The Butcher's Bride
Strong.
"Mama?" I whispered in the void.
She smiled. She reached out, placing a cool hand on my burning forehead.
"My little star," she said. Her voice was the sound of the wind in the trees. "You have carried this weight for so long."
"I can't do it," I sobbed. "It's too big. It's going to kill me."
"It won't kill you," she promised. "It is you. You aren't human, Celeste. You never were. You were just waiting."