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00 | the beginning




PROLOGUE — THE BEGINNING

"Mom, please don't leave me." — alexia ortega






ALEXIA ORTEGA WAS NOT WHAT YOU WOULD CALL RELIGIOUS. For her faith was in science and people, not some higher power that supposedly controlled your fate. Alexia liked to believe there was a reason behind everything, you just had to find it. Whilst her neighbours and friends prayed to the wooden crosses that had hung high above their mantle, Alexia would sift through equations and lines of code to try and find her own solution to her problem. But, as she stared down at the deteriorating form of her Mother, even she was pleading into the unknown for the very thing she had repudiated: a miracle.

The once bright and joyful room of Lilith Ortega was now enveloped in sorrow and despair. Now the dull orange of the walls appeared to be a dark, mud brown that casted a shadow across the floor. Light from the lamps seemed dimmer, like the heartbreak of the room was blocking it out. It wasn't the walls casting that shadow, it was their grief. Grief that struck them to their very core and stabbed their hearts more times than they could count.

Alexia sat at her Mother's bedside, her hand clutched tightly in her own as waves continued to pour down her reddened face. The girl didn't dare tear her eyes from her Mother, not knowing what breath was going to be her last. She wanted to spend every last moment with her Mother, no second wasted. After all, there weren't many seconds left.

The teen glanced over to the other side of the bed where her Uncle Marco sat grasping his sister's other hand. The two people who loved her the most were on either side of the dying woman ensuring she was cared for and supported until the very end. When Marco first met his sister, it was love at first sight. It had been years for his parents since they had him and they had struggled to have more children, so when they found a young girl in need of a home, it was like God had granted them their wish. And now he was reclaiming her.

Alexia felt her throat close up but she didn't bare it any mind, she was more focused on her Mother at the moment. It had always just been her, her Uncle and her Mother and now their three was about to become two. Alexia didn't want to imagine what would inevitably come next: life without her Mother. All she wanted to do was hold tight to the woman that birthed her and never let go. Ever.

On the other side of the bed, Marco Ortega let out another gut-wrenching sob as he watched the life drain from his little sister. She meant everything to him, he was supposed to look after her, but not even him could defend the woman against an attack from her own body. Her illness came on so suddenly that no one saw it coming, not even Alexia. And despite the efforts of many Doctors, nothing could be done Lilith Ortega's fate had already been decided. Marco rubbed soothing circles into the back of his sister's hand, a last effort to try and comfort the dying woman. He pressed a kiss against it, his lips lingering against her skin as tears continued to fall.

Lilith adored her daughter with everything she had and saddened her heart at the idea of not watching her grow. But she knew her daughter would become a strong and intelligent woman one day and that brought peace to the dying woman's heart.

The woman let out an abrupt cough, lurching forwards as she continued to cough up her insides. Both Alexia and Marco clutched her hands tighter as if they were afraid she would suddenly become sand and slip through their fingers. Lilith Ortega's time was drawing nearer and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Alexia offered her Mother a sad smile, her eyes brimmed with tears. "Mami." She cried, almost inaudible as he throat closed up. "Please, don't go." Pleaded the girl helplessly. But nothing the teen could say would save her Mother, no matter how hard she tried.

Despite being in pain, the woman offered her daughter a grin. She tried to comfort her child in her last moments, knowing that she would need it. "I have to my Lexi, I'm sorry." She told her daughter as she weakly squeezed her hand. Then the woman, with what strength she had, slowly turned her head to glance at her brother and then back to her little girl. "Don't worry, it'll be okay."

"I'll look after her." Marco promised.

"I know you will, Marco." Lilith smiled, squeezing her brother's hand just like she did with her daughter's. The smile suddenly fell from the woman's face as she looked down at the pocket in her jacket. Both Alexia and Marco frowned slightly as the woman removed her hands from theirs before reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a small slip of paper from within.

Neither of the other two Ortegas knew what it was. But they were about to.

Lilith stared down at the slip of paper before offering it towards her daughter. The girl glanced between the small piece of paper and her Mother with a perplexed look. The edges had gone soft and the paper was discoloured with age. There was no telling how long ago it had been written on but it wasn't hard to figure out that it was quite a while.

Cautiously the teen took the slip into her palm, running her finger over the central crease. She narrowed her eyes at it before unfolding it to find some hand written text in the middle her Mother's handwriting. As Alexia's eyes scanned over the words, taking in the information given to her, the teen furrowed her eyebrows. She understood many things, some even fully grown adults couldn't, but not this.

Turning to her Mother, Alexia looked up, eyes clouded with confusion. "I want to give you this." Lilith told the girl with a croak. "This is everything I know about your Father."

Wait, what?

Alexia's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Her Father? This was the first time she had ever heard anything about him, her Mother always tried to avoid the subject. But as the life started to leave her, she realised she would leave her daughter no clue to the only other family she had left.

"I thought you should know."

Tears continued to flow from Alexia's dark eyes as she ran her thumb over the handwriting. Then she slipped it into her pocket, out of sight, as it was not the time to get into that. After releasing the paper from her grip, Alexia retook her Mother's hand in her own as her Uncle did the same.

A cough suddenly racked the woman's body, shaking her to her core. The heavy coughing consumed her, taking control of her body, like a woman fighting possession. Marco and Alexia grasped Lilith's hands tighter as they started to feel her grip weaken. She was close and they knew it.

