spectrophobia - EDDIE KASPBRAK [DISCONTINUED]

CHAPITRE TROIS

CHAPTER THREE

ACHE AND PAIN

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"The world holds so much pain that I could also feel it in my bones."

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JUNE 1989

THE SUNRISE CAME A FEW HOURS AGO. Juno had been awake since six in the morning, the same time when she wakes up for school, thinking about her activities for the day. It only consist of her doing chores, going to the police station with her father and trying to see if She needs to report Henry to his father.

Sitting by her table, notebook opened, the girl wrote another sentence to add to her stepmother's book. "She looked into the mirror; the same image flashed in front of her. As she looked away, her reflection stayed the same, smiling towards her in a way that sends chills down one's spine."

The pen moved vigorously as her hand gripped it while scribbling those words down on one of the parchments. Her stepmother, Cyan, was just a simple woman, but had big dreams. When she came into Juno's life, she was like an angel to the little baby. She may not be the biological mother, but that didn't stop her on loving the baby as her cyan eyes met Juno's emerald one's.

Juno's biological mother, Esther, was a lovely woman, both inside and out. She was clever and charming that others said the young girl inherited. But, her eyes never saw it herself. Her birth seemed to be the most devastating one to be told within the town; a loving mother that never saw her offspring for God did not permit it.

Some said Esther was cursed from the beginning. Some said she was just an unlucky woman at that certain point of her life. But Juno knew better. There's a reason behind such an unfortunate event.

The smell of bacon, eggs and freshly baked muffins hit her nostrils. Her eyes left the notebook and glanced at the wall clock on top of the doorframe. It was ten to twelve. It was a usual for the family to skip breakfast and mix it up with their lunches due to her father sleeping until ten and her mother working as a nurse in the local hospital. She wanted to prepare their meals, but God forbid, small fires always start up and burns the food.

Packing up her papers, she went down from her room to the dining area, where Cyan was placing their meals on the table. "Morning, June." The older woman greeted with a smile. "Morning, Mom." The younger one replied, showing her the stacked papers and notebook. "Here you go; all arranged and updated."

"How long have you been awake to do this?" Cyan asked after accepting the objects. "Since six in the morning." Juno replied, seating down on one chair with a full plate in front of it. "Is dad home already?"

"Still asleep. Came home more than late after another investigation came up. Clearly, it was another kid who went missing."

"What's the kid's name?"