I have already uploaded this on my Patreon. Will post here next month.
Mary sat on a weathered wooden bench in the park, her eyes unfocused and gazing into the distance. The late afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground, yet she felt a heaviness that dimmed the warmth of the day. She was in no rush to return home, especially after enduring her mother’s stern reprimand.
“Your own brother,” Samantha had shouted, her voice echoing with disbelief. “How could you?”
“It was a prank, Mom!” Mary had pleaded, her voice tinged with desperation. “It was supposed to be funny.”
“Funny?” Samantha had retorted sharply, her eyes narrowing with disappointment. “Is humiliation funny? Is heartbreak funny? I’m not laughing! Your brother is not laughing! Nor your principal, nor your classmates, nobody in the whole school is laughing but you and that miserable coven of bitches!”
The memory of her mother's words lingered, heavy and unavoidable, like the ominous clouds gathering on the horizon.
After some time she rose to her feet, the wooden bench creaking as if to bid her farewell. She started to walk home. Her thoughts were a jumbled chorus—her mother's accusations, her brother's hurt expression, the bewildered faces of her classmates—each an echo that refused to fade. Again she cursed herself for her stupidity.
And now, she had to make a choice.
My Patreon is /famlove