Sephonia: The Stolen Children

In Memoriam

    The worst day of their lives had come. It was the day they finally had to face the truth. Their parents were dead. Their sister was dead. They were orphaned.

    The children stood in front of three stone tombs. The bodies were never recovered, but this didn't lessen the deep pain inside of the remaining children. In a matter of days, they had gone from a family of seven to merely a family of four. It was a punch in the gut.

    A priest in long white robes stood still infront of them, and read from a book. None of them children were truly hearing him. Their pain deafened them.

    Rue clung to Mia, wrapping her arms around her waist as Mia held her tight. She cried quietly into her shoulder, seeking any type of comfort she could, with Mia kissing the top of her head every so often, just as their mother did before.

    Makayla stared numbly at the three tombs before her. Her mind was a war but at the same time, she couldn't feel anything. She just stared blankly. The world seemed to be a huge blur. Her mind continued telling her this was all her fault but she didn't care anymore. There was no point in listening.

    The glow from the candles surrounding the tombs seemed to dance as the priest continued reading from his old, worn out bible. "May god rest their souls and may they live in peace, in Jesus name, amen," He sighed, closing his bible and nodding.

    Ezekiel rolled his eyes, sighing. He was never into all the religious stuff as their parents hadn't brought them up on the bible and he was glad all of it was almost over. He couldn't bear the sight of the tombs for much longer. Every time he had disrespected them was flooding back and he couldn't take it. Ezekiel turned around, and walked out, lowering his head. He was full of regrets.     

    Rue knew what was about to happen. She knew they would have to leave but she didn't want to. She could feel the desperation to stay rising inside of her and she was beginning to panic. Her brown eyes filled with tears, spilling over like a dam had broken inside of her. "Come on Rue...It's time to go," Mia spoke quietly. Mak walked ahead of them, lowering her head just as her brother did before. She was done with today. She was done with this year.

    Rue still sat at the tombs, hugging the side. She didn't want to accept that she had to leave. Mia frowned, "come on, we can't stay here." Yet still, Rue refused to move. Her body felt paralyzed. Her heart couldn't let her leave even if the bodies weren't there. Mia walked slowly to her little sister. Rue looked up, noticing this. "No! I don't wanna go!" She screamed, trying to hang on tighter to her mother's tomb.

    Mia grabbed Rue and pulled her up, trying not to cry herself, while Rue screamed, trying to fight her off. None of them wanted to accept the truth but this was their new reality.

    Rue's fingernails clawed into Mia's forearm. She kicked her feet, screaming until her throat was raw. "Let me go!" She wailed. "I don't wanna leave them!!" Tears streamed down Mia's cheeks as she walked, holding Rue by the waist effortlessly.

    Rue's head felt like it would explode at any moment. The screaming was making Mia's ears ring but she knew she had to do this.

    The four of them reached the top of the tomb stairs. Rain poured, pounding the ground, and bouncing off upon impact. Their bodies were tired and broken.

    Ezekiel took Rue from Mia. She was no longer screaming. She had exhausted herself too much to continue on. She was even fighting her sleep. She rested her head on her brother's shoulder, finally allowing sleep to take her.

    The twins walked into their bedroom, and got into their beds. Mak still couldn't feel a thing. She didn't feel like she was really there but somewhere else. She laid in her bed and held herself, just staring at the wall. Her brain couldn't process what was happening. It was shutting down again, only to protect her from the trauma they had endured. Mak turned onto her side, with her back facing Mia.