The Crown of Pearls

"DON'T LEAVE ME, MARA."
Brian was beside his sister's hospital bed, holding her hand. Mara had been in coma for three days now, and she was still not showing any signs of waking.

But Brian still didn’t lose hope. He knew she would wake up. He knew she would never leave him. At least, he hoped so.

Brian felt like he was being stabbed every time he looked at his sister. She looked so weak and fragile. Where was his sister that punched him and kicked him when he called her “klutz”, “monster”, or “tomboy”? Where was the girl that told him to be strong when he was almost willing to give up? Where was the schoolgirl that smiled like there’s no tomorrow? Where was the young lady that stood up for what she believed in even though no one was at her side? Where?

Brian hadn’t slept for days. He refused to leave his sister, even for a moment. He wanted to be there when she wakes up.

"It’s my entire fault. My entire fault. I'm sorry Mara. I'm so so sorry."

He blamed himself for what happened. He should have been by his sister's side; he should have fetched her from school. He should have been there when she needed him most. Yet, where was he? At home, watching T.V. Some kind of brother he was.

Brian became the father figure for Mara when their father, Laurence Evans, died in a plane crash nine years ago. Mara was only five at that time, and he was only thirteen. Their mother, Aimee, refused to tell Mara the truth. She was afraid that it will be too much for a five-year-old kid. The death of their father was never mentioned to her sister. Even though Mara did not know, she still had nightmares every night after their father’s death. She was crying and screaming out ‘Daddy!’ over and over again. In those nights Brian stayed by his sister’s side until she fell asleep.

Brian was the one who took care of Mara while she was growing up. He taught Mara her lessons and made sure that she did her best. Brian was proud to say that he was the one who contributed most to Mara’s discipline and intelligence. He made sure that she was advanced in her lessons, and that her grades are only As. He taught her to value her education the most. Their mother was always working, so she barely had time to teach her daughter, even though Aimee was a university professor. But Mara still loved Aimee just the same as any daughter would love their mother, possibly even more.

Aimee trusted Brian with Mara, because she believed in him. And what did he do? He let his sister alone at night and make herself a shield against a truck. How pathetic.

That night still haunted him.

It was half past seven in the evening. Brian was waiting for his sister to come home. It was her turn to cook dinner, so he could just sit around and watch T.V. Minutes later, the phone rang.

Must be Mara. If she's going to tell me that she can't cook dinner again, I won't let her!

"Hello, Evans Residence. Who's this?"

"Is this Mr. Brian Evans, Mara Evans' brother?"

"Yes it is. Who is this? What happened to my sister?"

"Your sister is in Guinevere General Hospital, Sir. She was caught in an accident. She seemed to have hit her head in a post while trying to save a child from a truck."

"I'll be right there."

Brian was terrified. The hospital was ten blocks away from their house, not more than a twenty minute ride in a car. In those twenty minutes, Brian never felt more afraid and helpless in his whole life.

Mara hit her head?! Oh my God, is she dead? My God, NO!!! This can’t be happening! No, no, no, this isn’t happening. This can’t be true. My God, No, I just, I can’t, my God! No, I have to be strong. Wait for me Mara, I’m coming.

When Brian finally reached the hospital, he was informed that his sister was in the Operating Room. He felt weak. He started trembling. Brian felt like his deepest fear was coming true. All of this years he was trying to protect his sister from being hurt in any way, and here he was, in front of the operating room where his sister was surrounded by doctors with surgical knives. The thought made Brian sick.

This is just a horrible nightmare. I'll wake up and I'll find my sister in her bed, safely tucked in.

But Brian did not believe a word of this.

How was he going to tell his mother about this? She would have a heart attack. Their mother, Aimee, was away for a week because of a seminar, and she entrusted Mara to him. This was his entire fault. All his. Tears started to fall.

How could he let this happen to his sister? His only sister, the one he loved more than anyone else in the world, she and his mother were his life and his happiness. If she ever died, Brian didn’t know what he would do.

"We're sorry this happened."

He looked up and saw a brunet boy, with pale skin and a pair of glasses. He was with a girl of about four or five years old, with silvery-blond hair and blue eyes. They were standing in front of him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ezra FitzGerald, and this is Violetta, a cousin of mine. She's the girl Mara saved from the truck."

