Mya sits slumped on the side of the building, barely conscious. She sits there beaten to a pulp, hoping that the end is near. She just wants to be put out of her misery. She wants to move on.
The First crouches down, looking at what it has done. It soaks in all the pleasure of its battle; heck it wasn't even a battle. The First knew it was going to win; Mya had no chance. The First stares and scans Mya up and down loving every second of it and relishing in its so-called victory.
"How are we doing my love?" The First, of course as Spike, asks.
'Why don't you just get it over with and off me?' Mya thinks without even addressing the First's question.
"Because," The First says while setting itself next to Mya, "I need you."
'Why?' Mya presses.
"You are my source," The First says while looking deeply into Mya's eyes, "You are my strength."
Mya thinks over what the First has just said but she is in too much pain to even think about it. She painfully turns herself away from the First. She doesn't want to look at the figure, the person, who lied, cheated, and betrayed her. She doesn't want to see his face again, but she knows that isn't going to happen anytime soon. The First would just come frolicking back, wanting some more candy that Mya doesn't have to give. Mya sits in the darkness and waits. She waits for the world to pass her by; she waits for her life to gain meaning. Alone, she sits and soon she slips off into the darkness of her mind.
…:::Flashback Mode:::… (Everything in Italics are Mya's remembrances)
10-year-old Mya sits on the stairs of the barely standing home that she lives in with her family. She sits there covering her ears not wanting to hear anything going on down below. She doesn't want to hear her father screaming at her mother for no reason. She doesn't want to hear the constant pleading of her mother telling her father to stop. All she wants is silence. She doesn't know how her mother takes the constant abuse. She fights and fights and still manages to stand at the end of the day. She wonders about her mother, the strong woman she is. She thinks about the times that her mother comes home to the constant yelling of her father and yet she still manages to pull out a smile for her daughter. It isn't any smile though; it is a genuine smile. A smile that makes you feel like you're worth something. A smile that takes all the pain away and all you feel is bliss. Her mother is always good at that. She makes you feel true, real, precious. And that woman is precious. Mya is pulled out of her thoughts when she hears the bellowing get louder. She cautiously walks down the stairs hoping that her father wouldn't catch her.
"You bitch! You can't do anything right!" Mya's father screams while waving his hands in the air. Mya's mother stands there helpless as she stares at her feet. Silent tears fall down her cheeks as her husband screams at her.
Mya can't bear seeing her mother cry. Mya rushes to her mother side just before the cruel hand of her father was about to strike Mya's mother. Her father's eyes widen as his daughter comes into view. He is stunned to see Mya protect her mother. He doesn't know how to react so he grabs his bottle of liquor and stalks out of their humble abode.
Mya turns around and looks into her mother's eyes. She looks into her mother's soul and sees relief. Mya sees the relief in her mother's eyes knowing that her father is gone, at least for the night. Mya's mother pulls Mya into a warm hug to thank her daughter. Mya's mother hopes that Mya doesn't have to go through the same thing that she has to. She wants Mya to lead a normal life, with a man that Mya loves truly. She lets go of Mya and looks at her with tears of pride spilling out of her eyes.
"Don't cry, mama," Mya says while wiping the tears off her mother's face. Mya swallows that lump in her throat as she watches her mother weep.
"These are good tears, baby. These are good tears." Mya mother tells Mya while smiling radiantly.
Mya hugs her mother's frame tightly again as her own tears threat to surface. Mya doesn't want this hug to end, ever. She wants to stay as close to her mother as she can. She has to take care of her. That is her duty.
"You are my strength, Mya." Mya's mother tells while comforting Mya.
"And you are mine." Mya replies to her mother.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"She was a good woman. She was a good daughter. She was a good mother. She helped others when in need without a doubt…" The priest talks on about her.
Mya, now 15, stands in the back of the funeral home, standing with her older brother Raj. She stands staring at the coffin that is laid out in the middle of the room to be dwelled upon. Her mother is now gone, forever. She hit an emotional iceberg and sank. Mya knows the priest left out that she was a good wife. She knows that she was a good wife, but with all the trouble she went through, no one could bare to say anything about her marriage. No one can bear to say anything about. He did this to her, he killed her. Everyone knows it. Everyone knows that he screamed at her to her death. And he didn't even care enough to show up. He didn't care enough to show up at his own wife's funeral. 'That bastard,' Mya thinks. She is too deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when the service had ended and she and Raj were the only ones left in the funeral home.
"Mya, let's go," Raj says while putting a hand on Mya's shoulder.
Mya takes one last look at the spot where her mother was laying. She swallows that lump in her throat once again.
"Yeah, let's go." Mya replies and they both walk out of the funeral home together.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Mya gets out of her brother's car and stands on the side of the car as her brother says his goodbyes.
"You gonna be all right?" Raj asks while looking out the window.
"I'll be fine," Mya replies.
"I'm coming home in a few weeks, after I'm done with exams. Call me if anything comes up, ok?" Raj continues.
"Ok," Mya answers vaguely and waves a goodbye to her brother.
Raj starts up the car as he takes one last look at Mya before he drives away. Mya gazes at the car as it disappears into the darkness. She stands there for a couple minutes absorbing the stillness before making her way back into her home. She takes a deep breath before putting her hand on the doorknob and opening the door. Mya walks into the house to find her father drunk on the couch. She walks over to him, anger blazing in her eyes. Mya's father stumbles to get up and he walks up to her.
"Where have you been?" Mya's father asks harshly, his speech a bit slurred.
"At your wife's funeral, you bastard." Mya replies severely as she crosses her arms and looks away.
"Don't you t-talk to me l-like that!" Her father manages to shout. He grabs her by the arm and starts pushing her around violently. He starts to push her around as his bottle of liquor crashes on the ground and spills the alcohol everywhere.
"Get your hands off of me!" Mya yells as she struggles to loosen her father's grip on her.
Instead of loosening his grip he holds on tighter as he thrashes her around. Mya can't do anything, she tries as hard as she can to escape from her father but she can't. She finally gets one of her hands loose and manages to slap him back on the face. He father stunned, puts a hand on his face and anger erupts throughout his body. He raises his hand to get his revenge but Mya's hand stands in his way. She glares back at him as he holds his hand in mid-air.
"I've saved her once from this dirty hand of yours. What makes you think that I would let you touch me with it?" Mya says to her father while she still has a firm grip on him.
She stares back at her father once again before letting go of his hand. She runs upstairs to her room and slams the door behind her. She finds a duffle bag hidden under her bed and starts to pile anything she needs to live on her own into it. Mya thinks about all the pain she has gone through her life. The long, excruciating 15 years that she has roamed this Earth it has only been about watching her back and protecting her family. She has only lived 15 years but it feels like she has lived 15 lifetimes. Mya thinks about what her mother had told her and she decides that she is going to be strong. She has her strength and now her mother's as well. She is through with this life. She is through living a life that she dreads. Mya is going to start over. Mya takes her bag and takes one last look around her room before opening her window and walking into the night.