Mother of Flies (2025)

[bunniefuu]

Life is rhythm.

The heart...

a drum.

But death knows only silence.

To woo death...

one must love it...

lie with it...

for three days, give your

beating bloody heart to it...

...till death grows ears...

...till death grows warm...

...till an ember sparks...

...the dead drum thumps...

and the blood of light...

floods in.

Hey, Mickey. You coming

to the house party tonight?

I'm actually starting

summer early, so I'm out today.

What?

You don't have finals?

Um, yeah, a couple, but, uh,

my teachers

let me do them early.

Are you okay?

Yeah.

Is it back?

No.

I'm all good.

Uh, yeah. I'm good.

Good.

Well, all right.

I guess

I'll see you in September.

Yeah,

I'll see you in September.

Hey, Dad.

Okay, I'll be right down.

Love you, too.

How did the last couple weeks

of school go?

It was good. Yeah.

So I just got a note.

Did you talk to your friends

about this?

What do they have to say

about what we're doing?

Not much.

You don't talk to them

about this?

Not really. No.

Why not?

It's not really

a college kid conversation.

Understood.

Boy, your hair grew out quick.

I'm gonna miss the Kojak look, though.

Who's Kojak?

He was a bald guy

that sucked on lollipops.

How about you?

What's new with you?

I finished

the storehouse renovation.

A year and a half of purgatory

is over.

Well, you finally got

the stone up the hill.

Good job.

Well,

you know better than anyone.

No f*cking stopping.

No f*cking stopping.

There is a song in the dirt,

where the beetles hum

and the crawlers worm.

A song of rot.

A rhyme to which they work.

Apostles of ruin.

Tiny gods of birth.

Memories haunt

these barren bones

when moons ago,

the shadow rolled.

A wicked, now forgotten flesh.

Remember quick

that life is death.

Hey, can I get a hug?

I'm sorry some of that

insurance stuff fell on you.

My school insurance was supposed

to cover everything...

- Kid...

- but...

...I should have been able

to do all that crap for you.

I'm just so bad

with bureaucracy.

I tried to battle a bunch

of those co-pays

- 'cause we're not supposed to...

- Hey. Please.

Well, thanks

for covering it all.

Mickey.

And thanks for trusting me

on this.

I'm curious...

How'd you find this lady?

Uh, well,

she actually reached out to me.

- What do you mean? How?

- Hi. What can I get you guys?

- Cheeseburger deluxe.

- Cheeseburger deluxe, please.

Okay. You're here fishing?

Camping?

No, we're just here

for the Lyme's disease.

Oh, well, you're in the right

neck of the woods for that.

So, how... What?

Did she e-mail you?

You know, this place really

reminds me of all the diners

that we used to go to

before my soccer games.

You remember?

That was so fun.

It does.

Does that mean you're

gonna take a pre-game sh*t

- in the ladies' room?

- Yep. Jackson Pollock, baby.

That cheeseburger

not sitting so hot?

No.

If you're gonna puke,

I could get the ice bucket.

Mm... it's all good.

I remember I once...

puked all over Mom.

Do you remember that tire swing

that we used to have?

I do.

Well, I asked her

to spin me around and around

and around on it, and she did.

And guess what.

I literally spewed all over her.

Sounds like something

she would have loved.

Yeah. She did.

She said it was funny

and that she loved my puke.

Yeah, that was her.

All right, well, um...

the lady says that

she wants us to be there at,

like, a really specific time

tomorrow.

So let's get up early.

It's your show, kid.

You just kick me in the pants,

and I'll be there.

- All right?

- All right.

Good night.

Good night.

Are you watching me sleep?

No.

Yeah, maybe.

I don't... You ready to go?

I saw your face,

I saw you shine

I heard you laugh,

I watched you cry

Fade, baby, don't fade, baby,

come home

Don't you fade, baby,

don't fade, baby, come home

I closed my eyes

and watched you fly

I held my breath and hoped

time was just a lie

I hear you whisper

on the line

Mickey, are you sure you know

where you're going?

You haven't even looked at a map

this whole trip.

Yeah, I do.

Does she know I'm coming

with you?

Uh...

- Great.

- Dad, I want to do this.

I know it sounds like a scam.

I doubt it will even work.

But I gotta try.

All right.

