EDITH

Appearance

Edith was borne with albinism, the only one in her family with this condition. As a result, she has pale skin, flushes cheeks, pinkish-red eyes, and white curly hair. She also has very bad eyesight, and is legally blind. Shes always been a petite girl, mostly due to malnourishment and neglect as a child, and never grew above 4'10" as a teenager. She always dressed in oversized hand-me-downs from her older siblings, and continued to wear baggy clothing as an adult. As a kid, her parents next cut of maintained her hair, so as a result is was very long and knotted, and was even matted in some areas. She has bangs, which she cuts herself messily, and they cover her eyes.

After her resuscitation, she is powered by a program callled Afterlife. Her limbs are aptutated and replaced with metal prosthetics, and her organs are removed from her body, except her brain, which is riddled with wires connecting internally to her limbs and facial movements. Her hair is shaved off as well. After a few weeks, her skin begins to rot of in the decompisition process, so it is replaced with a sythetic skin matching her original skin tone. Her limps are silver and fully functioning, with her name engraved on her left wrist- "EDITH003". Since her hair is never able to grow back, a wig or her original hair type was stitched onto her scalp.

Due to having no funtionind organs or digestive system, she is unable to drink or eat anything. Her taste buds are not functional regardless, but if she does consume anything she has to empty herself via an opening in her pelvis, which she can open and secure shut. Even with her body modifications, her eyesight still remains to same post procedure.

Storyline - Human

Edith was borne and raised the same tightly knit religious community as Abel, living in a small trailer next to his. She has eight other siblings, and is the second youngest of them all, her younger brother being three years younger. The rest are older, and the oldest being 13 years older than her. She was borne with albinism, and very poor eyesight as a result of this, and is considered legally blind. Her parents treated her as an outcast since birth, as the head pastor (Abels father) was disgusted by her, telling her parents she is possibly possessed by evil spirits, due to her mother having a difficult pregnancy. During her pregnancy with Edith, she fell deeply depressed, and failed to meet her motherly duties and provide for her husband and family, resulting to him taking up most of the chores in the house as well as working a full time job to provide. She confesed this during church, after giving birth to Edith, feeling her condition was a result of her sins. The pastor agreed with this, and told her Edith was borne full of sin and evil spirit, and must not attend any church services unless she has proven otherwise. This resulted in Ediths mother keeping her secluded in their home, left in a storage closet in a crib, where she stayed apart from the other children.

Due to her seclusion, she fell behind in average milestones most children go through. One of her sisters, Ellinor, often did interact with her though. She was 10 years old when Edith was borne, and the only sibling that didnt fear her. She tried to help teach her to speak, but to no avail, as their parents often kept them apart. Edith was able to process language and understand, but did not hold the ability to communicate herself, which only worsened her parents worry that she was not human, or perhaps possessed.

Edith never attended school with her brothers and sisters, and instead stayed home alone once her mother started working as well, which was around the age of 6 years old. She would often wander around the house and sometimes even get hurt, due to her poor eyesight and falling or bumping off of things. She would also sometimes wander outside, where she sat in the yard and closely inspect the grass and weeds. Her mother did not really care if she went outside alone, as she secretly hoped she would get kidnapped or run away, as means to get rid of her without doing it herself.

Her siblings would ofter bully her and call her a demon, the ones that didnt fear her enough to avoid her would often take advantage of her blindness, putting her on counters where she would fall off or placing objects in front of her to trip on. Her oldest brother, who even after graduating, stayed living in the home, would even hit or punch her when he was in one of his violent rages, which happened often. Her mother never put a stop to this, often babying him and allowing him to live there well into his 20s, whilst being unemployed. Ellinor was the only one that stood up tp him, in regards to his abuse towards Edith, but this often ended in her parents splitting the two up from a screaming match, and usually taking the brothers side.

By the time Edith was 8, and Ellinore 18, Ellinor went to live with her boyfriend hours away. She felt bad leaving Edith behind, but did not want to put up with the toxic household anymore, and wanted to focus on herself and her career as a painter, which she had always been talented at. Ellinor would often paint Edith as her model, and due to her unique features. She would also often take pictures of her as references, due to her parents never taking pictures of her as a child, and planned to take these photos with her when she moved. She told Edith she would write her frequently, and to secretly check the mailbox before her parents, so she would be able to keep them. Gwens reading at this time was not great, as she could not read most text sizes. But Ellinor, throughout her childhood, had helped with large handwritten postcards, teaching her how to read basic words. She promised she would write the same as this, as a way to make it easier for her to understand. And then she moved away, leaving Edith and her dysfunctional family behind.

Ellinor upheld her promise, and within a few weeks, wrote Edith her first letter. Every day since she left, Edith sat in the yard, waiting for the mailman, and checked for a word from her sisters new life. On one fateful morning, she received her first lettr, and quickly stuck it in her pocket, and ran to the side of her trailer to read it. In the letter, in large, neatly written words, she wrote how happy she is in the city, how different it is from back home, but in a good way. She wrote she sold one of the painting she had done of Edith, nearly for enough to pay that months rent. Edith felt joy for her sister, but also in a bittersweet way, as she also could feel a twinge of resentment towards her for leaving her behind to fend for herself. At this age, she didnt understand that she could not realistically take Edith with her, as she did not have custody or the money to care for her. But money did not seem like an issue to Edith, as her parents seemed to never even spend anything on her care. She never went to the doctor, and had never been bought anything in her life, just recieving second hand clothes and toys from her siblings. And when it came to food, she was often last to get fed, and on many occasions there was nothing left for her to eat. This resulted in her being very malnourished, and very small and frail for her age, looking as if she was years younger.

