Rising Moon

Rising Moon: Ch 1

The smoke from the extinguished candle floated up to the ceiling. The room was pitch black and deathly silent. She waited. Holding her breath, not daring to move, waiting for something, anything. Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes.

Mia blew out her breath. Frustrated, she leaned back on her palms. Thoughts raced through her head. Thoughts of what went wrong. She shook her head and rose up from the floor. Turning the light on, she ignored the mess on the floor. A problem for tomorrow.

The sun streamed through the blinds interrupting her slumber. Mia blinked a few times and contemplated throwing a blanket over her face, but she had work to do. Mundane laundry came first. While the towels were going through their spin cycle, she wandered into the living room. There was an abundance of chores to do, but she couldn’t exactly leave half burnt candles, herbs, and books laying on the floor.

Mia picked them all up and placed them carefully into the trunk at the foot of her bed. After she replaced the lock, she set back on her task of chores. She had time to kill before visiting hours.

Mia glanced at her reflection one last time before she grabbed her keys. She walked out of her door and down the drive. Thinking better of going empty handed, she ran back in and grabbed the candle that she burnt the night before.

A few minutes later she arrived at her destination. Mia put the candle in her purse and walked up to the front door. When she opened it she was assaulted by both cold air and the horrible stench of the place. It smelled like disinfectant and death. A receptionist that was obnoxiously bubbly greeted her at the desk, “Hi there! How are you today?”

“I’m fine. I’m here to see my mother, Raylee McMullen.” With a nod of approval, the receptionist handed her a large white sticker with VISITOR plastered over it. Mia knew the way, so she headed down the hall toward her mother’s room. Years of visiting her mother in this place had done little to numb her to the sights and smells. It still made her uncomfortable. Death loomed down these white halls.

Mia knocked on door 303, she didn’t wait for an anser, instead she twisted the knob and planted a smile on her face. Raylee was lying in the bed, a colorful quilted blanket spread out at her feet. Her mother liked bright and cheerful colors. It brought her a little joy amongst the stark white walls and smells of bleach. 

“Hi Mom.” Mia grinned.

“Hello my Mia. It’s wonderful to see you.” Raylee’s face genuinely lit up. The conversation was standard chit chat. They discussed the weather, Mia’s personal life (or lack thereof), and Raylee’s physical therapy. It was a pleasant conversation, light and airy. A perfect way for Raylee to escape the horrors of her day to day life. Raylee had memory loss, paired with paralysis and a traumatic brain injury. Life was hard. After a few hours, Mia stood up to leave.

“Mom, I’ve got to get going. The cat won’t feed himself.”

Raylee sighed, “Maybe one day he’ll learn.” She chuckled at the joke.

Mia reached for her purse. The strap fell over and before she could catch it, the candle from earlier rolled out onto the floor.

“Oh, Mom, I wanted you to take a look at this. I tried again last night, and I still can’t get it to work.”

“Well, let me see it. Did you cleanse in the moonlight before you started? And the herbs, you grew them yourself?” Raylee reached out her hand.

Mia placed the candle into her mothers palm. “Of course I did Mom. I don’t know why nothing works. I just…” Mia stopped short and looked at her mother, Raylee had gone ghastly white. 

“Mia, this candle… You burned it? Only you? Mia. You’re in danger.”