𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐄 ᵖᵉᵃᵏʸ ᵇˡⁱⁿᵈᵉʳˢ

𝟏𝟒, no words

XIV. 1919

TW | mentions of r*pe

Polly entered the room again, with the box in hand. She saw her niece stare into space, barely noticing the presence beside her.

What the girl was looking into was the hazel eyes she had inherited from her mother. She sat there so still. Usually she was in a fresh dress, her hair in a half up-half down style like before and she be talking or singing.

But now she sat there, almost mocking her daughter in the nightgown she wore the day she died with her hair all knotted and leaves and twits tangled into it. Her skin was more paler than she remembered. There was no smile on her face, just a blank stare.

Vivian remembered everything about the day she saw her mum floating in the canal. And while her family tried to forget it and move on, they would always remember the blood-curdling scream that escaped her mouth at the sight of the woman that was her mother.

Polly watched as her niece's eyes never left the armchair. She placed the box on the table, harshly, trying to get her attention but she didn't move. There was no reaction. Her aunt was a bit taken aback by how still she sat.

Polly guessed what had happened but she hoped Vivian would tell her it wasn't what she assumed.

Even when she sat down beside her, there was no movement. She seemed distracted. Polly decided to get check her shoeless feet. She had pieces of glass scattered around her skin but Polly didn't know how long she had been walking with glass in her feet.

She was barefoot which made Polly more certain the cuts were infected. Polly began taking the pieces out of her niece's feet, as well as blood, dirt and gravel that covered her feet.

Using the tweezers, Polly removed the pieces, one by one, looking up at Vivian every time she removed a piece. Vivian only flinched a little as her eyes stuck to the armchair still.

The wounds were cleaned and bandaged but there was many other cuts and gashes over the rest of her body.

Her aunt came up beside the girl, gently shaking the girl, "Vivian?"

—

    "What a day it has been and its not even noon." Her mother spoke, as the water ran down her face.

"You're not going to answer your mum?" She asked, concern now evident although to Vivian, it didn't feel genuine or like she cared. This was the mother who left. The mother who went insane. Not the one that visited on random occasions. Not the one who sang to her children before bed.

"I can help. I'm here." Vivian looked her up and down seeing what she saw all those years ago. She wasn't there, nor was she helpful. She couldn't even remember if she was ever helpful when she was alive. Vivian was too young to remember what she was like before she had Finn, and even at that, she wasn't the same mother her older siblings had.

Shaking her head, she started tearing up. She wanted to speak to her but she couldn't find the words. She didn't have anything to say at that moment — to anyone.

"It's just life. Life is hard. Living is cruel." Maeve told her simply, "nothing is cruel where I am now."

She continued, with a frown, "You should visit me for a change."