Spitfire ━ Jasper Hale

─ PROLOGUE.

It wasn't until the realization finally did set in that Shadow found herself with nothing but time.

  She was so used to the constant struggle of juggling homework and housework and the effort of taking care of her mother's echo. What was she supposed to do when that echo faded and that house was emptied and the exams had ended? The world seemed to come to a standstill and time consumed Shadow in a way that punctured a hole straight through her chest.

  There were so many questions; how was she supposed to handle this? How was she supposed move on from the fact that her parents; the very people who had been there through every cry, every laugh, every cough, ache and pain, were now gone for good?

  Shadow didn't understand. How could her mother forget that it wasn't just her who had loved and lost? How was it that she could leave her daughter so easily, so quickly?

  One moment, Kora Swan was there and in those few seconds where stress and sorrow threatened to overcome Shadow, she could at least feel like she had someone. But— within the next instant— her mother was gone and Shadow was left all alone.

There was no one.

  November 26th, Shadow Swan had two parents. By January 18th, she had none. Nearly seventeen years she had spent on this earth with them and it still wasn't enough. Shadow wished they had more time. There were so many things she would have said to them, she would have told them how much they meant to her.

  There were times where she may have taken them for granted; gotten angry and said things she shouldn't have. But, never did it mean that she stopped loving them. Now, Shadow would never be able to tell her parents that they were the ones who meant the most to her. She would never get to be held in their arms again— and if the world could give her only one more moment, it would be all that she needed.

  And yet, nothing erases death.

Her parents were never coming back and in their place, Shadow tried to fill the empty hole inside of her with understanding. Death is life-altering. Death is messy and unkind.

But, you have to learn to keep moving, or you risk the gorge swallowing you whole. Healing is never easy. It was never meant to be, and too often was moving on confused with leaving behind the person you've lost.

  However, Shadow was able to distinguish the line, even if it was only slightly.

She still didn't understand how her family could be gone so quickly— and the pain that came with losing them was still there; often in overwhelming floods.

Shadow wasn't ready to let go, at least, not yet.

But, she knew what she had to do.

→

  The Swan girl looked around the now-barren place she'd once called home. Even without daylight, there was no mistaking the emptiness of it. The furniture was gone and so were the pictures that had once hung up on the walls.

Other mismatched items and knickknacks were gone too; markings that had once staked this house as home of the Swan family. But, Shadow had already known that— long before her fist had shattered the back window to get inside.

Shadow wasn't sure what she expected when she finally got in, but it wasn't this. Somehow, even without their belongings, it still felt like this empty house was where she was meant to be. It still felt like home.

  The Swan girl tucked her hands beneath her crossed arms and exhaled a deep breath. It was so silent, she felt like turning back. But, there was no avoiding the confrontation awaiting her, and she knew it.