Brian stared at the girl. This girl's life, in exchange for his sister's? No, it’s unfair. This girl couldn’t pay for her sister's life. Mara was full of hopes and dreams. Everybody loved Mara. No, this was not a fair exchange.

"We want to express our deepest gratitude to your sister. Of course, the cost of the surgery, the hospital fees and the medicine will be paid by Violetta's family. We know it is not enough, but we hope that it helps."

"If something happens to my sister, I swear to God, I’ll do anything to give her justice, whatever it takes."

Brian tried to sound threatening, but Ezra didn't show any signs of being affected by it.

"Don't worry, Brian. She'll make it. I assure you that."

That was three days ago. The surgery turned out fine, but she still hasn't showed any signs of improvement.

Mara's best friend, Cornelia, heard about the news and she never failed to visit since Mara's accident. She also brought her schoolmates along. They were all sincerely worried. Brian could see it in their eyes. Cornelia even cried when she first visited, and her in last visit, she looked like she was close to crying.

Mara and Cornelia had been best friends since they were toddlers. Brian always thought it ran in the family, since their great-grandparents had been the best of friends. He and Ethen, Cornelia’s older brother, were also best buddies. Like him, Ethen was protective of his little sister, but he never would be as protective as Brian. He never lost someone he loved. His family was still complete.

"See, Mara? Everybody loves you. Don't leave them. Don't leave me, Mara. Please."

Mara was admitted to the presidential room in the hospital. That was two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living room. It was even bigger than the whole first floor of their house. The girl was filthy rich. But it didn’t really matter. He slept beside his sister. There was no use for the rooms.

Brian called their mom as soon as Mara got out of the operating room. As expected, their mother was hysterical. She called almost at least fifty times this past three days to ask if Mara showed any signs of waking up. Their mother, Aimee, was a university professor, and as of now, she's in the plane from Japan to Guinevere, Canada. When she heard the news she immediately bought a ticket home. She would be arriving tonight.

He was dreading the idea of seeing his mother. Not that he didn’t love his mother, of course not. It was just that he was afraid that when he looked into his mother's eyes all he would see was disappointment for him, who couldn’t even take good care of his own sister.

**********

Aimee had never had a longer flight than this one.

It took her a long time before she managed to book a flight. There was a storm at that time, so all the flights have been canceled.

"Hold on, Baby, Mommy's coming."

If Aimee knew that this was going to happen, she would have never left. To hell with that seminar! It was her baby that mattered.

Brian told her on the phone that Mara hit her head because she saved a little girl from being hit by a truck. In a way, she was proud of her daughter. She always knew that Mara had a kindred spirit. But she was also angry! Didn’t she know that everyone will miss her?

Aimee sighed. She looked at her watch for the thirtieth time this hour. They couldn’t expect her to just sit in here while her daughter was in a coma! She had to be there!

She remembered the time her daughter was hailed Valedictorian. How proud she felt! Mara, her daughter, the smartest and most beautiful girl in her school! Anyone who would object to that would have a piece of her mind.

Then she remembered her smile. The sweet smile she always wore. You see, her daughter had only one kind of smile, fit for all occasions. You would see her true emotions in her eyes. Yes, her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. You would see everything there. Her eyes lighted up when she was happy, especially when she just bought a book. Her daughter was a very wide reader. A certified bookworm. She got it from her father. Her thirst of knowledge and information shown since she was a child. She used to read everything with letters in it.

Of course, her eyes dim when she couldn’t buy a book. She tried to hide her disappointment as hard as she could, but she couldn’t fool her own mother. They weren't very rich, so Aimee could not afford all the books she wanted, but she tried her best to provide for her needs and wants.

A tear escaped Aimee's eyes. All of Mara's memories came crashing into her like a tidal wave. Her smile, her laughter, her tears. everything. Aimee was overwhelmed with grief. She'll give anything to see those again.

"Don't take her Laurence. I need her. We need her."

**********

Aimee was in front of her daughter's hospital room.

She was suddenly scared. She was afraid of what she would find inside. She might not recognize her own daughter at all.

