Just like THAT

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 𝟷

I vividly remember sitting there, in the darkness of my bedroom. Listening to what was going on below me. I remember the shouting, the sound of plates smashing, the sound of innocent cries begging for mercy. Most importantly, I remembered the sound of the sirens. That was the worst day of my life. I could have said something. But I didn't. I could have saved her. But I didn't. And now, she's gone. She's gone and there is nothing I could do about it.

I think of that every single day. I regret every single moment.

But she's gone. Gone forever. My thoughts were swimming inside my head. It was over. I remembered her warm smile that used to reassure me even in the darkest of times. How she used to laugh and suddenly everything seemed to be alright. But it wasn't alright. And it never will be.

I felt my anger bubbling inside me. Why didn't I do anything? All of this was my fault. All of it. All of a sudden my eyelids began to droop. No. Not again, not ever. I slipped into a disturbed sleep.

I silently crept down to the gravestone at the very end of the grave yard. All was still apart from the bats chittering above me. My fingertips were numb with fear. The mist clouded my vision as I stumbled blindly amongst the weeds. The sudden gust of wind sent a shiver down my spine. Something was wrong. I swatted away a few bats as I shifted my weight from one foot to another. "Go away..." the wind screams in my ear. "Go away... Go away!" I stopped.

This was it.

I knelt down in front of the old gravestone and ran my hand across the coarse stone. Maiya Katherine Laurier, it read in big bold lettering that was etched in stone. My mother.

There was something wrong. I could tell. I could hear a distant rumbling. It got louder and louder. I clamped my hands over my ears. The earth began to crumble underneath my feet. I let out a blood-curdling scream as a huge chasm opened up and swallowed me whole. Everything went black.