Saved by an Angel

07:12AM

07:12.

Halo munched on the bowl of cereal she prepared herself, sitting on one corner of the dining table.

She tuned off her mother's shouting as she attempted to stop an argument between the older siblings, Gabriel and Michelle, both of whom only produced more shouting.

Bye, she thought.

At the corner of her eye, her father, in his suit, sat at the other end of the table, speaking to someone on the phone in grim tones. Christian, her younger brother, sat next to him, reading a Science textbook and completely forgetting his hard-boiled eggs.

Bye.

Next to her was the youngest child, her little sister, babbling about her odd dream of fairies and unicorns - thankfully, not another nightmare - to anyone who would listen. (And that, needless to say, was Halo.)

"The fairies were jumping on a trampoline, and I kept telling them they could fly, so they don't need to jump, but they don't listen!"

Halo nodded politely, lips stretching to a genuine smile. Goodbye.