Breaking Apart

[Rose Kuhn]

A small skeletal hand pressed on a thick wooden door. For a second it didn't budge and inch, then slowly, with a loud creak, the double doors began to push apart. The crack of light struck the dusty interior, followed by the small thud of sneakers. Everything was covered in white sheets. Dust seemed to float within the air and coat the interior of the house.

There were statues, busts, a massive wooden railing on the side of the room that clung to hugely ornate marble steps. The manor was stately, ancient looking, yet there was a sense of homeliness to it, a certain modesty that one wouldn't normally ascribe to such a place. Perhaps it was the feeling of Nostalgia that clung to everything, or perhaps it was the child like mural that had been painted on the far wall.

As the doors were cast open, more light was thrown into the dark hall. The mural was revealed, small signatures painted in the corner of it. A figure cast a shadow upon the massive painting. It shifted slightly, watching the mural for a moment before shifting and moving further into the manor.

Rose walked into her childhood home, a small, sad smile painted on her face.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

She hadn't been here since her mother and father had left, neither had Lily. Both of them had found it too painful to come back here, and so they had simply packed up and left. It hadn't really been a problem. The estate that droids to take care of it, and the twins had more than a few homes scattered around the galaxy. Even here on Empress Teta they had another home, apartments deeper within the city.

Rose assumed that was where Lily had stayed, she herself had moved to Coruscant, her fathers old place.

It had been easier to live there then it had been to live here, she didn't have many memories there.

She bit her lip as she wandered through the house, her smile quickly disappearing as she wandered. Her fingers traced over heavy wood, sometimes she would pull the white sheet from a statue or a musical instrument. She made her way through the whole house, walking, looking, not entirely sure what she was searching for.

Perhaps a small hope clung to her, perhaps she wished that she would turn a corner and she would find her mother and father sitting there, smiling and holding one another.

Yet that was never to be the case.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

Every room., every hall, even the gardens, they were all empty.

Truthfully she had known that would be the case. She had known she would not find her parents here, she had known she would not find anyone else. Yet it still hurt. It felt like a needle was pressing into her chest, and every step she took, every inch she moved forward, it drove deeper and deeper into her.

Slowly she wandered back towards the entry hall, eyes half closed, stiffing sobs.

She didn't open her eyes as she found the rail that stuck to the side of the stairs, she didn't notice the doors that were now closed, or the curtains that had been parted to let the light in the room. Had she not been so desperately searching inside of herself, had she not been looking for something, anything to keep her going, she might have noticed.

Instead she simply walked by them, careful, almost dragging steps taking her up the staircase and towards the second floor of the manor.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

The massive marble staircase that she moved up held quite a few memories. To Rose and Lily the manor had never seemed all that stately, hence the massive mural they had painted on the wall. Their Mother and Father had never cared much about the two of them playing around, and she well remembered taking the mattress from Lily's bed and attempting to slide down the staircase.

Of course that had ended with a massive cut on her head and more than a few bruises for Lily, but she still remembered the way her father had tried to stifle his laughter as he treated their wounds. Mother had been far less amused, if only because what they had done had been rather stupid.

The same sad smile appeared on her face as she crested the top of the stairs, taking an immediate right.

The second story of the manor contained all the bedrooms. Hers, Lily's, her parents', and of course all of the guest rooms. Rose didn't have to look to know that they were empty, she didn't have to see if there was anyone in them.

Even without the force, she knew.

Slowly she moved towards the far end of the hall, the massive window there covered by thick black curtains. As she reached the end she turned again, grasping the door handle and slowly pushing it down.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

The door fell open, no creak this time. She stepped inside to an almost immaculate room.

Rose blinked a few times, confusion showing on her face. There was no dust, no white coverings, nothing of the sort that would state this room had been abandoned. Her bed had been made, and everything seemed to be ready for her. There was even a small stack of energy bars sitting on her nightstand, the kind that she had always eaten when she didn't have time for a meal.

“How-” She cut herself off as tears flowed down her face,

Rose didn't understand. How could this be done? Who had done it? Lily? Had her sister heard she had left the hospital? Had she known that she was coming here? Back home?

She shook her head, stepping into the room and letting the door fall closed behind her. Lily wouldn't have known...would she? Could it be? Could it be that her parents had come back? Her mother or her father?

Tears streamed down her face and slowly she collapsed against the heavy wood.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

She sobbed, cried, and simply sat up against the wall for what seemed like an hour.

The shirt that she had been given by the smugglers was quickly ruined, her shoes were kicked off, and her hair turned into a matted mess. She cried and simply let herself go, relaxing and finally letting the emotions of what had happened to her over the past few weeks come out.

Somehow she had made it to the bed, curling up on top the soft mattress and comforter, tucking herself away into a ball. She cried and lay there for hours, motionless. The world around her didn't seem to matter, how her room had gotten this way didn't seem to matter. Rolling waves of despair, hopelessness, and even a hint of joy came to her.

No real thoughts ever came to her.

All Rose did was process what had happened to her. How she had so quickly fallen apart, and how everything had crashed down upon her. How the force was gone, and how she was alone. She shook and cried, sobbing until she finally fell asleep.