Aimee gathered up all her courage and walked inside the room. She was greeted by her son, whom she hugged earnestly. One look at the boy and you would know that he hadn't slept for days. She also noticed that he lost weight. She was immediately worried about her son. She couldn’t afford to have him way from her too.

"Brian, I know you're blaming yourself for what happened, so let me tell you that this is not your fault. You did the best you could. No one could have stopped it from happening. So please, take care of yourself. Eat, and sleep. I'll take care of your sister."

Brian just nodded. Aimee could see that her talk didn't get through her son. He still blamed himself for what happened. But at least he was following her.

Aimee looked at her daughter for the first time since she got in the room. She was very careful to not look at her daughter while her son was still here. She had to be the strong one now. For her children.

She now let her eyes wander to her daughter. She was afraid of this. She barely recognized her daughter. Her Own Daughter.

Aimee let the tears fall as she stared at her daughter. She was as pale and fragile as paper. The rose tinge of her cheeks that was always there was gone. The once red lips were as pale as snow. Tubes were all over her. Monitors surrounded her little girl. Everything about her seemed to scream ‘vulnerable’.

She looked like an abandoned shell, where her once lively and spirited daughter used to be.

Aimee fell down to her knees and cried until there were no tears left.

On the other side of the room, Brian was leaning at the wall for support, crying as hard as his mother.

IT WAS LIKE EVERYTHING MOVED IN SLOW MOTION.
Mara was about to cross the street when she saw a little girl on the other side. She looked like a small Barbie doll, with her silvery-blond hair that had soft curls ended above her shoulders. Her wide ocean blue eyes were dazzling. Even for a child, she would pass as a model. She seemed like she was looking at something beside Mara. The girl then looked at Mara, much to her surprise.

When their eyes met, Mara was rooted to the ground. She felt like her arms and legs weighed a thousand pounds each. She knew she probably looked like an idiot, gaping at a child like that, but she couldn’t just will her eyes to move, and her whole body for that matter.

The girl started walking towards her. She walked slowly, as if making each step required all her determination and willpower. Then Mara heard it.

It was the loud honking of a truck. It was ascending fast towards the girl!

The little girl seemed oblivious to everything. She didn't even turn or look at the truck. She was still walking.

"RUN!!!"

Mara shouted at the top of her lungs. But the girl didn't seem to hear her.

Mara could hear her every heart beat. The truck was going to hit the girl if this continued!

Mara weighed her options carefully. If she saved the girl, she knew too well that both of them would not survive. The truck was coming fast and she doubted that it’ll stop in time. It would mean that if she ran and tried to save the girl, she would die in the attempt. The impact would be too hard for anyone to survive. But, if she didn’t, she knew that this moment would haunt her for the rest of her life. She couldn’t just stand there and do nothing! The sight of the girl, dead, bathed in her own blood, she knew that she won’t live it down. She would be haunted by her conscience forever.

Mara was taking too much time thinking. She had to act now, or else.

Mara knew that she’ll die saving this girl.

I’m sorry, Mom and Brian. But I have to do this. I hope you’ll forgive me. I love the both of you very much, and I’m sure that wherever I go after I’m dead, I’ll miss you. But I really do have to do this. Goodbye.

Mara ran.

Mara was surprised to realize that she was still alive. She was supposed to be hit by the truck by now, but here she was, still running and breathing. Mara started hoping that both of them will get out of this incident alive.

She lifted the child and jumped to the other end of the street. That was when she realized how stupid she was.

There was a lamp post directly where they'll land! She hugged the child and prepared herself for the fall. She positioned herself so that she would be the one that would hit the post and not the girl. She had a bigger chance of surviving. She just hoped that all that milk she drank made her bones strong. She closed her eyes and prayed that she'll get to open them again.

Oh, God, please let us survive. Please.

Mara felt a pang of pain in the back of her head. She realized that blood was flowing from the wound. The little light that remained when she closed her eyes disappeared, and nothing was left.

**********

Mara was floating.

It was a very wonderful feeling. It was like lying in a bed of clouds. The scent of the place was breathtaking. It smelled like Freesia and Daffodils.

I must be in Heaven.

Then that meant she was dead, right? Mara thought so. Her happy bubble suddenly exploded.

