mary stared at the mirror, herself staring at herself. she pondered what her future would bring, whether her golden locks would stay this vibrant forever, how far her current path would take her.

she could smell her sister dying in the next room. mary was tired of taking care of her, tired of seeing the pain. rat poison had crossed her mind several times during the past week, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

she could smell her uncle charles smoking his pipe downstairs, probably by the fireplace, staring at the burning wood in an opium induced haze. mary used to like her uncle charlie, used to like him a lot, until that night she clicked into her sisters room and saw charlie doing things that charlie shouldn’t be doing. that’s when her sister decided to stop caring, and when charlie became and charles. oh, uncle charles. rat poison had crossed mary’s mind several times during the past year, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

ten years later, mary’s sister would no longer be dying, and uncle charles no longer existed. at least not to mary, not to poor old mary. rat poison had crossed her mind several times during the past decade, and she finally brought herself to do it.