumble that reflected the beat of her heart. What started off slow soon picked up an even and steady pace, from right to left, and each time the knife headed left, the view of opened flesh covered by a long-sleeved shirt interrupted the pace. The smooth rhythm transformed into an erratic motion, butchering the root vegetable. Her heart raced, sweat dripped from her face, her mind slowly picking up speed, the room spinning and blurring. Pressure within her stomach caused the acid to want to free itself from her, the cold sweat coating the palm of her hand. Her arms felt like wet noodles, yet she persevered and kept cutting despite the risk. Thankfully she yielded to the last rational part in her brain as the silver blade hovered over her gray digit.

“Lime!” Marble exclaimed while turning around.

Lime halted the stirring but didn’t bother to look back at her sister.

“Why haven’t we talked about it?” Marble asked.

Lime turned her head. “Talked about what? The new spice I’m using? Look, ya gotta mix things up every once and awh—“

“No! What happened last week, in the bathroom!” the young pie growled.

Lime’s heart sank to her stomach. She had tried to push that awful day to the back of her mind, for that event in the bathroom was not the only thing she tried to repress, but the awful dinner she had with the most repugnant filth imaginable that constantly ridiculed not only her but the ones she loved. Memories of being told to sit down and take the abuse towards her ilk boiled her blood and caused a sharp pain within her soul. Now, her baby sister wished to bring up that awful night once more despite Marble being ignorant of what caused her anguish to avoid said topic.

Lime just turned her head back to the pot. “We just pretend that didn’t happen, ok?”

A loud dinging sound permeated through the room, filling Lime’s mind with memories of that night, but the mood of Marble was the exact opposite.

Marble grabbed Lime’s arm. The firm grip of a leathery palm reminded her of Maud’s, something that filled the eldest with near unbearable dread. Marble spun Lime around with a force that rivaled her father’s and fixed her amethyst eyes on Lime’s.

“I refuse to let this pain we are feeling rape us every night, making us its slaves!” Marble growled through her clenched teeth, holding back tears. “I caught you doing something I did ever since the 23rd of December in that hotel bathroom! I used the same knife to free myself from this inner demon!”

Lime’s ears perked to the mentions of her blade being the first thing Marble used to mutilate herself, with the date being the second thing that took the breath out of her.

“You used my blade? You did that to yourself while the four of us where in the same room?” Lime’s tone was one of sadness mixed with anger, but not directed towards Marble.

The fact the eldest of the four sisters failed to realize this sooner made Lime feel like an awful sibling, one that couldn’t even protect her sister from the predatory darkness that surrounded her.

“Yes!” cried Marble, no longer able to hold back her tears anymore. “I felt like this for months! High school seemed so promising! I was doing well again, I was beginning to socialize a little bit each day, I fell in love, and I finally felt like a woman! All that came crashing down when I saw Big Mac kissing Sugar Belle and the fucking realization, of not only how much I would be forever alone, but that everyone looks down upon you! Never being able to have the same amount of friends, ever have someone falling love with you, or if they do, would want to abandon you for being different, or knowing that everyone thinks you’re a sad little thing that will die alone!”

Marble’s body started to tremble. “I lie to myself every fucking day, lying to myself saying it will get better, lying to myself that I will find someone, telling myself I have a future, lying to myself that despite years of doing the right things, that I am truly not a w—“

Lime smacked her sister across the face. Marble let go of Lime and stepped back, rubbing her cheek. She looked at Lime with tears leaking from her eyes.

“Don’t,” came a low growl from Lime. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Lime looked at her baby sister with the same salty stream flowing from her eyes.

“You have a life, you have a future, Marble! I’m the one that should be breaking down, apologizing to you and the others. I failed you as an older sister, I was too much of an idiot to not notice the pain you were in. I had grown numb to the constant anxiety you were in, that it ended up causing you to harm yourself. I am sorry I wasn’t there, it’s all my fault.”

Marble was surprised to see her sister act like this; never had she broken down like that. Even last week was nothing compared to this.

“You’re a woman that has a chance at life, beautiful, intelligent, kind; you’re everything I’m not, and will become everything that I’ll never be!” It didn’t take long for the tears to come out as Lime slowly began to break down her collected composure.

