Seret

Chapter 11

Her bloodshot eyes burst open. Seret felt like she was suffocating until suddenly there was a bright light that filled the room. She was home safe home, lying down in her bed. Emily was towering over her, the duvet in one hand and a strawberry glazed cupcake in the other. ‘Are you okay sweetie? You’re sweating and you look a little more pale than usual.’ Seret wiped her forehead and stared bewildered at Emily. ‘Um, I’m okay I – I guess.’ She caught her breath.
‘Great, then!’ Emily dropped the duvet and hugged Seret, who sat idle like a statue, ‘Happy Birthday, baby girl!’
‘Uh, thanks, mum?’ she said, confused.
‘I know you’ll be too curious to wait until later so, here you go-’ said Emily as she handed Seret a small box gift wrapped in bright yellow polka dit paper with a shiny silver bow on top. Seret reluctantly took it, ‘Thank you. This wouldn’t happen to be a chain with a blue stone pendant, would it?’ Seret warily asked. She had a very strong sense of déjà vu at the moment.
‘Aw, sorry honey. Was that what you wanted? Forgive me, but I’ve got you something else instead. I know it’s been a tough year for me, but I really wanted to get you something memorable for you sweet sixteenth. Go on!’ she signaled at Seret for her to open the gift.
As Seret cautiously opened it, her memories came flooding back. She remembered her abilities, running away from home and meeting Aiden. Her mind was racing to figure out what just happened. Flashes of moments sparked in her head. She remembered being held at gunpoint, being attacked at the café, how she healed so quickly, she was positive that all of that had happened. And yet, here she was in her cozy bed without any remnants of her experiences left behind.
‘Do you not like it?’ asked Emily, snapping Seret out of it. She realised that she had already unconsciously opened the box. To her surprise, it was not a necklace with a blue stone, it was a simple keyring with a wooden heart and the words ‘You may only turn sixteen once, but stay sweet forever’ was engraved on it. ‘Uh, oh, yes. Um, of course I love it mum, thank you!’ she tried to sound enthusiastic.
‘You welcome sweety!’ Emily kissed her on her forehead as Seret's phone buzzed as if on cue, ‘That’s probably Riley, I’ll leave you to it. Hurry and get dressed now. Breakfast is almost ready!’ Emily then left the room. Seret stared at the ringing phone in awe before eventually answering.
‘Um, hello.’ She said
‘Took you long enough, happy birthday sleepy head!’
……………………………………......................

Everything was the same, but at the same time, it wasn’t. Everyone was happy and cheerful that morning. Riley and mum seemed not to have the faintest clue about what happened. Seret tried to play along with their happy vibe, but it was difficult with all the memories, or dreams, she couldn't differentiate between the two. Maybe all that was just a dream, she wondered. Even so, she never would have thought her imagination could brew up such a hectic situation. When she considered everything more, she was certain it was just a dream, and a little relieved as well. She was glad none of those life threatening situations had actually happened. It was a bit sad though that it meant she didn’t have any super awesome powers.
‘Seret, hurry down now!’ called Emily from the kitchen. Seret quickly finished getting dressed and rushed downstairs. As usual, the kitchen counters were a mess, but the delicious aroma of waffels compensated for the untidiness. Seret sat down infront of a huge stack of waffles. As she was munching away, the uncommon sound of someone clopping down the stairs filled the house. Seret looked at mum and realised that it was just the two of them home. Mum didn’t seem to be startled by it, so Seret patiently waited for the person to reach the end. Soon, there was a little boy wearing pajams standing at the entrance of the kitchen. He walked up to Seret as she stared at him analytically and then gave her an evelope. Seret cautiously opened it; it was a hand drawn happy birthday card. Seret studied it and  tried to wrap her mind around it.
‘Well it is rude not to say thank you, Seret!’ scolded Emily.
‘Oh, I-, thank you. But, um, who are you?’
‘Are you okay honey, that’s your brother of course, how could you forget. Were you’ll fighting again?’ said Emily
‘Brother?’ Seret quickly changed tones, ‘Well of course I know that, I was just um playing a prank that’s all.’
‘Did you really forget about me, Sis?’ whined the boy.
‘Oh, uh, no, of course not. It was just a joke. Thank you for your card.'
'Honey, why don’t you go upstairs and get ready quickly. You're late as it is.’ said Emily to the boy. He nodded and sprinted out of the kitchen. ‘Now, Seret. I know you and Riley normally have plans to go to school together, but can you please take Aiden today, I've got a bunch of errands to do?’
‘Aiden? He’s here!’
‘Obviously he’s here, Seret. He is your brother, after all. Honestly, how far do you kids go just for a practical joke!’ Emily began tidying the kitchen. Seret ate in silence as she adjusted to the news. She had no clue what had happened to her. If Aiden was actually her brother, why did she have that dream, and why couldn’t she remember him. This little boy somehow looked exactly like the Aiden from her dreams. He was short and slightly chubby with a black crew cut. He seemed less disciplined and more sensitive, but it definitely looked like him. At the moment, she couldn’t figure out what was going on. Had her mind tricked her so greatly to make her forget she had a brother. She looked at the photos in the lounge. Aiden was in all of them.
After breakfast, the two walked the route to school and met up with Riley. Aiden kept his head turned the entire time, Riley eventually asked, ‘What’s up Aiden? Got something on your mind?'
Aiden sprinted forward and disappeared behind a corner, Riley looked at Seret, and she gave her a look saying, 'I'll explain later.' They quickly chased after Aiden, who thankfully hadn't gotten far. What they didn't see was that while he was running, his shoe lace opened, and he had tripped. He was lying on the pavement, his face soaked in tears. Seret cautiously knelt next to him, trying not to scare him off. He tried to cover his face out of embarrassment, but when he did, Seret noticed his arm had been scratched. She gently tried to dab it with a tissue, but he pulled away and sat up, turning to his side. Riley felt the tension, so she just stood there trying not to interrupt. Seret thought carefully about what she had to say and then spoke, 'Look, Aiden, for whatever it is that you're mad about, I really am sorry.'
Aiden cried, 'If you were, then you'd know what it is, wouldn't you?'
Seret felt like she did know, 'It's because of this morning, isn't it?' Seret heard him whimper a little louder. 'Listen, I just had a really crazy start to my day, that's all. You see, I had a really weird dream, and believe it or not, you were in it, and you were all grown up and really cool.'
Aiden slowly loosened his guard, 'Like really cool?'
'Yeah, you were tall and super strong and brave, and in the dream, you were my hero.' She smiled softly.
'I was your hero? But why did you forget me this morning?'
'I guess I must've been so used to the you I saw in my dream that I didn't recognize you at first. I really am sorry.'
Aiden smiled and jumped onto Seret for a hug. After that, they all made their way to school, and Seret had an absolutely normal day; something that felt like it had been missing for a long time. On their way back, Aiden insisted on stopping by the park to play for a while. Seret reluctantly agreed. As she sat and waited for him, she watched as he climbed to the very top of the slide and yelled, 'I'll save you, Miss Seret!'
He then started waving, calling out her name, 'Seret, Seret!'

Hey guys!!
If you've actually come this far in my book, I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate all your support. Please feel free to comment, vote, and give feedback on my novel so far. I would love to hear what you guys think about it, and if there's any errors or ways that you think I could improve, please let me know!  👋