If she really was in Heaven, then she would never see everyone again. She would never hear her mom's laugh, her brother's teasing, and she would never see Cornelia's smile and all her classmates and teachers. Without even knowing it, she was crying.

She cried for her life. She cried for everyone she left behind. And most of all, she cried for her future.

She had a life! She was a good girl, she followed her mom and brother, and she did what was expected of her! What did she do to deserve this fate?! She cried even harder, until she felt she could cry no more.

Then she didn’t survive the accident after all. It must have been the wound she got when she hit the post that killed her. Mara’s only hope now was that the girl was alive. She had to be. If not, then her sacrifice would be all for nothing.

She had to be alive. Then she can tell my family about what I did. Maybe when they see that I died for another’s life, they’ll forgive me.

Time passed. It could have been minutes, days, months or even years. But it didn't matter to Mara. She was dead. Nothing mattered.

Feathers suddenly fell from nowhere, and they were all glowing. She forgot for a while that she was dead and just enjoyed the sight.

She caught a feather in between her hands. It was soft to touch. She felt her senses become more alive. Like having an adrenaline rush, or being drunk. She felt like she was filled with nothing but pure joy.

The feather then exploded into rays of light. All of a sudden, she found herself in the edge a cliff.

When she realized where she was, Mara trembled. She was terribly afraid of heights.

When she finally found the courage to look, her eyes widened with longing.

Below the cliff was the whole town of Guinevere. She could even see her house, and blocks from it she could see her school. Even the mall, the park, they were all visible.

Mara couldn’t help staring at her house. It was unmistakable. Their house was the only one in the whole town of Guinevere with a yellow roof. It was five years ago that the roof was painted, when she was only nine years old. They were arguing about what color the roof was to be painted. Brian wanted black, her mother dark green, and she bright yellow. They decided to just pick lots from a hat since they couldn’t decide. And it turned out that what Brian picked was bright yellow. Mara smiled at the memory.

Mara gazed at her house with love and regret. She now wished that she didn’t go to that route the way home. Then she would have never seen that incident, and she would be alive right now, inside her home, eating with Brian. They would be watching TV or doing homework together. Instead, here she was, dead, and Brian was probably in the morgue this very moment.

Mara couldn’t help crying. Brian would be so sad, and it was all her fault. And her mom would be heartbroken. Her mother worked hard for her future, and what did she do? She killed herself. How ungrateful and stupid.

Mara knew there was nothing left to do now but move on. She couldn’t just stare at her house forever. She made the choice, and then she had to accept the consequences. She had to leave.

When she turned around, she saw the sight she wished to see once more all her life.

There was her father, smiling cheerfully at her. Her father passed away when she was still a child, so she barely knew him. But it was unmistakable. With the chestnut hair, dark eyes and perfect nose, he looked like an older version of her brother, except that her father wore glasses. It was her father. She knew it.

She ran and hugged her father tightly, like she knew that she wouldn’t get another chance. She was beyond happy.

"Father!"

"Oh Mara, sweetheart. How I've longed to see you! You're a young lady now. When I last saw you, you were just a little girl."

When Mara's excitement ceased, she started bombarding her father with questions.

"Are we dead? Is this heaven?"

"Not exactly sweetheart. I'm dead, but you're not."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still in limbo, my dear. You see, you have to choose whether you want to stay or leave. Choose wisely, Mara. Not everyone gets a second chance like you."

"But, father, we just met. I can't just leave you."

"Sweetheart, the longer you stay here, the more you'll lose your will to live. Sooner or later you may never want to leave this place. You'll lose your memories in the process."

"I don't understand."

"Tell me, sweetheart, when's your brother's birthday?"

There was a long pause before this question was answered. Mara's voice was hoarse when she replied, evidently hesitant to respond.

"I can't remember."

"See, sweetheart? Soon, you'll lose all your memories. Your essence. Your identity. You have to choose now."

"How?"

"Listen to your heart, my child. It will show you the way."

Mara then faced the cliff. She closed her eyes and tried to listen. She knew that she had to live, for everyone. But then, she just met her father, she couldn’t just leave him. Choosing between the two was so hard. She felt like she was being torn apart.