“I haven’t brought this shit up because I don’t know how to deal with this crap! I’m no better than Maud when it comes to expressing emotions! I constantly want to scream! I want to cry! I want to—“

“Kill yourself?” Marble interrupted.

Lime looked at her sister with the shattered visage of a terrified and depressed child. She nodded slowly to Marble’s question.

For a solid minute there was a silence that shook the world, so violent yet encompassed with a serene sensation. For what felt like ages a foreboding weight was finally lifted off Lime’s chest. And for Marble, another link was now connected with her sister’s soul.

“I-I have that feeling too,” was all that Marble said.

For a fraction of a second there was a wave of warmth within Lime as she smiled to hear she wasn’t alone, but the cold wave of doubt flooded back in.

“How,” Lime began, “how do you deal with this shitty feeling?”

Marble took Lime’s hand and met her gaze.

“After dinner, I’ll show you.”

“Jesus Christ!” was all Lime could say.

“Yeah, these get pretty intense,” Marble replied.

Marble had showed Lime her music collection in their room.

“I mean some of these band’s suck, but Jesus Christ, the names, the lyrics, the whole imagery. No wonder you’ve been doing this to yourself. I only started cutting because of something unrelated to this crap!” Lime said.

Marble sighed and had a look of defeat on her face.

“So, I guess you don’t like this. Not surprising; it’s an obscure genre within even obscurer one.”

“What?” Lime asked with a raised eyebrow. “I never said I didn’t like this.”

“Really?” asked Marble, perking up.

“Y-Yeah. I can feel the energy from some of these bands. Forgotten Tomb, Bethlehem, Apati, Totalselfhatred;it all feels like it matches the constant mood I’m in.”

Marble smiled; it had been forever since she and Lime bonded over anything. Pinkie and Marble bonded on almost everything, and she and Maud would often write poems together, but with Lime it was always akin to a blue moon for whenever they bonded. The last time they did was when she was five, during a time when she needed her sisters the most.

“I’m glad you like these.” Marble said in a warm tone.

For the next two days the sisters would share solace in the bleak music. Talking about what hurts the most, their dreams, their fear of the future, and nostalgia.

On Sunday night the two sisters were listening to Forgotten Tomb’s “Disheartenment” as both sat silently. Marble took note of how Lime had this offbeat step in her mood. All day the eldest one looked distracted, and uncomfortable. Was she nervous? Was she coming down with something? Or perhaps she was already growing tired of the music and wanted to stop hanging out with her baby sister. Perhaps she found it too weird and was starting to think Marble crazy for being into this. Or even worse, Lime probably thought Marble was a freak and that she needed to be shunned for her behavior. Each thought crossed Marble’s mind, one after the other causing her bones to tremble and her palms to sweat.

When the song was over, Marble looked at the time. Nine o’clock.

“Oh dear, look at the time. I need to be in bed,” Marble said nervously.

Lime with a perplexed look on her face checked her clock.

“Uhh, Sis, it's 9.”

“Yep, and I should be off to bed. It’s a school night after all!”

“But you usually stay up until twelve and wake up at six looking like you slept for a millennium. Something's up.”

Marble chuckled as she got off the floor. “Nope. Just really tired is all.”

Lime grabbed her ankle firmly causing an electric current of uneasiness traveling throughout Marble’s body.

“Marble, I’m not stupid You’re trying to avoid something. What?”

Marble sighed and turned around looking down at her sister.

“I’ve noticed you have been acting weird all day, and I was scared that you thought I was a werido, and a freak for liking this stuff, and that you got tired an-“

“Ok, ok” interrupted Lime. “You can calm down, I don’t think any of that.”

Marble sighed in relief.

“I mean, you’re weird, but who isn’t in this family?”

Geez, thanks Lime, Marble thought sarcastically

“But,” with that singular word Marble flinched, “you’re right. I’ve been distracted. It’s… listen, I’ve been thinking. Since the two of us have these shitty feelings, I was thinking that…that…” Lime trailed off a bit.

“That what?” asked the young one.

“That, would you like to start a band of some sort?” What followed that was an awkward silence. Both sisters just stared at each other with looks of uncertainty.

“Ugh!” Lime started. “Fuck me, I knew that was a stupid question. Forget I as—“

“Yes!” Marble blurted out.