I know you said to not

pry or anything, but...

how are we gonna pay for this?

Does she take our insurance?

- Don't need it.

- How's that?

'Cause she's doing it

for free.

Don't worry.

Holy mind-blown.

Are you serious?

Nothing is for free.

Ever.

Well, this is.

Take a right

and go up this dirt hill.

This love is m*rder

Ooh, this love is m*rder

Ooh, this love is m*rder

Ooh, this love is m*rder

Ooh, this love is m*rder

Wow.

It's a pretty f*cking

awesome.

Some pile of rocks.

And that house.

I-I just...

Dad, this is amazing.

This is real.

This is real.

Holy sh*t.

It... it's giving me like

insane dj vu.

You're sure this is it, right?

Yeah.

I can't believe I'm

here right now.

All right, well...

are you ready to roll?

Okay. Let's go.

Right on time.

Welcome.

Solveig, it's such a pleasure

to meet you

in the flesh.

Uh, this is my dad, Jake.

Super nice to meet you.

Please.

Wow. This is incredible.

What a beautiful butterfly.

Is it alive?

- No.

- Mm.

That's too bad.

It's as beautiful dead

as it was alive.

Please let me show you

to your rooms.

This is a lot cooler

than my dorm room.

I'll show your father his room.

Rustic.

I didn't notice

a bathroom upstairs.

Is it downstairs?

So a bear shits in the woods?

Where else would a bear sh*t?

You do know this won't be easy?

Well, it never has been.

But she's a tough kid.

I'm speaking of you.

Look...

I'm here because

this is important to Mickey.

So for three days,

you and I just need to...

pretend.

That's not true.

Death grows within her,

but miraculously, it's delivered

her the meaning of life.

But for you,

it's delivered the fear of loss

and stripped you of faith.

They came begging,

bent in shame.

Trampling their faith

on the path to my thorns.

How easily the brittle limbs

of the rootless tree bend

and snap in the honest wind.

Barely a woman,

her light near dim.

And a still baby,

cold in the womb.

A lonely anchor

afraid of the dark.

Dragging its mother

into the deep.

Shunned.

Maligned for years.

I gave what they begged of me.

The knowledge they hated.

The magic they feared.

To grease the palms of death,

so I might steal

from its fingers a life.

Sharp as the needle that sews.

Stitch by stitch.

Vale to vale.

Threading the cloth of flesh

to soul.

A prick to cut. The sap to

weep.

The tears to fall

and gorge the deep.

The hands of time

are wound by tricks.

But the spells of blood.

They must be clean.

To fool the still

and save the quick.

The gaze of the veil

has no love.

No hate.

No love.

No hate.

I gave what they asked of me.

And she was saved.

When did you first learn you

had the canker?

Oh, the cancer?

Um, when I was 15.

My chances were

50/50, which is...

And then it... came back.

and they said, uh...

less than six months

left to live, so...

- It?

- The tumor.

Ah. The canker. Yes.

The crab, so called

by the great healer Hippocrates,

who likened the shape

to the sea creature.

Hard body, legs growing askew.

I've never seen the sea.

Ah.

I love the ocean.

I've seen the Atlantic,

the Pacific.

I'd love to go to

the Mediterranean

or the Red Sea someday.

But, um...

My mom took me to the Caribbean.

That was fun.

- Tell me.

- Oh...

It's the bluest blue

that you could imagine.

And when you're swimming in it,

it feels like a wet, warm hug.

Thank you.

So beautiful.

Trees bind the heavens

to Earth.

Roots clenching down

in the dirt.

Leaves grasping high in the sky.

There's no separation.

And so we begin.

May I?

- Barren.

- Yeah. Not my favorite term.

Everything was removed.

It would have been great birth

control if I'd ever had sex.

Fruitless.

But a tree, no less.

Give me your hand.

This ring is a symbol

of a union.

Two circles, one soul

bound at the threshold

of life and death,

where one ends,

the other begins.

After the death,

the blood of life.

Well.

That was f*cking... weird.

- Yeah.

- I think we should bail.

Dad...

She's right.

I'm basically dead.

Science tells me I'm dead.

And she's telling me

I don't have to be.

I don't want to be dead yet.

We could find

a different doctor.

We could do a different...

We tried that.

We tried that.

and it didn't work.

We just maybe didn't try

hard enough.

