Flames of Solitude - Volume 1

Chapter 2 - A Mother's Agony, A Daughter's Desperation

Following the accident, Meren was brought to a hospital where she stayed for a few weeks to allow her horrible wounds to heal and to become stable enough for release. In the meantime, Jessica and Melody stayed in the care of their neighbors.

No one understood what had happened, only that Meren and Jessica had somehow caught fire. Melody had woken up from her mother's scream and didn't know much else. Jessica could only recall the darkening pages of the book, her fingers suddenly burning, and the scream of anguish her mother had released. A scream that echoed whether she fell asleep or stayed awake, haunting her throughout the day. But when questioned by neighbors, guards, and everyone else, she had no answers; she was as much in search of them.

"What a horrible situation. Meren would have been better off if she had died that day. To live with such scars will be... difficult."

"Don't wish death on anyone. God does not want this."

"But He cannot want this either—a young woman, unrecognizable, her own daughters won't even know it's her."

"That's enough. The matter is over anyway."

Jessica overheard her neighbors, but she didn't understand. She thought they were kind people. They had saved both her and her mom. Then why did they say her mother should have died?

***

The next day, Jessica and Melody eagerly awaited their mother's return. They had waited for her release from the hospital for far too long, and the thought of her coming back to them made tears flow down their faces as they stood at the doorstep. And then, when a figure, supported by strangers, appeared before them, their eyes turned into endless rivers of tears. Finally, she was back. It was time to return to their familiar lives.

Both girls had already taken off to plant themselves in their mother's embrace but were held back by their neighbor at the last step.

"It's okay... just be... careful," a hoarse but familiar voice spoke.

Meren's body was wrapped in bandages, her skin—what was left of it—almost completely hidden. Her beautiful brown hair had vanished, concealed under a white covering. Although it had been weeks, it was still too early to remove them. She was discharged because Meren was deemed capable of changing the bandage herself, once a day.

Jessica and Melody cautiously approached her. They couldn't recognize her by her altered appearance, but her voice, her silhouette, and the aura she emitted were enough for them to immediately identify their mother.

Soon they gently embraced her, and Meren's eye, the only one of the two visible, peered at Jessica from above. Unseen by the girl, who felt relief and warmth in her mother's presence, was the look that flashed in Meren's emerald eye. For a moment, the green eyes held a chilling gaze akin to frost-covered leaves on a bitter cold morning.

Meren reached for the two girls' heads as she always did and ruffled their hair. But the pain she felt from such a simple gesture made her pause and inhale sharply.

Jessica trembled at that sound, feeling guilty, not exactly knowing why—perhaps because she had not been able to do anything to help her mother.

Later, after the neighbors helped Meren settle in, they left the family of three alone, promising to assist when needed. Before departing, they prepared a large pot of soup for Meren to eat.

Jessica held a bowl of cold soup in her hands, carefully walking over to her mother and placing it in front of Meren. As the fire had even burned part of Meren's mouth, both drinking and eating had become torture. For a long while, she would have to combine both to avoid straining herself and eat soups or similar foods.