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1526 Words
Someone was touching me.
I flinched, disoriented. My body felt heavy. My head, thick.
When did I fall asleep? It was just morning.
Blinking through my lashes, I spotted Mom sitting at the edge of my bed. Kaia stood behind her… holding a cake?
“Oh my God,” I croaked, sitting up fast. “I’m up.”
My throat scratched like sandpaper. “Is it morning?” I coughed, trying to clear it.
“Sorry, baby,” Mom said softly.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…” Alia, Kaia and mom sang through laughter, grinning like I was five again.
I couldn’t help but smile as I blew out the candles. I even had a bite. Sweet vanilla and something familiar.
Only then did I realize I was already dressed in a hoodie and leggings. I glanced at Kaia, who flopped down beside me.
“I helped you get into those,” she said proudly.
“What? Why?”
“We’ll leave you two to it,” Mom said, already stepping out.
“Don’t spend the whole day in bed, little,” Alia added, smirking as she followed.
“I’m not little anymore!” I called after her. Her chuckle echoed down the hall.
Kaia turned to me, her smile fading. “How do you feel?”
I hesitated. “I don’t know. I don’t remember anything. What is happening to me, Kai?” My voice cracked.
“Want to go to the library?” she asked gently, brushing my hair back. “Let’s see what we find.”
Of course, she knew. That was the only room in the house where I ever felt truly safe.
We stepped into Astarte’s library and immediately, something shifted. The air hummed. The room felt… awake. I staggered slightly, dizzy.
“Are you okay? Do you want to sit?” Kaia asked.
“I’m fine. Stop, okay?” I didn’t mean to snap. I just needed quiet. Space to think.
Dragging my fingers along the spines of books, I let the stillness ground me. Some of the titles tugged at me. I couldn’t explain why.
“If you had to leave forever,” Kaia asked softly, “which book would you take?”
I smiled. “I don’t know. All of them.”
She laughed, pulling a book off the shelf. “I’ll take She Who Must Be Obeyed.”
I snatched it back. “You don’t read, and you know it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
“I’d probably take Astarte’s Journal,” I said, running my hand over the weathered leather. “I know it’s private… and I can’t read half of it. But maybe one day I’ll be able to. Maybe I’ll finally understand why she left. Or where she went.”
Kaia handed it to me. I tucked it under my arm.
“Also Book of Records of Ancient Creatures: Seen and Unseen.”
“That one?” she said, wide-eyed. “It’s like an atlas.”
“Exactly.” I smirked. “Remember when we left it at the treehouse, and I refused to sleep until we went back?”
She burst out laughing. “You were obsessed.”
Still am.
“Let’s stash these in my room and head downstairs before they come looking for us.”
“You’re taking all of them?”
“Yeah. I want to read them.”
Downstairs, Mom was brewing tea. Again. Always tea.
“What’s in all these teas? I seem to be the only one that drinks them”, I asked.
The room fell silent.
Mom’s eyes darted towards Alia. “It’s just tea, baby,” she said finally. “Come eat something. It’s midday, you must have something.”
“Midday?” I blinked.
“You slept the whole day away,” Kaia said. “We didn’t want to wake you.”
Kaia and I sat, picking at sandwiches and toast. Their laughter floated around me, but I watched Mom. She kept glancing out the window. Then, her spine stiffened. She turned sharply and yanked the curtain shut. One window. Then another. The hiss of fabric was the loudest sound in the room.
“Mom?” My voice was small. “What’s wrong?”
“Go upstairs. Take only what’s necessary.”
I froze. “What?”
Her voice rose. “Go upstairs. Pack a suitcase. Anything you can’t leave behind. Now.”
Kaia stood motionless at the base of the stairs, eyes locked on Alia. “Mom?”
Alia was already checking the back door, her expression hard and unreadable.
“Why won’t anyone tell us what’s happening?” I shouted, panic rising.
Kaia tugged my hand. “Lili, let’s just go.”
I hesitated, but Mom’s voice cracked through the air.
“Lilith. Go upstairs. Now.”
Her tone wasn’t maternal. It was military.
I ran.
In my room, my hands shook. I crammed clothes into a backpack, shoved in my charger, the locket I hadn’t worn in years. The books, Astarte’s Journal, She Who Must Be Obeyed, and Ancient Creatures came in next to my laptop. They felt like anchors.
“Your bike,” Kaia said. “What about it?”
My chest clenched. My motorcycle. Still out back.
I didn’t think, I bolted.
I reached the bottom step just in time to see them, our mothers, whispering, panicked, their eyes flicking to the door with a map in hand.
“Mom, what’s happening?” I begged.
Alia faced the window, wringing her hands as she folded it. “Please,” I tried again.
Then came the sound.
Gravel. Tires.
A shadow slid across the lawn.
A black car.
It glided into view, sleek and tinted. It stopped. The driver didn’t move.
“Get away from the windows,” Alia said sharply. “Both of you.”
“But—” Kaia started.
“Not a word,” Mom cut in. “Get your bags. We’re leaving. Now.”
She grabbed my arm. “Out the back. Go.”
The SUV was already waiting behind the house, trunk open. Luggage in place. Too perfect.
Mom said it belonged to a friend. A lie.
We loaded up fast. I didn’t speak. Couldn’t.
Mom shoved the last case in and barked, “Go. Get in.”
Kaia and I piled in, me in the front, Kaia in the back. Our moms paused outside, murmured something low, then climbed in. Mom drove.
The car lurched forward, tires screeching on the wet pavement.
Kaia clutched her mother’s hand behind me. I clutched my bag like it was the only thing tethering me to the world.
Mom’s grip on the wheel was too tight. Her knuckles had gone pale. She didn’t glance back, not even once.
The black car stayed rooted in our driveway like a curse, refusing to lift. Who was that?
We drove in silence. Past the fog. My birthday had been stolen from me. Just like that.
Mom pressed harder on the gas, tires spitting against cobblestones. The city blurred past us, its noise and color melting into long, winding roads. Eventually, we reached Kaia’s neighborhood. Without hesitation, Mom drove straight into their garage. The metal doors rumbled shut behind us with a heavy finality that sank into my chest like stone.
Inside, another vehicle waited. Bigger. Bulkier. Something meant for jungles or warzones. It looked ready to devour terrain that didn’t want us there.
“Quickly now,” Mom said, her voice low but sharp.
She moved with frightening precision, unpacking the SUV. Everything about her screamed prepared.
Kaia and I grabbed our bags. Our things moved in seconds. The urgency in both our mothers’ movements didn’t leave room for questions.
But I couldn’t stay quiet.
“Tell me what this is about!” I stepped in front of her, heart thudding. “Please. I thought we were coming to hideaway here.”
She froze, just for a moment. Then I reached into her coat and pressed a small, worn leather pouch into my hands.
“Don’t lose this, there are instructions inside. Only open it… if we don’t end the day together.”
“What? Mom—no. I don’t understand—”
“No questions.” Her voice cracked but only for a breath. “Just listen, for once.”
She cupped my face with both hands, thumbs, brushing tears I hadn’t realized were there. “You’re eighteen now. You’re strong enough to stand on your own, my girl.”
Then she kissed my forehead. Her lips trembled.
I turned to Kaia. Her mom was whispering to her in a language I didn’t know. Reassurances that sounded too much like prayers.
When I looked back, Mom was already in the driver’s seat, the garage door rising like the opening act of something terrible.
I shoved the pouch deep into my bag as Kaia and I piled into the second car. The engine growled to life like something waking up angry.
As we pulled out, I found myself wondering how the garage would lock itself.
We hit the road again. Faster this time. Less careful.
- Writer
