Nonentity Probie {Marina/Maya & Carina}

Carve Me A Pumpkin (Chapter 13)

You know that feeling you get on christmas eve. The joy and excitement that fills you almost instantly when you open your eyes to the coldness in the air.

Yeah...Maya has never had that experience before. 

She grew up in a home where on Christmas she would have to run in the snow and workout in shorts and a t-shirt, embracing the cold. As supposedly it increased her stamina and cardio.

But now as she looks back, it was just her fathers way of getting as far away as possible from his family. He never once sat down beside the tree watching his kids open presents, or help prepare for the christmas dinner, all he did was return after hours on end of training his daughter, who at the time had no clue of the trauma her father was inflicting on her.

It was the same with halloween. He would use any bit of time that he had to train Maya, and halloween was also, sadly, one of those days. She didn’t grow up with the trick or treating, or the dressing up, she grew up on the track. Day by day, week by week, month by month and even year by year, Maya wasn’t anywhere but on the track with her dad. 

The only time she got to join in on the festivities of the holidays, was when she was in school. Away from her dad. She would be able to look around at the decorations, contribute in games and competitions and most importantly, absorb the joy that the holidays brought to people. 

But the second she went on her break for the holidays, she was back on the track with her dad shouting orders and directions at her. 

At the time, she just thought her dad was being supportive, she thought he was just trying to help her be the person she wanted to be, but when it got to the time that whenever she would win a race, he didn’t let her take a single break. She was always forced onto the track, or on a jog around her neighbourhood. 

She used to think he was just tough, hardworking and dedicated to see his daughter succeed, but as time went on, and by time, I mean years. She saw the impacts he was setting on her, the constant manipulation and gaslighting finally caused her to connect the dots and see he was nothing but a person who wanted everything for himself.

But in the end, he got what he wanted anyway right? A daughter with an olympic gold medal, and now the first female captain of station nineteen. 

He had a daughter that made him look honourable in other people's eyes. Even if he had no contribution to Maya exponentially succeeding in her fire academy all the way up to her captaincy, he still took the credit. After all she was his daughter, and it's always going to look like the dad ‘did a good job’.

Maya isn't the grinch when it comes to the holidays, but she's also not Cindy Lou Who either. She can watch people celebrate and be happy for people soaking in the festive spirits, but to her, it's always going to feel like a normal day of the year. 

She works in a place where everyday there is something chaotic going on, so small halloween decorations and people dressing up, it was just another day for her. 

She sat in her office, typing away on her laptop, she watched her team decorate almost the entire station, although she did refuse to let them anywhere near her office.

Tomorrow when kids pile through the stations doors for halloween, she is going to need a place with some normality, and she is dedicated to keeping her office the safe space for her to go. 

As a knock appeared on her door, she looked up to see the door already opening with Andy standing in her doorway. She wore her uniform, but she also had those cheap fake headbands that looked like a knife just went through her head. 

“What on earth are you wearing?” Maya asked, almost laughing at the sight. 

“Isn’t it spooky” Andy spoke whilst prolonging the ‘o’s in spooky to make it sound like a budgeted version of a ghost.