Mara tried to remember everyone that she had left behind: her mother, Brian, Cornelia, her teachers, her classmates, and her neighbors. Mara could see them all clearly, but the longer she thought of them, the more blurred the memory became. It was like a fog was slowly seeping into her memories.

No, I can’t forget them. They loved me and took care of me. They made me happy. They made me who I am. NO. I will not forget them. Never.

When she opened her eyes at last, she knew the answer. She would have to live.

Mara turned around to say goodbye to her father. But when she did, he was already gone.

"Thank you, Father. I love you."

Mara then slowly walked to the edge of the cliff. She felt sick. Heights made her tremble.

But she knew she had to be strong. For everyone.

Doubt then seeped into her mind. What if she fell for eternity? Or worse, what if she fell on the ground? That would surely hurt.

Silly, you're almost or as good as dead. You won't feel a thing.

She closed her eyes and jumped.

MARA WAS DREAMING.

In her dream she was inside a grand palace hall with red and gold curtains, and bejeweled chandeliers filled the ceiling. There were people in regal suits dancing and talking. Music can be heard from across the room. Roses were on every table, and each table was overflowing with food. It was like a fairy tale.

She was toward the end of the room, facing the entrance to the hall. The door of gold was carved with lilies. It was shimmering, providing the room with a golden glow. It reminded Mara of the sun. She was too preoccupied with the brilliance of the door to notice anything else. Like how beside her sat the Queen in her royal throne, wearing her royal crown carpeted with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. If Mara had seen the Queen with her crown, she would never have paid the door a second glance.

Without warning, the door opened.

A figure cloaked in black walked in. The hood covered its face. When Mara saw it, she felt a pang of pain in her chest. The nearer the figure came, the more pain she felt. It was like fire instead of blood was running through her veins. It burned her heart. The longer it took for her to wake up, the more pain she felt all over her body. She told herself to look away from the figure, so that the pain will stop, but her eyes wouldn’t obey her. She screamed, but no sound escaped her lips. The pain was burning her inside.

Mara caught a glimpse of what was under the hood. Piercing ocean-blue eyes stared back at her.

She then opened her eyes. She was greatly relieved when she saw the familiar walls of her bedroom. She was sweating bullets. Her breathing was heavy. Her heart was pounding. She thought it would burst out of her chest.

Another Nightmare.

She had been having the same nightmare ever since her fourteenth birthday two weeks ago. You think that she would’ve been used to it by now, but she still felt scared to death while dreaming and eerie when she woke up. First, it was like a fairy tale, and then it would turn to a horror movie. With the hooded figure in the room, it seemed like all your fears will turn to reality. Add the pain to that, and you would have the perfect nightmare. Every nightmare was unvarying, yet it still managed to scare her. It was really starting to get on her nerves.

She looked at her clock and gasped. Its 6:45 am! She’s late! She’ll get detention! She immediately forgot about her nightmare, and focused on the task of getting to school on time, which was getting quite impossible by the second.

Panting, she arrived at the school gates. She ran all the way from her house to her school, which was about six blocks. She did trip a few times, but no bruises, injuries, or broken bones. She really did hate running, because somehow, she always found something to trip onto. Usually, when she woke up early, her big brother gave her a ride to her school.

That idiot didn’t even wake me up!

With thoughts on how to kill and torture her brother, she walked inside the school gates. Surprisingly, she still had five minutes to spare. She went straight to her locker to get her stuff. This was quite a challenge, since her locker was as organized as a trash can. Finally, she found her things, and finding out that she only had one minute left, dashed to her classroom.

The bell then rang, signaling the beginning of the school day. Just in the nick of time though, for she was already in her seat when this happened. The teacher entered, and homeroom began. Usually, Mara was a very diligent student, listening to the teacher all the time, takes down notes and participating. But not today. Mara stared outside the window, totally oblivious to her surroundings. She never really noticed how beautiful it was outside. The milky snow falling from the tall ivory trees, onto the ground and covering it completely in white. Everything was so immaculate and pure. It was breathtaking.

“Ms. Evans! MS. EVANS!”

Mara suddenly snapped back into reality. She realized her teacher was calling her.

“Yes Ma’am?”

“Glad to have your presence of mind back, Ms. Evans.”

