Tara sat on tire swing in the far corners of her backyard; her arms were wrapped around the top of the tire, the heat from the afternoon sun burning into her skin. She didn't care though, it made her feel alive. The afternoon breeze blew her waist length hair behind her, fanning out and making it look like ribbons.

Her eyes turned towards the house, her bare feet digging into the drying mud that crept between her toes, staining her skin up to her ankles and inches from her long skirt. Tara took the time to enjoy the few moments of quite she had before her family got home from work and school, making demands on her that no seventeen year old should have.

Inspite of the sun's warmth she felt a chill run over her, there was always a chill when she thought of home now. It's been three months since her mother died, three hell filled months and each day slowly chipped away at her. Eighty-eight days have slowly chipped who she was by the people she called family.

She called Donnie, Beth and her father 'family' out of obligation, her mother was the only one she called 'family' out of love. Those days were gone now, but far from forgotten.

Tara could close her eyes and still feel like she was eight again, she remembered the day they came out here and with a lot of effort – and a bit of magic – they put the swing up. Her mother – Sarah – would settle herself on the swing before pulling Tara up onto her lap and humming softly. She taught Tara all about the goodness of magic, warned her of the bad and filled her mind with hopes and dreams of the two of them moving and starting a new life.

"When I'm older mamma we'll leave?"

"When you're older."

"Promise?"

"Yeah baby, when you're old enough we'll leave here. Maybe even head to a new city and start new."

"Can we open a shop?"

"Anything you want. What kind of shop?"

"Book store. Oh mamma, I wanna be surrounded by books and trinkets. Just pages and pages of books that are filled with so much to know. I bet that I'm gonna wanna read every one there…"

"If you want then you do it. There's nothing you can't do sweetie."

Those words were the only lies she ever told her daughter. Her eyes filled with sadness and knowing that there wasn't an out for her, she was far too old and had too many things tying her here. But Sarah only wanted Tara to have hope, she wanted to get her daughter away from here as far and fast as she could.

Life happened and plans changed. Tara never got to take her mother away and being here was somewhat of a blessing. She was surrounded by memories of her mother, a swing tied tightly to a tree like her hopes for something better.

She could hear it long before she could see her father's truck coming from the direction of town. The sound pulled Tara off the swing almost like a magnet, knowing that she had laundry to do and supper to cook.

Someday she'd find the pieces they chipped away from her soul and have the strength to move away and find herself again.