Seravian
Androgynous Dragon
The last of the suitcases loaded into the trunk of their blue 2012 Honda Accord, Mel took one last look at the place she and her boyfriend had called home for the past eight months.
She pulled her blue coat around her and folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the car, hope in her eyes. This old roadside motel, Inn on the Old Trail, with its twelve rooms and nearly burnt out sign, had seen better days. Some of the people who stopped in were less than savory. The cops were called in at least a handful of times during their stay. Someone had taken a shit right on the walkway, in front of the ice machine, in the middle of the night. Unrelated to the cops showing up; that had been about some kidnapping case.
In the backseat, her ten month old daughter, Elizabeth, was sleeping like a rock. She smiled at her.
There were times she looked back and regretted leaving her parents' home and coming to live in what many would consider to be a shady place. It had certainly been convenient and helped her to save money. When Leon came into the picture, he had practically lived with them. The two of them had tried to make it work but the apartment had been too cramped for more than three people. Her push to leave was when she became pregnant with Elizabeth.
However, concern about lack of space had not been the main reason. Her mother was an alcoholic, who often blew her money on whatever she felt like and relied on her father's money as a result. Growing up, money had always been tight because of this. Her father was a good man, always willing to help, even helped her now, but he had no backbone. In the end, her mother always got away with her toxicity.
Mel used to tell herself, long before she met Leon, that she should stay for her father. It hurt to hear how much he missed her sometimes, whenever they spoke to each other on the phone. Leon had been her out. He was always the one to keep her focused and look toward the future. A future that had gotten so much brighter in recent weeks. She had made her decision and she was not going to look back. She was ready.
The wind picked up a little, blowing snow with it. She shivered and lowered her head, looking at her cute black boots and the ice and snow upon which she stood. Snow and ice. Typical mid-December weather. The roads were a mess. More snow was supposed to fall later, turning to freezing rain, but they should be out of the area long before that happens.
She shifted her weight and sighed, grabbing the cuffs of her coat sleeves. Deciding that wasn't helping anything, she put her hands in the pockets of her jeans. Indeed, she was ready to go. Leon, however, did not seem to be. She had seen him pop out of the room they stayed in several times now. Whether he was stalling, waiting, or had lost something and took now of all times to look for it, she wasn't sure.
Leon finally emerged from the room. She straightened herself, smiling, with a quip in her mind. The smile turned to a frown as she watched him jog off toward the main office. He looked back at her and held up his finger with an apologetic look, which she responded to by tapping an invisible watch on her wrist. He grinned and vanished into the office.
A few minutes more of waiting and he was heading to the car. Right behind him was the owner, Vern, a kindly elderly man with a round face and plump nose. His normally cheery demeanor seemed off as he spoke with Leon, and the two shook hands.
Vern looked to Mel and waved. She smiled waved back. His eyes had the look of a proud parent, seeing their child grow up. Mel and Leon owed so much to him, she swore to repay him in some way. Some day.
"Okay. I'm sorry I took so long," Leon exhaled a sigh, smiling. The smile soon faded, "Why isn't the car started?"
Mel smirked, "You have the keys."
"Oh, shit!" He patted his coat pocket and plucked the keys out. "Let's get rolling then, shall we?" He opened the passenger door and gestured toward the inside of the car, taking a slight bow.
Mel didn't enter right away. She instead took one last look of the motel, finding that leaving this place was harder than she thought it would be. How strange. She didn't dwell on the thought for too long, before Leon cleared his throat and she sat down, clicking her seatbelt and stealing a glance at her daughter as well as the man who had changed her life. She sat forward with a smile and sighed. Their new life awaited them.
Leon threw the car into reverse. It didn't go right away, must have been stuck on ice. His brow furrowed and he gave it some gas. The engine revved and the car moved, half-sliding as he pulled out of the spot.
"Be careful!" Mel sighed. She loved Leon to death, but that man had a lead foot.
"Oh, it's just a bit of ice, Mel!" Leon laughed. "Don't worry about it too much. I know the roads are supposed to be bad."
