To The Sun And Beyond

1. CHANGE

Started April 12, 2017
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IT WAS THE END OF AUGUST, AND
the sun was beginning to darken, and the leaves were beginning to fall. The schoolyard was quiet, and empty. The same stone statue of a maiden that I had looked upon many months ago, stared back at me, a glint of sadness in her eyes. The brick walls seemed paler, to brown to be cheery. The moss had grown even thicker than it had been, all those months ago. Too long ago. The days have changed, and the people along with it.

Yet everything was still the same.

A course wind blew my brown hair into my face, and a tear slowly dropped out of my eye and into the breeze. Suddenly, a deep pat, pat sounded from the left side of me. Coming to me.

"Hey, Celeste!" A voice roared at me.

I quickly wiped my tears away.

"Celeste, we're leaving in, like, 10 minutes!" The voice screamed again.

I turned to face the voice. Before me, stood my older brother, Fin. His dark hair was windblown into streaks of black, overlapping one another. His deep hazel eyes darted, aware. Quick. Worried. His hand was stretched out in a recieving matter, as he stared at me.

"Celeste, we have to go," he pleaded, his lips pursed in a hard line. His hand began to reach and bend into mine, and he slightly tugged it, signaling impatience. I turned back to the schoolyard. It was as if I was seeing it all for the first time, in some brand new light I didn't quite understand. Another hot tear slowly rolled down my face.

Fin only stared at me, his eyes now focused, his hand tightened around mine.

"I don't want to leave it all behind." I whispered, as more tears began to fall.

Fin only listened, and nodded his head. He stretched out his free hand, and wiped my tears and turned my chin to look at him. He stared into my eyes, a very serious look on his face.

"Everything will turn out just fine, you'll see. We have eachother. That's all we really need." His eyes began to water along with mine, and he pulled me into a tight hug. We stood there for what felt like hours, crying all over eachothers shirts, gazing at our schoolyard, not talking. Just, thinking. It was perfect.

I should have known it wouldn't last long.

After a while, Fin released his arms and wiped his tears. I still clung to his waste, refusing to let go. He wiggled a few times, but I wouldn't budge. He laughed to himself, and clutched his hands around my arms, pulling them to my sides. He let go of one of my hands, and looked directly at me.

"We better go," he said, his voice wobbly. "Mr. Nelly will be waiting for us."

I nodded, and we began to walk, side by side, back to the house where Mr. Nelly would be waiting, to take us to our new family.

I shuttered at the thought. I don't want a new family. But, after the death of mom and dad, I don't know where else we would go, me and Fin.

Our walking slowed, and stopped, suddenly.

Mr. Nelly awaited us on the sidewalk, a shiny black car next to him. His messy grey hair was covered with a tophat, and his beard was long and tangled. In his hand he held a stopwatch, and when he saw us, pressed the button on top.

"Thirteen minutes," He grumbled. "You are three minutes late." He frowned, and his forehead wrinkled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nelly," Fin apologized, "It was my f-" I cut him off right there. I was not about to let him take the blame for this.

"My fault," I explained. "I kept Fin at the schoolyard. Sorry." I apologized, and Fin elbowed me gently.

Mr. Nelly wrinkled his forehead. "I see, and this won't happen again, Miss Ray?" He raised an eyebrow at me, and I stared at my feet.

"No, it wont." I mumbled.

"Good, because we have an eight hour drive and I can't afford to be late. Your godmother won't like it." Ugh. I hate that word, godmother. It sounds like a better version of mother. But I could not imagine one.

My mother was the most amaizing person I ever met. I remembered, she used to read to me by the statue in the schoolyard. And me and my brother would make her the nastiest mud pies and give her the crummiest drawings. And she would jump for joy, and proudly hang those horrible drawings on the refrigerator. That made me feel so good. That, was a mother. But godmother, that I wasn't ready for.

Fin and I shuffled into Mr. Nelly's tiny car, and squeezed into the backseat. And so begins a new adventure, unknown. My stomach began to whirl, and my hands began to sweat. I looked over at Fin, who was staring straight ahed, looking as frightend as I was. He turned his head to me, his eyes panicking. I rested my head on his shoulder and began to hum a song my mother used to sing to us before bed. Fin rested his head on mine, and I began to sink down into darkness.