A Burden Left Behind
She moved carefully down the stairs, the wooden steps creaking beneath her bare feet. The smell of brewed tea and perfume filled the air—her aunt’s usual morning ritual when her friends came over.
She wasn’t expecting kindness. But she wasn’t expecting this either.
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
Honestly, it’s exhausting
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
She’s just... off. She never acts normal, never understands anything properly. It’s like talking to a brick wall.
Mayra's Friend 1
<chuckles> I don’t know how you put up with it.
She froze at the bottom of the stairs, pressing herself against the wall just outside the kitchen. They were talking about her.
Astria Rodrigues (FL)
*listening quietly*
Mayra's Friend 2
You know, I read somewhere that kids like that don’t even feel emotions properly.
Mayra's Friend 2
No empathy, no real connection to people. Like a robot.
Her breath hitched, fingers tightening against the fabric of her sweater. She wanted to step forward, to say That’s not true, to tell them she did feel things—just differently. But the words wouldn’t come.
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
It’s not like she’s ever going to be normal. *sighed dramatically*
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
If it weren’t for my sister’s money, I wouldn’t have bothered. No one would.
Something in her chest collapsed inward.
She should have been used to it by now. The way her aunt talked about her like a burden, like something unwanted. But hearing it spoken so casually, over tea and laughter, made it feel different. More permanent.
Her heart pounded, her head buzzing with static. She wanted to disappear—to dissolve into the air, to escape into the vastness of space where human cruelty didn’t exist.
She stayed hidden behind the wall, barely breathing as her aunt’s voice rang out, cruel and careless.
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
You know what the worst part is?
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
My sister had everything. She married rich, lived in luxury—only to give birth to a robot. *scoffed*
Laughter rippled through the room, the sound sharp and stinging.
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
She and her husband went and died, leaving me to deal with their mess. Can you imagine? *sighs*
One of the women gasped, as if the real tragedy was not their deaths, but the fact that she had been left behind.
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
She barely even reacts to things
Mayra Maverick (FL Aunt)
Always staring off into space like she’s on another planet. And the way she talks? Like she’s some professor, lecturing people on nonsense no one cares about
Her stomach twisted. She had always known her aunt didn’t want her—but hearing it laid out so plainly, so casually, over tea and biscuits, felt different.
She wasn’t family. She was a burden. A mistake dumped on someone who never wanted her.
Her breathing felt too loud, too uneven. Her hands itched to rock, flap, do something to block out the noise, but she forced herself to stay still. If they saw her now, they’d only laugh harder.
Instead, she backed away, silent as stardust, and climbed the stairs.
Because here, on this planet, she didn’t belong.
Comments
Mj
Aww
2025-03-16
0