Wishing-!-on-/-Dust {Shrimp}

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ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ
Retired Staff

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last seen Jan 3, 2023 20:19:37 GMT -5

I go "Grawr!" =)

Wishing-!-on-/-Dust {Shrimp} Jan 3, 2012 9:48:32 GMT -5

Post by ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ on Jan 3, 2012 9:48:32 GMT -5

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It was over. It was over but it felt like it hardly started. The glass had been cleaned up, the pictures taken down to prevent Mother from going in another fit. Not like it would have mattered as she was still in the room, refusing to leave except to go to the bathroom. Europa had tried to go into the room once, but the moment she knocked on the frame, she could hear her mother breaking into a sob. She never would have thought that her mother would react that way as she was never that much like Sundra, but hearing the sob was enough to prevent Europa from trying again. How were they supposed to heal at this point? Already the family was torn to pieces and now they were beyond repair.

It was lonely sitting at the table, the quiet table, the table that used to be filled with laughter and jokes. There were times when the whole family would be at the table, and no matter how rare those moments were, Europa liked it. She liked it when her parents could take their time and sit at the table and Storm could make any joke and Sundra would quietly laugh. Her mother would also quietly laugh, in a manner very similar to Sundra, and her father would offer a light chuckle, amused by his son’s joke but refusing to show it. Io would look around between each parent and back at Storm, confused by what had just happened. And Europa would laugh. She would laugh because it would be the funniest thing she ever heard and because she loved Storm.

And then there would be the moments when it was just the four of them, because Mother and Father had to work late again. None of them were bothered by that, though, at least the older three and if Sundra gave Io enough attention, all four. It was more or less their way of life, and they had accepted it long ago. The jokes that flew around were of greater number and there was hardly a serious air when it was just them. They bonded as siblings as they themselves were a family as well. The district knew them that way; the school knew them that way. Anyone who knew a Wie child knew the other three, even if they hadn’t physically met them.

Europa looked around the table, imagining everyone back in their place, the place they would sit every night for dinner. Where they all belonged. Sundra, I don’t like these peas. Will you eat them for me? And Sundra would try to coax her to eat them, saying that she couldn’t have cooked them that bad, that they were edible. But Europa would have refused and continued to shake her head like the little 11-year-old girl Io now was. Storm would have smiled at Europa and let her give him the peas. I’ll eat them for you. After all, I like Sundra’s cooking, he would cheekily respond while receiving Europa’s share of the peas. Then 6-year-old Io would pipe in and say she didn’t like the peas either which Storm would have also taken because that was the big brother he was, all while Sundra would look miffed that her younger siblings didn’t want her peas. This would be a good time to speak up, huh, Sundra? Storm would have continued to smile while elbowing Sundra, encouraging her to speak up. Yeah, speak up, Sundra! Europa would say while mirroring her brother’s smile, unaware that Sundra’s speaking up would cause Europa trouble. And Sundra wouldn’t speak up…because that was how she was. Back then. Four years ago.

But four years made a difference, especially in the Wie household. Four years equated with a district change. Four years equated with an economic downturn as the family refused to move. Four years equated with four games, two of which were watched with frozen eyes by the Wies. Four years equated with two deaths. Four years equated with two fewer children. The table would never be the same. Physically, it would remain the same, old, wooden table that had been there before Europa was born, but the people occupying it, eating their meals at it, they would be different. Europa couldn’t even bring the whole family together to eat one meal since they watched Sundra die on the television. Her mother refused to leave; her father could not stand sitting at the table for more than 2, 3 minutes before storming out of the house. It was just Europa and Io at the table, silently eating the measly meal that Europa could barely cook. Cooking would have to be another skill that Europa picked up in the near future. With the state of her mother and the age of Io, it only made sense that Europa start learning how to take care of a household.

A loud sigh later, Europa broke down crying. How did Sundra do it? How had she coped with Storm’s death so calmly? At this point, Europa felt alone, broken, ready to just wither away. She wasn’t ready to be the oldest siblings. She wasn’t prepared to take care of someone younger than her. That had always been left to Storm and Sundra, and as much Europa wanted to help, she always had the mentality that they would be there for help. Even if they moved away, at least she could go to them and ask questions. When Storm was gone, Europa felt the blow and realized that she really would have to help out, but her mentality that help would always be there if she asked for it strengthened, because surely they wouldn’t take Sundra away from her too. Wasn’t one Wie enough for the Capitol? But like everything with the Capitolites, they always wanted more and more they were given.

“I don’t…I don’t know what to do anymore,” she sobbed, her head in her hands. Were Sundra and Storm listening to her? No, they were buried in the ground, forever quieted. They weren’t there to listen to her anymore, but that didn’t stop her from trying. “I can’t just, just pick up from where you left off. I don’t know how to do anything and…and Mother won’t leave the room, Father is constantly working, and I don’t know if I can ask Io. I don’t know how.” Completely broken, Europa thought about her little sister, her remaining sibling. How was she supposed to protect her? She was the only sibling Europa had left, but she could hardly bring herself to communicate with her. When she was younger, she always saw Io as the baby, the one who was treated better because she was the youngest. But Io wasn’t really a baby anymore, was she? After witnessing the deaths of two of her siblings, Io could hardly be called a child. So how was Europa supposed to talk to her? They were only five years apart, but five years meant everything to the family.

