It’s been three years since the explosion. I wish I could say that we’ve all gained our ground again, but it just doesn’t seem like we have. Things are still are still as black and ash ridden, but here and there you can see buildings are constructed from forest trees, and people living with each other, all knowing what has happened to us all. Sitting in the small living room my step father and I just finished - something my real father wouldn’t have ever thought of doing with me, since he left when I was three and hasn’t talked to me since -, I can see that things for us are still working themselves out.
Alexander or Alex to me married my mother – a small figurine doll like woman, with curly black hair and wonderfully green eyes - four years before the explosion, he’s good looking for a 48 year old now, and has a really good physique. His hair is like mine, a fairly dark chocolate brown almost black, but then he dyes his to cover up the grey hair he has – dying it once a month is the annoying part – and to allow for himself and me to have some similarity in showing that we are now family. My mother had been away from home for six months for work, and when we found out she was killed we just didn’t know what to do with our relationship, my mother was our link. But in the three years past, we have talked more; in many cases we’ve had an insight without a choice.
Looking out the window I see little Cadence – with her straight blonde hair flowing around her and making her like that porcelain doll you always wanted - down the dirt road playing in the outskirts of the forest with the other six year olds in the area. All of a sudden her twin brother Caden pops up at the window, straight blonde hair to his chin and a huge grin on his cute chubby face, with eyes so wide and hazel you can’t help but smile,
“Maggie, can you come and tell us about the war again?”
“Maggie can’t today Caden she’s be…”
“No it’s ok Ale…Dad” I said feeling a bit out of character saying it,
“Mag, are you sure your ok? What with your recent being sick and such” concern all over his face,
“Dad, I’m fine really” I said smiling and getting off the couch “come on Cad lets grab the others so that they can hear as well”. Not even after finishing he was sprinting off to get the other seven little six year olds and his sister.
Sitting in front of my home I still couldn’t get over how much we had done since those few weeks of real danger, everything burning and dying with a blur. But I didn’t get much of a chance to think about it, because one by one each six year old placed them self around me in a circle, with Caden to my left and Cadence to my right. They were all Doing something, exactly as six year olds would, Caden and Cadence talking over me, Grey and Liam – neighbors, both with mouse brown hair, but Grey having darker blue eyes while Liam’s were as pale as if they were white - playing with the dirt next to Caden, next to Liam was Rick and Brooke – Rick seeming like he was going to grow up broad and strong, and Brooke growing up to be skinny and preppy, the kind of perfect couple going for them - holding hands and giggling, Gretchen – with curly red hair and glasses sitting on her freckled nose that seemed only that little too big for her face, but with eyes that perfect golden brown not many people ever noticed it, by the way she was sitting you could see she was gorgeous skinny but because of her clothing choice it made her seem bigger- next to brook, was reading a small but thick book, that I couldn’t believe a six year old would be reading, Eddie – a boy who seems to of loved that rock and roll style, with his wavy dark hair only long enough to reach the edge of his neck but the sides shorter, with a chubby body that was dressed with a guitar shirt and average jeans - sat between Gretchen and Columbia – perfectly, petite skinny and with pink strips through her light brown hair in pig tails, she looked like a little dancer - who I guessed was friends with Cadence since they were so close. I had a feeling each could feel me looking at them, each child I looked at, turned and looked back at me with such fondness it made me remember my mother. Out of nowhere Caden nudges my arm
