𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 → 𝑭. 𝑯

𝐒𝐈𝐗: 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒚

𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 𝟷𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟿𝟼𝟹
―

ELLA WOKE UP THE SWEET HUMMING OF HER MOTHER'S VOICE. She smiled and leaned into the comfort that was being given, freely, to her. Her hair was being stroked as her eyes fluttered open. She saw a woman with her hair pinned back, brown hair with little strokes of gray peaking through the top of her head, but her face was lively. The woman didn't speak, only stared at her as she stroked her hair.

Who are you? Ella asked, only for the woman to smile. Oh, right. You're my mom.

It was almost as if they were speaking without actually speaking. She just knew the moment she asked. Ella stayed there, not saying or doing anything. She felt weak, but if she only tried, she could regain strength. But why would she move? She had the person she loved there.

Or at least one of them.

Her mother continued to hum, a melody from one of her favorite princess movies. Ella began to recall moments in her life that her mother sang to her. In the kitchen when she woke up. The days she had bad dreams. The moments she didn't know what was happening.

She loved her mom.

Her mother was bigger than the whole sky. Completely and utterly beautiful regardless of what poured or shone from it.

Elena smiled at her daughter, knowing her thoughts.

Where are we?

The woman froze, a small frown coming upon her face, before she stood up and grabbed Ella's hand. She lifted her from the cot she was sleeping in and brought her to a door. She gestured for Ella to open the door, but Ella couldn't bring herself to. She looked up to her mother, who looked somewhat like an older version of herself. A version that she knew she could have become if she didn't do what she did – whatever that was.

Go on, Ella thought, only she was sure that it was her mother actually speaking. She nodded and grabbed the knob of the door and without a second thought, yanked it open.

Outside, there was only a wasteland, just as she had seen before. She stepped out into the rubble, trembling as she tried to maneuver around the broken pieces of the world. She stepped out a few feet, staring at the foggy sky and the piece of trash falling from it.

She looked to her hands, not to find blood, but dirt and grime covering her. Her clothes had been changed from the white dress to dusty pants and layered shirts. Her shoes have been turned from high heels with pearls to boots that have turned gray from the rubble. Her hair had matted and was damaged from the toxicity of the air.

She knew it was her fault.

"Mom!" She turned and ran back to the door that was past the brokenness of old buildings and monuments. She opened the door to find nothing, just a mimic of the world behind her. She called out for her mother again.

Nothing.

Until she heard footsteps behind her. In a similar outfit, a boy came into view. He stepped a few feet away from her. The boy held out his hand, waiting for her to take it.

Five was holding his hand out, waiting for her to take it.