Her classmates snickered. She groaned inwardly and her cheeks flamed. Mara turned as red as a tomato. This is the first time she was scolded by the teacher, and it had to happen in front of the whole class! Why didn’t the ground just cooperate and swallow her?

“I’ll see you in detention after class, Ms. Dane.”

My very first detention! My older brother is going to kill me!

“Yes Ma’am.”

This was definitely the worst day of her life. She sighed. She was determined to make this her first and last detention. From then on, she kept her eyes glued on the blackboard. It required her full willpower, but Mara was set to it. It was going to be a long day.

After four hours of dreadful lectures and quizzes, the bell finally rang. Mara’s eyes were watering from staring at the blackboard too hard.

“Hey there, are you all right?”

Someone tapped her on her shoulder. When she turned around, she saw that it was Cornelia, her lifelong best friend since they were in diapers. She was greatly relieved when she saw her friend’s familiar encouraging smile. She always brightened her day, even the gloomiest of them, just by her presence. That was why she loved her so much.

Cornelia was a girl of fourteen, with a petite frame, short blond hair, and large amber eyes. Mara always admired Cornelia’s optimism and cheerfulness. It was infectious. When she was sad, all it took was Cornelia’s smile, and all of her problems were immediately forgotten. Cornelia was always there, through the good and the bad, and Mara was grateful that she met someone as kind and warm as Cornelia.

“Yeah, I’m fine, really. Don’t give me that look. I am fine. Promise.”

“Are you sure? First you got detention, and then you were staring at the blackboard so hard. You weren’t even blinking! Are you really sure you’re alright? Do you want to go to the clinic?”

“I am totally, completely alright. No need to worry about me.”

“Well, if you insist.”

Mara and Cornelia got out of the classroom with their other friends. They had many different friends, resulting from their different interests. But they would always be best friends and nothing could change that.

They consulted the bulletin board as they passed the corridors. Mara looked at the spot where club meetings and events were posted. It turned out she had a Student Council meeting after school, and that the printing of the newspaper was already scheduled for tomorrow. She was the Student Council President and Editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. With all the work piled up for her, she’ll be lucky to go home by 6 pm.

I still have to go grocery shopping, since I’m the one assigned to cook dinner tonight. I may still make it before the grocery store closes at seven. The fridge is almost empty. Brian will have nothing to eat if I don’t make it. He’ll kill me for sure. Wait a minute . . . Oh NO!!! I have detention! I won’t make it! What am I going to do?!

Mara’s face looked like she just saw a ghost. She was as pale as the snow outside and her dark brown eyes became as wide as plates. It occupied a quarter of her face. The air of gloom and despair was surrounding her quickly. While Mara was thinking on how her brother is going to kill her, Cornelia was looking on the other side of the bulletin board.

Mara jumped with surprise when Cornelia squealed. She was grinning from ear-to-ear and was jumping up and down. Mara’s gloom was replaced with curiosity.

“What happened? What’s the matter?”

“I won!!!”

“Really?! That’s great! What did you win?”

“Remember, I joined a story-writing contest last week? I won first place!”

“Wow! I’m so proud of you! My best friend in first place!”

“I never expected to win. Of course, I wished for it so many times every minute of the day. I wished for it so hard. So it is true that when you wish for it hard enough your wish will come true.”

“Silly, you don’t need to do that. You’re very good. It was expected that you’ll win. You’ve won every art and writing contest since I can remember. You don’t need to stress yourself from wishing.”

“Of course not. I’m not that good. And besides, there are many people here that are so much better than I am.”

“Who, for example?”

“Hmmm . . . Dexter is very good.”

“Did he join?”

“Yes. He won second place.”

“Then that proves that you’re better than him.”

They headed to the cafeteria together. While waiting in line at the canteen, they talked about everything they want to share. When they got their food, they sat in their usual table with their other friends by the window and ate in silence. It’s the advantage of having a best friend, having someone to talk to, and having someone for company when you didn’t want to talk.

Mara told Cornelia her problem with her brother. Mara loved telling her problems to her best friend. She was so sympathetic, and she did everything to help.

“Why don’t you skip editing the newspaper for now?”

“But it’s going to be published tomorrow morning. I can’t just approve something I haven’t checked yet. There might be grammatical errors or something. And I still have to finalize the layout.”

