Ophidian's Genesis (UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 17

A month after the encounter with the peculiar girl she met in the park that somehow resembled the same presence of her sister, Melody was absolutely motivated to be better for herself. And just like that, her life followed like a domino effect. She stopped smoking all together, tried to be nicer to her mother–who was also oddly much nicer and calmer to her the past few weeks.

Back on track with her old friend group who was a much better influence to her, she had given up smoking entirely. She walks around the park, ice cream in hand with Jessica. 

The much older girl expressed how proud she is of the younger teen, "I gotta hand it to ya, Mels. Going cold turkey with cigarettes all of a sudden, your home life seems to improve, you're like a whole new person." Jessica lightheartedly jokes. The younger girl chuckled at the comment. The two girls stopped walking for Jessica to utter out in genuineness, "I'm proud of you, kid." With a warm smile.

Melody felt her heart go soft and slow down, "Coming from you, that means a lot, Jessica. Thank you." She spoke in a soft, grateful voice–putting a hand over her chest. Jessica shook her head, "Don't mention it, kid." The two teens sat on a bench and watched the people around the park with their own families and friends.

After a period of silence, the younger girl spoke up, "I miss her." Looking somber all of a sudden whilst she played with the gold band of her bracelet. Jessica looked down at the girl, her eyes trailing to Melody's fidgeting fingers, seeing the gold band bracelet of the younger girl. She and Seline had matching gold-silver bracelets and the two practically wore it whenever one was feeling up to wear the accessory.

Jessica thought to herself if she, herself, was still in mourning. Or maybe she pushed it all down. Suddenly she realized right away that if she was still questioning herself, then she was still in-grief losing her non-biological sister. One who closely resembled her soulmate—unfortunately gone too soon.

"I miss her, too." The red head teen spoke back softly, whilst she tried to think that months back she was convinced her friend was still alive... but she woke up from that dream and carried on with her life as if nothing happened. She had a new friend group and her social life had become better, Seline would've loved to have those friends she had. Jessica would've loved to be with her again.

"Do you remember her voice?" Melody asks, "Feels like it's been a while since I heard her. I mean there are videos of her and what not but I can't... bring myself to watch those." The younger teen had shrugged as she sheepishly added. That made Jessica's mind go in a spiral. She didn't want to admit, Seline's voice sounded distorted in her mind—in a way, the voice of Seline she did remember, is only how she thinks she sounds.

"I like to think I still hear her when I'm at school while I'm staring at her emptied out locker." Jessica managed to say while she fidgeted with the inseam of her jacket pocket. Melody frowns, "I can remember her voice... I just don't think that that's her. Maybe a figment of how she sounds."

The conversation hung heavy in the air, a shared weight of grief and fading memories.

Jessica exhaled slowly, her breath unsteady, as if trying to hold back tears she wasn't ready to face. She clenched her fists inside the pockets of her jacket, her usual headstrong demeanor crumbling under the weight of her emotions. "It's like... the harder I try to remember her, the more fuzzy it gets. Her laugh, her smile—even the way she used to tease me—it's all slipping away."

Melody, with her brown hair falling messily around her face and her tired, droopy eyes fixed on the ground, nodded. "Yeah," she murmured, her voice quiet and uneven. "It's like... the more I want to remember, the more it feels like she's just... gone. But then, out of nowhere, something small reminds me of her, and for a second, it's like she's here. Like this morning, I smelled her shampoo in the hallway, and it stopped me in my tracks. I just—" She paused, running a shaky hand through her hair. "I didn't know what to do."