The Aempodi

2: Kaia's Excursions

The walk home from the cemetery was one that felt like it would never end, suddenly the distance between Ripley Street and her home turned into a thousand miles rather than a feeble 15 minute-walk. The unexpected meeting with Sonny shook Kaia up and her mind reeled into the worst possible situations she could imagine herself being in.

How could she even begin to explain herself for what she was trying out? If Sonny, the clueless brunette beauty that didn't even realize that 'cappucino' was a type of coffee, figured out what she had been doing, then who else could have known?

Lacy? Of course she'd know, there's no way Sonny could possibly shut up about such a scandalous discovery from her own her best friend. And if she hadn't spread it to the whole school yet then surely Jenna will, they might as well publish an article on the local newspaper.

BREAKING NEWS: Star student Kaia Gabree have lost her entire mind.

She could imagine the headline with disturbing realism, even the photo that they will probably pick for the front page.

"There goes my life..." Kaia muttered under her breath, a resigned feeling already settled in her. It wasn't as though things could get much worse anyway, she already went through enough problems for a lifetime.

A cool breeze whistled past her, prompting her to stifle a shiver down and shove her hands into her cardigan, though she soon figured out that it didn't do much good either. A string of curses flew from her lips, damning the cold weather and why she was dumb enough to not wear something warmer.

"Stupid weather...stupid life," she was rambling on now and she knew the reason was not so much because of her town's lack of heat but the thoughts she had been trying to keep away was slowly coming back to the surface, already breaking its anchor that made it stay at the bottom.

It's been 2 months since the accident happened but every time she shut her eyes for the night, it only felt like yesterday.

Only yesterday did she get into the Uber ride to go back home at half-past midnight, not knowing that she was going to regret sneaking out with that cute guy from the football team who she didn't intend to meet up for a second time anyways.

People say that she was lucky for not getting hurt, that it was a blessing from high above she made it out alive.

But they didn't know what it was like to be the only survivor. Because they didn't have to be the only one alive amongst the other victims, to be the only one breathing while everyone else had their head bashed in to the windows, all bloody and mangled. They surely didn't know the guilt that she felt when she realized that she was unharmed while the others suffered.

They didn't know anything.

The worst part was that Kaia was sure, with absolute certainty that she did in fact feel the impact of the crash. She was in the back seat, half-drunk without even a seat belt strapped on.

The car she was in had flipped upon impact and almost broke the siderails apart. Every inch of it was damaged, no surface was left without a dent, no glass was absent of the jagged lines of the broken windows. And yet there she was, with nothing more than a few scrapes here and there and bruises on her legs.

Crash!

Her ears were still filled by the shockingly loud sound of metals tearing off metals, and every now and then she could see the flashing headlights that glared into her eyes the moment when she knew that they were too close to avoid.

And she didn't even have any pain to cope with it.

The door swung open with a loud creak, already announcing her presence without her having to say anything. She huffed at the sound, finding the tingle that went down her spine was too uncomfortable for the door's worth. "This thing has been here since the stone age,can't we just replace it..." Kaia muttered to herself before clearing her throat and shouting out, "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

"In here, honey." The firm voice of her mother came from the living room. Kaia walked over there and sure enough, there she was, snuggled comfortably on the sofa. Her mother's mahogany hair was messier and much darker than her own so it was very apparent when the woman didn't even bother to do anything much today, just occupy her daily life with whatever Netflix could offer.

And beside the sofa- just within arm's reach- was a little pink stroller covered with giant blue polkadots in which a baby was in deep sleep.

"Hey Mom," Kaia chirped up, pushing back the thoughts that darkened her head. If there was anything her mother couldn't tolerate was her children being sad. "How's Kieran?" Once she got nearer, it was obvious how better her baby brother looked compared to a few days ago. His skin wasn't red anymore, merely a light shade of pink here and there, and he was sleeping without a sound this time.

"Much better, the fever's almost over." The relief in Mom's voice was something they both felt. "How about you? Did you at least go to see your friends perform?"

The girl pursed her lips, eyes lowered once she felt the expectant gaze piercing through her. Well, here goes another disappointment. "Nope, sorry. Couldn't do it."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Her mother sighed, a slight shake with her head. "I thought you said you'd try."

"And I did but I just... I guess a part of me regretted not joining."

"But?" There was always a 'but' there when it came to Kaia.

"But, I also know that I just can't carry this on."

"Well, you don't know that for sure, honey. Maybe this can be an outlet for you to just release your stress nowadays. Who knows?" Her mother reached out for her hand, brushing her thumb gently against it. It was oddly comforting, always has been. "If you can take up something then you might just feel better."

"Maybe," Kaia agreed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't like where this direction was heading, there was no way she'd spent yet another hour with her mother playing therapist, trying to dig out her real thoughts.

"Yes, so-"

"But I did take up something." Sort of, a very loose kind of 'take up'. Kaia smiled at her mother, trying to convey a mild excitement in her face. "Speaking of which, I might just go do that right now, so..." Before the woman could say anything, she immediately rushed up the stairs, shouting a quick 'Love you!' as she ran.

Once she was in her room, Kaia locked the door behind her and she felt her heart beat fast again.

On the shelves, hidden behind dozens of other books was one that a dark red hard cover on it. It was tattered and yellow with age, like a centuries old letter that had been torn apart before but got re-attached. It was thick and heavy, musty with dust even if it had been brushed off just the night before. A dark string bound one end to another, threatening to snap off from its dangerously thin surface. There was no name for the book, no striking fonts plastered onto its cover.

Only sharp, brief cuts into its leather skin, marking it as if it was somebody's property.

Kaia didn't know what to think when she first found the book during her short trip into the woods not far from her house. But now, it was as though somebody was sending a sign to her. All the books from the library, dozens of dollars she had spent on researching this, nothing was working. Her attempts were futile. But somehow, she had a feeling- no, she knew that this book was the answer.

The girl reached out deep into her shelves and pulled the book out, grunting at its surprising weight. She caressed it in her arms, feeling the smooth yet ancient-like skin of the aged papers.

"3 more days," Kaia whispered to herself, her heartbeat still faster than she would have preferred. "The new moon will be up, Mom and Dad are having a trip and I..." she spared a glance to the book in her hands, "will find out what I am."