Columbia

This deals with Heavy topics like rape, abuse and suicide, this is your final warning if any of these topics are triggering for you please do not read.

Columbia Mae Cross

Columbia is in her mid-30s, being born in 1935 where she was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her mother (Lacey Cross) had an affair behind her husband’s back resulting in her pregnancy with Columbia. Her biological father was a tall and well-built man, who Lacey had mentioned was an Irish immigrant who gave Columbia her ginger hair. Columbia does not know her fathers name and has never met him, though she has no interest to anyways. She knows very little about him. Her legal father (Ernest Cross) verbally and at times physically abused her for most of her life. She grew up walking on eggshells to avoid his presence. He was violent and cruel towards her, but often doting and proud of his other children. She always knew she was the outcome of an affair, and a day never went by where she wasn’t reminded she was never wanted. Her siblings (Otto and Rose Cross) avoided her whenever possible and never stepped in at Ernest’s outbursts towards their youngest sibling. Rose did feel pity for Columbia, but was always told to not put her nose into it. Otto had attempted to help her once, but it wasn’t a fight he could ever win. He quickly learned to follow suit with Rose and avoid budging in. After moving to Solaris, West Virginia when Columbia was 13 years old, she met Michael, Vincent and Lynnette while in school. They became the only people she knew how to talk to, while shutting herself down while around anybody else, including her family. She later met Christine and Beverly, Michaels younger sister and her “close friend” (as Christine would put it) and they became close. Columbia finally had people in her life who saw her as worthy of love, despite her flaws. She was cherished simply for breathing. While she was still quiet and rarely added to the conversation, she was never left out of the group’s activities. Her home life continued to decline, while her fathers abuse worsened and turned to sexually abusing her in her later teens. No place in the house was safe for her, including her own bedroom. Her bed was tainted and left her feeling disgusted with herself. She began to feel that this treatment was deserved. Lacey turned a blind eye to what was happening in her family and never acted on Columbias pleadings for help. While she did care, she was more scared of the backlash she would face for speaking up. All Columbia wanted was an out, something to end her pain, she wanted safety and someone to love her. Her friends are the only ones who gave her any sort of sanctuary from the hell she had to live with. Vincent and her grew incredibly close within months of knowing each other, she began to obsess over what he thought of her. Any small change in his attitude towards her sent her spiraling, what if he didn’t care for her anymore? Did he suddenly hate her? What did she do wrong now? She ate herself from the inside out until he consoled her. She relied on him for her own happiness. The escalation of her home life resulted in her spending most of her time with him, and he was always willing to be whatever she needed. After high school the two got married, with some pressure from Vincent’s family to tie the knot. Begrudgingly they held a small ceremony, consisting of Michael, Christine, Lynnette, Beverly and Vincent’s family. Columbias family never appeared at the wedding. Vincent and Columbia started their own family soon after the wedding and had their first and only child (Caroline “Pigeon” Ann Lee). Columbias mental health had taken a rapid decline at this point, consisting of frequent, violent breakdowns. She showed little to no interest in properly raising their child, leaving Vincent to raise their child on his own. He exhausted himself trying to play a role he could never think to fill. Vincent loved her as much as he could, but her behavior became more than he could handle. He confided in Michael often, wondering what he could possibly do to help her. Columbia began working as a secretary for the only funeral home in town. For such a small town, only one mortuary was needed. After the original funeral home director passed away, the home was handed over to her and she took over the business. This became one of the only things she showed passion for. Knowing her job was needed made her feel accomplished, and she felt soothed working around corpses. She began to admire bodies for what they were and took great interest in dissecting them, despite this not being an aspect of her job that was ever necessary. Her husband had started to believe that her health was improving. She seemed motivated to get out of bed, and at times even looked forward to getting ready for the day. Though none of this lasted for very long. Coming home from work one day Vincent found Columbia on the bathroom floor, both of her wrists slit. She was on the brink of falling unconscious while he quickly came to her aid and managed to barely keep her alive until she received proper medical help. Vincent begged for her to receive proper mental help for the weeks following her attempt. Her stubbornness on the topic led to frequent arguments that often resulted in objects thrown. Eventually he gave up and the topic was dropped. She continued to be detached from reality, often in a dissociative state with Vincent taking care of her and their child. He began to neglect himself in order to keep his family somewhat together. He would brush her hair for her when he noticed it tangling, cook her a meal every moment of the day he could, he’d hold her hands as they shook from another episode. He never left her side. 4 years into their marriage Vincent had decided he couldn’t take this life anymore. He was living a life he never wanted, he was playing roles he was never made for, it all became too much for him to bare. Vincent suggested separating for both of their well-beings, but Columbias begging, and his own guilt convinced him she may get the help she needs. Columbia stayed awake far after Vincent had gone to bed. She snuck to the shed in their backyard and grabbed the hatchet they had kept there. She brought the axe down onto his neck, nearly decapitating him in the process. He was maimed until he was nothing but a crimson mess sprawled across their bed sheets and entirely unrecognizable. Columbia found herself captivated by her work, and even more interested in the smell of copper filling the room. Columbia cooked herself a meal. Caked in blood and gore she took their child from the bed and drove to the police station. She pled self-defense and thus written off as not guilty. Any questioning of her hesitance to contact police was blamed on shock and fear. Columbia, being the only one to handle corpses in the nearby area did his autopsy, despite her close relations to him there wasn’t much of a choice. Though, she did leave out the notes of his missing organs. He was cremated, with bits of his ashes going to each of their friends and his family.