Alexia tried to hold herself together as she watched her Mother start to fade away. She held back her tears the best she could and glanced to her Uncle who too was attempting to put on a brave face for his sister.

Lilith Ortega just smiled at her family at her bedside. She was happy they were there with her; there wasn't another way she imagined going than with her family next to her. Now she was at peace.

Uncle and niece watched helplessly as Lilith's eyelids started to fall. They desperately clutched onto the woman, hoping to hold onto her for a moment longer as they felt her strength fade from her veins. Then with one final breath, Lilith Ortega's life left her body.

Alexia's mother was dead.

The body of Lilith Ortega slumped against the headrest of her bed, her hands falling limply into her loved ones'. Alexia let out a heart-breaking sob as she stared at her Mother's lifeless form. She didn't want to believe it. Her Mother was dead. She couldn't bare to look at what was left of her Mother, so she looked down at her tear-soaked knees as she finally let down her wall.

Marco Ortega released his grip on his sister's cold hand before making his way around the bed to engulf his niece in a tight hug. He pulled her close to his chest, instantly feeling her wet tears soak his shoulders. His dam broke down too as he allowed his tears and sobs to flow freely, taking control of his body. They both held onto each other like a lifeline as they accepted the death of someone so important to them.

Lilith Ortega was a woman taken too soon from the cruel world. She was a woman who saw so much life and good in things and deserved more than the fate she received. 

In their grief, the remaining Ortegas held each other so tight and refused to let go until they had no more tears to shed.









LOVING MOTHER, SISTER AND FRIEND.

That was what was carved into the headstone that stood at the head of Lilith Ortega's grave. Alexia stood at her Uncle's side, her hand in his, as they stared down at the woman's casket as it slowly lowered into the ground where it would forever remain. Tears spiralled down their faces, mixing with the drops of rain that already accumulated on their cheeks.

Their fingers entwined as they watched was left of their precious Lilith disappear into the ground as they hoped to offer the other some comfort. It wasn't much but it helped the two Ortegas who were burying their third beneath six feet of dirt.

Alexia's other hand sat in her coat pocket, fiddling with the slip of paper in her pocket her Mother's last gift to her. There was no doubt in her mind she could find her Father with the information her Mother had given to her, it was what she was good at, but it was a big decision to make. There a multitude of things the teen could do instead: like flush it down the toilet or feed it into a shredder or.. you get the idea. She had never had a Father before, but did she need one? Alexia wasn't sure.

There was no way of knowing if he was aware of her existence as that was something her Mother didn't tell her and nor did her Uncle who barely knew anything about the man himself. Did her Father run when he found the news? Did he even know? Did he even want to know her?

Alexia pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she refocused on giving her Mother the send off she deserved. The girl leant against her head on her Uncle's shoulder as the two huddled beneath a black umbrella as the rain continued to fall. Despite being shadowed by the umbrella, rain still poured down on the young girl's face. But she paid it no mind. In fact, it kept her relaxed. It kept her down to Earth.

She refused to move or speak as she watched as her Mother's coffin finally came to a halt in the ground. Her Mother was gone and there was no changing that. A heart-wrenching sob took control of her body as her Uncle gestured for her to step forwards towards where her Mother was being laid to rest.

She took a deep breath and removed her head from her Uncle's shoulder. Then, with a wobbly step forwards, Alexia made her way forwards to the whole in the ground. She crouched down next to marble headstone before taking some damp soil in her hand and tossing it over upon the casket. "Despedida Mami." Tears fell from her eyes, six feet down, and splashed onto the sleek black coating of the coffin below.

Wiping her wet eyes, Alexia stood back up and returned to her Uncle's side who then moved from his spot to say goodbye to his sister just like his niece had just done. Then, one by one the mourners bid farewell to the woman they all knew. United in their grief, they all left together, leaving just Alexia and Marco beside the grave. Then he left too so Alexia was the last one left.

The young girl, eyes consumed with tears, slowly advanced towards the headstone. She sat down next to it, not caring in the slightest that the grass beneath her was wet and soaking her dress. That was the last thing on her mind. Her fingers traced the engraved letters of her Mother's name as she began to sob, her cries audible to her Uncle who was waiting for her a little further away.

"I miss you so much." She cried, practically hugging the headstone as if it were the Mother she desperately wanted back. "I wish you were still here with me."

Then she slowly reached into her coat pocket, withdrawing the last gift Lilith Ortega gave. Blotches instantly appeared on the paper, the wetness expanding rapidly, but Alexia could still make out what it said. She read over the information for the hundredth time, her trembling fingers struggling to keep a strong grip on the thin piece of paper.

Her Mother gave her this for a reason, Alexia was sure of it. And she wasn't about to let her Mother down. "I'm going to find him." Promised the young girl, a plan already forming in her intricate mind. She smiled sadly at the headstone before her, pressing her lips to the rain-coated material. Then she whispered to the stone. "I'm going to find my Father."



















Rewritten as of: 19/07/23

So, prologue! Poor Lilith deserved so much better, but without her death, Alexia would never have left home. And we need Alexia to leave home otherwise we have no story. Sorry Lilith.

This prologue is over a 1000 words longer than the original one, so, progress!!! Let the mayhem of rewriting commence!!!

No matter how many OCs and books I come up with, this one will always be dear to me. Alexia owns my heart and I love her so much. Hopefully I can do better by her this time around.

Thank you all for reading!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326

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