Plum Blossom | Completed

Prologue

It felt like any other day when high school sophomore Mellisa Adams woke up. But it wasn't! It was her 16th birthday. She had forgotten, but her family hadn't. Which is why she had awoken to her eight-year-old twin brothers jumping on her bed. Mellisa couldn't bring herself to yell at her brothers about it, not with her parents standing at the foot of the bed, a cake with two candles in her mother's hands.

"Happy sweet sixteen, my darling," her mother whispered to her, a soft smile on her face. Nodding her head, Melisa quietly thanked her parents as she crawled towards her parents, ready to blow out the candles.

"So, what are we doing to celebrate this momentous occasion?" her father chirped.

"I don't really think it's a big deal, dad. I didn't have a choice in being born, and all I really did was manage to stay alive for sixteen years," Mellisa teased. "I have a meeting with Dr. Perez today, to discuss my volunteering hours at the hospital."

"So, that's still the dream, huh?" her mother asked.

"Nurse or doctor. Not sure yet. But medicine it is," Mellisa grinned.

"But we have to do something special today. Something just for you," her dad exclaimed.

"This IS for me, dad. I want to do this."

"Well, then, we are going to get you something special. You can't object," dad said sternly. I conceded.

"Just don't spend too much money. I have everything I need."

Mellisa's family was well-to-do. Her parents worked hard and were smart about their money. Mellisa and her brothers were never in want for anything. But she was always mindful not to be overindulgent. Her family wasn't always as comfortable as they were now. She had seen her parents struggle to make ends meet. She was aware of her privilege and tried to not take advantage of it. Her parents, on the other hand, seemed to forget that sometimes.

"We'll try to keep that in mind. Now you better hurry up. You're going to be late for school."

Her father's words had her scrambling out of bed.

Forty-five minutes later, she was being swarmed into a hug by her best friend and her boyfriend.

"Mel! Happy Birthday!" they screamed as Mellisa entered the school grounds.

"What's the plan for today?" her best friend, Bethany Carmichael, asked.

"The same as every birthday - school, then volunteering and finally dinner with my family," Mellisa smiled as Beth rolled her eyes. She could never quite understand why Mellisa did this when her parents were willing to give her whatever she wanted on her birthday, or any other day, for that matter.

"Why won't you spend your special day with your loving boyfriend," her boyfriend of 6 months, Trey Donovan, pouted.

"It's tradition. We don't break tradition. Besides, you guys have me all weekend. It's not that far off," Mellisa offered.

"But it won't be your birthday then," Trey whined like a 5-year-old.

"So, not much pressure to make the day amazing. Besides, I already offered for you to come to dinner with us," Mellisa reminded both Trey and Beth.

"Nah, that's okay. You enjoy your time with your family. We'll have our fun over the weekend," Trey said, giving Mellisa one last hug as the morning bell rang.

The rest of the school day was like any other normal day. Mellisa was well known around the school, so she had a lot of people wishing her a happy birthday, but she wouldn't necessarily call them all friends. She often claimed her popularity was a result of being associated with Beth and Trey, who were both social butterflies.

As the school day ended, Mellisa raced to the local hospital, hoping to not be late for her meeting with Dr. Perez. Dr. Perez was a kind and intelligent man of 40 years. He was the head of the hospital and had given Mellisa her first volunteer job at the hospital the previous year. She was hoping to convince him about letting her show up more often.

As luck would have it, Dr. Perez agreed. He called it an internship, and even offered to pay Mellisa some sort of a stipend. Mellisa felt on top of the world as she waltzed home after her meeting. Her brothers were waiting on the porch for her to open the door. Their parents weren't quite comfortable giving them housekeys as yet.

Ushering her brothers into the house, Mellisa sent them to their rooms to get ready for dinner. Her parents would be back soon to take them to dinner. She couldn't wait to tell them her news.

She never got to tell them.

Instead, a week later, she found herself sitting in her father's favorite chair as person after person she had never met offered their condolences. There she sat, without parents and without friends; only her brothers left by her side.

Her parents had, in fact, gone out to buy her a special birthday present. They never got to their destination though. They had died in a car crash on their way to the stores. It was a hit-and-run, the cops had said. The culprit had gotten away.

And for the past week, while battling her own grief and heartbreak, Mellisa had also taken care of her brothers, who were dealing with their new circumstance in their own way. Life as she knew it had forever changed!