One day, a few months later, her mother had found one of Ellinors letters to Edith, which she had been hiding under her mattress in the storage room. This enraged her mother, who confronted Edith on this. Of course, Edith did not speak back to her, as she couldnt, but this this not stop her mother from screaming at her as if she had the ability to fight back. She called Ellinor a "whore" and "disgrace to the family" for leaving to live with her boyfriend in the city, which she decribed as a sinful place full of lost and ungodly people who were bound to hell. She had read the letter, in which Ellinor had writting that she hoped Edith were there with her, to which her mother revealed to her that she had begged Ellinor to take her with her, but she refused. This crushed Edith, as she had no idea that was even in the realm of possibility. Her mother also said Ellinor left in attempt to rid herself of Edith, and was annoyed by how much she leeched onto her. For the first time in awhile, Edith cried, and upon seeing this, her mother consoled her in an almost condicending way, say that one day she will drop her off in that city, as that is where she belongs, with a city full of sinners and no god in sight.

After this occurence, Ediths mother instructed the mail man to lock the mailbox upon arrival, installing a lock just so Edith would not be able to check the mail in the mornings. She did not even have much of a desire to check in anyway, as she now was angry at her sister for leaving her and refusing to take her. At this point, she is still 8 years old, and so is her next door neighbor, Abel. Abel had often seen Edith outside, and would sometimes even approach her. The two would around this time begin spending time together more frequently, sitting outside in the grass, as Edith searches the grass and dirt, and Abel recites scripture he learned from his Father. Since Edith had never been to church, and didnt know his father, she was intrigued by what he had to say, and it was new to her. Her family was reigious, yes, but they never included her in prayer, or in any religious activities. She was aware of their belief in a higher power, but was convinced she was not included in that, and not allowed into heaven regardless. Abel made her accept God into her heart, despite Edith not being able to say anything, reciting for her what to think in her head whilst praying. During prayer, Edith did not truly believe in what she was doing, or saying in her head, but went along to please Abel.

Abels parents noticed the two spending time together, and it immediately raised concerns from his father, who went to speak to Ediths parents about this, in order to keep them apart. Abels father still felt an unholy presence around Edith, dispite Abel telling him she is saved, and that she prays with him. Edith still continues to sneak outside of the house, and leaves flowers on Abels windowsill. When both home alone, they sneak off together, to pray, and pick weeds from each others yards. This all stops when both are 10 years old, and Abel suddenly stops going outside. This confuses and concerns Edith, until one day, she overhears her sibling gossiping about Abels mother having an affair, and them both moving away and being exiled from the church. Edith once again feels crushed, and angry for being left behind once again.

Edith, around 14 years old, is home alone one day and hears a knock on the door. Upon opening it, she sees a tall figure in front of her, and by his voice, sounds to be a young man, possibly in his teens. He asks if her parents are home, to which she shakes her head. He proceeds to hand her a pamphlet, to which she has no reaction to him handing it to her. He asks if she is blind, and she nods. He then asks for her name, and she rolls up her sleeve to reveal a beaded bracelet Ellinor made her years ago, with her name on it. He stays silent for awhile, then asks if she knows about his fathers up and coming company Afterlife. She nods, and then the interaction ends. He wishes her a nice day, and leaves. Upon holding the pamphlet, she is unable to make out the small text on it, other than the larger header- "Afterlife".

The following day, whilst home alone, the boy returned to her trailer, knocking on the door once again. He then appeared glad in was Edith, as she could tell as he sighed in relief when she opened the door. He then introduced himself as Beck, and that his father owns the company Afterlife, and hes been going door to door lately in advertisement of an event they were having. He said he was taken about at first by her unique look, and then continued thinking about her all day. She asks if she has a phone, to which she nods, and he then hands her a smartphone to use in order to contact him. He enables features on it to make it accessible to her, given her poor eye sight, along with headphones, to hear the text written on the screen. She is left confused by the man, and why he wants so talk to her so bad, and after a painfully long time of trying to type on the device, shows him what she writes- "why are you so interested in me? I do not know of your fathers business, and i am not able to go, and do not have money". Beck replies saying he wants to help her, and she does not have to attend the event, this has nothing to do with business. He then says he had to go, as he has work to do, and then he leaves.

The two go on, texting back and forth for nothings without Ediths parents aware of this. She tends to stay in the storage closet she sleeps in for hours at a time during the day, and no one bothers her. They talk of their lives theyve both led. Beck was borne in the countryside but moved to the city once he was older, to assist with his fathers business. He is 17, three years older than Edith at the time. She is surprised to learn that he lives in the same city Ellinor had moved to, whom of which she hadnt spoken to in years. She never tells him this, as she is still upset with her for abbandoning her. He also seems, in Ediths eyes, to be highly intelligent, using terms Edith had never heard before and talking about things she had never been exposed to. Edith does not say much about herself, as there is not much to say. She says she has lived in her trailer her entire life, and is not able to speak, but then again, has no desire to speak. She warns him by saying she is an evil being, and does not want to taint him with that and ruin his career, but Beck tells her that he is in fact possessed by evil spirits as well, and will never try to change her, and that he understands. Edith wonders if this is why he moved to the city, as that is where "all sinful people go".

One night, with Edith now 16 and Beck 19, Beck asks her if she has a desire to leave that town. She is unsure how she feels about that now, as the idea of leaving both frightens her and fills her with excitement. She has no life in her house, or that town, as she is treated at she is not human, and does not even believe she is herself. Beck follows this question with the idea of him taking her to live with him and his father for awhile, in the city. Edith, sitting on this inquiry for awhile, agrees to it, and they plan for him to pick her up the following week, in the middle of the night.