Mother's Grave

A black car drove down the deserted street, leading to Lucia's mother's house. She sat in the car, her face serene, she looked out of the window, her gaze falling on the empty buildings of the deserted street. She sighed, as she remembered her childhood days, here at Veteris street.

She was pulled out of her sad thoughts when Hugh called to her. "Lucia, we're here, step down," Hugh said, his voice cold and his face, blank. Lucia nodded and stepped out of the car, she did not mind that Hugh, her bodyguard, had addressed her, by her first name. 

Hugh followed behind Lucia, as she walked to a black gate. The gate looked old and rusty, it creaked loudly, as she pushed it open. A shabby house came into view. The house had been abandoned, for years, just like other houses, on Veteris street. Overgrown, grasses, were everywhere.

The window panes were covered with dust, and the floor leading towards the front door was also covered in dust. Lucia walked between the grasses, she heard Hugh's voice behind her, "Careful, there might be snakes and scorpions here." Hugh said in his cold voice, carrying a tinge of worry, in it.

Lucia stopped, and turned back to her bodyguard, "Why don't you walk beside me, I think it safer, that way." She, said, with a sly smirk on her face. Hugh sighed, and walked closer, to her. "As you wish." He said, his eyes, looking for any harmful thing or animal around.

Lucia enjoyed being near her bodyguard, she admired him, since the first day, she had seen him. She did not walk to the front door, she walked towards the back of the house, where an old grave, was located.  eyes turned sad, as she looked at the old grave. 

Hugh quietly stepped back, seeing her sad eyes, giving her privacy. Lucia walked to the grave, she had not visited her mother, since she was adopted by grandpa James. She also couldn't come back, knowing she had not avenged her mother, even till now. She fell at her mother's grave.

"Mum," Lucia said, in a shaky voice. The tears brimming in her eyes did not fall, as Lucia didn't let them. She knew that her mother detests tears and weakness. Lucia wouldn't show that to her mother. She closed her eyes, tightly, as the painful memories of that day, resurfaced. 

10 years ago, thirteen-year-old Lucia was sitting, at her study table, in her bedroom, fiddling with her fingernails, as she had pushed her books to the side, in boredom. She had always hated studying and would hide in the bathroom, from her mother, anytime her mother nagged her, about studying. 

She heard a loud thud, as if a big object, was dropped to the ground. She frowned, but, she did not get up to check, as her mother would do that. Lucia lived alone, with her pregnant mother, and she knew no one else would push things around, like that.

After a few minutes, she felt tasty, but she was extremely lazy, to go down the stairs. The water jug, in her room, was empty. She pushed the chair she was sitting on, stood up, and opened her door, to go out. As she stepped out, she heard groans. 

Lucia frowned, and walked hurriedly, down the stairs, as she got closer to the last step, the groans, sounded clearer. She got to the last step, and she noticed, a blood stain, at the last step. Lucia gasped, thinking that her mother, had a miscarriage. She looked around the house.

She looked around the house, but she couldn't spot her mother. 'She must be in the kitchen.' Lucia thought. She was about to go to the kitchen, when she noticed the blood stains, on the floor, which led to the front door of the house. She hurriedly followed the blood stains. 

At the door, the blood was much thicker, as it had turned into a pool of blood. Lucia could see her mother, lying down on the floor, groaning in pain. Her maternity gown was bloodied, and it looked like she was dragged from the blood pool, to where she was. 

There was a knife, lodged into her mother's round stomach. Lucia gasped, as she ran to her mother. The young and naive Lucia took hold of the knife's hilt and tried to take it out. She thought her mother's pain, would lessen. She had tears, in her eyes, threatening to fall. 

"No..o, do..n't cry.  It doesn't lo..ok good on you." Lucia's mother said, her voice, dripping with pain. Lucia fought her tears, at her mother's words. "Run...my s..ister..." Lucia's mother tried to say something but she was weak, as she had lost too much blood. 

"What are you saying, mother? What about your sister?" Lucia said, her voice, slightly shaky. But, she did not hear another word, from her mother, as her mother was dead. She didn't know this, she tried to pull the knife from her mother's belly. "My baby brother is in there."

Lucia didn't know that she now had company, as she was too focused on pulling the knife out. "What an evil child." A woman said, from her point of view, she thought Lucia was lodging the knife, deeply into her mother's belly. Lucia looked up in shock, hearing the voice. 

She was surprised to see that she had company, but it wasn't just a woman. She could see all her neighbors and also her mother's sister. Even though Lucia hated her mother's sister because she knew her mother wasn't on good terms, with her sister. She begged her aunt for help.

She raised her bloodied hands, towards her aunt, "Aunt, please help my mother, she's dying." Lucia said, not noticing the scornful looks, that was passed to her, by her neighbors. Her tears, fell as she looked up at her aunt, but her aunt didn't move an inch, from her place.

"You killed my sister." Lucia's aunt, said wickedly, igniting words of scorn, towards Lucia, from the neighbors. "You are an evil child, you should rot in hell." A man said, spitting on the ground, in extreme disgust. Lucia's aunt, hid a sly smirk, on her face, behind her delicate hands. 

Lucia shook her head, 'What are these people saying?' She thought, looking at them like they had grown two heads. "My mother needs help. Please." She cried out, but she was met with, scornful looks. She was confused and did not what to do. She tried to carry her mother.

"She's dead, you killed her." A woman said. Another man said, "Get off her, we saw you kill her, don't try to act like you want to save her." The man spat, directly at Lucia. Lucia looked away from her mother, to the man, saying, "No, I didn't kill her." 

"My mother is not dead. You're all lying." Lucia shouted at her neighbors. She didn't understand what they were saying, she was trying to help her mother here. She ran to her aunt, and knelt, before her, "Aunt, please." She pleaded. Lucia's aunt, pushed little Lucia, to the ground.

"Go away, possessed child." Lucia's aunt said. Lucia looked from her aunt to her neighbors. Their words echoed In her head. Their mouths, moving and everything turned too slow, for her to process. She curled herself, into a ball, her gaze landing on her unmoving mother, and tears spilled out, uncontrollably.

Lucia was pulled out of her sad memories, when Hugh, tapped her shoulders, "Lucia, we should leave." Hugh said, his heart, ached, looking at the unshed tears in Lucia's eyes. She stood up and noticed the sky had turned dark. It also wasn't good, to stay in Veteris, at night.

Lucia walked past Hugh, not even sparing a glance at him. She was still sad, and she didn't want Hugh, to stare at her gloomy face. Hugh walked silently behind her, his eyes, glowing in the dark, which Lucia didn't notice. Lucia walked faster, wanting to get out of Veteris.

"Slow down, you might hurt yourself," Hugh said, and as he finished his sentence, Lucia stepped on a stone. She could not balance herself. She closed her, expecting pain, but she felt a strong arm, envelope her. Lucia, felt momentarily safe, in Hugh's arms, and didn't want to stay away.

Hugh hurriedly helped Lucia up and pushed her a little, away from him, not indulging Lucia, in her fantasies. He knew his limits, on how he was allowed to interact with her. Lucia felt embarrassed, seeing the way Hugh pushed her. 'Is he disgusted?' She thought, and she became gloomier.

She cleared her throat, and raised her chin, arrogantly. She looked confident, but she couldn't hide her gloomy aura, from Hugh. Lucia walked haughtily, away from Hugh, out of the house, towards the car. Hugh chuckled, seeing Lucia's feigned haughtiness. He walked behind, her, and opened the car door, for her.