There she was trekking alone again. Her mind was constantly flitting between returning and going forward as though the smile of her friend would only be filled with false hopes. It rained. When I say it rained I mean that the architects of the earth were trying to hammer nails into the ground. For many nights the lines of dashed light danced across the sky followed by its partner, who was the provider of the loud beat. Oddly, during the day it never rained, but the sky was always gray instead of blue and held not a sun, but a small, tinted glow.

The ground mushed under her feet and her nights were cold and all that reached her ears was the crying of the wind. At least her tears were disguised by the constant shower. She was being eaten from the soul up by the insect of guilt. She didn’t know if her friend was lost and alone. Mainly, she was scared for her mom. Constantly, she wondered if it was her fault, if she could’ve been traded in for a better daughter. She wondered if she had the strength or power to free her mom. She imagined that she did, even though it was just a delightful delusion fashioned by her mind.

The chains around her mind tightened each day. The demon that sat on her shoulder made her bleed a little more with every thought as its dreadful claws kept digging. It would reach down and slashed her wrist with every step. After a while it started sinking its teeth into her ankles. Her pants hid these wounds and made them easier to put out of her mind, if only to dissolve the torment for a short time. There was a time when all of her lights went off.

The moon rose and it too was alone. The sky was black and every star was in hiding. She stared at it for quite a while and whispered, “It’s been so long… I will never find her. She will die, if it hasn’t already killed her.” She had never fallen so far into the pit of despair. She tied her chains around a tree and tugged. It took all of two briefs moments and she passed out. Her life had been drawn out of her and she lay there like a rag doll, lifeless, colorless, and breathless.

The sun came up the next morning as it had over and over again. Something that is as marvelous and beautifully bright as the sun you would think people would never get tired of seeing it. Of course, as soon as it becomes engraved into your memory and into your day, you stop caring. Her eyes were open and all she saw was the darkness.