Lacuna

Chapter 1: Nastalgia

The house made eerie creaks every time Saga walked on the overhang. Rickety and worn, the house still stands, leaning with age. Houses next to hers had been torn down and rebuilt throughout the era, with Saga refusing to let her family tear down their own. It had become a staple in the region. Their family was given the name "The Ramshackle's" out of pure humor. Most children enjoy seeing new things, not that Saga didn't, but she liked to keep things as they first were.
Ah, the creaking. It never disturbed her as much as it annoyed her. That's the only thing you heard when you were alone. It's as if the whole facility was about to cave in on itself. Saga's family still says it sounds more creepy than annoying. Noises don't really freak her out. While remembering being scared in her childhood, she guesses she got over it at some point. Nevertheless, Saga brushed the thought off in a heartbeat and carried on.
Eerie noises weren't important today.

Saga wiped out the gunk in her eyes with a finger and blinked a few times. Still waking up, she stumbled down the grey, wood staircase, tripping into the alchemy lab, catching herself on a table with both stiff hands. Heart racing, she pushed back against the extra gravity from sleep and stood semi straight. Saga released a sigh and stared blankly at the various cauldrons and corked bottles. They were scattered around the room in different places, unorganized. Some contained bright liquids and others only held the essence of potions. Those ones were stained with the previous fluid's condiments, leaving behind slight traces that another had used them.

Nothing here interested her, but she had nothing better to do, so she made her way around the table slowly. She took her hand and dragged it across the table, staring at the colors painting her hand from the bright luminescence emitting from the potions. Drowsily mesmerized, it kept her interest up, and she turned her head to the right in search for more. There was a shelf mounted to the wall, carrying unused, empty bottles, crowded to the corners by cobwebs. Saga shuttered, feeling a cold breeze pass her by at the sight of such lonely inanimate objects. This caused her to avert her gaze to somewhere else in the room.

There were only more shelves at every corner, one holding a more recent, fresh cauldron. It held a bioluminescent  liquid, yellow in color. She didn't know how she missed it when she came in- even though she had made an embarrassing entrance. Feeling as if the potions could've seen her, she blushed slightly.
Finally, Saga shuffled over to the yellow condiment, not taking her eyes off of it the entire time as if it might run away if she didn't watch it carefully. The silence got to her as she held her breath, still not knowing what the suspense was about.
Saga could hear her heartbeat.
She didn't dare take her eyes off the bottle. She could've sworn she'd seen something move.
Why?
Her heart skipped a beat.
Saga only drew in quick, sharp breaths, trying to be quiet as if she were to hear something. Sweat began to form on her forehead. She knew she heard something.
The silence. It made her head hurt to think of that deafening silence again.
What was the point?
Her vision began to blur a bit. Still, she did not avert her gaze. It was locked in place as she inched closer. The thought got to her.
She did hear something.
Only then did she stop her movement entirely. It hurt her arm to leave it in place, unmoving. Saga had been reaching for the potion in the midst of her realization.
Why did you risk yourself...
She whipped her hands up towards her temples, applying great pressure.
Saga wanted to stop the voice; to stop it from finishing the sentence.
For them...
She whimpered, sweat falling in between her brow and down off her nose.
They who brushed you away,
She squeezed her eyes together, hoping it would somehow stop it. It was like kryptonite to her, weakening her every action. A ringing began in her ears.
Who hurt you.
It was all too much. Saga had gotten over it, but it came back out of nowhere. She had no time to prepare for the thought of the day.
Who broke you.

As if a thousand pounds was placed on her shoulders, she fell to the floor in agony. But Saga was strong, and would not let herself cry.
Not anymore, at least.
Gritting her teeth, she slammed a fist to the ground, letting the pressure out with a heavy huff. Eyes now open, she stared at the floor, her hair a canopy covering her face from anyone who might see her.
Her brow was furrowed into a 'v', slowly returning to normal as she sat up straight, bouncing as she hit the floor. Now she could hear the house creak as she moved once more. The ringing stopped, replaced with a calming inhale and exhale.
Who caused you to be like this?
What happened that night?
What kept you going?
The voice was like a tornado: a mixture of hot and cold air; good and bad thoughts. Was this a curse or a blessing? No matter. Reality had to become a part of this sometime.
This is now.
And now is a time to figure it out.