I mean, how long are we

gonna be here at witch camp?

She says she can do this

in three days.

That's f*cking ridiculous.

How come she talks

so f*cking weird?

It's a... it's a bullshit.

f*cking bullshit.

Is it?

So what if we

have to dance naked

under the f*cking moonlight

with some, like, crazy b*tch?

I don't know, it's fine.

It's...

I'm willing to do it.

Doubt and do, my friends.

Mick...

I'm here for you, okay?

I want to do this with you.

I'm sorry about that.

Would either of

you like to say a blessing?

No, thanks.

No, thanks.

- May I?

- Sure.

In darkness,

hungry shadows creep.

Lusting for a soul to reap.

Dark kills day.

But light is quick.

Come to trick and fool the sick.

Stay the bones of grief

and hurt.

Eat the worms in blackest dirt.

Bless the serpent nestled there,

coiled betwixt

the roots and air.

Though it suffer in the sun,

breath of night is soon to come.

- Amen.

- No!

Undo it!

No hollow idolatry at the table.

Undo it. Undo it, please!

- I'm sorry.

- Spit on the word.

Spit on the word

while it lingers.

- Where?

- On the floor where it belongs.

Spit on the floor.

Hurry!

This meal looks

beautiful.

What is it?

Gifts from the forest.

You know, if you'd like,

I could boogie into town

and grab some groceries.

I'm not really much

of a vegetarian.

Aren't yougonna eat?

I eat the air as I speak.

Well, that's some trick.

Oh. Do you believe in magic?

- I don't.

- Oh, your child has died.

- What?

- In magic lives the child eternal.

Even death has no greater foe.

Close your eyes.

And you.

Please, eat.

One day to die.

Three days to rise.

Hey.

Oh, my f*cking God! Dad!

You scared the living sh*t

out of me.

Sorry.

You mind if I come in

for a second?

Yeah.

You okay?

Yeah, I'm okay.

It's just... a little weird.

I can't sleep.

I'm on an old canvas.

At least you got this nice moss.

Well...

I can't sleep either.

What are you thinking about?

Do you remember...

a woman from the chemo clinic

named Cindy Duke?

I do.

She was a sweetheart.

And she had that great

little girl.

Well...

one day when we were

sh**ting our chemicals together,

she turned to me

and said,

"I pray for you.

Will you pray for me?"

But, Dad, I...

I don't believe in prayer.

I have always believed in faith.

And when people pray,

it's because they have

a lack of faith.

A lack of faith that...

life will give

what it's supposed to give.

And death will bring

what it's supposed to bring.

Cindy Duke died,

and I didn't.

It's not

'cause you didn't pray, kid.

Maybe it is.

Maybe she believed in prayer

so much that it worked.

I'm not afraid

of what death will be.

Life has been such

an amazing gift.

I'm sure death will be, too.

But I'm gonna fight

like a m*therf*cker

to make this life last

as long as possible,

because death can wait.

So...

I'm gonna take a page out of

Cindy Duke's book and believe.

Believe in this moss

and this f*cking tree bed.

And Solveig.

And her flies.

I'm just gonna

believe in it all.

I admire you so much.

I just keep learning from you.

I love you.

The truth won't hide

in dreams.

It lies still...

Seeing.

The wh*re...

Majestic.

Like echoes of the banshees

bouncing in a canyon...

Just below the light...

Disappearing in the

river below...

Drifting away, unheard...

In dreams,

guilt is pure, unseen love.

Creeping through the shadows,

until the veil breaks open.

Reflections glimmer

and death dies again.

I gave what they asked.

Death gave, too.

The blunt of time.

The burden of memory smothered

by the kindness of stone.

The balance due.

A simple debt of silence.

While I make music in the dirt.

Like the beetle and the worm.

The gift of their blindness

while I make mischief in the dark.

Ignorance while I trick the

grave and solicit the night.

The balance due.

A life for a life.

Good morning. I thought I was

the first one up.

Are you hungry?

Well, I'd love some

black coffee if you have it.

How about a nice strong tea?

Does it got as much zip

as coffee?

Zip?

Yes. It does.

Let's give it a go.

I need a little kick-start.

It's hemlock root.

Isn't that poisonous?

Oh, the hemlock plant, yes.

This is from the hemlock tree.

