Foreign

•4• Glass

My heart races. I'm trapped. Surrounded by flames. On all sides. All I can hear are my brother's screams, my mother's cries, and my father calling out my name. There's no way to reach them. My skin starts burning, I can no longer hear my mother, and my father's yells turn into cries of pure fear and agony. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I CAN'T BREATHE.

"Serafina!" I jolt upwards, opening my eyes, looking down at my hands to see they're gripping the white bed sheets tight and pillows were all over the floor. I look up to see my aunt's worried eyes. She takes my hands in hers. "Are you alright?"

"I'm so sorry for... the mess Ama. I'll clean it up." I start to get up and she stops me.

"Sweet Fi, don't apologize and don't do anything. What happened is a horrible, awful, tragedy that you should never have had to experience. These nightmares are normal, and I'm so sorry they are happening for you."

I want to cry, I want to lay it all out on the table with Ama and talk to her about everything, but that would only make me more sad. I need to distract myself. I could tell she was reading this by the look on her face.

"C'mon, lets go work in the garden for a bit, shall we?" I nod, telling her I'll meet her down there in a few minutes, and I put on a lavender floral skirt with a small white blouse type top, and walk down to the garden, leaving my hair in its long waves and my face without touch up.

~

After watering the flowers for about an hour or so, Ama left to go into town to go to the market, and I laid in the grass, beside the wildflowers. It's an amazing feeling to be surrounded by nature and let yourself submerge into its beauty and comfort, at least for me, it's always been a safe haven. To listen to the sounds of the birds and the wind and the natural voices of the world is to be at complete peace.

"Serafina, is that you?" I sit up from where I am in the grass, tugging at my skirt to make sure it's down. I look up to see Leone.

"Good morning Leo"

He smiles, lending me a hand and helping me up, a sparkle in his eyes. "Nicolas just finished making breakfast, he wanted me to look for you."

"Oh alright" I say with a small smile. I let go of his hand and we start walking towards the front door. It's actually a bit of a walk, as the house is quite large, and the gardens and grass field stretch a long distance. Our family has lived here for many generations, and a lot of money has been passed down.

"So, you lived in New York?"

"Yes, from around age nine until, well, a few days ago, actually." I let out a small laugh.

"And how old are you then?"

"Eighteen. You?"

"I'm nineteen." He said with a big smile. "I'm technically studying abroad, I'm from here originally, but I live in Greece. I'm spending a year here in Venice for study."

"And what exactly are you studying?"

"Well I'm supposed to be studying literature," He starts, opening the door to the house, "But... I'm exploring my options." He says with a wink. I laugh and walk inside, taking in the smell of pancakes, eggs, and fresh fruit. Everyone was already sitting at the table except for Nicolas, who was still doing something in the kitchen. Leo went to join everyone at the table and I walk over to Nico.

"What's up?" I ask, with a smile, looking down at all the food.

He looks up at me, with a tired, yet happy grin. "Well, all the food's done, but Lucca still isn't here so I wonder if he thought I bailed..."