THE BIRTH OF KARMA

Chapter 5

The sun had gone down almost kissing the ocean like a bride and a groom who are eager to make out when the priest pronounces them man and wife.

The reflection of the sun that made the glasses decorating most houses that shone earlier was nowhere to be seen, the glasses were there as they were before the sun had visited ice town.

Hailey stared at the light blue curtains by her window, it was just like the sky after the rainfall in noon time, like a cloud after sunset's pinky wings disappear.

It was very beautiful and bright, it lightened the room and made it look much more alive, a gift from Madrigal to Nadiah as a present for her graduation.

Sometimes she wondered why her sister passed him over for that quick tempered narrow minded boyfriend of her's.

She had actually thought they were going to be a thing until one day, she saw Nadiah kissing Wilfred just outside the front door.

Not that she hated Wilfred, there was more than enough reason to but she did not.

But Wilfred was a thorn that was very hard to deal with, it was surprising that he let Nadiah keep Madrigal as her best friend.

He was the very insecure type.

Too insecure for a normal person, his love for Nadiah was like a sickness clawing into his existence and sucking the bane of sanity that ever existed in him.

A picture of her and Latisha hung on the right side of the wall, it was beautiful and she was smiling, that of course was from her childhood, she could not remember when last she smiled.

There was a flower vase by the table, Vin had sent someone with it a day ago and though she had not thanked him in person she thanked Nadiah who received it on her behalf.

She took the flower vase and took a peak at it, the flowers were very much alive and glowing it would be sad to leave them behind, her brother was too small to know the importance of taking care of a flower and her mum was too busy for that.

She dropped the vase back and ran her fingers through her hair.

Vin was the last person she needed on her mind, she was leaving.

It felt like a dream and she was never ready to ever wake up from it, this one was not like her nightmares, she fantasised instead of getting scared.

Finally she said to herself she could finally leave Ice town behind her, bury all the bad memories it gave her and move on with her life. She felt the future she so much dreamt of coming closer.

She looked around the room and took in all the sights as though she was giving it a final good bye.

She had lived here life here, long enough to understand that Ice town had nothing much for her it was just a place she existed.

The door knob turned and Nadiah came in looking all exhausted and slumped into the bed.

"Finished saying your goodbyes?" Hailey asked her.

"You really want to go don't you?" Her sister looked at her.

Nadiah was not keen on leaving, she was simply doing what she could to please her sister and her family but the whole traveling thing did not thrill her one bit.

Her whole childhood was rooted here in Ice town.

Though she was born in Winter fell, she didn't have memories of it.

"Of course I want to leave" Hailey said sitting on the bed by her side.

"Look around you, we have been here for far too long with nothing to show for it, I for one do not intend to stay in this town my entire life".

"But mum and Oniel.. .." Latisha looked at her sister.

"Mum and Oniel will be here all alone" she said concern laced in her voice.

Her mum was not leaving with them, she was staying back with their little brother in Ice town, she was going to miss them.

Hailey was also going to miss her mum and brother too but she was very much ready to leave.

"We will see them from time to time, father said we could come back here anytime we want to". She assured Nadiah.

"Don't feel so sad about it".

"You really hate it here" Nadiah said almost to herself.

It was not a surprising fact, she just didn't wish it so.

She knew her sister did not like Ice town, she always was alone not having friends to play with or places to go.

The thing with Nadiah was just her mood Latisha thought.

There were whispers right from when she was a kid but she never saw anything unusual.

To her Hailey was Normal like everyone else.

Hailey lived her life within the walls of her father's house, she went to school as a kid but was hardly moving with the crowd, she had the rumors to thank for it.

But although she was not close to people, it did not mean the gossip did not get to her ears or that she never noticed how they town looked at her, she never belonged here.

"I really want to go, it's all I have ever wanted". Hailey knew that her sister did not want to go but she just couldn't stay, she wanted to leave.

Nadiah looked her sister in the eye, it was indeed what she had always wanted.

There were moments when she hated been the oldest and this was one of them.

She had to put Hailey's feelings above hers and it hurt that this time, Hailey's feelings was very much in contrast with her desires.

"Have you talked to Madrigal?". Hailey asked breaking the silence.

"Not yet". Nadiah dragged a pillow to her chest, Madrigal would have to know only when she was gone.

