Flames of the Unbroken [ open for feedback ]

[lio]

CHAPTER ONE


Fire.
I had always loved it. Even as a child, I would sit around a burning candle, mesmerized by the beauty of the flames. Each night, I’d beg my mother to flick her lighter, the heat bursting out to lick upon the air. Nobody knew where my love of such a destructive item came from.
Many guessed that it held a passion within my heart. Others would say that I was simply a strange child, laughing and shaking their heads. Even now, I look back and feel the same confusion I had felt so long ago. When everything was alright.
Now I’m an adult. An eighteen year old woman with no knowledge of the real world. All they teach us in school is rubbish, filling our brains with useless information. How am I to survive without knowing everything that is actually necessary?
My mother seems to be managing just fine. Of course, she has her ups and downs, but I don’t blame her. Not after Dad had walked out before I was even born. After he had left to be with another.
I take back my statement. She is horrible. Bottles strewn across the floor, her hair matted and unkempt, vomit splattered upon the once-clean walls. She’s an emotional wreck, and I must care for her, as three jobs have been proving to do. I’ve been thrown the mission to make sure she doesn’t end up dead ever since i was four, when she truly broke.
Mother doesn’t want my help. All she wants is to be left to die, but I don’t want her to suffer like that. To fade away until nothing is left. That’s what she has been doing for years, and now I am set to put a stop to it.
Forty-five years old, and yet, she looks as though she is eighty. Her hair has greyed, her eyes dull and lifeless, every breath a wheeze. I have to check every morning that her chest is still rising and falling, even if it is unsteady.
Tomorrow is her birthday, and I plan to bring her to someone who can truly help her. Somebody who will heighten her health, leading her from the brink of death. The edge of insanity.
But is it to late for that?
With a sigh, I pushed back my hair, having gotten in in my face. Heavy winds were blowing, causing my hair to whip around in every which direction. I was almost to the nursing home, ready with what I needed to ensure Mother would be placed into a safe home. Safer than with her lost daughter.
Stopping in front of the doors, I looked up, examining the lovely building. On the outside, it was decorated with soft, pastel colors, also mixing black into them. The contrast was gorgeous, but I wasn’t here to marvel in the beauty of a healthcare center. With a shake of my head, I padded inside, thankful to be out of the strong winds clawing at whoever got in their way.
Upon walking in, my gaze swept across the warmth of the internal appearance, nodding in approval. Mother would love it here.
She was a bit young to be in a nursing home. Everyone told me that, but it was time to get her the care she needed. And so I made my way to the front desk, tapped the bell with fingers in which had been kissed with frost, and waited. Once I had begun to grow impatient, a young, petite woman stepped from a hallway, her eyes glittering with kindness.
As she came into view, I immediately spun around, blinking indifferently.
“Hello, and welcome to Clarity Hills Nursing Home. Are you here to visit?” she asked, her voice gentle, like a feather floating through a breeze. I looked down at her name tag, which read, Hello, My Name is November!
“No, but I am here for something else.”