chapter 2
252 Words
The meadow village seemed smaller than ever without her mother. Noelle’s hands shook as she clutched the scarf, the fabric smelling faintly of smoke and winter—a memory pressed against her chest. The warmth it carried could not hold back the storm inside her. Rage, grief, and despair collided, making her feel brittle, like she might shatter at any moment.
She stormed into the house, the walls echoing with silence. Each step was heavier than the last. The stove was cold; the hearth dark. Everything reminded her of absence. She kicked at the chair, sending it across the room. Her voice broke into a scream that tore through the still air.
“Why?” she yelled, hitting the table with her fists. “Why leave me?!”
Her words bounced back from the walls, unanswered. Her grey eyes blurred with tears, pink lips trembling. She swept her hands across shelves, knocking jars and books to the floor. Wood splintered beneath her rage. Her breath came in jagged bursts, her body shaking as though she had been buried under snow and suddenly freed.She sank to the floor, the scarf clutched to her chest. “I hate you,” she whispered, not fully at her mother, not fully at the world. “I hate everyone who leaves.”
The village outside seemed oblivious to her grief, quiet under the winter sun. Noelle rose, dragging herself out into the wind. The scarf trailed behind her like a banner of mourning
- Writer
