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He was all alone. The realisation dawned on the young boy quickly. He was all by himself now. No mother, no money, no food. Only the tiny, dismal room that was his home. Levi was just a child. Only seven years old and left helpless and alone. She was dead. his mother, his kind, caring mother, who did everything she could to keep him safe and cared for even through her sickness and financial struggles, was dead.
Her body lay lifelessly on the single bed in the corner of the dark room, her chest unmoving and her normally so bright and vibrant cerulean eyes waxy and dulled. Levi found himself crawling under the dirty, flea ridden sheets and curling into her side. Kuchel lay dead on the grimy mattress, her body cold, her usually rosy skin, pale and freezing to the touch. Levi burrowed into her stomach like a lost bunny, yearning for its mother. Tears rapidly filled his dark grey eyes as he remembered the little things he could about her. Her smile, her warm presence that he already longed for to return.
She had fallen ill around two months ago, Levi thinks. He doesn't have a good sense of time yet. Could be longer. She was left bedridden and unable to work. Their little family was quickly left more impoverished than they were and helpless. The little luxuries Levi had taken for granted had quickly collapsed, no more sitting together at the table sipping their favourite black tea, no more listening to his mother's gentle voice lull him to sleep. They had quickly found themselves unable to afford basic necessities. No heating, His mother was too ill to clean so the small room they shared got filthier and filthier by the day. The stench of sickness and grime that lingered in the room often attracted bugs and fleas. Eventually what little money they had ran out and food became scarce. Levi often had to go out by himself to scavenge for whatever he could find lying around in the trash or the floor, He’s not proud of it but sometimes he was forced to steal when he came up empty handed. Medicine was expensive and rare to come across in the underground so there was not a chance the seven year old would be able to get his hands on any.
They were left with next to nothing. But besides her weak state, his mother had stayed as kind as ever. Often quietly stroking her slender fingers through his unwashed, grimy hair as he slept and whispering sweet soothings into his ear.
But now…she was gone. His whole world was gone. Everything was silent in that little room and poor Levi was left alone, clueless and afraid.
Levi stayed curled up with her for what felt like hours, sobbing silently into her lifeless flesh. Suddenly the sound of heavy boots thudding against concrete echoed down the hallway. Levi curled closer into his mother side, his weak body shaking like a leaf as he listened to the sound of the old door slowly creak open. Levi didn't look up, he felt a mans presence beside the bed. The man seemed to have not noticed the small child curled up next to the corpse. He stood there for what felt like an eternity, muttering quietly to himself as he stared at Kuchels lifeless body.
“Shes dead…” Levi said weakly, his little voice still thick with tears.