The Moon & its Shadows

Leaving home-Chapter 1

“Have you finished packing Everlie?!” I heard Dave ask me for the hundredth time since last week. I couldn’t believe it, among my ancestors there were a lot of weird people, but I couldn’t stop thinking about there being a vampire in my ancestry – my great, great grandfather – like hello! That’s just crazy!

My mom was a midwife and she had recently become a vampire. Well, at least that’s what people have said… but what I am pretty sure of is that she just left me and my brother, for no apparent reason and with no goodbyes whatsoever. My brother was only 9 and I am 18 and have just got a place at Okumurah College, where I am going to carry on my Art & Design A-levels and hopefully start a life on my own.

“Yep, all done!!” I screamed back as loudly as I could so he would stop pestering me again and again. I was sending my brother to a boarding school located near our home. I didn’t want to think about how far we were going to end up from each other…but it was certainly for his own good as I had no means of looking after him, the school would give him a good education.

My dad had left us a while back, after the death of my grandmother which had made him absolutely crazy and started drinking without ever looking back from doing so.

“Everlie, our bus is here to take us!” Dave said.

“Yes Dave I’m coming, just a sec please” I replied.

I couldn’t resist the depressing feeling knowing that I was going to leave this home maybe forever, I went to look around the house, I had packed most of our frames in my suitcase, including all my belongings and family frames that were in the sitting room but had left the huge one behind because it wouldn’t obviously fit in my backpack or in my suitcase. Looking at them made me feel good, remembering all our good times as a proper family on Christmas Eve. It felt like the sensation that you got when the wind just came blowing on to you with a little shiver of your entire body.

My dad was in the picture too. He was smiling away, holding my mum around the shoulders, my mum holding my hand in her left and carrying Dave in her right arm. We all looked so happy, the picture looked so unrealistic after everything that had happened, I just couldn’t remember myself standing there while the picture was being taken. I do remember that my grandma took it though, 4 years before the terrible accident.

My grandma was a fallen angel during her life, but I had never believed it. I really don’t believe in vampires, werewolves, angels etc... I just call them “unrealistic fairy-tale creatures”.

I had just finished taking a last peek at all our family photos and reached the staircase downstairs and saw my brother already standing near the entrance with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

“Soz boy, I was just-“I started off.

“You and your ‘just’, you weren’t ‘just’ doing that, you were doing other things too!” he interrupted.

“No I wasn’t!”

“Yes you were!”

“Oh you just shut up and stop acting clever!” I snapped at him.

“Stop getting jealous just because you’re not!” he screamed

“When did I even say you’re clever?” I asked confusedly.

“Really didn’t you just say ‘shut up and stop acting clever’? “ He said with a smirk.

“Okay fine! You’re clever now can we go!?” I shouted. By this point I think the whole street heard me. You see, me and my brother never got along we always argue, fight and tease each other but were proud to be siblings. I guess these lame fights are just the way we express our love.

We headed out and I locked the door behind me, heading out the gate. I stood there facing the house, glaring at it, it had once been such a welcoming sight but now was just a place full of memories.

I closed our gate and headed for the bus not knowing what our instincts and destiny were going to lead us to. I had an aching feeling knowing that in a couple of hours my brother and I would have to go our separate ways. Maybe forever…