Last Hope

Chapter 1

It was a peaceful sunday morning and we were all huddled together on the couch. By we, I meant Mother, Father, Janice and me. Janice was my older sister and I really liked her. Unlike most siblings, we rarely fought. She had saved me a seat when I got home from school today and now we were all intently watching the TV screen as there was an important announcement to be made by Karina, the country's leader.

"We now welcome President Karina to share a few words," The news reporter said, and Ms Karina flicked on screen. She was in a video call with the news outlet, sitting in her fancy office. Her short brown hair was professionally trimmed and she wore a really nice black suit. She looked smart, completely befitting of a world leader. "Good evening fellow citizens, I have some good news to share," she smiled confidently. "We are experiencing an influx in crops and have a bountiful harvest for the year. To celebrate, we will be holding a festival." A festival? We all looked at each other in a mix of shock and happiness. It's been a long time since our last festival. I remember the flashing neon lights, the yummy food stands and socialising. I can't wait for it to happen again this year!

"Enjoy a day of fun and excitement and a break from work!" With that, our family all broke into smiles and cheers. This was so awesome. Ms Karina ended the video call and the news reporter beamed on screen. Then she continued droning on the latest news, which is where Janice and I ran off into our rooms. Nothing bad happens here anyways, so I see no need to catch up on boring news. I'm going to text Anna about this. We should totally go to the festival together!

I take out a phone and begin talking to Anna.

Me : hii, i just received the news of the festival !! did u ?

Anna : yeahh ! can we pls go together ?

Me : i was abt to ask !! yes , lets go !!

Anna: see u then !

I couldn't wait! The only thing left to do now is to wait for the news to officially announce the date of the carnival. And by then, me and Anna will start shopping for a dress to wear there, preferably one that has a lively mood. I smiled as I put away my phone and sat on my desk. The fun was over, now it was time to do homework. I sighed a little when I saw how hard the Math questions were but concentrated and did them anyway.

After a while, it was time for me to go to sleep. Before I could get ready, however, someone knocked on my door. Who could it possibly be at this time? Don't tell me Mother or Father want to say something to me when I'm about to go to bed...

I gently opened the door and found Janice there. Her long hair flowed into waves at her shoulders as she flashed me her best smile. "Oh hey, Janice. What do you need?" I smiled politely back at her. I just wanted to sleep, but I had to entertain her, obviously. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy, but Janice didn't seem to care. She jumped up and down enthusastically. "It's been forever since there's been a carnival, Jess! We have to go together." Um... I gulped nervously. I didn't want to disappoint my sister, but I already agreed to go with Anna. What was I going to do now? And I was absolutely exhausted, too. "Can we talk about this tomorrow, sis? I'm sorry, but I'm just extraordinarily tired right now." She immediately changed her face into a pout and I had to hold back a sigh in fear of making her even sadder. Sometimes I felt like I was the older sister around here. "Sorry!" I closed the door in her face and crashed onto my bed. I was being very mean, I know, but I just can't anymore. I need my sleep.

My eyelids grew heavy again and before long, I fell into a deep sleep.

BONUS ! :
*•.¸♡ Mother's perspective ♡¸.•*

As a member of the city council, I was forced to stay awake and file paperwork long after my kids had slept. Naturally, I was excited for the festival, but alongside it came a flood of worries I never told my children about. It wasn't the usual burdens of parents, no. It was about the country.

The leaders had disguised this from regular citizens, but a neighbouring country was planning on attacking us. Ms Karina had lied on that screen. The festival was to try and impress Princess Ariel, the teenage daughter of the country's king, so that we would be saved, because quite frankly, we just don't have the army required to battle them if we actually went to war with them.

The pressure was on and it was really stressing me out as I was one of the people in charge of making sure everything went smoothly. To be honest, this whole thing was pretty dumb. We had to rely on a festival to save everyone's fate just because the princess loves festivals? How did we get here? I dropped my head into my hands, anxiety overtaking me. No, I mustn't be like this. I must trust myself and the other leaders, for we have the expertise to do a good job in something as simple as a festival. I sighed. I should just finish up this paperwork and go to bed. It's been a long day. Maybe I will feel better about the situation and have more clarity about it the next day, but one thing is for sure: the fate of the people lies partly in my hands.