“Well, I’m sure Brian will understand.”

“Can you hear yourself? You know very well that he won’t. I’m going to get grounded.”

“How about I skip choir practice and cook for you?”

“Don’t even think about it. You always help me out of tight spots I made myself. I’ll manage somehow. Don’t worry about me. And besides, I doubt the choir will be pleased to practice without its head.”

When lunch was finished and she was heading back to her room, Mara felt a hand on her shoulder. She suddenly felt a chill down her spine, because the touch was too familiar.

“Mara, is it true?! Did you really get detention?!”

Mara was dreading the idea of turning around and talking to this person, but it would be impolite if she ignored him. Well, here goes nothing.

“Hello Dexter. News travels fast.”

“So it is true! At first I can not believe it, the great Mara, having detention! It’s unbelievable!”

“Well, ummm, that’s good. Oh, class is going to start! Bye!”

Without a second glance, Mara headed to her classroom. Everyday, for two weeks now, it had been like that. She really did have to think of a plan to get rid of him. Sooner or later she’ll really get irritated with him, and she didn’t want that to happen.

Mara knew Dexter since they were in kindergarten. They were never close friends or anything and they rarely talked. Mara wondered why he only started talking to her two weeks ago when they new each other for a decade.

The bell rang once more, signaling the start of the classes for the afternoon. After three hours of lessons, she still had to attend a Student Council meeting and she had to edit the school newspaper and make sure that everything was well before it was printed. Her brother, Brian, is so going to kill her if she got home late. She still had to cook dinner and, not to mention, she still has that abominable detention, with Ms. Terror no less.

The hours passed by quickly for Mara. She didn’t even notice that detention was finished. Ms. Terror agreed to have the detention after her meetings. How “considerate” of her.

It was nearly seven when she managed to get out of the school gates. It was so cold; Mara thought she stepped into a freezer, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The crystal-like snowflakes falling from the sky, into the trees that seem to be made of silver, was beautiful. It was like being in a painting.

Little did she know that everything she believed in will be taken from her in a wink of an eye.

Now playing: Boyzone - When You Say Nothing at All
via FoxyTunes

IT WAS MIDNIGHT WHEN IT ALL HAPPENED.
The beautiful stars can all be seen in the dark sky, giving the night a radiant glow. The beauty of the night complemented the elegance of the castle.

The ballroom was full of guests invited by the Queen herself. All of them were evidently enjoying themselves. The room was brimming with dancing, music, and laughter. The hall was filled with red and gold curtains, and bejeweled chandeliers occupied the ceiling. Roses were in every table, intoxicating the guests with its scent.

A lone figure stood outside the windows, completely hidden in the shadows. It was gone unnoticed by the soldiers stationed outside the castle. It moved silently, very silently, making no sound at all, and in no time was inside the castle.

It happened in a fast blur then.

The figure started to ascend towards the other end of the hall. Everything the figure passed froze. Everything it breathes unto, everything that touches its long black cloak, becomes as still as ice. Turns as hard as stone.

Finally, it reached its destination.

It came face-to-face with the Queen herself. But, the Queen sat there, as if everything that just occurred were called for. If the Queen was disturbed by this, she did not show.

"What have you come here for?"

The hooded figure then showed itself. It was a young woman, an exquisite beauty indeed she was, with ocean blue eyes and silvery-blond hair.

"I want everything. Everything that is rightfully mine."

"Nothing here belongs to you."

"Everything here is mine, Grandmother."

The Queen's eyes widened, full of anger and hatred.

"I have disowned you long ago, Catherine."

"But you have no heir to the throne left Grandmother. Its only me now."

"Then I'd rather that a peasant be queen that a dark witch like you!"

"You'll regret this, Grandmother."

"Never."

"If this is what you prefer Grandmother. Your descendants will pay for your mistake!"

Catherine rose her hands above her and said : "This bloodline will forever be cursed! The dark magic you despised so much will be transferred to your entire bloodline, including your children and their children, with all the generations thereafter!"

With the gust of the wind, she was gone.

The music started playing once more. The guests continued dancing and talking as if nothing ever happened.

The Queen gasped in horror.