Bleeding streets

1. The Accident

Annoyed .

This was the first ever emotion Asteria Martinez felt as she gazed at the black eyed women staring back at her with hair that resembled much of a sparrow's nest .

The 22 years she had spent as a women , she still had zero sense of fashion or as they say 'the-art-of-carrying -yourself ' ..

Instead of investing her time in learning how to take care of her skin or to master the technique of perfectly contouring her face , unlike the other women of her age , she was much more interested in exploring about moons and stars .

Astronomy was 'her thing ' to do . Gazing at the stars on a dark gloomy night provided her the solace and the escape from the reality, the escape which she really craved . The stars were like playful little children to her . Some of them ran far away , as if playing hide and seek games with her , some like a little shy girl , hiding behind the clouds . After all sky was the only one left out of the two things that she loved to death .

She had inherited this crazy obsession for stars from her mother , who left her all alone when she was a mere child , a child who needed nothing but her mother's love . Though Asteria's memories of her mother's death had faded ,days and weeks ago , the feeling of sorrow and pain she felt was still bones deep. Her mother was ' her home '- and now that she was gone , Asteria would never be able to truly return .

Shaking her head , she came out of her grief , her eyes red and teary . Sighing , she decided to make last minute adjustments to her horrible appearance . In the large mirror on the bathroom wall , she took a long hard look at her face , her pale skin looked more sensitive and delicate than it actually was , dark circles surrounding her too large eyes . To sum up , she looked haunted and pathetic , more like the female horror character in a 90's movie . A giggle escaped her mouth at her silly thought about her appearance ..

With utmost difficulty , she applied mascara and eyeliner and pinched her cheeks hard , hoping for some colour to flash through her porcelain face . Restraining her curly hair in a messy braid , she took a deep breath . She atleast looked semi presentable now .

Today was her 23rd birthday , and she could clearly hear her father and brother running around the kitchen , trying to cook her breakfast before she steps out of her room . Last year , they nearly set the kitchen on fire trying to bake a cake themselves . A small smile tugged on her lips as she recalled running into the kitchen and spraying everything even them , with a fire extinguisher .

But who could blame them ? Her father and brother were both prominent business figures and secretly leading the second biggest mafia in Spain . Men who handled guns and daggers all their life suddenly trying their hands at knives and pans wasn't a good idea . This explained why her brother and father were horrendous at cooking since it was either Asteria or the chefs cooking .

A timid knock snapped her out of her thoughts . She quickly wiped her tears and muttered a ' come in ' . Her father rushed in with a boyish grin plastered on his otherwise intimidating face . He was holding a turquoise coloured sundress in his hands .

" Come-on Asteria stop behaving like a 60 year old . It's your birthday afterall , you aren't supposed to dress in these boring pajamas of yours . " Her father chirped excitedly as she nodded with a small smile . She was about to reply when the sound of several pots and pans fell into their ears .

Without wasting much time Asteria slipped into that dress and her white converse shoes while her father rushed out , probably to settle the mess he and his son had made in the kitchen . With quick footsteps , Asteria moved into the now disastrous kitchen and saw her brother smilling sheepishly at her as her father stood beside him trying to hid the plate of burnt eggs . They began to laugh nervously once Asteria shot them a playful glare . She couldn't care less about the burnt food , she just didn't wanted them to get hurt . She already owed her life to them , what more could they do for her ?