That Night

There was a girl. She was just a kid. A 14 year old girl with no cares for the world. She only ever had school to worry about. She was satisfied. She was content. She was happy.    I watched them grow into something beautiful. They all formed a bond so strong that nothing could break it. Until… that night.   That night, everything changed. The girl was away on a school camping trip. She was excited about all of it. She was so happy about getting away that she didn’t care when she left them. It was a normal night. A normal day. They were all getting on so well when suddenly, with just the snap of a finger, they weren’t. Without warning, all of them were gone. One by one. Slowly but, surely.   All that’s left was her. The girl who wasn’t there. The girl who could’ve done something to stop it. The girl who has gone away.   It was not a normal night, after all. It was the night that she was supposed to come back home. And she did. It was a normal night. Nothing could’ve gone wrong while she was away, she thought. Only, she thought wrong. The family was supposed to come out and wait for her but, they weren’t there. She was met with lights. Red and blue. They were all over the field. People murmuring, gasping, shouting. She tried to get in, she really tried. However, people were constantly stopping her, pulling her away from the house. It was all a blur to her. They were calling out her name but, she couldn’t seem to hear a thing.   She didn’t even realize tears were falling on her face. She didn’t want to believe that any of it was happening. But then, it became all too real when paramedics came rushing out of her house with each member of her family lying on stretchers. As fast as she could, she ran to them only to be stopped once again. She was frantic. The police had offered for her to be driven where her family was taken.   While on the way, she couldn't talk. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. She just waited, asking herself in her mind what happened. What did any of them do to deserve something like this? Why now? Did they call for help? Did anyone try helping them? All these questions running in her head and yet, she knew they might never be answered.   As soon as they arrived, she immediately got out of the vehicle and ran to the entrance right away. When she got there, she asked for her family. Her parents, her brother and her sister but, she was only met with deafening, beeping sounds that soon would break her bit by bit.   Each and every one of them. Dead.   Her mother, Maria Nicole Simmons: Dead.   Her father, Carlisle Simmons: Dead.   Her 10-year-old brother, Miles Andre Simmons: Dead.   Her 6-year-old sister, Charlotte Simmons, suffered from cardiac arrest first. She had a bit of hope then.   It was just a couple of minutes when all hope was lost when they declared her sister, "Dead".   Then there was just one. It was only her, now. She had no one. People were talking to her, expressing their sympathies but, she didn't hear any of them. She just let herself cry. She felt her body giving out when she slid down leaning against the wall. She hugged her knees to her chest.   She felt pathetic. She felt empty. She felt hopeless.   There was nothing left. She was broken.   At the same time, something had awaken inside her. Determination. Wrath. Revenge.   She made a vow to find her family's killer. She promised herself that she will bring her family's murder to justice.   I should know.   I was there.   I am that girl.   My name is Aaliyah Stein and I'm about to tell you the story of everything that happened, the twists and turns that I'm about to face, and a man.     He seems to be a constant reminder that keeps pulling me back to my dark thoughts. He keeps bringing me back to the past. He keeps taking me back to that night.   That night… is where it all started.