'And she wished... she could wake up to the fact that it was only a nightmare.'
Grace scowled at herself in the mirror with frustration and felt tears welling up. She did not want to think about the unbearable things and the harsh words she had with her father last night. An overwhelming grief knotted at her stomach and pulled at her heart. Pins and needles ran up the back of her neck and sent tremors throughout the body. A lump in her throat threatened to choke her, just then she heard quiet sobs from the other side. She turned around and found Lisa, her six year old sister standing at the door.
She took a deep breath, dried her eyes and forced a smile on her face.
'Oh Lisa, come in here', she said with a welcoming smile.
Lisa was sixteen years younger than Grace and she was more like a daughter to her. To be honest, she was an unplanned child to her parents and the news hit her father like a shock, on the contrary her mother had mixed feelings about the baby she was expecting. She was excited to have another hope of happiness in her life that might give her courage and strength to fight for herself, at the same time the baby would bring blessings upon their family and their disconnected bonds might become stronger. But she feared the baby's health as she felt weak from within. She was nearly fifty years old but seemed even older from her age as times had been rough on her.
Lisa was a bit overweight child according to her age and that is what made her look even adorable. Her eyes were blue like the sea, crystal clear blue- shimmering that observed everything very deeply unlike Grace who had brown eyes like that of her father. She was stubborn yet very kind at the heart, very much like her elder sister.
'May I know what troubled my baby so much that she's on the verge of flooding this house?' Grace asked while taking Lisa into her arms.
'Are you trying to be funny?' Lisa answered with a frown.
Grace laughed as she started braiding Lisa's soft, silky hair that looked exactly like their mother's, and remembered how she used to play with her hair when she was with her.
'No. I'm just asking the reason behind those glittery pearls in your eyes.' Grace waved off other thoughts from her mind.
'Well, you shouldn't ask. When I asked you the same question last night you made me go to bed even before my regular bedtime.' Lisa replied in a firm voice.
Grace tied a ribbon in Lisa's perfectly braided hair and said, 'Ready for school. Come on lets quickly rush down or else you'll be late again.' She ignored her question as she herself did not know how and what to answer to this unaware and helpless child.
She asked Lisa to get her bag and stepped outside the house to lookout for the school bus. Suddenly she heard her father call her name, 'Grace Wait! Look I know you're really hurt but we need to talk about it and I'm sure things will get better. Please allow me a chance to explain. There's so much to talk about.'
'If I could show you how awful you made me feel last night, you would never be able to look me in the eye again.' And she walked towards the school bus. Just then Lisa came running to her and hugged her tight.
'I know there's something wrong and Dad also knows about it but whatever it is I just want you to promise that you won't leave me like Mom did.' Lisa said in a shaky voice and kissed Grace.
'I will never leave you. I love you and that is all you should always know. Nothing and no one can ever come between us. No matter what happens you will be a strong girl. Okay? Now go and shine out.' Grace waved her a goodbye.
From Nightmare to Bliss. Copyright © June 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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Author's Note:
To my readers,
I know this chapter was kind of short but this is just the beginning, the best is yet to come. I've just introduced three of my characters for now.
And you must have figured it out that Grace is the protagonist and the story revolves around her.
There is so much of mystery about her that is yet to be explored. And as the story continues you'll find yourself flowing through it.
Lisa is an inquisitive child and you'll find more about her as you read through. She's really loveable and is the only source of love and happiness for Grace but later on, she'll motivate her elder sister to find true love for herself and bring back the happiness she was always deprived of.
And their father's character has not been much explained for now. But you must have figured out that there's something about him that is disturbing Grace. Can you guess what that is?
How do you find the relationship between the two sisters?
What do you think has happened to their mother/between their mother and father/or where has she gone?
'I'm not the simple girl that you see... there's so much more to me...
Things that you cannot handle... feelings that you cannot relate to... and fears that will never let me be happy with you...'
- Grace Garner from 'From Nightmare to Bliss'
Don't forget to vote and leave your comments for me as they really motivate me to upload the next chapter. :)
If you have any suggestions, feel free to write below and I'll try to take them into consideration.
I love you all. Spread love people.