It can be poisonous as well, if one doesn't

know the proper alchemy for a sweet brew.

Great.

The difference between

a poison and a cure

is the dose, my friend.

You know, honestly, I was just

kinda poking for a black coffee.

Not really a cure for anything.

Well, maybe you've been

worrying so long for your daughter,

you've failed to realize you,

too, are in need of a cure.

A cure for what?

Sadness, loneliness,

anger, fear.

And that's gonna cure

all those?

It might.

Hey, kid, come on down here.

She's making us

a super poisonous potion

that cures all bad emotions and

got more zip than black coffee.

- You should have a cup with us.

- No.

Oof!

It's got some kick.

Must be healthy

'cause it tastes terrible.

You'll eat in the woods.

Did you dose my dad?

I helped him.

- How?

- Here.

That tea lubricates the spirit.

It reopens the mind's

closed eyes.

Well, I don't think

he's gonna like that.

Sometimes

the medicine is bitter,

but the cure

is sweet.

Oh, f*ck.

Oh, f*ck!

Ah! God damn it!

Oh, f*ck...

Oh...

Close your eyes.

Show me your crab.

They say

that there's a tumor in here

about the size of an apple.

An apple

sweet enough to eat.

That's bullshit.

Oh, but to make

the wicked swoon,

one must love it just a little.

- What's that?

- Holy water.

That's the last thing I would

have expected from you, Solveig.

It's not to treat.

It's to test.

Is something

supposed to happen?

What do you think?

Yeah, I guess so.

Then pay attention

to your belly.

- Is it supposed to burn?

- Is it?

Uh, I have no clue.

Then why

did you mention burning?

I don't know, because of,

like..."The Exorcist."

Maybe because you

believe it's possible.

Well, I guess.

Yeah, I do.

That's what's supposed

to happen.

- What?

- You believe in ritual.

- That's it?

- No.

Now I put away

this pitiful flask of rainwater,

and we perform a true ritual.

- Sing to the crab.

- What?

Sing to the crab so it sleeps.

Sing what?

What did your mother sing

to you when you were a babe?

I don't remember.

But my dad sang to me.

The crab cares not who sang.

The Sandman is coming

with his bag of dreams

So take care

He'll blow you a kiss

Blow dreams in your hair

Oh, oh, oh

Don't let him know

you're awake till he's there

Oh.

Oh, my God. What was that?

A hungry crab awakes.

Keep singing.

You got to ride the spell,

if you dare

You're gonna ride, ride,

ride like a bird in the air

The sandman is coming

with his bag of dreams

So take care

He'll blow you a kiss

Oh! Ow!

Holy f*cking ow!

What is that?!

A treat to trick a crab.

Ohh! It hurts, it hurts!

As it should.

Owww!

The serpent's spawn

is lost to the ground,

but all that's loved

will soon be found.

Owwww!

f*ck!

Good.

Hey.

What was in that tea?

Zip.

Zip.

Did she give you

any of that zip?

Are you okay?

No, I'm not okay.

I've been puking

my guts out all morning.

But it's not

like you're not used to that,

so I shouldn't complain.

How about you?

What have you been up to?

Progress.

Show him.

f*ck.

It's good.

It's a good thing.

It doesn't look like

a good thing.

It looks like a bad thing.

It is a bad thing...

inside of her.

The reaction is a good thing.

- How so?

- The crab is wounded.

Looks like Mickey's

wounded to me.

Did you not fill your

daughter with poisons?

Chemo?

Yeah, yeah, we did.

And did you not burn her

from the insides?

You mean radiation?

That's so cruel of you to say.

How could you say something

like that?

It was our only choice.

Mychoice.

But...

Yeah, it was my only choice.

And I don't doubt it.

And you accepted that pain

without hesitation.

You accepted a vicious cure,

and it failed.

Well, my cure is painful, too.

Death is no fool.

It does not trick it

with kindness.

Do you understand?

I do.

This will help.

You ever noticed how,

whenever she's around,

there's flies everywhere?

It's 'cause she's full of sh*t.

They came caked in lime,

a powerful bane.

How they flaunted

their hypocrisy, cloaked in it,

shielding themselves

from the spells of the dead.

No! N-o-o-o!

No, no, no, no!

No-o-o-o!

No!

My baby, no!

Can I ask you something?

Yeah.

