"Momma, can Cindy come with me?"
The frantic looking woman paused what she was doing to look at her 6-year-old daughter. Her heart warms at the sight of her beautiful child carrying her favorite fairytale book, eyes sparkling with excitement and full of purity.
'An innocent little being, the woman thought.'
"Of course, darling, here, let me put that in your bag for you" she helps her daughter pack her little backpack that was almost full of her belongings, although knowing full well that they wouldn't need their belongings. Her daughter would not need that fairytale book for the place where they were going would be a fairytale come true.
The little girl fumbles with her dress, swaying left to right, looking around the room for something that may help her mother, who was busy packing bags. Her eyes spot a glowing object on top of the nightstand. Her little feet carried her towards it, and as she stands in front of it, her eyes twinkles.
She glances at her mother, who had her back towards her, and takes the chance to scoop the item with her little hands. 'What a beautiful necklace,' she thought to herself. She's trying to recall when her mother had last worn such jewelry to no avail.
'If this wasn't her mother's, then who would own this, and why was it here? Could Mother have stolen it? She couldn't have' She shakes off the sudden thought, knowing that her mother is an honest person.
The little girl continues to inspect the precious gem. Unbeknownst to her, she felt the weight of her mother's embrace.
"What is that you're holding, Rose Ann?" Rose jumps slightly as her mother wraps her arms around her from the back, her cheeks warm for getting caught, but she giggles at the sudden action.
"Momma, is this yours? It's gorgeous."
The woman looks at the object and smiles "yes, do you want to wear it?" she asks. Her daughter nods furiously in excitement as she takes the necklace from Rose's hands and places it around her neck, locking it in place.
Filled with enthusiasm, Rose runs straight towards the full-sized mirror. She stares at her reflection with the necklace on.
The woman could not help but laugh "it was my mother's. She passed it on to me, and now, I will pass it on to you" her smile reached her eyes.
"Take good care of it, alright? And we'll need that for later."
Rose Ann runs up to her mother's arms, hugging her tightly, thanking her again and again. They felt as if nothing could separate both of them; in the little moments they shared, their bonds were unimaginably close.
---
Rose Ann has her hands on both her ears, forcing out the sound of her mother and her grandmother arguing after they were caught in an attempt to leave.
"I won't let my daughter grow up in this kind of environment with this kind of family," veins were popping out from the woman's neck, all from screaming and trying to gain dominance in the argument.
"We are leaving this house. If you try and stop us, you'll get hurt," her mother makes her last threat to the fuming mad grandmother then followed by silence.
The woman turns around to leave but only for her heart to sink when she sees her daughter sitting in the corner of the room with her knees up to her chest covering her ears, a frown plastered on the little girl's face.
She swore to herself that her daughter would grow in a place where she would be comfortable doing the things a child would do. Being there kept both her and her daughter restricted. As if they were locked up in a cage. And they yearn for freedom.
The woman walks up to her child, ignoring her grandmother's continuous screaming, and gently takes her daughter's arm to make her stand up. She bends down slightly to meet her daughter's line of sight.
"Darling, don't you worry, we're going to a fun place, and you'll like it there."
Rose Ann believes her Mother. She recalled memories of the place they were forced to call home. A place where her grandmother and aunties would always pick a fight with every chance that they can take. They don't share their belongings or provide them food, having them starve most of the time.
The memories of growing up in a place that confined her freedom breached her mind. To finally go out to find a better home for both her and her mother is an adventure she was willing to shove away from her fears for. "Okay, momma, let's go."
---
It's not as she had expected it to be.
The full moon hid behind thick grey clouds that made the atmosphere on the outside look scary. Her hand was starting to hurt from her mother's tight grip, quickly walking away on the verge of a jog.
Rose Ann's surroundings turned unfamiliar as they walk further away from the place they once called home. It was dark and quiet. The cool night wind welcomed her, making her all the more grateful to be wrapped around by her mother's thick, blue scarf.
They were walking on the side of the road, houses to the left, and the forest on the right. Rose glances at a line of street lamps, but only a few were turned on, and only a handful of cars and people passed by. The eerie atmosphere brought about by midnight shook her even more.
Her mother had not briefed her about the place where they were heading in full detail. Rose was clueless about why they had to leave at night. 'Why couldn't they have taken a vehicle? Would they need to walk all the way there? The place is probably not that far. But they were walking for quite a while now.' Her thoughts filled her head as she looks back to notice that her grandmother's house was nowhere to be seen.
She called out to her mother a few times to tell her that her tired feet felt unsteady and her backpack was quite heavy; she needed to rest, but her mother looks straight ahead and continues walking. She wonders if her mother is purposely ignoring her or if the loud striking thunder had deafened her.
Rose blinks as a droplet of water fall on her upper right eye. She wipes it off with her free hand, but as more drops on to her face, her mother suddenly starts to pull Rose into a jog.
"Come on, darling, pick up your pace. We need to get to shelter," her mother panics, "there! I see one nearby. Just a few more" A bus stop in front accompanied by blinking lights caught their attention. Rose shoves away the feeling of exhaustion. She needed to be strong for her mother.
The rain continues pouring much aggressively, both of them drenched from head to toe. Rose squinting to no avail, her mother gripping tighter as the rain impairs their vision. Her mother could not notice the road they were jogging across as a fast-approaching vehicle directed towards them.
Rose Ann saw it first, the blinding headlight speeding towards them. Her eyes widen, filled with panic and fear, an attempt to scream was cut off abruptly as her mother pushing her, separating their intertwined hands and sending Rose flying away. Plants wrapped from Rose's hands to her entire body as she touches the ground, blurring her sight from the harsh impact on her head.
In Rose's head, what seemed to be happening in slow motion happened in only a few seconds; her eyes threaten to close, but she catches a glimpse of her mother's body not too far from her.
She wanted to move, but her body ached. She wanted to yell and cry, but she laid still. Her last sight was of her mother's limp, bloody body before her entire world went dark.