The Craving

The ambiance of her home has always remained the same down to the cinnamon incense her mother burned every afternoon when she would come off of the bus from school. Sunlight would supply its gentle kisses upon the hardwood floors that held memories of her childhood deep within it's dark oak origin. Bookshelves filled with a mix of classics such as Moby d**k and Frankenstein alongside more modern tales like Twilight and It outlined the entire room. Frames of the family grouped together in tight squares and ovals were concealed behind thin panes of glass that showed various times in the earlier years of the kinship. Each photo had shown the all-American family that was complete with a child of each gender and a set of loving parents that looked at each other with a fairytale type of love. The decor of the entire home had been traditional with the colors being that of Earthy tones such as granola and sugar cookie tan and russet brown. Not a speck of dust was seen upon any item nor clutter, as everything sat in perfect accordance to belong in a home decor magazine. Every single detail of this house was proudly kept in sync for the last ten years with an empty sink and perfectly aligned shoes set congruent beside the other half of their pair. Not even one spiderweb could be found in even the darkest corners of the home. The neighborhood outside held the same feeling as this house; almost as if it was perfectly encased in a snowglobe. However, this perfect home in this darling town was a world away and yet the world itself to so many who lived there. There was no need for block parties or tall fences as all neighbors were friendly and considerate of each other. Not a single baleful word had been spoken or a subtle glower from afar had been given. At least this had been the case up until five years ago, when that idyllic home contoured by lilac colored magnolias became the location of one of the most vicious crimes to ever be present in all of Louisiana. That perfectly picturesque family would be torn apart by the greedy hands of death that would leave only a destroyed daughter and sister and an angry husband and father. Those divine smiles on the photographs had now been smeared with the blood of those attacked while the once immaculate floor was responsible to holding the bodies of the victims of the strike. There hadn’t been a warning or even a foul word exchanged to the Delatrae family, and yet they would be forced to bury a mother of only four decades and a son who had just gotten his driver’s license. The town that used to hold together so tightly had now begun to fray as nobody was able to feel safe by keeping their screen doors unlocked or their children unattended. Neighbors used to pass with smiles and now those optimistic curves upon their mouths had turned to hard lines and were now accompanied by glares. Unannounced visits from friends and vicinal houses came to a startling halt as locks on doors were changed and security systems had been installed in almost every home. You would no longer see a town of trust and friendship, it was now one of overgrown weeds and an unsolved mystery surrounding the life of what remained of the Delatrae family. The youngest member of the family, Thora Delatrae, had been affected the most by the horrible tragedy that struck her family. She had simply descended off the steps of her number 26 bus and moved to the direction of her front door as she had done as routine every day, unaware that her life would change forever in just a few moments. A personalized key with a pink tab and the letter “T” drawn on with nail polish was set into the keyhole and the door came open. Her mother’s records were not playing as they usually would have and there was no scent of dinner present in the air. Instead, it was scarcely quiet-deathly even, as she began to squeal out the names of her mother and father while making her way through the home. It wasn’t until she had closed the door behind her and ventured into the kitchen that she had noticed the nature of her childhood home to have been ransacked. The photographs and paintings that her mother and father hung proudly within their home had been turned and even parted from their nails while sections of glass were sprawled upon the ground from having been broken. This gave away Thora’s location as she had continued throughout the home and calling the names of her family, her final one having been the name of her brother, Collins. Her tone grew more and more shaky as her naive thirteen-year-old mind had thought anything aside from the truth. Her steps deepend into the house, moving up the steps that held the pathway to the bedrooms. She found there to have been a single door ajar-that of her brother’s room, and continued forward with a feeling of uncertainty with each pressing step forward. With two fingers that shook as if they were being electrocuted, Thora used her strength to find her brother sitting on the side of his bed and looking to her with fear. His hands had been tied behind his back and his feet were outstretched but tied together so he could not move. A thick piece of solid black duct tape could be seen covering his mouth while sections of blood caked portions of his body to hide if he was truly hurt or if it had been from something else-or someone else. Her first instinct had been to assist her brother, but as she made her way closer to him, she saw that he had been too weak to do anything but remain put-even if she could find a way to untie him. Collins had been known for being elaborate with