Black Swan

Five years ago The sky was mourning with her, its heavy gray clouds crying teardrops of rain against the earth as if they too bore the weight of the loss. Selene Brooks stood stiffly beneath the blue canopy, black lace gloves pulled tightly in her trembling hands, her gaze fixed on the twin graves carved into the earth before her. Jackson and Seraphina Brooks — beloved parents, admired and envied by peers, and now, simply... gone. No answers. How could this have happened to her parents? Burned to crisps in their car after a tragic car wreck. No one knew how or why. Were the brakes cut? Was there any faulty wiring? There were just too many questions that needed answers. The whispers started even before the first shovelful of dirt hit the coffins as the committal was being read. "Ashes to ashes...Dust to dust." She heard their whispers all around her, wrapping like poisonous vines: rumors of what they thought happened, of debts unpaid, of sins of infidelity and heartbroken mistresses, and faces of concern to her and her brother. "It was God's will..." Selene clenched her jaw, her dark hair whipping across her face in the sharp, cold wind. She didn't need their pity. She didn't want their sly glances and fake concern. She wanted answers. She wanted her parents back. Malik, her older brother by eight years, stood silently at her side, a shield of steady strength in the chaos of her unraveling world. His hand found her shoulder, squeezing once...tight, grounding. "Ignore them, Sel," Christian said, his voice raw with a grief he could barely contain, "I'm still here with you." It wasn't just grief that weighed on him. It was guilt. Responsibility. Seraphina had called him before she died. A frantic, cryptic call he could never forget. "Protect your sister, no matter what," she had said, her voice shaking, though she tried to steady it. "She will protect you, too. You're stronger when you use your power together." The line had gone dead before he could respond. Now those words clung to him like a second skin, heavy and inescapable. A prophecy he didn't understand, but one he was determined to honor. Selene pulled away from him, the anger boiling in her chest hotter than her sorrow. She couldn't stand the way the mourners peered at her, vultures cloaked in black silk and crocodile tears. They didn't know her parents. Not truly. And they sure as hell didn't know her. Without a word, she turned on her heel, her boots crunching against the wet grass, ignoring the gasps and scandalized murmurs trailing in her wake. Malik watched her go but didn't call out. He knew better. Selene needed to breathe, to rage. And when she was ready, he would be there. He would always be there. Above them, the rain continued to pour against the many graves and tombstones, and Selene got into her car. Staring ahead at the road as she drove away, there were things she just didn't understand, a past plagued with secrets, refusing to be buried, and a future full of surprises.