"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐈'𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐎 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓"
Some people wish they could ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ parts of their life. Johanna wishes she could ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ.
ᴀᴛ ᴀɢᴇ 6 , she woke up under a bridge in Trost with no memory, not a single recollection of who...
But no matter what the man says, no matter how intimidating he sounds with his gravelly voice, the stranger holding me in place will not release me. My heart thumps violently against my ribs. I'm shaky and helpless and terrified.
I'm a child.
"So you think you and your goons can run this shithole? You think you're kings or somethin'?" The stranger with his grip on me says. He laughs and his breath smells foul like nicotine. "Well, you're dead wrong. In this place, you should think twice before you steal other people's stock... Because rule number one— you will get stolen from as payback. You know, its too bad... don't you know anything about this place? Rule number two— always..." Smoke. Nicotine. The stranger chuckles darkly and he lowers his lit cigarette to me, inching closer to my clavicle. I whimper fearfully. "always keep your valuables protected..."
"Don't you dare," the man standing in front of us says. His face is blurry and unrecognizable, but I can tell by the blade shaking in his hand that he is furious. Every part of his body tenses and he resembles a bomb about to detonate. I want to run to him and be in his arms. "Don't you dare," He repeats again. "I'll fucking kill you, I swear to—"
"Hm? What was that?" The stranger says innocently and that's when he smashes his cigarette into my clavicle. Hard.
A scream climbs its way out of my throat. The sound of pain.
It hurts but it ends quicker than I expect, because next thing I know a sharp blade glints in the darkness and theres a swipe, and the stranger falls to the ground instantly. Dead.
"Daddy!" I wail and the man with the unrecognizable face hugs me— no, holds me. I'm fragile and weak and small and his strong arms are the embrace that keeps me sheltered.
He shushes my crying, stroking my hair gently, but I know he's sick with worry. "Let me see..." He says and pulls back to observe the injured spot. The skin burns still, irritated and inflamed and a bright shade of red. "I'm sorry," his voice cracks ever so slightly. He hugs me tightly again,
"I'm so sorry..."
✱ ✱ ✱
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I OPEN MY EYES and witness a clear blue sky unlike the one I remember there being moments ago. Wasn't it cloudy?
Unless...
Wait...
How long was I...?
I sit up too quickly. There's a stabbing pain in the core of my head. I groan softly, sensitive to every little movement.
A pair of hands immediately try pushing me back down.
"Jean?" I say, confused. He hovers above me. Uh oh... Something bad happened. His grim expression gives it away.