Last Edit: Jan 3, 2012 9:55:20 GMT -5 by ᕙʕ•ᴥ•ʔᕗ

^credit to Shrimp

char info yayy

shrimp
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Wishing-!-on-/-Dust {Shrimp} Jan 20, 2012 23:07:05 GMT -5

Post by shrimp on Jan 20, 2012 23:07:05 GMT -5

You were eight when the first one flew away. He soared through the air gloriously before he finally exited over the horizon, his tall frame forever unknown to you. You know that you loved him - you must have loved him, but alas, you were only eight. Now you are eleven, and the memories of him are hazy, clouded with age and maturity that does not transfer over to the giggly memories that nest in your head. You still remember his laugh, but his voice seems foreign to you and it's difficult to discern his true facial structure from all the white noise in the background.

You've never told anyone, but you're scared that by the time you're eighteen, he will become unknown to you, hidden deep withing the branches and brambles that you must scavenge through to get to the purest memories of joy that you've ever experienced. Because it's not as if you wanted to forget; on the contrary, you want to remember every strand of hair on his head, every story he ever told you or the amount of times that he joked around and let you ride on his back as he became a hovercraft, jetting you off to places unknown with adventure in your eyes without reality in your mind.

It's been a long time since you smiled like that, with the laughter visible in your face. Now the smiles seemed to be forced, creating a facade that shouts I'm alright - don't worry about me when in reality perhaps it screams Make it better because everything hurts and I want it to stop. Ever since the departure of your sister time seems to have frozen as you sat in front of the television, refusing to leave the room lest you put a curse into effect that would strike her down without a minute's notice. And for a while, it worked.

You wouldn't leave the room for a second during her eight day stay in the winter wonderland that Storm would speak of in his stories (sans the blood and screams that will never leave your sister's ears, even after death has come to take her away). The television was on all day, and when your parents finally shut it off and went to bed, you snuck back in and turned it on, silently watching, praying to unseen forces to keep her safe keep her here. But then, on that fateful day, you sat in front of the screen with fingernails digging into your skin and teeth sinking into your lip as you saw her scream for the last time, and then nothing. Her cannon fired, and the girl who took care of you for the entirety of your life was no more.

It's my fault, you think, even though deep down you must know that it isn't. I didn't wish hard enough I didn't make her happy enough when she left I didn't do anything to help her I didn't do enough is all that runs through your head now, and it's clear that something of the sort has occurred to the rest of your family as well. Papa doesn't speak to you anymore, preferring to take care of the remaining cattle (scrawny and sick from the oil-slicked air) as if nothing ever happened, while Mama sits in her room all day, crying - she doesn't even bother to leave for meals, taking them in her room instead. And Europa... You haven't truly spoken to Europa since the incident. Rather, you are a ghost, fluttering in and out of rooms, face pale and eyes bloodshot. The ruby necklace is always around your neck, its glint reduced to a small dull glow in the evening sunset.

You wish that Sundra was back, so that everything could be back to normal. But she already is here; her body is already lying stone cold in a tomb six feet underground, not far away from Storm. There's no going back to those times of glory - Pax Romana has ended, and the decline has truly begun. And even though you would do anything to get her back, it isn't happening. You don't want to accept this - but it's true. Not even the Capitol can reverse death and bring to life the ones who have already left us for an unreachable place. So here you are now, stuck with no Sundra, with no Storm, with no Mom nor Dad. The only one here is Europa, and that simply makes you feel more alone than ever.

Europa was the sibling that you never truly understood. Storm was the jester, Sundra was the caretaker. Europa was like you; both of you flourished under your siblings' nurturing, but never truly got to understand one another. She is five years older than you, and therefore, is just so different. She has different friends, different priorities and you two seem to be peas in a pod, except misshapen and deformed so that they no longer resemble each other in the slightest bit. You haven't talked to Europa, haven't shared your most deepest secrets with her (that was Sundra's job, and she has proven true to her word of carrying your secrets to the grave), have barely even noticed her. She was just another family member that you loved, but perhaps didn't really know.

It's about time that you finally do figure her out, you reason. She is your sister after all, the only remaining one. She's tried so hard as well - she's cooked the meals (even though you've watched Sundra cook in the kitchen and believe that you could probably make a better omelette than Europa can) and works so hard to help you when you have a question with math homework, or want to know how you should properly refine oil to be able to put it into automobiles and hovercrafts. Europa's tried to be a good big sister, to take care of you. It's time you at least gave her some gratitude for it and got to know the girl who has resolved to make your life better.

With this mindset in mind, you walk into the kitchen, where you had seen Europa enter as you lied on the couch, eyes staring at a crack in the ceiling. But as your feet stepped delicately into the room, you were met with tears and sobs (“I can’t just, just pick up from where you left off. I don’t know how to do anything and…and Mother won’t leave the room, Father is constantly working, and I don’t know if I can ask Io. I don’t know how.”). The first thing you want to do is just leave the room because this is a bad time I really shouldn't intrude I just wanted to help her why is she crying I don't want her to cry because that means that we can't get better but perhaps subconsciously you realize that it's not about you. It's about being a good person and helping your sister get through this tumultuous event. So instead, you walk up to her and hug her.

You've never really hugged your sister before. Yes, your arms have wrapped around her in thanks for a gift or to say goodnight, but none of those events are comparable to the strength this embrace is giving you (and hopefully her) because you know now that you can help your family, and you intend to do so. And all it took was one hug to realize this.