Starlight Souls ✦

00:03

Having nothing to do was boring, but not that boring when you had your friends with you. The three girls were sitting in the living room of their dormitory, each one doing her own work. Talita was lying on the sofa with her feet where her head must have been and her head where her thighs must have been when she slipped upside down while reading something. Sirelle was sitting on the other end of the sofa with a few yarn balls by her side, knitting something. Candace was sitting on the carpet on the floor right in front of the couch with some books spread over the coffee table in front of her, her hair tied up in a messy bun while holding a pen cap in between her teeth as she proceeded to write something.

There was peaceful silence with some light music that Sirelle had put up in the background. None of them spoke with each other, as they knew that the others were busy with their work and would not prefer to be disturbed. It was their way of showing how much they cared for each other to be around each other even when the other one was busy, even if they weren't talking, but doing their own thing while in the sight of the others.

The doorbell chimmed, drawing their attention towards itself. The three looked in the direction of the door, wondering who might be on the other side at that part of the day when it was completely dark and half of the people on that side of the globe had already gone to bed. They looked at each other, knowing that they weren't expecting anyone to come at that hour when it was clearly too late.

'I'll go and see who's at the door.' Talita left her book on the sofa before getting up and walking towards the door. She bent down and peeped through the small glass opening next to the door handle. On the other side of the door, she saw the figure of a lady who was standing while holding a piece of paper in her hands.

When Talita opened the door, the lady handed the piece of paper over to Talita and left before saying, 'This is for Sirelle Emerson, sent through Quick Post.'

'Thankyou.' Talita muttered to the lady as she stormed off, and Talita closed the door behind her, turning away to face Sirelle and Candace, who were looking at her with curious gazes, eager to know what it was that she held in her hands. As Talita looked at the piece of paper that she held, she realised that it was letter. 'To Sirelle Emerson, From Lacey Emerson.'

Talita walked to the sofa and handed over the letter to Sirelle before she sat down. 'The lady said it was sent via quick post.'

'Quick post?' Sirelle questioned, more likely to herself as a result of her confusion.

'Yeah, the lady said so.' Talita asked, 'Who is this letter from, by the way?'

'It's from my mother.' Sirelle said, glancing at the letter as if it were the first time she had seen a letter in her life.

'What happened?'

Sirelle shook her head. 'It's just that I'm scared.'

'Scared?' Candace questioned, 'Sacred of what?'

'My mother sent it through quick post, and it hasn't even been a week since I arrived at the campus. She wouldn't have a reason to send it unless it's something really important.'

As much as it was evident that what Sirelle was saying had logic to it, Candace and Talita didn't want her to feel that way.

'Don't worry, just open it.' Talita asked.

'But what if something bad had happened?' Sirelle asked, her fingers trembling as she held onto the letter in her hands, 'What am I supposed to do then?

'Sirelle,' Candace added, 'just open it.'

'But-'

'Even if something bad might have happened, you'll never know if you don't open it now.' Candace said. She knew that her words might have been a bit harsh, but she also knew that it was what was best for Sirelle—to end the suspense once and for all.

Turned her gaze from Candace back to the letter in her hands and took a deep breath before she opened it and started reading it. Candace and Talita looked at each other in contempt that they were able to make Sirelle read the letter before both of them turned their gazes back to Sirelle.

At first, Sirelle read the letter with neutral expressions, but as time went on and she continued reading it, her expressions dropped and her face went paler second by second. Talita and Candace looked at each other; they wanted to ask Sirelle what happened but wanted to let her finish reading the letter first. Whatever was written inside the letter, one thing was clear by now: it wasn't good. By the time Sirelle finished reading the letter, it dropped out of her hands; she looked paler than a ghost and looked as if she had seen one by her expressions. Her eyes weren't focused on any object in particular but seemed to just be staring off into space, her mind at a place that couldn't be identified.

'Sirelle!' Candace exclaimed, looking at what had happened to the girl who was peacefully knitting the scarf she had been working on a while ago.

'Sirelle, what happened?!' Talita shook Sirelle as to get a reaction out of her, but to no avail, Sirelle took no action, nor did she say anything. She buried her face into her palms and shook as she cried, her hysterical sobs muffled by her hands.

Talita looked at Candace as the latter nodded. Since Sirelle wasn't going to tell them anything, they decided that they had to see for themselves what had really happened. They just couldn't let Sirelle be; they couldn't leave Sirelle like that without even knowing what had happened. They got a hold of the letter, and Talita held it as she and Candace read it.

Dear Sirelle,

I hope you have reached the campus safely and are on good terms with your surroundings, because we aren't. A tragedy has struck us in the most unexpected way that we could have imagined, leaving us in despair and begging for mercy from the celestial being that resides above everyone else. Your sister has died! Our poor Samantha, our dear daughter, isn't with us anymore. I would have said, 'May her soul rest in heaven.' but I couldn't. How could I hope for her soul to rest when the people who have killed her and sent her to heaven at such a young age when she hasn't even lived her youth yet are roaming free? Yes, my dear Sirelle, yes, your sister has been murdered! And even I don't believe it, as I'm saying that it was that man whom we wed her off to that had killed her! What a poor fate she had suffered, my child, to be killed off by the one person that she chose to spend the rest of her life with, the one person who vowed to love her until death did them part while she was the reason for her death. He was the reason that she had to walk the stairs to heaven and to see the gate of heaven even before she had a chance to live her life properly. Anyway, my dear daughter, we had held off the funeral until you arrived at Adorar. I'm sending this letter to you via quick post so it could reach you as soon as possible and we could proceed with the funeral as soon as you arrive. I'll share the rest of the details of your sister's death when you finally arrive and are with us, my daughter. Please come as soon as possible; please do. I and your father will be waiting for you.

With love,

Your Loving Mother,

Lacey Emerson.