Madeline

                Madeline Cross was born on a Wednesday in December. The ground had been dusted with a light snow the night before and when the sun came up the city seemed to sparkle, the small flicker of lights dancing in the sun light.          
         Other than the city seeing it's most beautiful day all winter nothing of great importance happened there or anywhere else in the world. Nothing even mildly significant for that matter, but for Madeline, the day of her birth would be the day she lost her life.

         21 years and 364 days later, Madeline opened her eyes to a grey December morning. Nothing was different from the day before or even the day before that but something just felt obscure, out of the ordinary, off. She couldn't decide how to describe it. Getting out of bed she walked to the bedroom door and opened it slowly.
         Empty.
         The way her whole life had been. Since that fateful day on December 25th almost 22 years prior her life consisted of breathing, eating, sleeping, existing. Her mother, whose face she never got to see, had died in child birth and her father had simply pawned her off. Her grandmother, who died only a few short months ago, had told her he couldn't stand the thought of losing Christina. That she had left him.
         Madeline focused. She had been staring out the window of her second story apartment for what seemed like hours, not looking at anything enparticular.
         She turned quickly and almost stepped on her small cat. Before the white ball of fur could run away in fear of being trampled on, Madeline scooped her up and held the cat to her chest, listening to her purr. Mustard, as the cat was called, had been a stray that Madeline had taken in. She had matted fur and was terribly malnourished. The cat seemed to be having a worse life then herself. So, almost feeling obligated, Madeline fed and groomed her and made her her own. As the months go on she would need Mustard's companionship but as for right now, she needed her mother.
         
         Madeline changed rather quickly as she got ready to go. She didn't understand why she got in these moods; like there was an insatiable urge to visit the resting place of her mother. Perhaps it was the time of the year. Everyone is always happy around the holidays and into the new year, but Madeline felt isolated with nothing to think about but her birth and her mothers death.
         The small compact car seemed to drive itself as Madeline headed west towards her mothers grave. As she drove she passed lovers holding hands on the streets, blinking lights and colorful Christmas trees. She ignored it all and kept on going till she reached the out skirts of town.
         As the car rolled to a stop she looked around. Nothing but tombstones and empty corn fields greeted her. It was a depressing sight, as one could imagine. A few mourners to her left seemed to add to the despair as their cries could be heard over the soundless wind and snow.
         Madeline shut the car door behind her. The mourners made no movements as if she herself was a ghost watching down as others wept for her. It was a depressing thought but she continued her journey to her mother.
         20 rows deep, 16th from the left. Madeline walked passed the familiar names on the large stones; Rodman, Scheifer, Khun just to name a few. Then sitting there as if the main attraction was CROSS. "Christina Cross loving wife and mother".
         She assumed she would have been. Madeline had often dreaming of a life with her mother but it was time to put the past behind her. She looked up at the sky and smiled as she put a hand to her ever growing belly. The entity inside her moved; signs of life. Saying a quick prayer she left her mothers grave and on a Friday in December Christina Roseline Cross was born.
         Nothing of great importance happened that day except for Madeline, who got her life back.

*Word count 686*