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45 | Reliving the Past: Part One

"The past is never where you think you left it." - Katherine Anne Porter

Chapter Forty-Five

Darkness was all I saw for seconds, minutes, ages, eons. There were no sounds, no light and no liveliness of the world. Just pitch-blackness that edged on and on for a long time.

I wanted to wake up, open my eyes and find myself in Irwin High, and I wanted to hear and smell and see, but none of my wants came to fruition. Instead, when my eyes opened, I was not relieved.

I was terrified for I was no longer in present time. I was in my nightmare, reliving the past.

The summer of '04 was like none other. The two months of blazing heat, soothing winds, careless laughter and bright smiles came to an abrupt halt as the lives of those dearest to me were lost and the ones left alive, by the cruel twist of fate, wished desperately for death. It was a blissful memory gone sour. A stain so deep had been placed that no matter how hard I scrubbed and tried to wash it away, it clung onto my skin like dirty laundry.

As all good things must come to an end, lives must be lost, blood must be shed, those who tried their hardest to survive, those with pure white souls and untainted minds, were the ones burnt. For it is often said that those who jump head first into fire to save others end up with scorched and blackened hands, while the one who adds oil to the flame is allowed to walk away scar free, unburnt and untarnished.

But not once did these thoughts pass through my eight years old mind as I ran, through the corridors and rooms, hand in hand, and at times ahead, with my siblings.

The sight of Amelia, my twin sister, never failed to amaze me for looking at her was like glancing into a mirror and though we were placed in two separate bodies by God, our souls were conjoined. Our sun-kissed tans and corn-like blonde hair ran in our genes as both my mother and brother supported the same looks.

Anthony, though older in age and wiser in thought, was an extension to my soul. Without him I was lost as he was without me and, if he hadn't been a boy, there wouldn't have been a way to differ between the three of us. To some, we seemed like triplets, one soul divided into three pieces, and while we shared the sentiment, our feelings went deeper than that.

The pitter-patter of our feet echoed throughout our house, our joyous laughter rang through the air, disrupting the calmness and stirring the crestfallen and lost souls and our naïve thoughts gave no indication of the storm that was violently brewing away from our eyes.

The wooden floors creaked under our weight, but we barely noticed, lost in our own world, away from the dark and depressing thoughts that often claimed the minds of adults. We were immune to the sicknesses that plagued the world and we were invincible, convinced that not a single hair on our head could be harmed. How were we to know that somewhere out in the west, the three sisters of fate made plans to sever the threads that connected our lives.

Doors were slammed open, breaths were held in anticipation, only to be followed by the shrill voice of two carefree young girls. No matter where Amelia went, I followed, and in our little game of hide and seek, with Anthony as our pursuer, we tasted the rush of adrenaline and the power of fear. It was this game that would become a stepping stone in my life, for ten years later, I would become the pursuer, chasing after the dark, malevolent souls that threatened to destroy innocence.

Wandering around the house, with no other aim than to hide, Amelia and I entered our parent's room. Paying little to no attention to our surroundings, we ran into the closet and hid. Although we weren't claustrophobic, hiding in the small, dark and enclosed area made us break out in sweat.