It's gonna work,

but what are you gonna do

if this doesn't work?

I might chase you.

I would've chased your mom

if you weren't around.

There's no way

I could let you drift off

into that darkness alone,

I just...

I'd have to chase you

and make sure you're okay.

Well, I guess I'll be dead,

so I can't stop you, but if you

did have to k*ll yourself,

how would you do it?

I know exactly

how I'd k*ll myself.

I would want to make sure

that the coroner had

a really f*cking hard time.

So I would stand on the edge

of a really high bridge,

I'd put a noose around my neck,

I'd eat a ton of sleeping pills,

I'd cut my wrists,

and then drink a lot of alcohol,

and then I would sh**t myself

in the head

so that I flew off the bridge

and the noose yanked on me,

hopefully break,

and then I'd fall all that way

so that when the coroner tried

to figure out how I died,

they'd have to come up with

seven causes of death.

Oh, my God,

that's so f*cked up.

I think I could make it into

"The Guinness Book

of World Records" finally.

Well, let's hope that you don't

have to do a septa-suicide.

Air, breath...

which comes first?

I bend circles in my verse.

Earth weds air.

They make a fire.

Ash, death's petals

on the pyre.

Blood, flesh, bone equates.

Wind gulps ash,

it rests, separates.

Life, death...

which comes first?

I bend birth in reverse.

This smells really good.

Well, it looks like meat,

so thank you.

What kind of meat is it?

Venison.

Mm. Cool.

I've never had venison.

Please enjoy yourselves while

I prepare for tomorrow's labor.

Hey, don't you think

it's a little funny?

- What?

- Well, she never eats.

And no matter how much I eat,

I'm always starving.

Well...

I gotta admit,

I don't feel too well,

so it doesn't really bother me.

Well,

maybe you don't feel well

'cause of all this

Voodoo bullshit.

Dad, you know that's not why.

All right, that's fair.

But there's no stove.

There's no running water.

I mean...

how did she even cook this meat?

I mean, I'm so hungry,

I didn't even want to ask.

I have bigger things to worry

about than my stomach or yours.

Do you know

how we even got here?

Nope.

She came to me

through a dream.

Through a f*cking dream.

Tongue of fire

in mouth of moon,

blood and seed

and c**t and bone.

River flowing, sapling growing,

stink of rabid vulture knowing.

When the veil of night

has flown,

hide in quiet, still as stone.

Okay, okay, okay.

Hey.

What are you guys doing?

None of your

f*cking business.

Actually, it is my business.

I'm too high for this

right now.

Let's get out of here.

I don't want

to get out of here.

I still have a full drink.

This seems

kind of disrespectful.

To who?

To Solveig.

Let's get out of here.

Burn it down,

baby, burn it down

Burn it down,

burn it to the ground, yeah

Eat sh*t, fruitcake!

- Isn't my dad coming?

- No.

He needs a moment alone.

So, today is day three.

And it will be a long one.

Can I ask, is it working?

I feel like absolute sh*t,

but that means it's working, right?

I...

Just, how will I know

that it's gone?

You'll live, you'll love,

you'll grow old,

and then you'll die.

And all you lived

and all you loved

will make a home in your bones.

And they'll know.

What is it?

A good sign.

The blood is quickening.

Solveig...

Why are you doing this for me?

Because you asked.

So out of the kindness

of your heart?

No.

Then why?

I heard you,

and you heard me.

I don't understand.

Your curse is my gift.

Close your eyes.

Put your head back.

Think of nothing.

Open wide the legs of light.

Swallow deep the seed of night.

Thorn wound, spell unbound.

Wake in half light.

Time confound.

This has to stop.

You look terrible.

What did she do to you?

Okay.

I've been supportive of this...

fantasy of yours

for long enough.

There's no such thing as magic.

She's not gonna cure you.

I know you wanted to believe

this could work,

but the truth is, she's a fraud,

and she's been making

you look like a fool.

And, kid,

I've tried to play along,

but it's always been obvious

that this is bullshit.

All you've been doing is

making jokes this entire time,

not taking any of this

seriously.

And I don't want to die

because of you.

So I want you to go.

Go get a f*cking hamburger.

Oh, what the f*ck

do you want me to do?

What the f*ck do you want

me to f*cking do?

You want me

to just cry all the time?

I've done plenty of that.

