butchiesmom

"Ainie, I'm sorry." Mara's breath came in sporadic gasps. "I thought of telling you the truth but couldn't. I couldn't tell you about your birth or your mother. Your father didn't come back; your mother had crossed over. Her empty shell lay on the floor. I needed to do something. My own babe had crossed hours earlier but no one knew. It was best for both of us. Please understand. I love you." Mara had crossed.

Ainie turned from Mara's broken body to the people she considered family. No tears welled up. Nothing wet her cheeks. The tears were inside. The pain was overwhelming. Her family, those who'd earned her trust and love, could feel the emotions inside her. She spread it amongst those who knew her best. Zare tossed his head and neighed, a piercing scream echoing what he could feel as well.

Who would've guessed Mara would evoke such emotion in the woman she once called her daughter? Who knew Mara would turn the tide, would save the lives of the people she once hated. Mara, the woman people loved to hate, would no longer suffer the stares, the rude remarks. She would no longer mourn the daughter who should have been. Mara's empty shell laid there, not the woman she once had been.

The oldest of the women amongst them, Brinn, mother of Eilia, recently revived from the life hereafter, took the younger woman in her arms, squeezing tightly as if trying to contain the pain. Ainie, give it to us. Let us help you.

The words, unspoken yet heard, released the dammed up emotion. Ainie let out the scream her friends felt inside. People in the hallway outside heard it and knew what happened. The people inside had done something no one had ever been able to do, rid their world of the siikers. How had King Brugher been able to pass himself off as human for generations?

Altree94

This can't be a last chapter! If it is, then you need an epilogue! Or how about a sequel?!
Gail, your rough drafts are better than some people's polished ones!