CHAPTER1
The morning dawn crept gradually into the city of Los Angeles as the sun rose from its horizon. Soon it was replaced by the sound of cars starting, birds chirping and men and women jisting as they headed out for their day. The flickering light in the room cast on a young figure wrapped snugly in a soft, oversized blanket, staring blankly at the space. Her face was red and pale.
The darkness held a fast gaze at her as her heart raced with the tick of the clock. She reached for the bottle of water on her bedside table and drank almost half of it. Her hands trembled from the nightmares.
She reached out and felt an empty space beside her, and she knew that her Sister Camella was already in the kitchen. As she stood from her bed,her legs betrayed her. She couldn't move from her spot as her mind wandered through the darkness as if it had answers to the thousands of questions in her mind. She closed her eyes to see if this nightmare would go away, but it seemed it kept hunting her badly. Pressing her forehead against the window louvers, the memory of her parents' death flashed back to her like lightning thunder.
Hot tears dripped through her wide amber eyes as she remembered her beloved parents and their severed heads on the floor. As she lay back in her bed, her sister Camella called out
“Elara, please, I need a little help here”
Drawn into her own world, Elara failed to hear the shout of her sister from the kitchen. She was at the period in her life where nothing mattered anymore.
“Elara…….”, Camella called out again, this time dragging the name to force Elara out of her bed, which was located in the next room very close to the kitchen.
The ceramic plates in the rack came crashing down on the floor as Camella struggled to arrange them back. its pieces splashed across the tiles.
“Oh! "No” Camella exclaimed as she packed the broken pieces in the waste bin.
Camella, clad in a woolen pullover and jacket, dragged her feet to Elara's room.
“Elara, are you okay?” Camella asked when she saw the state her sister was in.
“ No” Elara said
“The nightmares I guess”
Elara forced a smile and kept mute.
“Please let's pray, Elara” Camella said, and knelt down while Elara sat on her bed.
Elara was once a devoted lover of Christ. She grew up wanting to be a nun where she would dedicate all her life to serving God, but when she saw her mother r***d by an unknown man and his gang in their apartment right in front of her father and both beheaded, Afterward, Elara lost her faith in God and stopped praying to God. Her baby sister Camella was left for her to cater for and Elara did street jobs to put food on their table. After the prayers, Camella held her sister's hand. “You will be fine. You are a strong woman”, she said with a peck on her cheek.
Elara smiled and slowly stood up. She thanked her sister and walked into the kitchen with her.
“What did you make for breakfast?” Elara asked as the pleasant aroma of the food penetrated her nostrils. She playfully dragged Camella's hair
“Ouch! Elara its painful knuckhead” Camella laughed. She pulled out her tongue to her sister.
“Tea and Tossed Egg” Camella replied, setting the table.
Elara sat down at the table and helped herself to some tea from the China tea set with pink flowers on the edge. Camella sat opposite her and stole glances at her.
“What Camella? Elara asked
Camella gave her sister an odd look and said
“Our Award giving day is next month, Elara”. Camella said “Please, I need you to come.”
Elara mumbled to her plate and started coughing.
“I will try,’’ Elara said, still coughing.
Camella gave her a hug and left for school.
“Bye and I love you” Camella said, walking towards the door.
Elara simply nodded and pushed her chair back.
As soon as Camella left the house, Elara picked her phone from her pocket and dialed her friend's number.
“Hi”, a voice from the other end said.
“Please, I need you to come over, Maya” Elara said, with a low voice.
“Are you okay, girl?” Maya asked.
“Yes I'm”
“Alright, I will be with you soon”, Maya chuckled, then hung up the call.
Elara sighed and tossed her phone onto the couch as she walked into her room.
She lay in bed and got ready to watch her favorite television program.