I know this

was important to you.

But I'm your dad.

We're a team.

We're not a team.

I'm in this alone,

and you're in this alone.

So, go.

Leave! Go!

When the wind blows cold

And the sun grows old

You can hear the song

of the barren

Through the night we fly

Till the new bird cries

Are you loved?

Are you barren?

Fall so slowly

Will you hold me?

In your arms

When I'm barren

Fall so slowly

Will you hold me

In your arms

When I'm barren

Hello?

Hello?

Sorry. Couldn't hear you

over the music.

How can I help you?

Can I get a room for the night, please?

Sure.

Just need your ID

and your credit card.

- You here for fishing?

- No.

I came up here to...

see a healer with my kid.

You're in the right neck of

the woods for that kind of sh*t.

Apparently.

You ever heard of a lady

named Solveig?

Solveig the witch?

Yeah, everybody

around here knows her.

Well,

I didn't call her a witch,

but probably talking

about the same Solveig.

She's a witch, all right.

Necromancer.

- You know what that is?

- No, I don't.

- She can trick death.

- Trick death.

Yeah, even her own.

People have been putting stones

on her grave for years.

- What grave?

- Hergrave.

- But she's alive.

- Oh, yeah.

That's why we keep

throwing stones on her grave.

Keep that angry b*tch down.

Yeah, it's a great party spot.

You know,

you go drink some beers,

you chuck some rocks on top.

It's called the Witch's Tit.

Okay.

What? What?

You know the witch's name,

but you don't know the story?

I guess not.

What's the story?

Okay.

A couple hundred years ago,

Solveig brought

a stillborn back from the dead

and kept it as her own.

Then the townspeople found out,

took her zombie baby,

and burned it.

And what happened

to this witch lady?

They buried her alive so she

could dig her own way to Hell.

But she just stayed there in the

dirt, screaming for her baby.

And that's

why people keep throwing stones

on top of the grave.

To keep that crazy mama down.

Is the Solveig

that you're talking about,

is she related to the Solveig

that lives in the house

- up on that hill?

- House?

No, there's no house

around there.

Do you want a double

or a single?

Nowhere to run to

Nowhere to hide

Nowhere to run to

Nowhere to hide

Nowhere to run to

Nowhere to hide

Nowhere to run to

Nowhere to hide

Sharpen your knife

Bring down the castles

on high

Cut through the ties

Cut through the moments

that bind you

Ooooooh

Can you see the time?

Can you feel the schism?

Can you see the rhyme?

Bouncing in the rhythm

For centuries,

I screamed and screamed

and suffered in the dirt,

alone, empty-armed.

Loveless.

For centuries, my screams

were answered with mockery,

piss and stones to keep me down.

And when finally my screams

were warmed to a whisper...

...you heard, you so...

so young in your bones

and yet so old,

slumped in the lap of death.

You let me...

You let me rise.

I take you a shadow.

You give me life.

You gave me...

You gave me...

You gave me...

Aaaaaaaah!

Mickey!

Mickey!

Mick...

Mick.

Oh, Mick.

Mick.

Oh, she took it!

She took it.

Life.

Life is wondrous.

It is fire

in all its wild spirit,

licking the air

like a drunken snake.

Color,

and the eyes to behold it.

Fingers to feel

the cold roughness of stone.

Cold, innocent stone.

The call of distant birds.

The hum of flies.

The anticipation of a thrill.

The small joy that brings

a smile to a borrowed face.

The flutter of an eye.

The blink of a life.

The comfort of love.

Hands to raise

to an empty, endless sky,

against the pool of the earth,

the weight of bones,

the roar of wind

and the smell of dirt,

the taste of metal

and fresh blood,

the tapestry of color

on an autumn day,

the rich smell

of fallen leaves,

the pressure of tiny grains

of sand wedged in a fingernail.

How good to rest in solace,

bones entwined,

wrapped in worms,

a crown of dirt,

a bed of nothing.

Well...

We're baffled.

There's no sign of cancer.

There is no sign

of radiation damage.

There is no sign

of chemical burns.

There's no sign of anything.

We've ordered

up a whole new round of tests

because, honestly, um,

with these results, we...

we just can't believe it.

No, I don't think that we

need to schedule any more tests.

We believe it.

There's a song in the river

Row away

Make a sound in the river

Row away