"Yeah. That's why I said 'be careful'! And put your seatbelt on…"
Leon shook his head and, after setting the GPS, pulled away from the motel. From the mirror, Mel noticed Vern watching them leave.
Finally, they were on the road, heading toward the place they would be calling home for the rest of their days. Two hours away.
It was quiet in the car. Leon kept his focus on the road and there wasn't a peep from Elizabeth, who she glanced at every now and then. She was so lucky to be blessed with such a good baby. Her friends told her to enjoy the silence while it lasted, whenever she brought up how quiet Elizabeth was, but she held much confidence in that she was not going to be a little terror when she got older.
Mel watched the scenery outside, the cars and buildings they passed. The cars that passed them. She let the muffled noise of the radio entertain her ears as time seemed to fly by them. Sometimes, she glanced at her phone to scroll through Reddit or play some random TikTok that caught her eye.
She had her Safari browser opened to the realtor page, showing images of their new home: two floors, three bed, two bathrooms, sat upon an acre of land. A sizable kitchen for her to practice her culinary skills. A basement she and Leon already had plans to renovate into a man cave. A backdoor lead from the basement into the yard. She imagined their friends and family, all gathered outside for a barbeque. Leon has always been a social butterfly. Having so much space was perfect.
Over and over again, she went through the pictures she had of the rooms. Elizabeth's room was already picked out, and she absolutely could not wait to get the crib assembled and the Disney Themed mural painted. The room she and Leon would be sleeping in would be a collection of things they both enjoyed: Star Wars and anime, among other things. And the guest room would be simple, homey. Maybe themed to something like…
"The mountains?" She looked over to Leon.
Lost in thought, it took a few moments for him to respond, "What?"
"The guest room. We're going with a country theme for the living room right? So why not have the guest room be themed to the mountains?"
He shrugged, "Does every room need a theme, Mel?"
"Why not?" She tilted her head, brow furrowed slightly, "We're officially home owners now! We should go all out."
"I mean… we should settle into the place first. Don't you agree?"
Mel slumped in her seat. He did have a point, she was getting ahead of herself. "True…" she pressed her lips together, holding onto the thought. "I'm just really excited. I mean, it's finally happening. We're beginning a new chapter in our lives. Aren't you excited, too?"
"Of course, Mel."
A disturbance in the backseat cut their conversation short. Elizabeth stirred. Muffled sounds and shuffles. Mel giggled, beaming. "I think Liz is excited, too"
Leon glanced at her from the rearview mirror, "Looks that way, huh? Hey, we should stop somewhere and stretch our legs a bit. I need to piss."
"Didn't you go before we left?"
"I meant to, but was caught up in everything…"
"Fine, fine," Mel nodded. "It would do us some good anyway. Liz could probably use a diaper change."
"Didn't you change her before we left?"
The two of them smiled at each other.
They pulled off the next exit and followed the GPS to the nearest gas station. There, they grabbed a bite to eat. Mel took Elizabeth into the bathroom to feed her (turns out, the poor girl was hungry as well) and change her diaper. Then, the were back on the road.
Snow had started to come down pretty heavily by this point. The sky suddenly opened up, and dropped it onto the world. Visibility became poor.
Ten minutes in, and it started to make Mel nervous.
She tried to keep quiet, but soon her concerns grew too much for her to keep them inside. "Leon…" she looked over to him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "I think we should get off the road. Maybe find a place until the storm passes?"
"Now?" Leon questioned, protest written all over his face, "Oh, come on, Mel! We're almost there. Twenty minutes away! If that!"
"But the snow…"
"We'll be fine. "
Mel shook her head. "Can we just find somewhere to wait out the storm. Please? Look, there's an exit coming up…"
Leon sighed, driving right past the exit, looking her in the eyes, "Why are you like this sometimes? We are not stopping, okay? We have—"
"Leon!" Mel shrieked. Ahead of them, a large truck transporting an oversized load, which appeared to be large blocks, among other things, used for construction, began to side a bit as they moved along a steady decline. It had its four-ways on.
