The changes come slowly, like a river trickling down it's bed, toward the ocean. But then, all at once, a dam breaks and everything comes pouring out all at once. That's how I feel with Opal gone. She was my other half, my favorite person. Without her, I'm empty. What will I do?
I heard mom crying in bed the other night. Dad was away on a visit with the mayor, something that often happens. His meetings with him are long, and often last through the night.
I feel terrible for what I've done to the family. I hid like a coward while my sister sacrificed her life as it was to do what I should have done. And there's no way that I can fix it.
I'm sitting on my bed, doing my homework while thinking about Opal, when the front door slams. I'm surprised, because Dad's meetings with the mayor are never done this early. Unless something's wrong.
I leave my homework on the bed as I fly down the stairs. Dad is taking off his coat in the front hall when I barrel into him, wrapping my arms around him like I did as a little kid.
When I look up at him, his face is somber. His hair is messy and he looks stressed.
"Daddy," I say, not caring if I sound like a little kid. "Daddy, what's wrong?"
He pats me on the back. "Sweetie...." he looks up to see mom standing at the top of the stairs. When he speaks, he speaks to both of us. "The mayor's sick. It's a new plague and we don't know how to cure it."
The river's water crashes over my head, and suddenly I'm drowning.
YOU ARE READING
Guardians of Plaxas
FantasyEvery year, ten thirteen year olds are taken from the town of Kitney to go to a school that no one but the chosen knows what happens in. But when Opal's identical twin sister Ruby is chosen to go, she doesn't know what to do. She's never lived a day...
