Blink.
They looked at the gray walls. The old chipped wall. The wall they always blinked in these situations. Situations where the grandparents had an argument of sorts that was disguised as a casual conversation.
Grandmother was nagging to Grandfather about how he should fix the pipes and the reinstall a new sink. Though he claimed he would get to it, Grandmother didn't seem pleased. She wanted it done now. In her words, Grandfather was a man and should've started being one a long time ago. Never mind he already had lung problems and had just finished mechanicing a truck in the hot sun.
Grandfather left soon after. Mari went to their room. They breathed in and out and they lied down with their eyes closed. They pretended to summon fire in their hands stretched out above them. They imagined the burning flames wavering around like candles. Flickering and changing shape.
They opened their eyes. And, just for a moment, they swore a light from their palms was present.
Just imagination. Powers that allow you to do anything was just that. Not real. Says their grandmother. If their grandmother said that, then it must exist in some way. Mari read somewhere that mediation and concentration could help unlock powers.
Books that their grandmother didn't like and claimed were the devil's work. Books that gave them hope and made them feel strong. Books that Mari swore were true because never before had they actually felt capable of such abilities.
Abilities that could be anything with the right conditions. Rumors led them to that discovery. All they had to do was practice.
Blink.
After all, a cat had appeared in her room despite Mari never owning a cat. The cat was odd, not in appearance, but presence. Mari could tell it wasn't an ordinary feline. Not that it mattered. The cat made them feel better and forget that horrible awful day.
The cat disappeared when Mari woke up. They nearly cried only for the fluffy cat to appear right next to them. Such dear eyes and soft fur. Since then, Mari learned something about the strange cat. It appeared whenever Mari wanted it to appear. If such a thing as summoning a cat was possible, whose to say other powers weren't?
The cat was enough proof of such power existing. All Mari had to do was figure the rest out on their own.
Blink.
Grandmother had started screaming again. Their mother had asked to borrow some money. Grandmother had agreed, only to start viciously swearing and ranting immediately after hanging up. Mari just so happened to be walking by for a glass of water.
Grandmother immediately had started telling them about their "wretched" and "good for nothing" mother. How their mother always asked for money, but never paid her back. How their mother was almost just as bad as their never present father.
How they probably got their eyes and nose from him. How they looked ugly with those features. How they should've been born looking more like her side of the family.
Their stupid fucking family. The family that never shut their damn minds. The family that "loved" them. The goddamn family that they hated in return. Everything single thing about them, they hated.
Just thinking about them caused their eyes to burn and their entire body to twitch. Just wanting to retaliate with every fibre in their small being. T̷h̷e̷y̷ ̷b̷o̷t̷h̷ ̷h̷a̷t̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷.
Blink.
But, there was no time for that. No time to think about the family. Marina had to focus. And breath. Getting themselves under control was key to escaping this place.
Escaping this place meant escaping the family. Escaping the family meant freedom. At least for Mari. Life would be somewhat better away from them.
That's all that mattered. Nothing else. Only getting away mattered now. Running away and staying away wouldn't be difficult if they were smart. They could do it. They would do it. No matter what.
Blink.