MIRR/OR/ED

|Chapter 2|

Chapter 2. Evening sky

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'Hi Babygirl,

I know I left before I could ever explain—or before you were even old enough to understand. I hope you know I never meant for this to happen... All I wanted was to keep you two safe.

You're a strong woman now. Even if I didn't get to see you grow, to protect and guide you—in my heart I know, you've got a good head on your shoulders.

I'm writing now out of loss and desperation. We need your help Thia. It has to be you...It can only be YOU.

I wish I could find the words to explain but they're coming. Devin will tell you everything he knows—or remembers...

I love you so much baby girl, you and your sister mean more to me than anything. Never forget that. Keep you and your sister safe until we meet again, I love you, Cynthia.'

~Mom

My eyes burn, struggling to choke back the tears. Questions circle me as I read the last line.

Looking up from the page, the faces of those in front of me begin to contort, as my eyelids try to blink away the tears built at the edges. Tom's heavy hand lands on my shoulder in an attempt to ask me something but his words are forgein to my ears.

I am fighting to get back to reality, to answer Tom but before I have the chance my feet are speaking for me. The rush finally spills over and my mind gives way as the scene in front of me rushes past.

I'm not certain of where my feet intend to lead me, but I can only assume they are fighting to escape the hurt and confusion wrapping itself around my heart. Narrow buildings of the back alleyways pass me in a haze as the heavy thud of my feet pound against the gravel. A mental map subconsciously guides me past the dead ends.

After running out of breath and rounding the last street corner my feet find I grind to a halt, ending up on the back streets. I press my palm into the building beside me and scan the street line to try to gather an idea of what section I've landed on. The decrepit and fallen buildings surrounding me give me a clue that I'm at the edge of the city line, at least three blocks from the warehouse.

Daggers stab through each piercing inhale as I heave in hot air. The faint shouts of the ones I've run from echo in my head.

I fold my cries into my hands as I press my back against the rugged brick; the pain of it suppressing the ache in my heart. Sliding down to the ground my tailbone digs itself into the uneven gravel and I slowly tuck my knees into my chest. Reality comes to a standstill as my mind wraps itself around the words that dance in my head. 'It can only be you'

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

My brown curls fold in over my face and stick to my wet cheeks, I wipe a strand away and the hot tears rub into the creases of my palms.. Pressing my hands to my eyes the pressure floods them with darkness, allowing my mother's bright smile to shine in my memory.

It's felt like a lifetime since she has left, and yet I still feel the cratered hole in my heart from the love I once knew. Thinking back to the blissful ignorance childhood held brings tears to my eyes and a shooting pain that bubbles up another hushed sob.

I take in fists full of my shirt and yank at the collar of it, allowing the held-back scream to bellow from my lips. The wails that escape echoes from the empty street line, and reverberates back down them. Barren walls shout, screaming to me how small I really am.