practical jokes-but never something quite like this as the fear in his eyes had betrayed any attempt to claim this as a prank. Thora told her brother she would return with help as she left him against his bed, unaware that she would never see him again. She continued back down the steps of her home before hearing a wince coming from the living room. The square glass table that held fresh orchids every day had now been overturned and the water had fallen onto the carpet. Her mother had been forced to sit-tied up the same way as Collins, as she looked to her daughter with fear. Her gaze had given away her daughter’s location as the figures approached her and everything had gone black. This was the story she had given the police over two hundred times before she was finally released into her father’s custody. With him having been the city’s most admired pastor, he was given condolences and prayers but he began to loathe God for the fact he had taken two innocent souls away from him. Her father, Arold, had been questioned and even suspected at one point in the investigation until they had confirmed his alibi in being at the church during the attacks. In a span of five years, the promising and bright future of Thora had been turned bleak and dark with the only desire she had was that of visiting her lost kin’s graves and finding solace there while her father found comfort in a bottle. She spent many of those nights underneath the stars and discussing her day with the loved ones she had lost as if they were never really gone. With her having been a popular girl, the fact she began to wear black and spend her free time in cemeteries had moved her cool-points down to almost nothing. Those of her supposed friends who lived without a single ounce of humanity had taken the fact they had pictures with Thora as a way to get ** followers and f******k likes. There were only two people in her entire school who had actually remained loyal to her and kind in her time of mourning. They wanted nothing more than to see her smile after such a horrific event and continued to want that even five years later. The shift ravaged through the entire community as that house was no longer one of proper upkeeping and the family was known to be eccentric and bizarre. It was the house in town that kids were dared to go into and spend the night as it was now covered with long vines and overgrown grass and the once beautiful magnolias having now become nothing but a reminder of what once was so stunning. Whispers of the legend of the house remained on the mouths of those who passed it and on the anniversary of their deaths every year would be vandalism from hellions who believed their pranks were nothing more than just that. These had forced the father and daughter that remained of the Delatrae family to move to another location across town. This home was now one of minimal necessities with one room each, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a storm shelter to be safe. Her father forbade any use of decor as he felt it was too much of a reminder of his late wife and never allowed his daughter to speak of those she lost. Thora was forced to witness the loss of her mother, brother, and father in the span of a few months as she felt abandoned and isolated. Although her father was the only one of her loses that remained with a heartbeat, she knew she could not go to him for advice or counseling as he was a lost soul himself. She had taken it upon herself to continue the role of her mother by caring for her father, but his angry outbursts would always cause her to shrivel up in the corner of her room with her earbuds blasting on high as she was barricaded away from harm. Her only outlet had been that of the time she was able to spend with Rowan and Bram who seemed to understand her unlike anyone else. They never brought up the events that happened and even when Thora would speak of them, they would change the subject to that of a lighter tone. They were the only people in the entire town-or possibly the entire state that had the ability to make her smile-even though she didn’t have the heart to tell them that it had been for show. The once popular and bright young girl with a loving family and beautiful home was now a legacy for an unsolved murder. There had been an appropriate amount of suspects through the years from old flames to arsonists without alibis, but nothing concrete enough to offer an arrest or any amount of closure. At least for five years, Thora was able to distract herself with school-knowing her mother would be rolling in her grave if she were to drop out. But on the eve of her graduation, her life would set upon a path that would set her once quickly descending set of circumstances into ones that would save her life. Thora, Bram, and Rowan had all agreed to spend the night of graduation boycotting all social parties and spending the time at the swamp. There was a specific section on Avery Island that held an isolated and abandoned old building that the group had used as their sort of treehouse. They had come here every year since they had been friends and claimed it with remnants of photographs and signatures written in lipstick and permanent marker. Of course this hidden treasure was not only their own as other names had been scribbled and the door itself had even been broken off at one point-but it was still their place; special to them. It was in this building that they lit a lantern and sat together in one of the corners that they began to speak of their plans for the future. Rowan’s family had