The story of Meredith {Unfinished}

Her upbringing

A knock at the door swam throughout the tiny house.

Mrs. Walchester sprung out of her chair to open the door.

Putting her hand around the handle she expected her husband instead there were men in uniform.

The men tried telling the woman her husband's early passing from the faults of the war.

But even they felt the sorrow of the loss of their commander.

The now widowed woman fell to her knees knowing what had happened.

Tears blasted out of her eyes as she screamed and cried begging this wasn't true.

The reality was her husband had died in the Veton and Ethitus war.

"Many people had died in the war ma'am," they said, trying to reassure her she wasn't the only one feeling pain.

The woman, still in tears, slammed the door in the men's faces.

She watched through the window as they walked away.

Meredith had wandered into the opening corridor, but once her mother saw her she was scolded and sent back to her bedroom.

Meredith closed the handmade curtains and stumbled into bed falling asleep.

She then awoke to an empty home.

She believed her mother went to the markets, so she began reading.

Her mother and father taught her how to read to fight against the pressure of society.

They wanted their only child to be an intellectual.

Days had passed since the young Meredith had seen her mother.

She wasn't worried though, her mother had done this before.

Gone days and nights off somewhere no one could ever find her. But she'd always come back.

It wasn't until the 4th day that she began worrying, Meredith was hungry, young, and alone.

On the 5th day, someone came into the house. Meredith ran straight to the door crying for her mother. A woman stood at the door... it was her mother, she was dressed in dark clothing hiding her face.

Meredith didn't care about her clothing; she was just happy to see her mom back home.

Her Mother grabbed a few things from the house, stuffing them in a bag as she went. She picked Meredith up hugging her "I missed you so much darling," She said holding her.

It wasn't long until they were out of the house and running into the forest. She stopped and whispered something in Meredith's ear.

Meredith started falling asleep soon after.

The last few things she saw and heard were town folk coming to her house with something in their hands.

Then it was bright red flames taking her home.

All she heard were the people yelling "Demon child".

Were they calling her this..?

Was she the so-called demon child?

What could such a young girl do to even be called that?

Her mother saved her from the cruel townsfolk.

That was the last memory of that night.

Once she awoke Meredith was somewhere she didn't know.

A small barren room with a soft bed seemingly made of ferns and grass.

The walls were made of some clay-like material, the floors looked like smooth terracotta.

She was paralyzed with fear and laid in bed trying not to make a noise.

Then it hit the young Meredith, her mom brought her to this room.

She sat up and called for her mother but no one came.

Meredith brought herself to her feet and began walking to the doorway.

Pushing the curtain out of her way she looked around the hallway.

A narrow house down the hall were two curtains, one on the left side of her and another at the end of the hall. On the other side of her was a living area leading into a kitchen.

She looked side to side, right to left.

She decided to go towards her right towards the living space. Meredith cried for her mother, but there was no response. Only the sound of her cries, birds singing, and the howl of the wind.

Meredith walked to the middle of the room, it felt as if she was being pulled towards it. The confusion came like a wave. A wave of nothing but loss. She lost herself, her mother, her father, and everything Meredith loved was gone. She began to sob uncontrollably. Her mother left her again. Meredith was alone in an empty house. She felt betrayed by her own mother. Nothing was okay, the world's strings that had once tied everything together had fallen pulled apart by the pure confusion. Everything was gone like ripped cloth, plucked by someone you trust.  The world had began to collapse around her. She didn't know how to process it all leaving so suddenly. The walls closed in, she couldn't see anything not anymore.

Her view felt third person like her eyes refused to work. Her hands went numb. Her lungs felt collapsed breathing gasps in-between flows of tears. Her butter legs went weak as if they couldn't operate without a lead. With no one to comfort she laid on the floor watching herself fall apart.

She cried until the birds stopped singing and the wind stopped howling. Until everything heard her tears. Maybe the wind will pick her up and guide her heart. She had nothing to lose by this time.

Even the skies felt sorry for her. The sun hid behind the clouds casting a dark shadow on the land soon after it began to pour rain. Then the thunder tried casting over her cries. But then a beam of warmth hit her and the room. Meredith darted her eyes towards the door.