Strawberry Lilies

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Location: Sunridge Middle School, 6th grade, playground It was a nice day to be outside, partly cloudy skies with a light breeze. Raelynn had just finished her late snack and was walking on the balance beam, lost in her thoughts as the wind gently blew through her long, light brown hair. Her hazel eyes looked more orange when she turned her head up towards the sky, her blue jean capris matching perfectly with her shirt. It was a white tank top with light pink and dark pink lilies crawling up from the bottom right, thick straps, and cotton strings that tied in the back; she wore a light pink jacket over her top while at school. She turned facing towards the sun again, still on the balance beam, and she looked up at the sky with a small smile on her face. Her friend, Lorelai, was calling out her name as she was approaching her. Raelynn didn't hear her until she stood beside her, then Lorelai rolled her eyes and playfully pushed Raelynn off the balance beam. "Ms. Perry told me to come get you. Your mom and dad just pulled up with your brother" Lorelai said with a huge smile on her face. Her chubby cheeks were turning pink as she thought of Raelynn's brother; she knew Lorelai had a crush on her brother, Emmitt, but he was in high school and a bit too old for her. "Are you coming to my recital tonight? You know I can't dance without my best friend there." Raelynn looked at Lorelai with the biggest puppy dog eyes ever, then they both laughed and started walking to the bench, where Raelynn left her backpack. "My mom said my dad's going to be out of town for a while, so it'll just be the four of us tonight. Do you think Emmitt will let me sit next to him tonight"? Raelynn rolled her eyes then giggled as they continued to walk towards the Parent Pickup area, and Raelynn looked over at her parents car, as she answered. "Maybe just ask him this time. Remember, he's older than us, which means, he's smart and can pick up on feelings easily. You need to work on your poker face". They both giggled as they approached Raelynn's parents car, then they hugged and Lorelai said her goodbyes to everyone in the car. A few minutes later, Lorelai's mom picked her up and drove her back to her house. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Location: Hwy 60 East, after dance recital It was a cool and dark night, there were no street lights to illuminate the road ahead. Raelynn's father sat in the driver's seat, her mother in the passenger. Raelynn's brother, Emmitt, sat behind their father and Raelynn sat behind their mother. Everyone was in a cheerful mood, as Raelynn had won 2nd place in her dance recital. The radio was on volume 9 when Anna Sun by Walk The Moon came on; Raelynn looked over at Emmitt with a huge smile on her face, then they both looked up at the roof of the car and started singing with the music. Mid chorus, Emmitt looks at their dad and taps the sides on the head rest as he says, "Dad, turn it up, please? This song is our jam!" Their father looks at Emmitt in the rear view mirror and shakes his head, a smile on his face. He looks down at the radio and turns the volume up to 13. There's a semi truck up ahead, driving without headlights and in the middle of the road. Raelynn's father flashes his high beams at the semi driver and startles him. He was starting to drift off while driving, before Raelynn's father was flashing his lights at him. When the semi truck turned on his lights, he accidentally turned on his high beams and blinded Raelynn's father. The semi truck driver didn't have enough time to correct his driving and hit the car head-on, on the driver's side. The car was flown off the road and into a ditch nearby. The semi truck driver turned on his caution lights, then parked on the side of the road and called 9-1-1. Hours pass, Raelynn sits in the back of an ambulance, in shock and dissociated, she doesn't even notice when Lorelai and her family pull up to the scene. Lorelai sits in the back seat of her mom's car, her mouth hanging open in shock as she watches two coroner's wheel off someone in a body bag. "Well, somebody's dead. For sure." Lorelai's younger brother, Dylan says beside her in the back seat. "Oh dear... Look away, Lorelai." Lorelai's mother says from the driver's seat. She stops ten feet from the scene, as an officer holds up his hand for her to stop. She rolls down her window, as an officer approaches the vehicle. "Evening, ma'am. We're blocking off this area for a little while. Could you tell me where you're headed?" The officer asked in a deep southern accent. He was oddly built, muscular up top and skinny on the lower half of his body. He tipped his hat to all the children in the car, as he waited for Lorelai's mother to respond. "We're headed home, to Giovanni. We have to pass through here to get home, I'm afraid." She answered in a soft, but shaken tone. Lorelai was looking around the scene, when she spotted Raelynn sitting in the back of an ambulance. Without thinking, and getting permission from her mother or the officer, Lorelai opened the back seat door and ran to the ambulance. She was screaming Raelynn's name as she ran towards her, then she screamed at the two officers that we trying to hold her back. "No! She's my best friend! Please, she needs me! Raelynn!" Lorelai tried to plead with the officers, but it wasn't until her mother approached them and spoke with them, that they released Lorelai, and allowed her to approach the ambulance. Lorelai looked at the glass scattered everywhere on the ground, crunching under her feet as she got closer to Raelynn. She looked over at her distraught friend, who had been previously crying. "Oh, Rae... I'm so sorry." Lorelai tried to console her, but Raelynn was numb and locked herself away in her thoughts. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Location: Giovanni Funeral Grounds, age 17 Raelynn looked down at the dark wood coffin in front of her, emotionless and numb. Another family member, gone. Her last living family member, gone. Raelynn looked around at all the people gathered around, most of them unfamiliar to her. Her eyes land on Cameron, Lorelai's older brother. He had just gotten back from the service, and was going to be in town for a few months before being deployed again. She always wondered how he kept it together, seeing people die every day, but she guessed that when you've seen it so many times, it doesn't phase you anymore. This death was different. She was waiting for it this time, some even say she was counting on it. Since her parents and brother died, she spent years with her Aunt Myriam, and she was a very bitter woman, to say the least. She abused Raelynn every once in a while, grabbing her wrists and forcing her hands into boiling water was her favorite. As her Aunt became more sick, she resorted into hitting Raelynn across the face; breaking skin on Raelynn's cheek once. Rumors went around the small town about her Aunt Myriam, but no one ever investigated anything. Half the people at the funeral service were on Raelynn's side, while the other half despised her because of her Aunt. When Cameron locks eyes with Raelynn, she noticed she had been staring at him, and she quickly averts her eyes. The service was quick and Raelynn was one of the first to leave, sending her Aunt off with silence.