Betray The Ill

Roma sat quietly in the bed of an old pickup truck. It was a small thing, mostly used for transporting a few boxes of goods to the local market or bags of trash. The owner was an old man who knew Roma as an infrequent visitor. They didn't really know much about each other beyond what any acquaintance might know, but he was friendly enough to always give her a ride after spraying the bed clean. The bench seat inside was reserved for the old man and his dog.

The ride up the mountainside took nearly forty minutes, zigzagging up the road among the many trees and tall plants. It was a such a beautiful place to live. Although, Roma probably wouldn't want to live somewhere high up out of fear.

When they were as far as the road would take them, Roma gave the old man a smile and five dollars for his trouble. With a nod and a bark from the dog they left to return to their daily work. There was still a path to walk up on her own, but it was manageable. Her climb was upon stone steps so she possessed no fear of falling back down. A couple times in the past the stones had been wet and she had been careless, but there was a railing along the path to hold onto.

Before she reached the large front doors of the building someone spotted her and yelled down. It was a nurse she knew well, who always wore some sort of knee-length dress with a pattern on it. Her attire at the time was a black dress of white flowers. The only way to tell she was a nurse was the comically small white hat she wore upon her long black hair that held a red cross on the front.

"Hello, Roma!" the nurse called down to her from a frosted glass balcony. "I'll come down and let you in!"

The front doors were a couple of perfectly carved blocks of stone, attached to the similarly built gray walls with hinges and arms above to alleviate some weight. The nurse pushed the entryway open with little trouble and smiled big at their visitor.

"It's so nice to see you again, Roma," the nurse said. "How have you been? Please, come right in and get comfortable."

Although it had been built with the purpose of nursing the needy, you would have never guessed as much. The inside of the building was always interesting to look at. With stone used only to give the structure a strong foundation to stand on, everywhere else you looked was clear, frosted, or electronic glass. Just inside the doors was a front desk of stone with no one sitting at it. The nurse quickly ran over to the seat and typed away at a computer on the desk.

"All right, you're checked in," the nurse said. "Any word from the doctor?"

"No, he hasn't contacted me in a few months, Alli," Roma replied. "I've actually stopped giving his research any hope. I just don't have the funds to make him interested enough."

"My condolences," Alli said with a frown. "Well, your mother will continue to be plenty safe and happy here. I'll make sure of that."

"Thank you, as always. I'll go see her now."

"She's currently in the forward observatory. Have a good visit."

Roma made her way up the glass stairs to the top of the building. The thick blocks of cracked glass used to frighten Roma when she first began coming to the nursing home, but after a few visits she accepted them as strong steps. The frosted glass halls led her passed a few other activity rooms where she saw other residents of the home relaxing or caring to their hobbies. She wondered what her mother might be currently into while she was away.

The observatory was a large, empty rectangular room with electronic glass making up the floor, walls, and the ceiling. It provided an amazing view of the valley for an incredible distance. A view that she and her mother equally loved. Roma quietly stood in the doorway to the observatory. Her mother was standing at the far end, staring into the valley. She had set all of the glass to black except the giant pane in front of her.

Her mother was a tall woman with thick black waves of hair that fell down to the middle of her back. She was tough and toned, frequently working out in the gym provided to her. Unlike her daughter, she had much lighter skin and she took great care in keeping it healthy.

Roma had gone unnoticed.

"Mom?" she carefully called into the room.

Her mother turned around with arms folded, the remote to the room in her hand. Roma let out a knowing sigh as she looked upon her mother's face. Eyes as black as night. Mouth always scowling. Her veins were dark and thick.

"Do you remember me?" Roma asked.

With a flick of the wrist her mother used the remote to turn the ceiling glass crystal clear. The sudden rush of light blinded Roma and when she recovered sight her mother was inches away from her.

"You look familiar," her mother answered.