[ FF ] - 250 Words ; 2 months Reddit Gold prize

The fading scars left by her first fifteen years in Memphis became immediate the moment she found herself in front of that dilapidated mansion. The house, once grandiloquent antebellum architecture, had decayed in time, the slums swallowing another piece of history. The city was a slow death and escape had been the best, the only option. She could give a fuck about the city and she could give a fuck about her mother, horrible bitch that woman had been. Dying had reignited Sarah ’ s hatred for her, hate for the horrible childhood, the beatings and verbal abuse, the weeks of alcohol-soaked neglect, for compelling Sarah to come back to this awful fucking place. Even dead, her mother manufactured wounds. 
 
 Sarah walked gingerly through the overgrown grasses surrounding the house. Patches of dirt and bouquets of weeds battled to suffocate the lawn. It was humid, the short trip from the parked car to the back porch had drenched her in an uncomfortable sweat. Three nights dancing at the club given up for what? This bullshit? She kicked at one of the aging cinder blocks lining the stairs. It rolled over, splitting in half and revealing a weathered cardboard box. An instant, a wince of remembrance went through her as she pulled it out from underneath the porch. 
 
 Inside were papers: Sarah, age 6, age 7, age 8. When I grow up, I want to be a vet, I want to be a teacher, I want to be a doctor.