groomed her for the medical field since she could talk and Bram’s family pushed him towards journalism, while Thora felt as though her future would always consist of protecting her father from alcohol poisoning. She had gotten rather good at keeping him safe by watering down his booze and even crushing up sleeping pills to make him sleep without incident. But she was fearful of what would happen to the last part of her family if she were to leave. Due to this, she knew her future would be dark-if she would have one at all. She hid her darkest parts of herself beneath thick friendship bracelets that she had marked up since her family’s death half a decade prior. Not even those closest to her had known how much she detested herself by bringing a razor to her perfect ivory skin. She knew what her mother would say if she knew and how she would be disappointed, but for Thora, it was the only escape she had for dealing with such isolation and pain. This with a mixture of alcohol and m*******a were the perfect cocktail for the events that were about to unfold next. “I mean like...we’re adults…” Bram said as he took a puff from his joint, passing it to Rowan who took a small hit before then bringing it to Thora. “Scary, we will have families and babies-” “Bram as a dad!” Rowan laughed as Thora chuckled, unable to think of anything but finding a release from her pain. She had thought of it before and always thought of pills-it would be fast and could be seen as an accident, but she could never bring herself to do it. Now, there had been a set of railroad tracks that caught her eye as she thought of how quickly everything could be done. “Earth to Thora!” Rowan teased before motioning for another hit of the joint. “Sorry-” “What’s on your mind?” “Nothing-” “Come on, Thora…” Bram teased as he brought his phone to view, beginning to play an old song from the early 2000s that they used to sing and dance to before everything became so morbid. But even the lyrics of this song were taken differently now as they weren’t seen as upbeat and charming-they were seen as dark and suicidal. The thought was easing to Thora as she knew she would no longer be a pain to anyone-and as she nodded through a rather uninteresting conversation with her friends, she had made up her mind and was just waiting for the right time. “You coming?” Rowan asked Thora as she left her within their small makeshift treehouse with the lantern hanging loose from her chipped black polished fingers. “I just want to stay out a bit longer.” “Are you sure? We can wait-” “I was actually thinking of just taking a walk-” This set of words had been code for her way of saying she would make her way to the cemetery and spend her current time until daybreak with her mother and brother. She would trace the etched epitaph in their stones along with the dates and feel guilty for not being able to identify who had taken their lives. It was a set of words not argued with by her friends as they knew she needed her time to be with them-and so they set back home as she was left alone with her suicidal thoughts. As she made her way through the long grass that began to itch against her legs, she began speaking aloud to her mother. “I just can’t do it anymore...I just have to be with you again…” She spoke with tears forming deep in her eyes. She didn’t care if she had an ugly cry as she was alone-or so she had thought. She carried her body over the steps of the train, taking a seat directly down on the mix of wood and steel as she looked up to the stars. For the first time contemplating this in a serious fashion-she wasn’t nervous or scared...just ready. She wasn’t the type of girl to want the college “experience” or to have a white picket fence lifestyle. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t want any more of life as it was. But in that same aspect, she then thought of those who would hear of her passing and the ways they would handle it. She knew her father wouldn’t comprehend it as he would be too hungover or drunk to understand, but her best friends would be devastated. However, the sinister thoughts remained in her mind that spoke of how she was just a burden to them-and so, she stayed put. The rumbling of the tracks began to start around her as she gave herself deep breaths in thinking of her end. She wondered if it would be fast or painful even loud or understandable, and what would come after. She simply set her grip upon the sides of the metal, finding an odd comfort in knowing what was about to happen. The desperate horn of the train sounded out ahead when it had seen her but not given enough time to stop. Smoke omitted from its funnel as Thora could feel a presence form around her. She couldn’t tell if it was that of her mother, her brother, even God-but she knew she was ready for her final breath-ready for an end to the pain. She took in one final breath before feeling her body weight become lifted from the tracks and placed onto the soft grass beside the train as it passed over where her body would have been. There was little she could see from the darkness, but she was able to make out the form of a man-a man of impressive physical structure and masculine features. A part of her was thankful to the man as she felt his presence reign over her as if he was planning to kiss her-but just as quickly as he had arrived, he had vanished. She rose up to view, looking around her before realizing she was completely alone and saved by a guardian angel who showed her that he saw something worth saving; even if she saw herself as a lost cause.