THREE-HUNDRED WORD SNIPPET THURSDAYS
Title: Tales from the Eye of Michael (SECTION: Photos) Words: 297 Warnings: Mention of still birth and implied obstetric death. THIS WORK IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
Context/Summary:
Simela lay wide awake in her private chambers, going through the faces in her head and the names that they belonged to. Initially, her visions were clouded, but as she recited their names out aloud, their features became as clear as day. “Theodore Simeonidis…” Her beloved father, the man who would sing her songs with the Black Sea fiddle in hand. The one who taught her about the plants and their importance in keeping the town up and running, the one who took her for many rides in the carriage of his vespa. The scent of stale cigarette smoke and amber seemed to accompany the memories of him. “...Sofia Simeonidis…” Her kind, caring and doting mother. The one of whom she had been in awe of her baking skills. The one who carried her for nine months and more, the one who loved her - along with her father - from the moment she knew of her existence in the womb. And whose final words she never forgot, “Never forget who you are and where you come from, Simela…’ It was as if she could see her mother, still drenched in sweat and skin burning up from the infection that came with the stillbirth of her brother, her breathing labored, telling her those final words. “Simon… Simeonidis…” The little brother she knew for only moments before his death. Who only saw a glimpse of his tiny, wrinkly hand before everything crashed and burned from then. Ever since that day, she had wondered what her life would have been like if her little brother survived. Maybe they both would have been sent to the orphanage together. But her stomach churned at the hypothetical thought of him being sent to the Eye of Michael to suffer the same fate, or even worse.
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