Before the Angels Fall

Chapter 13~ Ariana's Past- Part 1~ A False Happiness

Musical laughter rang across the meadow dotted with flowers. A man was swinging a small girl around while they both laughed. A boy could also be seen laughing along with them. The man then picked both up on his shoulders and let them gaze around at a higher place. A woman was sitting on a blanket, not too far away, observing the scene with a smile in her eyes.

Seems like a happy memory, right? It was. Was.

It was the only fond memory Ariana had of her family together. She remembered clearly the shinning sun, the colored flowers, the endless meadow, her father swinging her around and around, laughing that booming laugh of his, her brother grinning like a manic and her mother. Oh, her mother.

She was a beauty, with a halo of golden-brown hair that shone in the sunlight, bright hazel eyes, a soothing voice, and a musical laugh. However, all that was erased now. Completely eradicated by something dressed in black called Death.

Ariana hadn't ever thought about death much. Not even once, as a child. She was bathed in happiness for most of her childhood. She had smiled, a genuine smile, when she was truly elated, and her eyes were bright with a light that shined within them. Until...

Back to the lovely scene. 

"Mom! Mom!" Ariana shouted, her eyes alight with joy. "Look what I found!"

"That's so cute!" laughed her mother, holding up the flower petal that Ariana gave her. "I-," she started coughing, loud hacking coughs and held her hand close to her face. As her mother pulled her hand away, she saw specks of blood dotting her hand.

"Are you okay Mommy?" asked the innocent child.

"Yes. I'm fine," replied her mother hurriedly, trying to cover up her hand. Thankfully, Ariana was too oblivious to notice and she continued plucking flowers and laughing at birds and butterflies.

Ah, innocence. The sweet air of it. The sickly, sweet scent of lies and corruption. Opium poppies.

It only took a day for her to break. The rest of the days where of Ariana merely breathing, not living. At least, some wouldn't consider that living.

Her mother was sick. That much was plainly obvious. Yet, she was diagnosed with a sickness, one that was impossible to cure. Ariana remembered her father trying to save her mother, and he mixed herbs and bought medicine, hoping that something would work if only he kept trying. And yet, the daughter kept thinking, Why are you fighting? Why bother? She's dead anyways. There's no point.

She saw how in the end, her mother died with a calm, serene look on her face. Humph. A fitting end for a peaceful woman like her.

"Your mother was a beautiful woman. She was so kind and helpful, and she was a strong woman, always fighting to live."

Lies....lies.....all of them lie. Mother never was like that. She didn't fight at all. She was too calm, too peaceful for the disease. She made us all happy, but that was false. That was easily destroyed.

Strange how grief does strange things to people. Ariana instantly became shut off from everyone else. Her father also collapsed with misery. And her brother? Oh, don't worry. He's fine.

What was once the cute, innocent, sweet girl, now was a husk, a shell. The white dresses were now stained to a darker color, one that traipses in the hearts of the dispirited.

There was no one that cared about Ariana anymore. Her brother was shut in his room, doing who-knows-what, and her father was also shut in his room.

Was life perfect? Will it ever be? What if someone's happiness is another person's misery?

Everything was a drag, a bore. Nothing sparked her, nothing shone in her dull, blank eyes. Were they full of remorse? Guilt, perhaps? No, absolutely nothing. Just blank blackness of utter hell. 

Time is a bastard, isn't it? After all, once someone wants it to stay still, it progresses forward. When one wants it to move faster, it seems to slow down and stay endlessly still. An eternal hell. 

The funeral was in a few days. Ariana remembered slowly dragging her body down the stairs to grab a bite to eat or perhaps another book to devour. As she slumped down the steps, she saw a tuft of brown hair on the kitchen table and realized that it was her brother who was eating. "Ariana?" 

"Louis?" Both of the siblings' voices were hoarse from being mute for so long. "What are you doing here?"

"I've seen you go down to mother's study to get a book. Don't think that you are alone, because I'm still with you, living in the same hell as you."

Ariana stiffened. "But-"

"No, wait. Let me speak first. You are our family's pride and joy. I'm just your brother." The way he said it, eyes sparkled with distaste, lips curled into a slight sneer, made Ariana shiver. "Don't deny it if you want to. It's true. Mother and Father both loved you dearly, much more than they loved me. You were happy, weren't you? You loved being with them and they loved being with you. Once I started school, no one was there to help me because they were over there fawning over you. I failed in school and Father blamed it on me. Me. 

"Try as you might to sympathize. Father only cared about Mother and you. You and only you."

And it was during this moment, when Ariana witnessed the truth of her decaying family. Her family was never completely happy. Everything had only been a farce. Louis's secret was completely hidden underneath all the fake smiles and joyless laughter. She winced, her face contorting as though she were in pain, which in fact, she was. 

"Were you ever happy, Louis?" She hesitated, pausing tentatively. 

"What?" He looked taken aback. "Was I ever happy?"

"Um, yeah."

"If I had to say, sure, I guess. I mean, life isn't exactly fair, but still I think that I was happy at least at one point in my life...I'm not too sure though."

"Oh." Ariana glanced away from her brother to the closed window, where outside, it was snowing. Snowflakes dusted the grass and then disappeared the next moment, a fleeting beauty. 

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{A/N: Okay, so I doubt that any of this makes sense because I was writing this over a period of a week or two. Whatever. So, everything is pretty depressing right now and I can't guarantee that there is going to be some happy parts...oh well. Guess you have to stay with me while I write the next part of this chapter. :D 'kay BAI! ~Katieneko-chan}