Darkness becomes her //JackxElsa

Two

Box

''IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, BACK THEN A LOT OF FOLKS WENT THROUGH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS.... YOU WERE TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER, BUT-''

''I remember some.'' How could I forget? Fleeting with hundreds of thousands of people as one of the strongest blizzard known to man, destroyed Burgess. No one was prepared. No one was prepared for the temperature to drop. And no one went back. Even now, thirteen years later, no one ventured past the Rim.

Dr. Hamada gave me a sad smile. ''Then I don't need to tell you why your mother came here.''

''No.''

''There were so many cases,'' she went on sadly, eyes unfocused, and I wondered if she was even talking to me now. ''Frigophobia, fear of freezing, watching love ones die. And the ice, the ice that covered their bodies..... Your mother probably experienced some horrible real-life event that led to her delusion.''

Images of the blizzard and the aftermath clicked through my mind like a slide projector, images I hardly thought of anymore. I shot to my feet, needing air, needing to get the hell out of this creepy place surrounded by rivers, swamps, and gnarly weeping trees. I wanted to shake my body like a manic, to throw off the images crawling all over my skin. But instead, I forced myself to remain still, drew in a deep breath, and then tugged the end of my blue T-shirt down, clearing my throat.

''Thank you, Dr. Hamada, for speaking with me so late so late. I should probably get going.''

I pivoted slowly and made for the door, not knowing where I was going or what I'd do next, only knowing that in order to leave I had to put one foot in front of the other.

''Don't you want her things?'' Dr. Hamada asked. My foot paused midstride. ''Technically they're yours now.'' My stomach did a sickening wave as I turned. ''I believe there's a box in the storage. I'll go get it. Please''-she gestured to the bench- ''it'll just take a second.''

Bench. Sit. Good idea. I slumped on the edge of the bench, rested my elbows on my knees, and turned in my toes, staring at the V between my feet until Dr. Hamada hurried back with a faded brown shoe box..

I expected it to be heavier and was surprised, and a little disappointed, by its lightness. ''Thanks. Oh, one more thing....Was my mother buried around here?''

''No. She was buried in Arendelle.''

I did a double take. ''Like the small kingdom-in-Norway, Arendelle, or...?''

Dr. Hamada smiled, shoved her hands into her pockets, and rocked back on her heels. ''Yep. The real thang hun. Some family came and claimed the body. Like I said, I wasn't working here at the coroner's office; who signed for her, that sort of thing.''

Family.

That word was so alien, so unreal, that I wasn't even sure I'd heard her right. Family. Hope stirred in the center of my chest, light and airy and ready to break into a Disney song complete with adorable bluebirds and singing squirrels.

No. It's too soon for that. One thing at a time.

I glanced down at the box, putting a lid on the hope-I'd been let down too many times to give in to the feeling-wondering what other shocking news I'd uncover tonight.

''Take care, Miss. Fitzherbert.''

I paused for a second, watching the doctor head for a group of patients sitting near the bay window, before leaving through the tall double doors. Every step out of the rundown mansion\ mental hospital to the car parked out front took me further into the past. My mother's horrible ordeal. My life as a ward of the state. Daughter of an unwed teenager mother who'd killed herself.

Fucking great. Just great.

To be continued

vote, comment, follow

or whatever