IT IS TIME. time? time for what? the words were church bells in his head. ringing, ringing, ringing. they echoed down the canals of his ears, thrumming the drums. his heartbeat just as thunderous. he took a staggering step forward, the world around him once docile, once quiet. it was so very quiet for the year that had passed, he had not seen her—he hadn't seen much anyone. stolen away to the confines these cracked walls, worn hands, and ratty clothes. shallow breath, a ribcage full of bruises, lungs that gasped for oxygen as he tried to comprehend. the world that he existed in, that he merely walked the fine line between surviving and living. there was a time, when he could feel the wing of a bird, the freedom. when he socialized amongst his classmates, whether against or to his will. there had been a period in his life that he cherished and all the same despised; for he had gotten to see the smidgen of light that she had yet to see. locked away behind white walls, a billowing cloud encircling her cocoon. she was fragile, worn and tired. she was ailing swiftly, faster than the wilting sunlight. everyday, every breath, he thought of her—hoping and praying that by some miracle she would survive another night and so he caved years ago. he hadn't a choice. an adopted child ought to be thankful for being rescued, to be brought into a warmhearted family but he was the witness of their crumbling efforts. there was nothing, nothing that could be done for a terminal illness without a cure—except maybe a donor. someone who had similar cells, hyper-regeneration, and a strong heart. the horrors, the ache he faced beneath the bright lights, scissors, needles, and his flesh; it was his. it was his. his family; his mother, she had lied to him. she had said it was going to be a check-up, she told him it was going to be okay but he became cursed. a mangy monster that tore through at every night, making every dime and penny he could scrounge up from the sheets before dusk a desperation. he missed her. the one flower he could not forget. she was a story now, a fairytale of his past. a character he described to the fragile, fading youth that he called his sister. but tomorrow morning, he wouldn't be able to read to her. this was the end of the road. it had come swiftly. it was merciless. IT IS TIME. it rang in his ears again, eyes blinded by an unseen beacon. it wasn't calling him home. it was pulling him into the blinding nothingness, where he would never get to see his sister smile again, where he would never get to see the flower bloom once more; a smile brimming on her soft features. once more. just once more. he would have begged his mother who stood ready at the door but he knew her. she was tense and impatience riddled her looming form. she hadn't a face that he remembered, only a shadow to cast over the forgotten memories. with the force of the hidden beast within, he tore past her. “I'll be back!” he hardly ever rose his voice, he hardly ever ran. but now he ran with a might, a need. just once more. his mother was unforgiving. relentless. screams of fury, anger. it was hot on his heels. the car's flaring eyes tracked him around every corner, every turn. he shouldn't lead the chaos here but this was his last time. he knew it was selfish, shameful. she would have every right to keep him at bay, beyond locked doors but even if he could just explain. if he could just lift this weight that burdened him since he had left her in the dark. LE PETIT ZURI. his steps came collapsing, barely making it to the back entrance where he stood in uneven breaths, form trembling with every exhale. he shouldn't. he could leave now before his wailing mother turned the block. knuckles gripped. IT IS TIME. eyes squeezed shut and he held his breath, knuckles tapping on the door. he knew better. he knew the wrath that rest within if her keeper was home but no one arrived. a deathly silence crept beneath the crack of the door, coiling around his ankles and up the length of his spine. a sharpened breath and he knocked again. again. again. and again. flickering hues shifted to the door knob and he twisted. urgency flooding through his veins as he felt the last part of him shaken by the reality. the car came rolling to a halt and the door flew open. wide eyes followed the wailing woman trudging toward him with biting remarks, vile words, and a spillage of rage. his head dipped when he listened, “She's going to be DEAD by the time we get there! YOU HEAR ME?! SHE'S GOING TO BE DEAD. NOW DON'T YOU DARE RUN OFF LIKE THAT AGAIN—please! I can't lose my sunshine!” it had been a long time since he saw her cry and it hurt. she cried for her daughter, afraid of losing the precious gem, but a flaring hate seared him to the bone. he gave one longing glance at the hollow bakery, “I should have come sooner... and I hope you've found yourself a better place. I never wanted to avoid you. I just, it hurt... seeing you and remembering, we're all dying here. My sister she's—she's going to make it, though. I—I'd do the same for you...” before he could finish his arm was rashly grappled and he stumbled after her lead. he tossed one more look, hoping for a miracle, a familiar face. “... Stay alive... ok? Survive... and I'll try to remember you, try to remember me? I—I was told, that we all forget... but I won’t... it's going to be someplace warm; I'm sure of it... I'm sure of it... I miss you... you were my best friend and had we been older...” how he wept on the way to the hospital. silent tears streaming down his face as he sat in the back of the car, evading the burning eyes of his mother that occasionally glanced in the rear view mirror. IT IS TIME. desolated. cold. a faraway place. the sunset sinking. a canal. the metallic barrel. glint of crazed eyes. a quivering hand. one met with hers and a warm smile fleeting graced his lips. “Let me,” she was still their mother and in the end, he was and always would be a MONSTER. eyes shut tight, finger on the trigger. HIS TIME WAS UP. another life lost, another gained. a scarcely warm heart; a strong heart replaced the weak. but she never, never wore the smile of the sun again.