Seyda Came Home

     Rain fell lightly onto the glass windshield of the dark grey sedan as it sat parked on the street in front of her family's manor. She had killed the engine immediately, deactivating the lights and even minimizing the volume of her radio. She sat in silence, both hands gripping the steering wheel as she stared ahead blankly, thinking about how things would play out over the next several minutes. Seyda looked over to gaze upon the large building, always an admirer of its magnificent architectural design. Home was like a familiar ghost for her, something she remembered, but always distant, as if she had never actually belonged there. And now it had been revealed to her that that was exactly the reality of the situation. She hadn't belonged there in her youth, and her return now would reveal to her family that she was well aware of that fact.

     She reached over to the glove box, gently pressing the button and slowly letting the compartment fall open as she eased its descent with the support of her shaking hand. A small pistol sat inside, a semi-automatic nine millimeter, purchased just yesterday afternoon. She could see the future unfolding before her, her mind conveying images of the actions she would take next. Her stomach twisted and her body shook, she felt woozy and uncomfortable and sickly. Regret manifested within her very being, and hesitation to act followed quickly thereafter.

     Seyda grabbed a small package from a pocket on the front of her leather jacket, retrieving from within the plastic carton a single cigarette which she lit and inhaled forcefully. Trying to steady herself, she turned back to look over the building once more. The sky above was grey, dreary and somber, a perfect reflection of how she now felt. The light rains continued to fall overhead, tapping upon the car gently and helping to focus her mind. She listened to the calming sounds, closing her eyes before opening them once more to look upon the green trees which stood guarding the house on each side. Their leaves swayed gently in the winds as a few black birds dashed to and from the branches, swooping down onto the grassy yard before soaring back up to seek shelter from the precipitation.

     She looked upon the window at the top floor, a large circular piece of glass which was built into the house's front, facing west and looking down over the hill to watch where the street ran to the town below. It was the window to the home's library, a place she had spent nearly all the years of her youth while living in the house. Her room had been decently sized, much smaller than her cousin's, but still large enough to spend an ample amount of time in. But the library had been her sanctuary, a room seldom visited by the other members of the house. She would often stare out the window for hours, looking over the town and imagining herself heading off to live another life somewhere far away from here.

     Seyda broke away her gaze and stared back over at the gun, taking another long drag from her cigarette as her body continued to shake horribly. The shadow appeared in the back seat, directly behind the driver, its large claws gripping the headrest as it hunched its tall frame over, ducking its head to rest beside her own as it craned its neck towards the woman. It had no weight, no tangible contact with the interior of the vehicle - and yet there it sat, appearing as it often did, like a sudden cloud of smoke arriving out of nowhere. It was just a shadow, a shade cast where it shouldn't be, following her every move now that she had agreed to its plan.

     "Lost your nerve already?" it asked, ridiculing her as it attempted to force her into action by mockery. "Don't forget what they did to you - what they almost did to you. You know that they are responsible for what happened - and you know what will happen if you don't see this through."

     Seyda did not respond to the being, nor turn to look back upon it. Instead she shifted her eyes up to the rearview mirror, the shadow's faceless head visible in the background, but her focus entirely on her own reflection. Dirty-blonde hair swept down her face, curling just below her chin and growing just a few inches longer down the back of her head. She moved aside the strands with her fingers, blinking harshly as she stared into her own crystal-blue eyes. Tears pooled in the whitened corners, a single drop eventually finding its way to freedom and coursing down her lightly freckled cheek. She wiped it away with the sleeve of her jacket before turning away from the mirror and grabbing the pistol from the small compartment.