CHELSEA

I sat on the porch of our old cozy bungalow, i could see the fireflies glowing  and illuminating the dark night. I looked on, mesmerized by the beauty before me. A little firefly flew and perched on my nose, I giggled and mouthed the word 'hello'. A few of them swam towards me.  I stretched my little index finger aiming to touch them but they seem to tease me and flew further from me. I took that as an invitation to play with them, so i took a few steps to stand in between them. They seem to enjoy my company and glowed brighter as if communicating with each other. The little firefly which perched on my nose earlier glowed even brighter, circling my head. I could hear faint whispers and a gentle wind caressed my skin. I knew they were no ordinary fireflies . I strained my ears for a while but i couldn't make out the words been said. A loud bang jolted me out of my actions. My raven-haired stepbrother was standing on the porch with a puzzled look on his face. I looked back at him and smiled sheepishly, pointing my little index fingers towards the fireflies. He seemed even more confused stretching out his two hands and mouthing the word 'what'. I rolled my eyes. “The fireflies, Ed-” My mouth formed an an 'O' as I turned towards the direction my finger was pointing at. They were gone. “Daydreaming again....huh!...little sister.” he drawled at the last word. “B- But....they were just here a minute ago Eddie.” I sincerely tried to explain what i just saw. It was turn to look perplexed. I looked around frantically. I still couldn't believe I was daydreaming. Or was I? Eddie walked towards me and  ruffled my auburn hair. “C'mon Chelsea....let's go in.” He gestured. I reluctantly followed him but my mind was in a turbulent state. Before we could make it to the door, we heard a faint wheeze and a thud of footsteps. Edward immediately took a defensive stance before me and motioned for me to go in. But a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks. It was mom. “Chelsea.... Edward....” she almost whispered before pulling us both into a hug. There was something different about her. Her skin was unusually pale and her sea-green eyes shone a little brighter. I watched as she ordered my stepbrother into the house to get her some water. I wondered if he noticed anything strange about mom. I wasn't smart for a ten year old but I wasn't stupid either. Edward didn't seem to mind as he smiled adorably to this strange woman the same way he does to mom. After Eddie disappeared into the house, mom turned to me and smiled. My eyes roamed her body. I could  notice a deep gash of wound on her knees, and bloodstains smudged on her favourite blue floral top  she had picked out this morning. She had looked stunning. I had complimented her..... Even Eddie had. As if she could read my thoughts, she followed my eye directions to the bloodstains on her top. Then she smiled. A sad smile. “Chelsea...” she cupped my cheeks. “Don't worry about me baby ...I'll be fine...”she trailed off. How could this be?, I thought. She sounded like mom... “Because I'm mom, Chel.” She cut through my train of thoughts. My eyes lit with fear. She could read my thoughts? “I don't have enough time ...Chel...” she broke into tiny sobs. As if under a spell, I reached for her  and wiped the tiny drop of tear cascading down her pale cheeks. She held my hands to her face and smiled genuinely. “Thanks Chel, but...” she hesitated. “I need to go.” She reached for a little ring box from her pockets. But instead of a ring, a slim golden necklace with a cross pendant dangled in her hands. It was beautiful. She quickly spun me around and instructed me to my raise my hair. Immediately she clasped it, my skin crawled. I could sense danger strangely for no reason. I turned to face the woman but she was gone. Gone again. Just like the fireflies. My head throbbed. I became a little giddy. I held my head and screamed out in pain. Within a second, Edward busted out of the door. A concerned look was plastered on his face. “Hey Chel, what's wrong?” he held my head and checked for any sign of injury. 'mom' was the only word I could mumble. “Mom?” he questioned. I faced him with a puzzled look. Didn't he remember? “She was right here before you left.” I raised a questioning eyebrow. He seemed even more confused. “I only went inside to get you some pizzas....” he stared at me like I was crazy. An ear-piercing siren distracted us. A cop's car pulled over in front of our house. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed my step brother's face creased into more lines of confusion. A stout man and a redhead like me stepped out of the car. They flashed their barges simultaneously. The stout man walked towards Edward and they shook hands while the redhead walked towards me. She bent to my eye level and her auburn hair cascaded down the right side of her face. “Hi there.... I'm Emily.” she stretched out her hand. She was greeted with silence. I didn't mean to be rude but at this moment, I couldn't say anything or move even if i wanted to. The redhead straightened and gave me a quick smile but i was distracted to even return the smile. The stout man was saying something about 'our mom' being involved in a fatal accident. Fatal accident? My head throbbed violently and all I could see afterwards was darkness. I passed out.