Jade leaned beside the fridge, he wanted to grab a bottle of soy milk that his mum had prepared very early in the morning before hurriedly rushing out of the house for her interview.
Sassy, his mum's ginger cat playfully ran towards him, tenderly biting his toes and scratching his trousers. It wanted to play, but sadly, Jade was not in the mood for that.
A sea of pictures covered the entire fridge, some were his, and others were either a family photo or just his father's. He stared at them. He sighed.
His heart grew heavier by the minute, it was as though every picture had it's own memories, most of which he never really wanted to remember.
"Stop!" He shouted at Sally after it gave him a harder bite on the leg. He had had enough with the crazy cat.
His eyes landed on a family photo at the other side of the fridge, his eyes began to tear up.
It was a picture with everyone in it :Him, his dad, his mum and Chloe, his twin sister.
Tears were now rolling down his cheeks. The harsh memories the picture carried were opening up old wounds.
Jade was now sitting on the floor with the picture in his hand. The horrendous frenzy of surging emotions complimented the tormenting memories. And together, they both glared at him.
***
**Flashback**
A wide smile laid on Jade's handsome face. He was all dressed up for the Family picnic. It was the first family outing they have had in a long while now, so it meant alot to everyone, especially him.
"Guys, are you done?" his dad asked from the living room
"Yes... No" Jade and Chloe chorused.
"Chloe is still combing her hair..."
"No dad I'm done"
"Okay...to the car everyone" Their dad clownishly shouted
Jade raced his sister downstairs, all for the reward of sitting at the front seat(which according to them was the best seat in the car)
"Jade, let your sister sit there, please" his mum pleaded after Chloe's face was already gloomed up to cry.
"No, I got here first. She should sit at the back" Jade angrily insisted.
"I'll buy you an extra plate of ice-cream" she whispered into his ears
"okay mummy" he agreed but not too happy about it though.
Soon, they were on the road, Jade and Chloe were singing some of the nursery rhymes they learnt in school, laughing and giggling, pointing and fantasising at almost everything that ran past their car,especially the uncountable moving trees. They enjoyed every single second they spent on the road.
"Mummy look" Chloe anxiously tapped her mum, pointing to a huge sand castle some group of girls had built on the beach.
"Can I join them, pleeeease" she begged
"Okay, Okay...you can. But after we setup our spot first." her mum instructed, making Chloe to reply her with a smile and a nod.
"Go bring out the mat" her dad said as he approached them with a comely smile
"Are you okay?" he asked his wife
"Yes... I am" she replied, giving him a soft smile and a kiss.
In minutes, they had set up everything for their little picnic at the beach.
Everyone was happy, they were all having fun.
"Mum, can I go now?" Chloe asked, almost impatiently.
"Please mum" she added
"Okay. But don't go too far"
"Yes mum" she answered, already running hastily to join the girls close to the shore.
"hmmmf" she heaved a sigh.
"Honey, are you sure you're okay?" Her husband caringly asked her again
"You know what, just stay with the kids, I'm coming..."she said as she hurriedly left.
Jade just sat there with a pancake in his hand, looking all confused.
" Dad can I go play too" Jade naively asked as he was already getting bored
"mmn...yeah, sure" his dad muttered, not even sparing him a glance. He was disturbed by his wife's strange behaviour since they arrived. He was bothered to the brim. He then left the mat and everything on it and went after her.
He met her sitting on a rocky elevation at the other side of the beach. He could notice some droplets of tears at the corners of her eyes.
"What happened?"
"talk to me babe... What's wrong?" he asked, looking all worried
"Frank I had a dream"
"A dream?"
"Yes" she uttered as tears covered her face
"And our children were dead, and you were dead, I.. I..." She cried
"Hey...babe...look at me" he pulled her head up
"nothing is going to happen to either me or the kids. Okay?" he assured, closing her in and hugging her warmly.
"Where are the kids?" she asked, clearing her face with the back of her hands.
"There're at the beach...they're playing"
"We need to go now" she instructed as she simultaneously broke free from his embrace.
They both hurried back to the beach, and in matter of seconds everything switched. They met Jade crying. The whole atmosphere suddenly changed from fun and happy to sad and gloomy.
Chloe had followed the girls into the water to swim!
"Where is your sister?" She asked, as confusion grabed her by the neck
"Chloe" She shouted as she ran towards the water by the shore that kept moving back and forth as it played with the wind.
People were already gattered there, everyone staring into the endless spans of the ocean.
Divers had flunged themselves into the water the minute the alarm was raised. Everyone had their arms wrapped arround theirs chests.
Frank and his wife just stood there, in shock.
Every single neuron in their brain had instantly switched off. They didn't understand what was going on.
Little Jade just sat on the picnic mat, crying for his sister who had jumped into the scary water and didn't come back up.
The divers were out, none of them saw the young girl.
*The current must have carried her body deeper into the heart of the ocean*
"Frank, where is my daughter?"
"Where is my daughter?!" She shouted as she broke down in tears.
"Chloeeee"She cried.
Her breath grew faint, she fell and passed out.
*A wonderful family picnic indeed*
YOU ARE READING
ECLIPSED
Детектив / Триллер"The skies were grumpy, dark and moody. The wind stood still, probably in shock of what it beheld. No one was breathing properly. Not even Jade. As unreal as it all felt, it couldn't be called a dream. Everyone was there, eyes wide open yet void of...
