cw: death and blood

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The young girl frolicked in the vibrant meadow bursting with daisies, their delicate petals wilting under her touch. Bubbling giggles erupted past her lips as she caught the wing of a monarch butterfly, the mosaic of colors consumed by frost. Its frozen body fell to the ground, shattering upon impact. The young girl was already gone before the first crack formed.

Swirling flecks of white hovered around her torso, the bitter wind catching her light dress in a perpetual wind. Spots of snow covered her ebony eyelashes, clasping onto each fiber. Death was right at her heels yet she was oblivious to it all, only wishing to see the temporary beauty that it brought.

Behind her loomed a lithe woman, blood seeping from her cracks like sap. She hobbled behind the little girl, using the last of her once abundant energy to catch up to the bustling form. Glistening golden ringlets lay limp on her shoulder, suffocated by the sweat clinging to each strand. Her smooth, porcelain skin had dried out, crackling under every frigid breeze sent her way by the young girl. Despite all these terrible affiliations, a small smile graced her lips.

The little girl craned back her head, eyes locking onto the frail woman’s. “Mom, look!” Crouching down, the small girl pressed the pads of her fingers onto the nearest daisy, its stem standing tall in pride. Like a servant kneeling to their master, the dotted flower bowed down. Curling tendrils of black and blue infected the petals until the last splotch of white disappeared. With one last breath, it let out a scream of agony before falling limp.

Trembling tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks as her heart cried out in grief. In pain. Every cell in her body urged her to destroy the young girl for all the sorrow she had and would bring upon the world. If she was let to reign free, the world would surely be plunged into oblivion, life stolen from every being. Yet she couldn’t.

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Pain erupted around her torso as the young girl’s dainty arms pulled her into an embrace. The ruthless fingers of cold clawed up her body, freezing the salty tears on her tight skin. The woman should’ve twisted out of the hug, breaking away from her numbing prison. Instead, she stood still, watching the wide doe eyes of the girl. Naivety weaved into every crease and crack of the beaming girl, her mind blind to her actions. So the woman smiled back, letting the warm embrace of winter envelope her.