Princess Rose: “Dreams are lies”
by Johnny Angel – the poet Demon Lover
(Lord Byron’s style poem)
(voiceover: whispered, low)
Rose: Who’s there? The clock struck two-yet my heart strikes thirteen.
Angel: (from nowhere-soft, velvet) It’s only the night, sweet child. Only me.
Rose: The candles died. The moon keeps staring. Do you stare too?
Angel: I stare because you let me. I linger because you listen.
Rose: I’m eighteen. The roses outside my window bleed black petals. They know what I don’t.
Angel: They know love is not a crown. It’s a key. And I’ve been turning it-slowly-in your ribs all month.
Rose: My maids say dreams are lies.
Angel: Your maids never woke up shaking, skin on fire, name unspoken on their tongue.
Rose: Say it, then.
Angel: (long pause, breath only) Later. When the moon dips behind the lake-when your sheets ask questions your mouth won’t. Then I’ll say it.
Rose: Will you stay after?
Angel: I never leave, Rose. I just… go quiet. Like now. Listen-can you hear? That hush between heartbeats?
That’s me: Beat. Silence. Fade.
(4 October 2025, Spain)
