Rain was pouring outside my window. No, not my window anymore. I was moving, and what a fine day I picked for it. My aunt, Claire, knocked on the door.
" Are you ready?" she asked.
"Be right there," I said, wiping away my tears. I grabbed my two carry-ons and my phone and left, not looking back. It sounds weird, being sad for an empty apartment, but the memories are always there, lingering in corners, hiding under shelves. Memories are the one thing I can't explain, or escape. Memories of my mother when she lived and how she died.
We were in the car, driving home, and I heard a noise, different from the usual hum of the engine. We just got on the bridge, and the car started to turn. My mom tried to steer it back in our lane, but she couldn't do anything. We went through 2 lanes and flew off the bridge. There was a collision followed by water seeping in. The doors wouldn't open.The panic was momentary. My mom then put a hand on my chest and shoved. Her magic was the ability to move objects, and the next thing I remember was floating up, towards safety, my mom staying in the dark debts. Later I wondered why she didn't follow me , but my aunt explained that my mom went past her limits, draining her energy in the process.
I climbed in my aunt's SUV, thinking about the awkward 6 hour drive ahead. My aunt is a psychologist, and spent most of the time stepping on eggshells around me and meaningfully asking "are you okay?". She has a daughter as well. We used to play together in the summer, going from the Barbie doll stage to boy crazed stage, but I haven't seen her since she got her gift last year. Now it was my turn. Yeay!
I put my bags in the back and climbed in the passenger's seat, closing my eyes and putting my ear buds in. I had picked up the habbit of twirling the ends of my hair, so much like my mother's. It was wavy and a dark reddish-brown that my mom described as roses, cherries, and chocolate, and a stark contrast to my pale face. It was in those moments, when I could physically see the resemblance with my mom, that moving on was the hardest, so I opened my eyes, stared out the window, and let the rain wash me into oblivion...
