Her Inheritance

-•Prologue•-

            
⚠️ Author's Note: This version of Her Inheritance is part of an ongoing first draft. I'm aware there are some grammar and continuity issues, and I'll be editing thoroughly after completing the full manuscript. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the story as it develops—I'd love to hear your thoughts along the way 💛

  People  don't just disappear— but that morning, her mother did. A cool, calming breeze, made the wind chimes whisper through the neighborhood. The smell of fresh rain from the night before scented the air with rich, earthy flavors. The sunrise creeped past her curtains, dancing along the butterflies and mushrooms on the bedspread. A little girl slides out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cool, grey hardwood. She is particularly small for her age, with skinny, pale legs that drearily swayed under her pale blue night shirt. A little black kitty dangled from the tips of her fingers. She yawned and rubbed her long, jet black, messy hair from her eyes as she slowly pattered down the hall.
  She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed her parents' bedroom door was wide open. A gust of cool air pushed it back slightly, like the room was letting out a shuttered sigh. Something felt... wrong. She tiptoed towards the doorway with a strange feeling bubbling in her stomach. She blinked past the bright sunlight screaming at her through the open windows. She noticed papers scattered and fluttering across the floor, first. Her parents safe and tidy room was in a chaotic state. The bed— usually neatly made with the corners of the sheets tightly pressed beneath the mattress— was a strung out mess, with comforters and pillows tossed out across the bed and all over the room. The air felt cold and still. She slowly crept past the doorway, peering around the corner. The master bathroom door was open, and she could see a glimpse of the aftermath of what looked like a frantic raid— as if someone was desperately trying to find something. Everywhere she looked, drawers were pulled out, random items were thrown around the room, and fear sank deep down within the pit of her stomach as she stared at the mess. She had never seen a room so disarranged, and yet, so vacant.
  And there, in the corner of the room, crumbled up upon an ottoman, face buried deep in his hands— sat her pitiful father— half naked, covered in sweat from head to toe, and sobbing uncontrollably.
  "Daddy...?" Her soft voice finally indicated her presence, but cut through the room like an explosion in a quiet town. It startled him out of his grief-stricken trance, and panic immediately filled his features.
  "Rory—" he stood up, almost as if he was about to shield her, remove her, stop her from seeing something; but he paused and looked around the room in disarray as his face crinkled up with anguish. He dropped his hands at his side as the two of them looked around, taking in the sight of the ghastly scene. Aurora's breath hitched as she looked back at her father. He looked like he was trying to say something, his mouth agape, and shaking his head, but he couldn't seem to find any words.
  "Daddy... what's going on?" She asked him softly, her voice almost too quiet to hear.
  "Baby... look, I—" He took in a sharp breath and stopped talking again, just staring down at his feet. His voice shook as he spoke, like he was trying to hold together the shards of a broken glass in his hands.
  "Where's mommy?" She asked him, looking him dead in his eyes. Her father's once stoic and impenetrable demeanor was washing away before her, and for the first time in her life, she saw him break down into something she couldn't recognize. Her innocent question knocked him down to his knees, and the sound of the impact on those grey, wooden floors startled her. She saw his strong, sun-kissed hands sink back into the creases of his face, and she heard a wail— the kind of cry you only hear a handful of times in your life— the kind of cry you only hear when someone leaves this Earth forever— escape her father's mouth and ring through her ears. With each breath he took, he fell closer to the ground, almost as if the air he was breathing was making him weaker. Aurora felt her entire body begin to tremble and tears fill her eyes like boiling water.
  "Where's mommy?" She asked again, her voice only mere decibels above a silent squeak.
  "I don't know..." Her father cried out in her direction, sputtering and gasping with snot and fluids running down his chin and sticking to his palms, "I... I don't know... the police are on their way..." He muttered, before curling back up in utter uselessness. His words hit Aurora like a train, causing her to feel dizzy and stumble back. The world started spinning around her, and she dropped her toy to the ground. Tears burned her cheeks as they blistered up with red, hot emotion. She looked down at her hands, and wondered if maybe she was still dreaming... after all, how could her mother ever leave her?