any tips/improvments with my creative writing?
prompt: There was nothing left except...
Leah walked through the remnants of her town. Once, a joyous town, bustling with the gleeful yells of children was now a destroyed mess of rubble and the smell of burnt wood. She walked through the remains holding her tears back. She couldn’t believe that only a few months ago, a happy, jolly town existed.
Leah came to a halt as she came upon her home – well, ex-home. All that was left of her home was now the souls of her family, forever haunting the endless mass of broken homes. The tears welled up in her eyes as she was reminded of the childhood that she once had, right where she stood. But now, she could never go back to that moment and relive the memories.
The anger surged through her as she was reminded of the culprits who smirked at the crowd watching them about to get guillotined. Their faces held no regret nor shame. What was even worse was that they were government officials – the very people that were supposed to protect us. Her fist trembled by just being reminded of that occasion.
It was useless reminiscing about the past, but she couldn’t help but think - if only… if only she hadn’t gone out to the farmers market alone. Maybe then… they would still be alive today. Was it all her fault? To this day, she was still haunted by the shadows. In her dreams she could see the vivid red of the fire and the rising smoke. Everytime she had one of those dreams it felt like the smoke was choking her as if to kill her in return for what she did. Leah knew it wasn’t her fault the government rebellions had decided to set their small town on fire but she couldn’t help but hold the guilt.
Coming back to reality, she noticed the sharp pain in her hand. She had been clutching on to a sharp piece of glass which had pierced her skin. The vibrant red of the blood flowed from her hand. She had a sudden epiphany. If she also died wouldn’t she be able to pay off her debt for killing her family?
There was nothing left except the bones of the deceased.
What was the point of living now? She had no one to care for and no one that cared about her. She held the broken glass but hesitated… Was it any better to kill herself? Shouldn’t she keep living for herself, not for anyone else? The distant memories of her sister laughing… not today. She put down the shattered glass and walked away.
