( ESTHER THOMAS, D. 2 )) - FINISHED ★

Name :: Esther Teresa Thomas
Age :: 16
Gender :: Female
District :: 2


---★


APPEARANCE

Lights flashed on her, the bright rays of gleaming spotlights falling on her icy skin as she stood on the platform with a glazed look in her eyes. She knew that this was how the family got money, she would have to push past the nerves of a show and find strength inside. Bell would be mad if she couldn't cooperate correctly. Starting out onto the wire was the hardest part, her shoes torn from her small feet, uneven toenails adorning her small toes as she took one step at a time. The circus was magical, the wisps of crowds cheering and fae magic floated through the air. It curled around her being as to wrap her up in a hug. Like a mother would.

Her mother was gone though, one second there and them just... gone. No longer did her smile brighten anyone's day, her image was still left in everyone's minds, just a flashing ghost that would eventually fade. No one knew where she had gone. No hints, no notes. Esther didn't even feel the tear as it dripped down her smooth skin, not a freckle in sight.

One of the spotlights caught her eyes, sparkles lighting up in the irises like fire. The dark brown hue changed to a silvery color in the rays of artificial sun. It brought her back to reality at least, the fact that people were watching here. Their expectant eyes making sure that she was performing correctly, that she didn't fall. She couldn't afford a mistake.

Ending the pause she began to dance along the wire, her slender legs a whir between the gentle sway of the narrow floor between her feet. Her hands circled her head with grace, her bitten-down fingernails not shown to the wide-eyes people watching from the sides.

She would give them a show alright.

Smiling, her lips creased upwards as she came to her finale. Her blazing, golden hair billowing around her small shoulders, the strands catching the air with magnificence as she began to run. It was slow at first, right foot, left foot. Her hushed whispers came between her aligned teeth and out to the world. No one could hear, her thoughts were at least private for now.

Then she began to speed up, the music played faster as she let it surround her. She hardly felt the wire underneath her as she continued to prance like a dove in the air. She was flying, it was beautiful.

And with that, she reached the other side.

Dear Bell,

Please come back, we miss you. Wherever Mama is, she misses you too. If she were here right now it would kill her to see you sulking like this. Please, remember moms last words, embrace them. Remind yourself of them everyday.

"Every day is an adventure, explore wisely my dears"

Just keep those in your mind, please don't fall into the abyss. Please Bell, I need you. All of the sisters need you. You are our mother now.

Sincerely,

Esther

She read the words with precision, the hurried pencil strokes pleading for help and for someone to reach out. She never gave the letter to Bluebell, it was too difficult for her at the time, the words printed on the page, they gave her an odd feeling of discomfort. Each one spit at her like a snake, even giving her message in writing was embarrassing. She wouldn't do it.

Esther began to cross out the words, steady lines overlapping the ones already there. The purpose was to hide the fact that this letter ever existed, so carefully tucked inside of her desk drawer. Nothing was really Private in the Thomas house. Everyone knew everything that was happening. Especially Gwen, she could read any emotion imaginable.

Each stroke followed a pattern: First a line through it, then x's through every letter, then it was a steady squiggle through each sentence. The pattern went on and on. Line, X, Squiggle. Never did it end until the evidence was clearly hidden from unwanted eyes.

She turned, it was only for a split second. The eyes, she commonly referred to them as another person in general, they were a being inside of themselves. She always thought that someone was following her, it was almost like a movement tick, the constant motion of checking the space behind her. Cerise always said that she was crazy, she said that she would protect Esther from any invisible attacker that would threaten them. Esther knew that she was being sarcastic, her sisters voice dripped with it. Other sisters like Isolde thought that Esther only acted the way that she did to get attention.

They wouldn't know the half of it.

She was only one in a group of sisters, hidden in the back. Esther was always the last one to be noticed, the others all with defining personalities and appearances that made them noticeable. Even when she was born, many commented on her normality, why did it have to be that way, so judgmental were people.

"We know where dad is, now, where is mom?" Bluebell was the head of the group. Her flaming hair illuminated everything around it. Her face was so perfect, not a flaw. Underneath her skin though, Esther knew that thoughts of their mother were tearing away at her. Bell was the closest to her before she disappeared.

"Its all a big test," Esther's whispering could hardly be heard among the chattering between the other females, occasional theories about how she was kidnapped, how she died. Gwen had different ideas though. Esther mostly agreed with her younger sister's story, the thought that their mother was watching them, watching their every step. The others, how pessimistic they were, death was such a painful escape in the mind.

Isolde, her laughter creating an eerie background noise among Lucia. She was complaining about leaving. She never liked to be with anyone. Esther always considered her different, she hadn't talked to her in months. Even when they would exchange words it would only be a simple 'hi' or 'so, is my performance before yours'. It was professional, their relationship. No one has ever had a strong relationship with Lucia, she is fragile.

No one could really say where their mother went, not one of the girls carried a note of sureness in her voice as she addressed the group. Esther could never accept that her mother was dead, she saw the other kids laughing with their parents, why couldn't she be the same.


It wasn't destined to be.