We're All Burning (Contest)

Chapter 01: Mother was

"Mother was deathly afraid of fires." Eden choked out the words into the microphone, but she wished she had swallowed them as soon as she said them. Maybe "deathly" wasn't the right word choice for a funeral.

Looking into the crowd she saw things she didn't want to see, heard words she didn't want to hear, and stared at people who didn't really care. Her stomach twisted, as if to say, "Eden, you should run." And it was right. Why should she stay if everyone's eyes were judging?

She stumbled down from the podium, ran into the pews of the church, and grabbed her sister, Brooke, by the arm. Broke's doe eyes were wide and alarmed-for good reason. They were disrupting their mother's funeral service. Surely Eden knew that was unacceptable.

The church had high ceilings and arched passages ways that made the old building seem cavernous and unwelcoming. The walls were painted a faint pink. Lined across them were candle holders-each about a few or so apart-that illuminated the halls specially for the service. Eden blew each one out as she went along, standing on her tiptoes so she could reach them. Brooke gave her an incredulous look, but Eden pressed a finger to her own heart-shaped lips, and Brooke kept her protests inside of her busy mind.

They each grabbed their sweaters from the rack beside the main entry door. They were worn things. Loose threads were abundant and the once vibrant colors had faded from years of wear-and-tear.

The girls pushed the solid oak doors open and walked out into the cool evening air. Eden dashed to her car-a beat up Volkswagen that could barely drive and was a pain at the pump-with Brooke at her heels.

Buckling her seatbelt, Brooke demanded, "What was that? We can't just leave!"

"Oh hush! You know they don't really care. If they really loved Mom, they would've tried to help us out every once in awhile. It's sickening to be around them."

"Well if they did, I wouldn't be here."

It was true. Brooke was the result of their mother being raped. When Eden's father left, they were forced to move to the bad part of town due to financial difficulties, and that's when it happened. Had someone-like their grandmother-offered to let them move in or anything of the like, Brooke wouldn't have been born.

"Well you would think that would have constituted a little bit of help," Eden muttered as she turned onto the highway.

"Are we going home?" Brooke asked.

"For a little while. I think we're going to move today."

"What?" Brooke shouted. "We can't move! Are you serious? The lease isn't even up on our apartment yet!"

"Actually, it was up last week," Eden retorted matter-of-factly. "And I'm your legal guardian, so what I say goes."

The courts had decided that since Eden was eighteen-a legal adult-she was fully capable of handling the responsibility of Brooke. But one screw-up would get her taken away from Eden, so she had to tread cautiously. Still, all decisions were up to her, and with their inheritance (which was only three months worth of their mother's work) they could afford to get out of that wretched town that only reminded Eden of things that were too painful to tolerate.

Brooke harrumphed and crossed her arms. It wasn't right, what Eden was doing. There was responsibilities, expectations that they had to uphold. They couldn't just flee the town without a trace. They needed to be with the family in that time of grieving, despite the fact that they were never there for them. "Eden, where are we moving to?"

"Somewhere where no one knows our names."

After exiting the highway, turning into the shadier side of town, and twisting down narrow streets, the girls were finally 'home'. After their side of the apartment complex was burned down in the deadly fire, they were moved to another apartment until further notice.