The Time Between

CHAPTER ONE-PART 1

                                                            -   EMERALD   -

It’s the perfect day. The sky is blue and cloudless. The gentle breeze was warm and homely. Everyone is in high spirits. Kids playing around the fountain; their playful shrieks can be heard on the other side of the town. Young girls, chatting excitedly; their laughter filling the air with happiness. Mothers, making sure everything for the evening set as it is the Celebration of the Year.

The town has been decorated immensely. Enormous banners of king William are pegged up, Flag of the country dancing in the breeze proudly. It was King William Stephen's seventieth birthday celebration. The whole town is invited to the Grand Ballroom of The Royal Palace to celebrate. 

Not far from the town is the manor of Wilson's. The townspeople pitied the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson since their parents died in a car crash ten years ago.

Emerald Clare Wilson, the second daughter of Wilson, has a bad reputation among the townspeople. After the death of their first daughter - Dahlia, workers and the maids were tempted to abandon the job and look for another, but they could not afford to because no one will pay them better. Dahlia had been kind and generous to them for as long as they can remember. But Emerald has no friends. She only has allies.

And that is why currently she is standing in front of her long mirror, dressed in an elegant, sleeveless turquoise-colored evening gown. Her long golden hair flows up to her waist, parted in the middle. The tiny, glittering diamonds in her head place like a crown makes her look captivating and graceful. The pearls dancing in her ears and the gold chain hanging down her breasts are magnificent. If it ain't for that cold glint on her eyes, she would be just like an angel in heaven. 

Emerald remembers the first time she decided to do this, that has been two weeks after her sister’s death. She has found the diary hidden deep inside Dahlia’s wardrobe. It was just like the one Dahlia had given to her. It was a hard, thick leather-bound book with photos and long entries. Emerald skimmed through the pages until she comes across a photograph of hers. It was taken when she was eighteen. The date of the filing was the Eighth of March which was her birthday.

The entry did not contain much of any details. Dahlia's ordinary routine, what she did on her special days, and devoted time spent for their parents. Dahlia had advised Emerald to do the same. She thought that even if they are not alive, you should devote some time to them. But Emerald could not bring herself to do that. 

When Emerald was about to close the diary, a sentence caught her eyes. It was about her.

' ... So I decided to gift her something because she has been going through a lot since mom and dad died. She does not seem to have any friends. Her eyes are always empty and, she always isolates herself. I can see that she is trying hard to keep it together. 

I was having a hard time deciding on what to present her. In the end, I decided to give her a diary-like mine so that she will be able to vent off her feelings through it like me. I… '

And in the end, Dahlia had written, "because that what sisters are for, right? to help each other."

Emerald could not see clearly after she read the entry. Her eyes burned. She did not know if it was because of the anger she had towards her sister or because of the tears that were threatening to spill out of shame. 

 Never in her life had she felt like she owed anything to anyone. Never in her life had she been humiliated. Never in her life had she been a charity case. Never in her life had she been regarded as a fool and played.

Ting.

Emerald, who had been, lost in deep thinking, snapped out of her reverie when she heard her phone ring with a text message. The message read a single word,

 Ready?

She thought of the night she read the diary and made the decision. To return the debt to her sister and to gain control of her life. To punish the bastard who did this to her sister. To punish the bastard who murdered her.  

Because that is what sisters are for, right? to help each other.

 What Emerald did not know was that sometimes even we would not control our own life.