Colourless Skies

9. Nowhere To Go

She looked at herself in the mirror; staring back at her was a pale face with features too visible. She had lost so much weight, that her eyes looked huge, her nose and mouth more defined, and her collarbone extremely bare.

Dark circles under her swollen eyes represented lack of sleep and rough hair displayed the stress and burden she had been taking. She was messed up, to sum up, but she pretended to not see all she knew was there, and got ready.

With no idea why her mother had asked her to get ready, and since she couldn't find her, she decided to go out for a walk.

The bright sun shone on her as she trotted on the gravel pathway, kicking at every stone or pebble that dared cross her way. She enjoyed the loneliness and the quiet on the streets of Moorcroft, it helped clear her mind and get rid of horrendous thoughts.

Out of nowhere, a loud gunshot sounded and her feet froze.

Terrified, she didn't want to lift her gaze and look at what awaited her. She was sure of what she would encounter.

Unanticipated as it was, a strong wind blew from the south; so harsh, it forced her to hastily take a step forward and look ahead.

There stood the same man,the same heterochromic eyes before her. What scared her wits was he gave her the exactly similar odd smile she had seen in her nightmare.

One blink later, he was on the ground and Leah's feet had found the energy to run towards him. Knowing crystal clear what was about to happen, she shouted for help, in hope she might prove her fate wrong. But no one was around to answer her yells.

The weather had changed as quick as lightning; the black clouds now beginning to gather and the pattern of a light drizzle becoming audible.

Before another word could be ushered out of her mouth, her ears picked up his hoarse and weak voice, forced through the odd smile. "Because of you, all of it....because of you."

Her world came crashing down as she saw the man take his last breath and sell his soul. Leah started to scream, kick and flail helplessly in the rain. She blamed herself for every death, for not being able to help their innocence.

As the rain turned into a heavy downpour, her body worked out of instinct. While Leah's mind wandered, her feet started to run towards her home.

Dripping wet, she now stood in the front of the main door. From there, she could see the only lights that were turned on were of the kitchen. Assuming her parents were seated there, she slowly made her way upstairs.

But stopped mid-step.

"Come here Leah." It had been so long since she had heard her name from the mouth of her mother, she had yearned for it, but she knew whatever she was being called for couldn't possibly be good news, for her.

As she stood at the entrance of kitchen, eyes down, staring at her wet hands, she heard her mother say, " We have been thinking about it..."
"And we have decided", continued his father, " you cannot live here anymore."

Her mother wanting to put emphasis, added, "Get yourself out of here now."

Suddenly, amongst all the emotions she felt at hearing her parents words; the ones who chose her, adopted her, and are telling her to leave their home. She's seven years old again, holding broken glass in her bloody hands behind her back, hiding it from her parents, hiding it from her father.

They had heard the glass break from the other room, and when they found her, she was standing in the middle of a puddle of water, amidst the shards of broken glass that were scattered around her. They asked her what had happened, but she shook her head, nervousness piling on to her and showing in her smile.

But it dropped the moment her father reached to unbuckle his belt, sliding the hard leather that left deep lashes on her skin all these years before, from its loops on his hips. She shook where she stood, scared to look away, but terrified to look in to his eyes as he pulled his arm back.

Battling the flow of tears and words she wanted to scream, she went down on her knees and begged them not to kick her out. She tried to be reasonable, asking them to forgive whatever she had done and wasn't aware of. But to no avail, it looked as if they were not only tired of her 'meddlesome behaviour', but in whole, tired of seeing her.

As she continued to shriek and plead, her father dragged her across the hallway and threw her out of the manor's door. Before she could pick herself up and beg them one last time, she heard the door click behind her.

With an empty mind, lifeless eyes, and numb legs, she walked where her legs took her in the heavy rain. She didn't care, nor did she want to, after all, she was on foreign land with no shelter. A bitter laugh escaped her mouth, but no one looked at her, the street was deserted.

'Why did they keep me around for so many years, when in the end, they had to throw me out? Why? Why? Why!'

Her knees buckled and she stumbled to the ground. She could hear the rhythm of the rain, the same as her heart, scattered and uneven. Then it all turned black.

The protagonist/ antagonist is yet to come. Buckle in.👌🏻