Dark and light: The Shadows

Chapter 11

The car came into view two minutes after waiting at the given destination. Bekati walked up to it carefully and set her bag in then herself. She threw up a peace sign with a half smile as her siblings greeted her. All she could think of doing was resting her pounding head. The tinnitus she got occasionally was not being kind to her either.

"You partied a bit too hard?" Abosk asked, not ready to drive off yet. He could feel that something had happened. He was sure Anya also had this sinking feeling.

Bekati heaved a sigh in response. 'I blacked out' was the lazy sign that Anya relayed.

Anya was already in her practice attire for her show with the dance team she joined. She looked back annoyed at Bekati, who had leaned her head back on the short headrest of her seat. Her sister's hair was straightened again. And even with the baggy cardigan she had on, one could tell she'd lost some pounds. Anya noticed before but told herself never to mention it in case she ended up offending her, accidentally... Until inadvertently doing so yesterday. A few more seconds of observation passed, and Abosk drove the car once more.

"We're going to go a herb and then an ornament store with mom for Christmas shopping, then I'm going to rehearsals," Anya spoke up halfway there.

Bekati barely nodded in acknowledgement. She needed all the energy she could have for that. So it was to her convenience that they left her to herself for the rest of the ride. The time passed by at a reasonable pace. The pain in her body had calmed down a bit. Then she remembered that Brina would spend a few days beginning today. She prayed she would show up later in the day when she could get better rested. She was definitely accompanying whoever was gonna pick her girlfriend up at the airport.

The car came to a halt shortly after that thought. Bekati sat up and began reaching for the door. Anya noticed and swatted her hand back. Bekati pulled back with a hitched breath and rubbed her hand. She just opened her eyes and squinted through her shades. Other cars were ahead of them. They were in traffic. The time on her watch read 3 pm.

She sighed and leaned her head back with no intention of apologising for wanting to walk into still traffic. She just wanted to finish carrying out her Christmas shopping and get to sleep. Then, her stomach began to churn. She would curse aloud if she wanted to draw more attention to herself. She knew they were on high alert at this point; so she just closed her eyes once more and shook her achy legs often.

That didn't take too long. Now they've reached the store and were beginning to browse around. Abosk watched as his sister walked in front of them at the store. She slowly looked around and took some calculated steps. Her arms stayed in a crossed manner over her chest. She did not want to be here.

Anya was looking for some specific herbs when she looked up and saw the cashier talking with her sister. He searched his counter below for some keys before handing her one with the tag "bathroom." She didn't glance behind her. She just bolted in the direction she was pointed in. It was the fastest and messiest run Anya ever saw.

"Tell me you saw that. Genuinely, I'm not shitting you." She arched her brows up.

"I think she's just buss'd up. Hung over as hell. She was dozing off a lot... I just hope it doesn't happen again. Sabrina really hates that shit, Last I checked." He watched at the closed bathroom door. He hoped it wasn't more.

A few minutes passed, and the occasional chatter in the store distracted them. The store attendants helped the two in identifying which herbs they were explaining. They've lived with it all their life, but some herbs' existence was new to them at this point.

The chimes behind the door signified another customer's entrance. Abosk was awed at the beauty of the chime while Anya sighed in relief. Bella and Storm had finally arrived. There were some herbs on that list that Anya honestly was embarrassed to ask for after she searched what they aided in. She held her mom in a steady side hug while Abosk gently tugged their godmother to see the chime on the back of the door. He and Storm shared similar tastes, so they immediately had that chimer on their list. An employee overheard their conversation and politely guided them to the section of gems where they could find similar gems and such to have the store construct one for them. The two jumped onto the idea. They had plenty of time, and another chimer wouldn't hurt. Especially one that was a suncatcher in nature.