Though there was a good bit of distance between the truck and their car, other cars were passing around the truck. One car almost slid into the truck as it moved around, in front of it. Almost immediately, the truck driver had put on his brakes and lost control in the ice and snow. The load it was hauling swung and now sat sideways, blocking the left lane, while the truck continued to slide along the road. It finally came to a halt when it slid off the road completely, but still blocked traffic.
Leon swore and slammed on the Accord's brakes. The Accord started to slow, but did not stop. The tires lost traction, and the car began to slide off to the side. Mel shouted something to Leon, he said something back while trying to regain control of the car. All attempts failed, the Accord spun around and was now facing traffic.
Everything flashed before her. The time she met Leon, the jobs the two of them had held in order to get where they were. Her parents. Vern.
A was heading toward them, and managed to avoid them without issue. Leon tried to take that moment to move off the road but ended up hitting another vehicle that had lost control which sent them spinning off toward the side of the road. And into yet another vehicle.
Mel gasped, trying to process what happened. She was still in the car. Both airbags had deployed. The engine was still running, and the radio was playing a Breaking Benjamin song. Leon's favorite band. She instinctively tried to move, to undo her seatbelt, her breath and heart quickening. Her body was sore all over, arm covered in blood. Her head ached. Something smelled of chemicals and a clear smoke filled up the inside of the car.
"Leon?" She reached over to him, slumped over the steering wheel. The side of his face was bloodied. No response. She swallowed, "Leon?" Again, nothing. Trembling, her chest and throat tightened. She tried again to move, to turn. She couldn't see the state of the car, but didn't need to. The front had been smashed in completely and her legs were under the dashboard. She tried to open her door, but it wouldn't budge. The window, which, unlike the windshield, was intact, wouldn't go down either.
A tiny bit of relief struck her when Elizabeth began crying. "Mommy's here, sweetie," Mel called to her. "Hush now… We're okay. Everything is going to be okay."
Outside the car, a crowd had gathered at the scene. Voices were calling out to her, but she did not answer them. This was supposed to be the first day of the next chapter of their life. Hers and Leon's…
Why didn't he listen?
Mel buried her face in her hands and wept.
She pulled her blue coat around her and folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the car, hope in her eyes. This old roadside motel, Inn on the Old Trail, with its twelve rooms and nearly burnt out sign, had seen better days. Some of the people who stopped in were less than savory. The cops were called in at least a handful of times during their stay. Someone had taken a shit right on the walkway, in front of the ice machine, in the middle of the night. Unrelated to the cops showing up; that had been about some kidnapping case.
In the backseat, her ten month old daughter, Elizabeth, was sleeping like a rock. She smiled at her.
There were times she looked back and regretted leaving her parents' home and coming to live in what many would consider to be a shady place. It had certainly been convenient and helped her to save money. When Leon came into the picture, he had practically lived with them. The two of them had tried to make it work but the apartment had been too cramped for more than three people. Her push to leave was when she became pregnant with Elizabeth.
However, concern about lack of space had not been the main reason. Her mother was an alcoholic, who often blew her money on whatever she felt like and relied on her father's money as a result. Growing up, money had always been tight because of this. Her father was a good man, always willing to help, even helped her now, but he had no backbone. In the end, her mother always got away with her toxicity.
Mel used to tell herself, long before she met Leon, that she should stay for her father. It hurt to hear how much he missed her sometimes, whenever they spoke to each other on the phone. Leon had been her out. He was always the one to keep her focused and look toward the future. A future that had gotten so much brighter in recent weeks. She had made her decision and she was not going to look back. She was ready.
The wind picked up a little, blowing snow with it. She shivered and lowered her head, looking at her cute black boots and the ice and snow upon which she stood. Snow and ice. Typical mid-December weather. The roads were a mess. More snow was supposed to fall later, turning to freezing rain, but they should be out of the area long before that happens.
She shifted her weight and sighed, grabbing the cuffs of her coat sleeves. Deciding that wasn't helping anything, she put her hands in the pockets of her jeans. Indeed, she was ready to go. Leon, however, did not seem to be. She had seen him pop out of the room they stayed in several times now. Whether he was stalling, waiting, or had lost something and took now of all times to look for it, she wasn't sure.
