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THREE. LET THE ULTRAVIOLET COVER ME UP
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one year later.
The early mornings and late nights bled together like the colors of a sunset. The morning sun was excruciating. The rays scorched her skin until it blistered. The afternoons were worse. Her brown hair now felt flat and lifeless, the short strands stuck to the sides of her face and neck, glued to her skin with sweat. Her body felt like it was made of wax. Her clothes hung loose on her body. Her tired feet dragged from beneath her. She was miserable. Tired. Weak.
Time seemed to go slower and slower as the days went on. She stopped bothering trying to figure out what time of day it was. It was just light and dark. Sun and moon.
Mia saw her family in the shadows. One moment they were there. The next they were gone. Whether it was her parents, or her siblings, or all of them together. Mia thought it was due to sleep deprivation. Or maybe she was just losing her mind. Sometimes she didn't mind it. The shadows of her dead family were her only company. Imaginary friends that were once real and alive but were now figments of her imagination. They kept her safe, cradled in their arms and they rocked her back at forth.
Until she saw them being ripped apart, standing in front of her with their organs gone. Skin ripped off. Eyes gouged out. Then she didn't feel safe.
Another year passed by. Mia grew more lonely. More tired. More weak. A thousand emotions reached her brain and yet she couldn't find the ones labeled satisfactory, content, or restfulness. The numerous green trees surrounding her became a substitute for the four walls she was born in. The simplest touch of the tree bark brought a strange sense of familiarity. She saw the family photos hanging on the walls. The leather couch she sat on during family movie nights. Her own warm bed. The shadows were no strangers yet times she wondered if she was the only ghost.
The Earth split open. A crack separating what she wished could be and what actually was. There was blood and grime and sweat and tears. Her grecian soul pressed hard against her rib cage to escape the tides and tides of thunder. There was a thunder storm erupting in her that overshadowed her laughter, her joy, and poetry. She was a human catastrophe. Mia wished she was strong in the way her father was, in the way her mother battled the cancer growing inside her, and the way Lucas protected her in the year they were together. The weight of the world rested on her shoulders and she was only just a girl.
The afternoon sun shined on her. Her grime stained arms were covered by her torn flannel. Her back was leaned against one of the trees and the leaves blocked out on a small portion of the fire ball in the sky. Her small hands unzipped the zipper of her tattered backpack. She was low on food, only a couple cans of pineapples and spaghetti o's sitting at the bottom. Her water bottle was still nearly full but she knew it wouldn't be long before it would be gone. She took a large swig. The coolness wet her dry throat. She poured some into her hand and rubbed it on her face to cool herself off. It would be getting dark soon. She needed to find wood and a place to hide herself while she slept.
She was so tired. It was like a simple blink of her eyes was enough to send her into a coma. Her body was exhausted and drained. It hurt to move and she could feel her muscles screaming for just a couple hours of sleep. But sleep was not a luxury anymore. Mia couldn't close her eyes without feeling afraid of a corpse appearing. Even just resting against the tree made her panic. Her body was begging for a break from all the walking. Mia was only able to sleep for a mere four hours every night before she was awoken by the sound of snapping limbs and it frightened her so much she was not able to sleep anymore afterwards. It was so exhausting. She longed for a companion; someone to accompany her on her journey. She hadn't seen a single soul in the last year. It was like she was the only person left on Earth.
Her arms rested across the rumbling stomach. Her head rolled to the side and she stared at the dead leaves in front of her. The silence nearly drove her insane but she felt her body begin to relax even if it was still tired. A chance to catch a breath was a gift in a world suffering from an apocalyptic outbreak. In her other hand grasped a can of pineapples. Mia picked them up with her finger and shoveled them into her mouth. She hummed in approval at the sweet taste and her stomach thanked her.
Mia examined all stuff she had in her bag. Books, colored pencils, another knife, and a small music player. It was stuff Lucas had found for her. He knew her better than anyone and knew exactly what she liked. Lucas. The ghost of his body still lingered in her arms. Her hand clutched the L shaped necklace latched around her neck.
She was so distracted by the thought of her brother that she didn't realize she raised her water bottle to her lips until she felt nothing come out. Her deep blue eyes looked in her bag to see it was the last one left. "Shit."
There was a creek not too far from where she sat. She often heard the water rippling at night when the wind was blowing. She shifted her weight off the tree, groaning at her aching muscles before zipping her bag closed and slinging it over her shoulders. The closer she got to the creek the more her pores screamed for hydration. The sun dried her skin out. A near permanent sun burn etched on her face.
Mia caught sight of the blue water. She quickly dropped to her knees, taking her bag off her shoulders. She dipped her hands into the water and shivered at the cold. She watched the dirt slide off her hands and evaporate into of the water. She took the empty water bottles out of her bed, unscrewed the caps, and filled them to the top with water. There was five total. Plenty enough to get her through a day or two.
The color of the sun bled into a crimson orange. The white clouds dimmed down to where they were almost gone. It was times like this that Mia begged for a watch. The sunset was her favorite part of the day. The vivacious colors that painted the sky reminded her of a time when she stayed up late with family and the pink sky peaked through the window. Sunsets were a reminder that she was still alive and still had a chance. In a world that completely fell of the deep end, it still managed to be somewhat beautiful.
Mia headed back to her tree and her stormy eyes skimmed around for a spot to stay for the night. She found a bush by one of the trees that had an opening big enough for her body to fit in. It wasn't the most comfortable but it was all she had. Mia learned to not complain anymore. She was still alive — that said something, right? Mia shrugged off her flannel and folded it into a makeshift pillow. She then took out a folded blanket from her bag and wrapped it around her body before curling up under the bush. Her mind screamed for her to shut her eyes and go to sleep but she couldn't. She stared at the sun as it sank lower and lower before it eventually disappeared. The beautiful colors turned into a dark black, stripping the world of its joy.
