Glass Luxury

The colourless snow fell in New York, covering the city in a big white blanket. It was evening and Hailey Brown was sitting in a luxurious hotel on a fuzzy, black sofa. She was texting her best friend  Megan who lived in Los Angeles, where Hailey and Megan lived. She was on holiday in New York. “Mom when are we going back to L.A.?” Hailey yelled desperately. “Tomorrow honey.” Mrs. Brown yelled back. “I miss Brownie, Megan, and dad,” she said sadly. Mrs. Brown walked into the room looking flustered. “I know you miss them, but you’ll see them soon enough,” she said comfortingly. “I miss cuddling Brownie” she added smiling wistfully. Brownie was Hailey’s adorable puppy! Suddenly, there was a sound of a phone ringing rapidly. “Oh, that’s my phone! Mrs. Brown exclaimed. She took an iPhone out of her jeans pocket and looked at it gravely. “Sorry Hailey, I have to take this,” she said clearly transfixed. Hailey nodded. She was used to this kind of stuff. Her mom walked out dazed. Her mom came back in a whole hour! Hailey was restless when she came back. “What took you so…” Hailey began but stopped. Mrs. Brown was as pale as a ghost. “Oh Hailey, the pilot for L.A had a heart attack and won’t recover until three months!” Mrs. Brown cried through tears.  “There aren’t any other flights, this was the only one,” she added, sobbing. Hailey laid a calm hand on her mother’s shaking shoulder. “Mom, I get that you’re upset, but we can figure this out if we don’t freak out,” she said softly. “Hailey, I’m not sad for me, I’m sad for you.” Mrs. Brown said, her voice breaking. She took a deep breath. “You’ll have to go to school here,” she confessed. Hailey was speechless.  All she could do was look at her mum helplessly. I-I’m sorry” Mrs. Brown cried, starting to sob all over again. “It’s ok mum,” Hailey said quietly, looking like it was anything but okay. “I-I’m just going to my room.” Hailey ran with blurred eyes. She collapsed on her bed trying hard not to cry. But once she had started, she couldn’t stop. She only pulled herself together when her phone rang. She gulped. It was Mr. Brown.  There was a beep. “Hey dad.” she breathed as her father’s face appeared on the screen. “Hi darling, are you okay?” Mr. Brown said in a worried manner. Hailey paused. She really didn’t want to worry her dad but there was a quiet voice in her head whispering ‘Do it, do it, do it!’ And suddenly, it all came flooding out. How she desperately wanted to come back to L.A and how the flight got cancelled and….everything! And her father listened. He didn’t just listen, he listened with sympathy, kindness and heard her through. When Hailey finished she was out of breath. Mr. Brown said quietly “Is there anything else you need to tell me darling?” “No, that's it.” she whispered. She heard Mr. Brown suck in a deep breath.  “I….can see you have a problem there,” he admitted. Hailey nodded in a ‘I told you so’ way. “But, going to school isn’t that bad, kiddo.” he said. “I know dad, but….I’m scared because the last time I started school it was a disaster!” she cried. “That” he said “Was the past.” He sounded like a fortune teller for one moment. “And that reminds me!” he said, flashing Hailey a sly smile. “I have something for you.” Hailey rolled her eyes. “Dad, you're in L.A.”  Mr. Brown grinned. “Go and check the mailbox. Carrying the phone with her, Hailey opened the door and walked out. She opened the mailbox and gaped. There was a package tied with silver ribbon. “Told you so.” he smirked. Her hands shook as she untied the ribbon and unwrapped the package. Inside was a velvety navy box. It said the letter ‘Hailey’ on it. Inside was a beautiful silver charm bracelet and a silver necklace with a midnight blue crystal on it. The bracelet had the following charms: A diamond elephant, a diamond puppy, a diamond gift box, diamond headphones, a diamond skull and a sweet little diamond bird. As for the necklace, as soon as Hailey touched the crystal, it glowed brightly and she heard her father’s voice. “So, do you like it?” Hailey opened her mouth in shock. “I love it.” she exclaimed. Mr. Brown blushed. “I spent as much time as I could researching your new school.” Mr. Brown began. Hailey felt touched and guilty at the same time. She was touched that her father had given up his time to learn about her school. And she felt guilty because she had felt so sad and upset about going to a school that her mother and father were paying for and this was hard on them too. She bit her lip. “And?” Hailey asked nervously. “I learnt that phones are strictly f*******n at your school.” Mr. Brown said quickly. Hailey was shocked. “But…how am I supposed to communicate with you and mom?” she said, blinking back tears. Mr. Brown laughed. “The necklace, silly! When you hold the crystal, you can talk to me!” “Oh, right!” Hailey grinned. She touched the crystal. It felt warm at the touch. The light dimmed. And when she held it again, it sparked and she could hear her dad breathing. “Oh my goodness, this is amazing!!” she exclaimed excitedly! “I’m glad you like it.” Mr. Brown beamed. “And…what’s the bracelet for?” Hailey said. “Oh, that’s just for fashion!” Mr. Brown winked. Hailey was lost for words. “Thank you.” she whispered, her voice breaking. Her dad blinked off, as Hailey’s finger and the crystal connected. She stood there, next to the mailbox, her feet glued to the lush, green grass.  It was only when she heard a sob, was when she took in what had just happened.  “Mom?” Hailey screamed. Mrs. Brown appeared, next to the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy. “Hailey.” she rasped. Hailey rushed to her mother’s side. “Are you okay?” she questioned nervously. Mrs. Brown eyes welled up with tears. She nodded. She made a gesture of writing on a piece of paper. “Oh!” Hailey realised. She ran to the glass cabinet near her bedside and took out a small notebook. Then, she sprinted over to the small, marble table on the other side of her bed. There was a small, diamond jar which was full of pens. She carefully removed the gold one and handed it to her mother. Mrs. Brown smiled sadly and wrote four dark dreaded words: ‘I’ve lost my voice.’  Hailey winced. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She had to be brave about this. “I’m so sorry.” Hailey whispered. ‘It’s ok’ Mrs. Brown mouthed. Hailey looked out the window. It was black. And by black, I mean black. The darkest black you could ever see. The moon was covered by grey misty clouds. Other than that, it was black. Mrs. Brown took the hint. ‘Sweet Dreams’ she wrote. Hailey forced a smile. “Goodnight.” Hailey’s mother walked out the room. She shivered. She was all alone. Scared. Lonely. There was no Brownie to cuddle. No dad to kiss her goodnight. No plushie to hug. There was nobody but her. She didn’t draw the curtains. She tried to focus on what light was left in the dark sky. She didn’t switch off the lights. She couldn’t. Her hands wouldn’t cooperate. She went under the covers. And that’s when she noticed it. Now, you may or may not remember me saying that she was in a very exclusive hotel. The kind which always had a bed ready made when it was time to sleep. The kind which put hot water bags on the bed when it was cold. And the type that always puts a soft toy on the bed. This time it was a dog. An adorable, little dog that looked like it was related to….Brownie! The small crease that had formed on Hailey’s forehead, immediately disappeared. She took it thankfully. She tightened her grip and hugged it. “Cookie.” she whispered. And that was the small puppy’s name. Cookie. She kept repeating it to herself until the room was a blur. “I love you.” she hissed one last time. And then it went dark.