Leon finally emerged from the room. She straightened herself, smiling, with a quip in her mind. The smile turned to a frown as she watched him jog off toward the main office. He looked back at her and held up his finger with an apologetic look, which she responded to by tapping an invisible watch on her wrist. He grinned and vanished into the office.
A few minutes more of waiting and he was heading to the car. Right behind him was the owner, Vern, a kindly elderly man with a round face and plump nose. His normally cheery demeanor seemed off as he spoke with Leon, and the two shook hands.
Vern looked to Mel and waved. She smiled waved back. His eyes had the look of a proud parent, seeing their child grow up. Mel and Leon owed so much to him, she swore to repay him in some way. Some day.
"Okay. I'm sorry I took so long," Leon exhaled a sigh, smiling. The smile soon faded, "Why isn't the car started?"
Mel smirked, "You have the keys."
"Oh, shit!" He patted his coat pocket and plucked the keys out. "Let's get rolling then, shall we?" He opened the passenger door and gestured toward the inside of the car, taking a slight bow.
Mel didn't enter right away. She instead took one last look of the motel, finding that leaving this place was harder than she thought it would be. How strange. She didn't dwell on the thought for too long, before Leon cleared his throat and she sat down, clicking her seatbelt and stealing a glance at her daughter as well as the man who had changed her life. She sat forward with a smile and sighed. Their new life awaited them.
Leon threw the car into reverse. It didn't go right away, must have been stuck on ice. His brow furrowed and he gave it some gas. The engine revved and the car moved, half-sliding as he pulled out of the spot.
"Be careful!" Mel sighed. She loved Leon to death, but that man had a lead foot.
"Oh, it's just a bit of ice, Mel!" Leon laughed. "Don't worry about it too much. I know the roads are supposed to be bad."
"Yeah. That's why I said 'be careful'! And put your seatbelt on…"
Leon shook his head and, after setting the GPS, pulled away from the motel. From the mirror, Mel noticed Vern watching them leave.
Finally, they were on the road, heading toward the place they would be calling home for the rest of their days. Two hours away.
It was quiet in the car. Leon kept his focus on the road and there wasn't a peep from Elizabeth, who she glanced at every now and then. She was so lucky to be blessed with such a good baby. Her friends told her to enjoy the silence while it lasted, whenever she brought up how quiet Elizabeth was, but she held much confidence in that she was not going to be a little terror when she got older.
Mel watched the scenery outside, the cars and buildings they passed. The cars that passed them. She let the muffled noise of the radio entertain her ears as time seemed to fly by them. Sometimes, she glanced at her phone to scroll through Reddit or play some random TikTok that caught her eye.
She had her Safari browser opened to the realtor page, showing images of their new home: two floors, three bed, two bathrooms, sat upon an acre of land. A sizable kitchen for her to practice her culinary skills. A basement she and Leon already had plans to renovate into a man cave. A backdoor lead from the basement into the yard. She imagined their friends and family, all gathered outside for a barbeque. Leon has always been a social butterfly. Having so much space was perfect.
Over and over again, she went through the pictures she had of the rooms. Elizabeth's room was already picked out, and she absolutely could not wait to get the crib assembled and the Disney Themed mural painted. The room she and Leon would be sleeping in would be a collection of things they both enjoyed: Star Wars and anime, among other things. And the guest room would be simple, homey. Maybe themed to something like…
"The mountains?" She looked over to Leon.
Lost in thought, it took a few moments for him to respond, "What?"
"The guest room. We're going with a country theme for the living room right? So why not have the guest room be themed to the mountains?"
He shrugged, "Does every room need a theme, Mel?"
"Why not?" She tilted her head, brow furrowed slightly, "We're officially home owners now! We should go all out."
"I mean… we should settle into the place first. Don't you agree?"
Mel slumped in her seat. He did have a point, she was getting ahead of herself. "True…" she pressed her lips together, holding onto the thought. "I'm just really excited. I mean, it's finally happening. We're beginning a new chapter in our lives. Aren't you excited, too?"
