Pain is Only Temporary

4

Fiddling with the pendant around my neck, I walked though town in a daze,

A dark mist following my every step.

I had no clue where I was headed but truthfully I didn't care.

All of the faces passing in the crowd I recognized but they looked right past like I was just a phantom in the wind.

We had been here for years but people still looked through me the same as they always had.

No friends, no family. I just had my mom, the days she acknowledged she had a daughter.

Those days were few and far between, but when they happened I felt as tho I was loved.

I would be happy if we could stay in those days forever, but the sad truth is I could see it in her eyes.

The pain.

I was the last fragment my dad left behind. It was slowly killing her seeing the resemblance more and more with each passing day.

I turned the corner only to find the shops slowly
Weaning off further and further apart.

It was getting darker out but I could see I was on the corner of Monroe and Faye. All that was left from here was Murray's takeout and an old bar.

I slowed my pace to look for any passing cars as I crossed and headed back towards the center of town.

______________

The street lamps were faint but I could see the lights of the open shops ahead.

Everything was much prettier at night, it gave a sense of peacefulness that was absent in the day.

I enjoyed that. It felt like an escape from the burden of reality.

It got cooler at night but the air had quite a bite tonight especially.

I wrapped my arms around my body to warm myself but it hadn't helped much.

The whole town had pretty much called it a night seeing as there were only a handful of people out.

As I turned onto our street I could see the house lights were out, which was pretty uncommon. Mom always left them on.

I walked up the front steps to see the door already open.

I froze.

The first thing I could sense was the blood. Mom was in front of the stairs sobbing quietly.

"Mom- are you okay? What's going on?!" I said frantically.

She looked up quickly and put her finger to her lips to stop me. With fear in her eyes she whispered "go".

I stepped closer concern evident on my face as she attempted to stand.

A figure appeared quickly behind her as she fell to the floor. gasping in pain, blood pooled around her.

"MOM?!?!!" I screamed as my vision blurred. A sharp throbbing in the back of my head brought me to my knees.

My consciousness faded in and out as I lay just feet from her.

She's gone? It can't be. Not like this.