The rain hammered down relentlessly, its icy touch seeping through her clothes and chilling her to the bone.
"C-cold…" Melina's lips trembled, her voice breaking as she tried to speak.
Her body refused to obey. Every small movement was denied to her by numbness, pain, and exhaustion. She could only curl into herself, trembling, while the rancid stench of garbage wafted from the bins beside her. It was disgusting, but at least it was proof she was still alive.
"Luckily I'm still… breathing," she whispered to no one, her hazel eyes flickering faintly beneath strands of damp, tangled hair.
Raindrops streaked her face, mingling with mud until she could no longer tell where her tears ended and the storm began.
After what felt like an eternity, she forced herself to her feet. Each step was agony. "One… more step," she muttered, dragging her frail body forward. "Just one more…"
Her former home was ahead, and she decided to see it one last time. It was an unremarkable crumbling building on the outskirts of the city. It wasn't much, but to her it was home. She shut her eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, letting her memories carry her back.
Her lips twitched into a faint smile. "You…how could you guys play without me?" little Melina yelled before joining the other kids to play in the yard.
"Tag, you're it!" one girl laughed touching one kid.
"You cheated!" another cried.
Those children had been her family, not by blood, but by bond. Even with empty stomachs, they had laughed together, found warmth together.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed, gasping for breath. Darkness pressed against her vision.
"Not yet… please, not yet…"
She clutched her stomach where the stab wound burned. Blood trickled between her fingers, its metallic scent mixing with rain and filth.
"This… is what I get, huh?" she whispered, voice cracking. "Climbing over people. Stealing their lives. And now… they've stolen mine."
Her memory replayed the moment. The slum dwellers' faces twisted with rage as she stood before them, carrying the government's decree.
"You dare tell us to leave our homes?" one man spat.
"Traitor!" a woman shrieked.