"Of course, Mel."
A disturbance in the backseat cut their conversation short. Elizabeth stirred. Muffled sounds and shuffles. Mel giggled, beaming. "I think Liz is excited, too"
Leon glanced at her from the rearview mirror, "Looks that way, huh? Hey, we should stop somewhere and stretch our legs a bit. I need to piss."
"Didn't you go before we left?"
"I meant to, but was caught up in everything…"
"Fine, fine," Mel nodded. "It would do us some good anyway. Liz could probably use a diaper change."
"Didn't you change her before we left?"
The two of them smiled at each other.
They pulled off the next exit and followed the GPS to the nearest gas station. There, they grabbed a bite to eat. Mel took Elizabeth into the bathroom to feed her (turns out, the poor girl was hungry as well) and change her diaper. Then, the were back on the road.
Snow had started to come down pretty heavily by this point. The sky suddenly opened up, and dropped it onto the world. Visibility became poor.
Ten minutes in, and it started to make Mel nervous.
She tried to keep quiet, but soon her concerns grew too much for her to keep them inside. "Leon…" she looked over to him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "I think we should get off the road. Maybe find a place until the storm passes?"
"Now?" Leon questioned, protest written all over his face, "Oh, come on, Mel! We're almost there. Twenty minutes away! If that!"
"But the snow…"
"We'll be fine. "
Mel shook her head. "Can we just find somewhere to wait out the storm. Please? Look, there's an exit coming up…"
Leon sighed, driving right past the exit, looking her in the eyes, "Why are you like this sometimes? We are not stopping, okay? We have—"
"Leon!" Mel shrieked. Ahead of them, a large truck transporting an oversized load, which appeared to be large blocks, among other things, used for construction, began to side a bit as they moved along a steady decline. It had its four-ways on.
Though there was a good bit of distance between the truck and their car, other cars were passing around the truck. One car almost slid into the truck as it moved around, in front of it. Almost immediately, the truck driver had put on his brakes and lost control in the ice and snow. The load it was hauling swung and now sat sideways, blocking the left lane, while the truck continued to slide along the road. It finally came to a halt when it slid off the road completely, but still blocked traffic.
Leon swore and slammed on the Accord's brakes. The Accord started to slow, but did not stop. The tires lost traction, and the car began to slide off to the side. Mel shouted something to Leon, he said something back while trying to regain control of the car. All attempts failed, the Accord spun around and was now facing traffic.
Everything flashed before her. The time she met Leon, the jobs the two of them had held in order to get where they were. Her parents. Vern.
A was heading toward them, and managed to avoid them without issue. Leon tried to take that moment to move off the road but ended up hitting another vehicle that had lost control which sent them spinning off toward the side of the road. And into yet another vehicle.
Mel gasped, trying to process what happened. She was still in the car. Both airbags had deployed. The engine was still running, and the radio was playing a Breaking Benjamin song. Leon's favorite band. She instinctively tried to move, to undo her seatbelt, her breath and heart quickening. Her body was sore all over, arm covered in blood. Her head ached. Something smelled of chemicals and a clear smoke filled up the inside of the car.
"Leon?" She reached over to him, slumped over the steering wheel. The side of his face was bloodied. No response. She swallowed, "Leon?" Again, nothing. Trembling, her chest and throat tightened. She tried again to move, to turn. She couldn't see the state of the car, but didn't need to. The front had been smashed in completely and her legs were under the dashboard. She tried to open her door, but it wouldn't budge. The window, which, unlike the windshield, was intact, wouldn't go down either.
A tiny bit of relief struck her when Elizabeth began crying. "Mommy's here, sweetie," Mel called to her. "Hush now… We're okay. Everything is going to be okay."
Outside the car, a crowd had gathered at the scene. Voices were calling out to her, but she did not answer them. This was supposed to be the first day of the next chapter of their life. Hers and Leon's…
Why didn't he listen?
Mel buried her face in her hands and wept.
Last edited: