The Lovely Suicide Children

Chapter 75: Reattached

The cawing noises got lower, and the number of crows fighting was less than ten. I was only two arm's length away from the action when I saw my mother in her human form looking like something that went through a heat machine. One eye was missing, all her hair was gone except a few strands, body full of scratch marks so big I could see the inside of her. There was no blood, just raw meat that looked like it had been preserved in honey for hundreds of years. That's when I realized, she was becoming her dying form.

I began to walk towards her, as the last of the crows fought. The crow flew up into the air, about to dip down onto my mother. She held her head, smiling at the crow. "Come on. You'll just end up like the rest."

I waved at the crow. "Sunny, don't!"

The crow dipped down anyway and my mother prepared to slice it. However, the crow landed on the ground next to me and turn into Sunny. "As long as she's here, I can help. I'm going to guide someone to put out this fire." She looked at my mother then back at me. "Take your time." She said, then flew off.

My mother wanted to smile at me. She wanted to look strong and powerful, however, she collapsed to the ground. I did too. Almost at the same time as her. I pulled myself near her, resting my hand on her bald head. I knew she was powerless now. "You don't intimidate me and I'm not afraid of you," I told her as she looked off into the distance at the fire. I saw the flames in her one eye.

She let out a low chuckle. "That place was the only place that offered me something and you took it from me. Your father took my happiness. You took my world."

I did my best to stand, but it didn't work out the first time. I tried again, this time leaning on the stick Sunny had given me. My mother stared at it. "A world where people believe they have to take their lives and separate themselves from their loved ones isn't a happy world. The Lovely Suicide Children could have never been a happy place. Though those kids had no emotions, each of them felt remorse and regret. Just like me."

She said nothing.

"Just like you," I told her.

"I never regretted what I did!" She yelled, but quickly looked away and laid head first on the ground.

"Then why didn't you just leave me alone?" I asked her.

Silence.

"No matter what, there's always something you leave behind when you do what you did," I told her. "you wanted a piece of that back. We may want to deny it, but there's always that one person who cares."

I leaned down next to her again, practically falling. I laid down, clenching my stinging hand and groaning as the pain roamed in. "I cared. I felt so empty beyond words when the mother-who I wanted to be okay. Who I wanted to get help. Who I wanted to see happy-left me. When I was with dad, I constantly thought of you and absolutely hated myself."

I waited for a reply, but my mother said nothing. Her eye was closed, but she was still moving.

"And I couldn't help you back then," I said. "The damage was done and your pain was stronger than my will to help you or to be the strong daughter you raised. I am so sorry I let you down. I'm sorry I let you down in this world and in the other." I told her hand, feeling more pain with every inch of me moving. "But if there's a world bigger than these two, I don't want you to go into with regret and anger. Just peace and loved while knowing you are loved. I love you, mom."

Her single eye finally opened. An emotionless stare was all I got back. Part of me felt a squeeze on my had but I don't know if she was squeezing it because of pain or because it meant something. Her eyes closed one more time and she whispered words that made my heart sank into my chest.

"Bury me, right by the last remaining tree. In the fields and don't let the crows take me."

Before I could say anything, my mother's skin parts disappeared and what remained were very few bones and some hair. As fast as I could, thinking it would disappear too, I put in inside my pockets. The 7 little bones and locks of stringy hair. The ambulance, fire trucks, cop cars. I heard it all. The field was still on fire and my eyes that were becoming less awake began to shut. The last thing I saw was the children, slowly becoming reattached to their bodies.