To Become The Monster
She clawed at it, her nails breaking, her feet leaving the floor.
Her neck snapped.
The sound was soft. Final.
She collapsed beside my father, her hair spilling loose, her eyes staring at nothing.
I couldn’t breathe.
Someone laughed.
Not loud. Not wild.
Amused.
I grabbed Mara’s hand and ran.
Outside, the village was burning.
The baker’s house—where old Mara used to sneak us sweet crusts—collapsed in a shower of sparks. The smell of bread had been replaced by smoke and blood and something sharp, metallic.