Wings to Wither

Prologue

Life was never easy for her and, Lyra learned to accept her fate. But, when everything she ever loved slowly wilted away and she found herself all alone in the vile world, she felt herself unfit to hold onto the thread of life anymore.

Her adoptive parents visited the orphanage she grew up in when she was three. Her foster mother immediately loved her the moment she saw her. They adopted her and life became easy. A little too easy to be actually real.

Life was wonderful till she turned twelve. Her foster dad faced troubles in his business which eventually led to his company getting bankrupt. Around time when her foster dad became a alcoholic. And the abuse started then.

She still remember the day when it all started. Her mom came home very late that night, obviously going around everywhere trying to get a job. And, her dad came even later. Her mom looked exhausted and Lyra requested her to get to bed and she sat at the dining table and waited for her dad.

It was past midnight when the door lock clicked her dad stepped into the house and the smell of alcohol reeked throughout the place.

"Oh, it's you", he chuckled. There was a look of disgust and hatred in his eyes. "You do realise that you are the reason for this whole mess right? You brought bad luck along with you the moment you stepped a foot in this place."

Everything about that moment made Lyra regret waiting for him. She should have went to bed along with her mom.

"Why are you staring at me like that you bitch, looking at you makes me wanna puke."

Her foster dad gave her look then stepped past her and went upstairs. The routine continued for a few days. Her mom got a job and was working harder than ever and Lyra ended up waiting for her foster dad just so that she can reassure her mom.

Each night he'd come up with different insults and go straight to bed after he blames her for all the bad things that has ever happened to him. But, one night it all started getting physical.

The door cracked open and he stepped in followed by the scent of alcohol. What started as a hair pulling quickly turned into kicking her and he even took fun in pouring boiling water on her. Apparently he lost the fun in verbal abuse and turned to physical. He enjoyed it more when he realised that Lyra would never confess any of it to her mom.

Lyra wanted her mom to get a good rest after all that hard work she's been doing every single day just so that she can keep her loved ones happy. This was a simple gift she good do in return for all the hard work her mother has been doing. She has been enough burden already, she didn't wanted to be more.

Turns out nothing ever goes as she wanted it to. Her mom found out about all of the abuse when her step dad decided to pour a whole vessel full of hot boiling water on her legs. Guess she should have bit on her lips harder and tried to hold back her scream.

Her foster parents divorce followed that incident.

"It was all because of you, you fucking bitch!", her foster dad said the day he bid farewell for good.

Her mother's health condition only got worser after that. She worked harder to earn money and kept blaming herself for everything while she disregarded her health over time which eventually lead to her getting hospitalised.

Lyra hoped that it was due to stress but, fate had a twisted way of making her life more terrible than before.

After further analysis the doctors diagnosed her mother with brain tumor.

The day her mother passed away, the clouds were gray. It rained heavily that day. Guess the weather decided to match her mood. Wet rain droplets poured over her mother's lifeless body. When they closed the coffin the pattering noise of rain drops filled her eardrums. She kept hearing the same noise every single day, the guilt never left her and the memories kept haunting her.

Turns out her foster dad was indeed right about her bringing bad luck...

Cold breeze hit her face as she looked over the city, it has been almost a year since her foster mom passed away. She never feared heights. Even now when she stood on top of the abandoned building in the brink of death, neither death itself nor heights scared her. The only thing that she hoped at the last few moments of her life were her end to be less painful..

She slowly moved her right leg forward.

"I'm really sorry mom, you wanted me to live a better life and you decide to give away yours for that...but, I don't deserve any of this, I don't deserve you mom, you would've been alive and healthy if you had never adopted me. I'm really sorry mom. I hope your next life end up better than this.", she muttered to thin air.

She shut her eyes and counted down in her head. She really hoped her next life to be better than this one too. There was a strong blow of wind behind her. Followed by the flapping noise of something huge. She felt something warm curl around her wrist and she was pulled back in an instant. She collided with a hard toned chest as her brown orbs collided with his black ones that looked just like the night sky. Her eyes fell on the enormous pair of wings behind his back and it wandered around every single feather in his magnificent black wings.

"What are you?", Lyra felt herself question as her eyes lock once more with his.

_________________________________________________________________________