The Seven Painites

Melissa Pyrodae

Liasha never fails to make me laugh, even when she is a pain in the butt. The cold air comes in through my bedroom window why does Pennsylvania have to be so cold? I hate the cold, I love it here when it's hot it feels better, I don't know how to explain it my father said it may be because I was born in Arizona. I end up closing my window and going downstairs to make myself some lunch, hoping there is actually food. 

Now listen, I love my older sister but she is always having friends over and they always eat the food. But then again their assignments always tire them out so they need all the energy they can get I guess.

"I'm home! And with food so get over here Melissa!" I swear she can just tell when I'm thinking of her.

"I'm coming!" I ran to the garage, my socks sliding on the hardwood floor as I nearly crashed into the garage door. My older sister, Ember was grinning at me with a takeout bag on top of a pizza box in hand. Her hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail, and she looked exhausted but happy, which meant today's training session must've gone well.

"You brought food?" I asked, eyeing the bags with suspicion. "Real food?"

"Yeah, real food," she laughed, plopping the bags down on the counter. "It's pizza, so don't complain."

"har-har so hilarious. So what kind of pizza did you get?" One time my parents brought home pizza for the second time in one week and I kinda complained out loud when I meant to complain in my head. Now she won't let me live it down.

"Ask Pizza Hut they're the one who made it." She burst out laughing when she saw my face "Okay, Okay I'm done. I got pepperoni pizza and lemon pepper chicken."

"Lemon pepper chicken? You're spoiling me today," I opened the box and grabbed a slice of pizza and chicken. Ember slid onto the stool next to me in front of the kitchen island, she kicked off her shoes and rubbed her temples like she always did after a long day. She must have been exhausted, but she had that glint in her eyes that told me the training had been intense but somehow fun.

I took a huge bite of pizza, letting the pepperoni goodness fill my mouth, and leaned forward on the kitchen island. "How was practice? You look wiped."

she looked at me out of the corner of her eye "Don't try to get information out of me. Mom and dad already told you no." Yet you know I'm going to ask again tomorrow.

"So how was your day?"

"Bori-"

"Oh wait didn't Liasha move out today? How she doin? Want me to take you to her new place once she gets settled in?" she asked me the questions at such a fast pace it worried me a bit. 

"Yeah she moved out today I gave her some gifts to decorate her new room with, I don't know why she never decorates it." Whenever I think of her room throughout the past years all I've seen is papers, books, and astronomy stuff, I never understood it but she loves it. Always telling me about something that I couldn't care less about but the way her eyes shined whenever she talked about it made me listen.

"Aww such a good friend, too bad you can't be a good sister and friend" she made a sad face that I could tell was fake. I started laughing till my stomach hurt.

"Hey don't laugh at your sister's sadness it's disrespectful." My sister must have realized that I was sad about Liasha moving, she always knows how to make me laugh. She reads emotions a little too well. I hate it. Ember gave me a playful shove, and I shook my head, still laughing. 

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Just doing my sisterly duty," she grinned, taking a bite of pizza. "Besides, you'll still see Liasha. She didn't move that far away, right?"

"She lives like 5 hours away now." The reality of her not being right around the corner anymore was starting to sink in. "It's just... different I guess."

I tried to imagine what it would be like, hanging out with Liasha in her grandfather's house, the one she hadn't been to in years. There was something strange about the way her grandfather died, it didn't make sense to me. Liasha always talked to me about her grandfather she told me that her grandfather was the one who got her into reading and astronomy, but there was this quiet sadness that hung in the air whenever his name came up. And now she was living there.

"I bet she's feeling kinda weird about moving into her grandpa's place," I muttered, almost to myself. "It's gotta bring up memories or something."

Ember glanced at me, her brow furrowing. "Yeah... that's gotta be tough." She took another bite, her eyes narrowing in thought. "But hey, it might be good for her. You know, reconnecting with that part of her life."I nodded chewing slowly, there was a beat of silence broken only by the soft hum of the refrigerator. Ember leaned onto the kitchen island and looked at me, her tone a little more serious now. "You know, if something's bothering her, she'll probably need you more than usual. It can be tough, dealing with all that... family history stuff."

I gave her a curious look. "You sound like you know something."

She shrugged, avoiding my gaze for a moment. "I just hear things, that's all. Sometimes, old houses and old memories stir up things people don't expect."

The way she said it made my skin prickle. I knew Ember well enough to tell when she was being deliberately vague, but she had a point. There was something about that house and the way her grandpa died that felt... off. And Liasha had been angry and upset when she left, even more than the day before she left. Maybe she was holding back, she always had a hard time telling people what's going on, I hope she will talk to me when she's ready.

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her," I said, glancing down at my half-eaten pizza.

Ember stood up, stretching her arms over her head with a groan. "Good. Now, I gotta head back out in a bit. There's a late-night session with the team, and if I'm not there, they'll all freak out. Make sure to clean your plate and finish your homework." she rushed out the door before I could respond.

20 minutes later

Why is school homework more tiring than my other homework, I sighed shaking off the thoughts. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but Ember's weird warning earlier wasn't helping. She knew something, I could tell. Ember was good at keeping secrets, especially when it came to her training or things she didn't want to talk about until the "right time." But this felt different, like she was trying to tell me something. I glanced at the window, the darkening sky outside making my room feel cozier. It was the kind of night where you could sit under the stars, if the weather wasn't so cold. I thought about how much Liasha loved stargazing, how she could talk for hours about the constellations and planets. Maybe she was outside right now, staring at the stars, lost in her thoughts in that big, empty house. The thought made me shiver. Maybe I should text her, something doesn't feel right.

Before I could text her my door started glowing and suddenly I start seeing flowers on my doorknob and I instantly know that it's my "favorite" person ever, Serafina.

"Emry found what we were looking for, hurry up bimbo" He found It? I guess all those all nighters paid off. I go through the door with Serafina.

Maybe after all this is over I can take Liasha with me to Elentir.

Same as last two chapters I'm still new to this so if you can leave some advice/tips for me!

Oh, and if ur bored you should totally go read my other series that I made a while ago but haven't got back to writing it yet 😭