He's Here

Chapter 1: The Loss

It had been 3 weeks ever since the death of my father, Harrison Menchavez. He had died due to a heart attack suddenly. Me, my siblings, and my mom didn't know what exact time he died, it was probably about 1 am-6 am because when we woke up at around 6:30 am, he was already gone.

He was in his late 50's we had never expected he'd died so soon, but he also had some serious issues with his health.

Ever since then, I had been literally rotting in my bed. I couldn't even eat anything, I had no appetite at all. When I had found out, I sat in my bed not knowing what to do with my life anymore, I basically balled my eyes out until I couldn't even physically cry anymore.

I was my dad's favorite among my siblings. We'd hangout every weekends, like a father and daughter day, we would get some ice cream, maybe ride some rollercoasters and, our favorite which is probably watching netflix and eating some popcorn.

My mom hadn't been the same ever since my dad passed. Usually, she'd spend some time with us after her work, she went to work after me and my siblings left for school which was at 8 am and arrived at home at 7pm. But this time, she had to work long hours to get some extra money since my dad died. All the utility bills, electricity bills, etc. So now, she arrived home at like 11pm or 12am.

Since my dad wasn't here to take care of us, I was basically the babysitter of my siblings. I had 2 brothers, Carlos was 8 years old and Alexander was 2 years older than Carlos. I also had 1 sister that was the youngest out of all of us. Irene was 6 years old. I was 16 years old so I was almost an adult. I was already mature for my age so I knew how to care of my siblings. I was basically the second mom. My mom had let me and my siblings skip school for a few weeks since.. you know. But today, it was gonna be the first day of school ever since my favorite person was gone.

It wasn't the same without him, I was always excited for school but this time, I felt like there was this weight in my shoulders I couldn't get off me.

I woke up at 5 am today, our school started at 7:30 so I decided to wake up a little earlier to have some time to prepare myself for this day. I usually wake up at 5:30, maybe even 6 am. I brushed my teeth, I took a shower, I did my skincare, I put on some clean clothes, I ate some breakfast and, decided to just put some light makeup.

I barely had any energy, to be honest, I would've never showed myself to school if my mom didn't force me. My mom was busy preparing for work so I was the one who prepared my siblings for school.

My siblings learned how to take care of themselves ever since my dad passed away also, they knew how to set the table up, brush their teeth, clean the dishes, taking a shower (except for Irene) and etc.

I looked at the mirror before leaving. I looked like I haven't slept in weeks, it was half true. My eyes were bloodshot red and all puffy looking. The makeup I did to my face barely hid them, but I didn't wanna put on some heavy makeup.

I prepared my school bag and put all my books, notebooks, my pencil case in my bag and zipped it up when I was done. I putted on my siblings shoes and also put on mine, and told my mom we were going to school already since we were done with everything. My mom didn't look at us but we exchanged goodbyes to her. I grabbed on the door handle but stopped for a moment when Carlos tapped on my shoulder.

"Wait! I forgot to bring my bag!" I scoffed in reply. Carlos was always forgetful ever since he was born. Don't let him hear I said that.

Carlos grabbed his school bag and we went outside to go to school. Me and my siblings always walked to school since we didn't have a car. Our school was just a few blocks away from us so it was fine. I holded Irene's hand so she wouldn't get loss while Carlos and Alex were leading the way.

We were in a public school since my mom and dad couldn't afford those prestigious, private schools.

"We're here." I said and leaded them to the school gate. When we got inside I felt shivers down my spine. Everyone was looking at the 4 of us, Im guessing that they heard about the "incident" that happened.

I let my siblings run off to their classrooms and walked to my own. Suddenly, Miranda immediately ran to me and hugged me tightly.

Mira was one of my bestest friends, we've been friends for literally 6 years. She was just a few months older than me and when we met, we were already inseparable.

"Im so sorry, Ria... I can't even begin to imagine my pet dying, let alone my own dad!" Mira said and sighed.

I smiled at her and hugged her again. It was hard grieving the loss of my dad, but my Miranda helped me through the pain. How did I get such a wonderful friend?

We went to our classroom and sat beside each other. "Hey, I'm just wondering... how'd you find about my dad?" I asked her in a confused tone.

"Oh, I heard it from Dani. I don't know how she found out but she knows everything, you know?" Miranda said trying to lighten up the mood. I laughed a bit because of what she said.

"Im gonna be honest Mira, my life has sucked ever since my dad passed. I just wish I could talk to him one last time, say my goodbyes or something. It was all so sudden."

Suddenly, Miranda smirked. "Hey! What if you could talk to him one last time, like you said."
I gave her a confused look and raised my eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You know those Ouija boards you see everywhere? You can communicate your dad by them! It's a good idea" Miranda said proudly like she had made the best idea ever.

"Are you insane, Mira?! Have you seen those "based on true story" movies where they mess with the Ouija board to try to communicate with someone and they end up literally getting haunted." What has gone to Miranda's head? Was she crazy?!?

"Oh c'mon, Azariah! You really believe in those things? Please, I mean I'm not saying you can also communicate your dad by them but.. it wont hurt to try? Please...." Miranda gave me those puppy dog eyes whenever she begged for something.

"Alright! Fine! But how are we pull this off? I mean where are we gonna get an Ouija board or how do we do this?" I asked her. Miranda was a bit crazy for this idea. But... I missed my dad and like she said, it wont hurt to try.

How bad can it be?