Lime felt relieved yet shocked at the same time.

Marble reached under her bed and pulled out a small binder filled with notes.

“I wrote these poems over time; I only have four that I want to turn into songs but I don’t know how.”

Marble handed the papers to Lime, who began reading. “These are good,” said Lime. “You know, I could help you with the music. I’ve been toying around with some rhythms in my head and I have a few song ideas of my own.”

A boisterous bliss and soothing warmth overflowed within Marble, along with Lime’s wave of sunshine beaming within her.

“Is this really happening?” asked Marble.

Lime got up from the floor and placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders.

“Better believe it, Sis!” Lime replied with a smirk of confidence.

All throughout the night the sisters wrote down tabs and signatures for Marble’s poems, and even wrote down lyrics for Lime’s song. They eventually went up to the attic to find instruments.

“It's nice that Uncle Jürgen left these behind before he moved to Essen,” said Lime.

“We should call him sometime,” Marble suggested.

The girls had everything they needed: guitars, amps, drums, and even a synthesizer.

“Great!” cheered Lime. “And the insulation in here is perfect since the noise won’t escape the attic when we record.”

Marble nearly tripped over herself as her sister’s statement.

“Uhh, we’re recording in here?”

“Well duh, we don’t want Mom and Dad knowing we’re making depressing music.”

“But, Lime, surely we can find some other place to record?” countered Marble.

Limestone shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t have a car, I don’t want Pinkie or Maud knowing about this either and how can we sneak all this shit out during the day? We have no choice but to record here.”

Lime could tell by the way Marble bit her lower lip and averted her gaze that she was still unsure about this.

Limestone sighed. “Listen, Marble, I know it’s not glamorous, but until then, this is what we have to put up with, plus it will be even better since I have a talented lyricist for a sister.”

Marble’s cheeks burned at the compliment.

“I guess you’re right,” Marble sheepishly said. “Also, Lime, what should we call our band?”

The two stood there for the next five minutes thinking what name they should choose. Lime wanted their name to mean something, not something run of the mill like the previous bands her and Marble have been listening to, but she also didn’t want it to sound like they’re begging for attention. Lime looked at her younger sister who was sitting on one of the antique chairs. Marble looked out into space, her trademark purplish dark hair covering one of her eyes. The emotions of warmth overwhelmed Lime as she looked at her baby sister, memories of mischief and determination mixed with a side of compassion. What was once sweet as candy had over time lost the sweetness inside. Cold, dark, trembling, something that turned the warmth within Lime to its opposite as the cold abrasive winds assaulted her naked skin. Cutting, self-loathing, suicidal ideation was all that the youngest emitted, and outside of the emission were false waves of tenderness; moreover, Lime was now the only one to be exposed to the true side of Marble. What came with it was an ungodly self-reflection showing what was borne deep; dark sludge covering the trenches of Lime’s soul, all of what once shined with hope, fairness, and integrity was now being eclipsed by the odious presence of despair.

Both girls had truly gone through a phase that neither were sure they would ever come back out of, both girls had become…

“Kahl,” Lime uttered.

Marble turned her head towards her sister and raised an eyebrow. “Did you say something?” she asked.

Lime walked towards Marble, and clasped her sister's left hand with hers, and proceeded to lift it up.

“Wir warden unsere Band Kahl nennen!”

“So you called your band Kahl, which means “bleak” in German, correct?”

The warm lights pulled Lime out of her memories. She rolled her eyes, knowing full well that the interviewer knew the question.

“Yes,” was all she replied.

“So, from the 31st of January to the 11th of February, you two would upload a total of three songs on YouTube?”

“That is correct,” answered Lime.

“These songs are said to be very raw, and even held in high regard in some circles. But I’m curious as to what you had to go through when recording in that attic? And when did you meet Vi—“

“Well, if you let me continue, I’ll answer both of your questions,” Lime firmly corrected.

The interviewer nodded his head.

“Jesus, you interviewers were always the weird ones,” Lime chuckled. “Sometimes ya gotta be quiet and let the person in question answer whatever you’re curious about.”

Author's Note

Thanks again to my editor Sonya, for helping me with this.

1. Can you guess what band their uncle is in?