Chapter I: In A Small Shack In Lowtown
Colton and Addie Quinney stood with their backs pressed against the chipping walls of their dreary Lowtown abode. It was more of a room, really, with one extra jutting of wall concealing the corner where the chamber pots stewed. Their family friend, a man with a small waist and shoulders that sloped like the Vimmark Mountains, was the only one allowed to move close to the center of the room where their mother's straw mat was, on top of which she was writhing. Colton and Addie could see the gleam of sweat wrapped around her neck. Her skin was always pale, but it had frosted to the point of near translucence. She had turned into a stiff alabaster statue, only mobile enough to shake and moan occasionally.
The family friend was shaking, too, as he knelt on one knee by the bed. His quivering hand took a damp cloth and set it so gently over the mother's forehead he gave the impression of fear. Colton and Addie were only half-grown, but they had witnessed enough by their young age to know that if this man was afraid, they should be too. Addie felt tears prick his eyes for the first time that day. It wasn't Colton's first. "Rynell, is she gonna be okay?" Colton stammered. He already knew the answer. Rynell didn't respond. The mother gave a prolonged, wraith-like groan and sank onto her side. Colton rushed forward, and Addie followed. The two of them stopped abruptly at their mother's bedside and got on their knees. Gingerly, they let their hands wander onto the very edge of the straw matress. Addie's fingers dug into the tattered blanket. Their mother's eyes were shut but her head kept rolling back and forth on her pillow as if she were watching a fly pester the air.
Addie said, "Mother." There was no change in the dying woman's movements. "Mother, mother, mother," she chanted steadily. She repeated that word over and over again until finally the sick woman's inane movements faded away and her eyes peeled open. The milky film of death had started to settle over her eyes, and Addie knew there wasn't much time left. The tears dribbled down her cheek, and her mother was finally aware enough to see them. Colton was choking on his own sobs. Their mother's hand slid out from under the blanket slowly. She held it open, palm-up, inviting her children to hold her hand. They did. Their two hands together were slightly too big to both fit in that one palm. Their mother settled her eyesight on her children with a certain poignant amazement; it was as if she had seen them as newborns again. The memory eased her mouth into a smile and Addie noticed her mother's gentle chin and the bubbly curvature of her cheeks.
"Do not be afraid," their mother breathed. At this point, Colton was crying loudly, coughing up each wracking sob with a concerning fervor. He dug his face into the blanket, unable to look at his world anymore. Addie was silent. Her mother was looking her right in the eye, and Addie was looking back. Even with the spark of life visibly receding from her mother's eyes, it was impossible for her to look away, for there was something unnameable being transferred between them. Almost all of her senses went completely numb in that moment while her soul was aflame.
A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you stick with this story. Check out my Tumblr page if you want to get an idea of what to expect in upcoming chapters.