"How about Wilfred?" Hailey asked after her boyfriend.

"I told him." Nadiah swallowed.

"And..?" From the way Nadiah responded, Hailey knew there was more to it.

"You know him, Wilfred snapped, he doesn't want me to go". She said creasing her brows.

That was one problem Wilfred had, the problem of understanding, he was never good at it.

"Well.." Nadiah sighed.

"Wilfred is a good person, with time he would understand". That was a hope there was no guaranty.

Wilfred would come to terms with her leaving, he can't stop her but the after math was only to be hoped for.

"How about you, spoke to Vin?" Nadiah raised a brow in a questioning manner.

"Mm.. mm" Hailey shook her head, she didn't want to imagine it.

"Let me say this" Nadiah looked at her sternly, "Tell him".

"Tell him what?" Hailey asked, her voice registered tiredness.

"Tell him how you feel about him, we don't know how long it will take before we come back".

What Nadiah said was true but it was a gamble Hailey wouldn't want to make.

"Listen to yourself Nady, Vin hardly looks at me". She mumbled.

"And how do you know that when you hardly go out?" Nadiah shot her a look.

"I saw him yesterday, he didn't even answer my greetings". Hailey didn't know why but somehow it hurt her.

"Hailey Elvarus" Nadiah called her name in full.

"Love grows, look at me and Wilfred, it takes time but in the end it gets through".

Hailey flapped the lashes of her eyes with a blink and bite her lower lip, she was confused and afraid.

But then, if Vin would turned out to be like Wilfred she doubt if she wanted to have anything to do with him.

He was sweet at times, but most times he was too much to handle.

"Think about it" Nadiah winked.

"I doubt if I have too, besides it's not like I really like him". It Was hard to say what she felt about him sometimes, Vin was just in her fantasy it was not something she was so sure about.

"Are you convincing me or yourself?" It would have been a question but coming from Nadiah, It sounded like a mockery.

"No one" Hailey shrugged.

"Do as you wish" Nadiah said standing up from the bed.

"I would go get Oniel from his friends place".

"His not back?" Hailey was surprised, she was sure he left long before noon.

"It's Friday, Dom's grand mom would be telling them all the stories about wolves and vampires." Nadiah rolled her eyes.

"And you know Oniel, if the story doesn't end his going nowhere".

"Come back soon" Hailey stretched herself laying backwards on the bed.

"I will" Nadiah opened the door and closed it after her.

She did not want to go but she knew she had to, Hailey won't leave the house and their mom would soon be home.

When she stepped outside the door, the shades of the sky was different from how it was when she came earlier.

the sun had hidden itself and the darkness was crawling above Ice town, the little half moon was making it's faint appearance and it looked beautiful in the sky.

Dom's grand mom was always fond of telling stories about the wolves and their connection to the moon, she always said that when the moon is full, one could see the moon goddess lying on a wolf in it.

Wether she liked it or not, she would have to listen to the old woman's stories at least for an hour before she could take San back home with her.

Walking past all the dark figures of trees and houses that's had shapes of demons was not a pleasing experience, she always feared something might appear in front of her.

Grand ma Folen might be making stories up for the children but Nadiah knew there were people who were not humans that lived amongst them, she had encountered one herself.

It was on one of these days that she went to pick Oniel and bring him home.

The old woman had just started her story and she somehow got lost in it too, it happened sometimes and the old woman was good at derailing.

One event in her story led to the other connecting a long pattern of history that was fascinating and Hailey got lost in time.

By the time she came back to reality, it was really late and there was no moon up in the sky.

Her phone was the only light she had on her and it was running out of power.

She could not forget that night even though sometimes she try to force it into her imaginary world.

A creature she could not identify had try to gouge at her, it stopped Midway and vanished but that did not confuse her as to say how Oniel claimed to have seen nothing.

"Are you sure?" She had asked him.

"Yes.." he nodded in the affirmative.

For weeks her mind fed on the incidence but she told no soul and sometimes it resurfaced from beneath her mind like a smoldering fire that gets fed with dry wood.

The shortcut to San's house was very scary when it got dark and the long way was indeed a long way.

She tried to take her mind off it, but she could not, this path had an eriee feeling even when the day was bright or maybe it was just in her thoughts but she could feel it.