Untold Fates: Secrets & Lies

01 | Haunting Memories

 Blazing fire. Screaming. The sound of dozens of boots pounding against the concrete floor. Scores of people pushing me out of their way in desperate attempts to save their lives.

 "Where's mom?" I asked, biting my lip, clutching her diary tightly against my chest. 

"She's gone," said Dad softly. 

I woke up in a pool of sweat. The nightmare. It kept coming. It almost felt as if it were real. Like it actually happened. I turned and looked at the time. 3:42. It was almost morning. There was no point in sleeping. I got out of bed and rummaged through my closet for my sneakers. I just couldn't stop thinking about that dream. Or rather, the nightmare. I had to get some fresh air. I picked up my keys and phone and headed out.

Hours passed by. I was just wandering around, heading to no place in particular. I looked up at the stars. There was something stuck in my mind. 

There was someone with Mom in my dream, I recalled. He looked familiar. Really familiar. He had sun-kissed skin with light brown hair and sky-blue downturned eyes.

 "Just stop. Just stop thinking about that." I forced myself to divert the topic. It wasn't easy doing that, though. Especially when I had been thinking about that for the past hour. I imagined Mom looking at me, smiling. Then I dropped the thought. I stumbled and found my way back home.

I went in and closed the door quietly behind me. I tiptoed up the stairs and walked into my room. I gasped and found that my room was in utter chaos. My closet was open, my clothes flying everywhere. My belongings were strewn across the floor. My pillows and bed sheets were messed. 

Someone was in here. But who? I thought to myself. I guess they were looking for something. But what? And did they find it? So many questions, but no answers. Or was it already this messy and I didn't bother to notice, too preoccupied with the nightmare? I headed downstairs remembering not to make any noise. I looked around to make sure Dad was asleep and checked all the rooms for any signs of a break-in.

There was nothing I could find. No hint of an intruder. Either someone had access to the keys of the house or I was hallucinating. Probably it was just me, as usual, being stupid. I laid down on my bed and tried to recover some sleep, but I just couldn't. I guess my mind was somewhere else. So I just decided to clean the huge mess in my room. Something caught my eye as I went to pick my things off the floor. Under the mattress. Something black. I reached out my hand to get it and then I realized it was what my mom gave me. The diary she had gifted me before she left this world.

I turned to look at the photo frame on my nightstand. It was a picture of my mom. She was gorgeous. She had a beige skin tone with beautiful brown wavy hair. Her hair was a unique shade of brown. It was honey-bronze in color. She had almond-shaped eyes which were stormy grey in color. Her eyelashes were long and curled. She had a Grecian nose. Her lips were a lovely shade of pink. Mine were more natural looking. I looked nothing like her. I looked more like my dad. My dad had jet black hair and black eyes with a fair complexion. He had a crooked nose. When he smiled, dimples could be seen on his cheeks. I too had jet black hair and a fair complexion. I had jade-coloured upturned eyes and my eyelashes were thick and long. Hence the name.

I continued cleaning my room until I heard a knock on the door. It was Zia. I turned around to look at the time. 10:16. Already. Too late. I hadn't even realized that I hadn't had breakfast yet. I ran downstairs to get the door.

"Hey, Jadelyn!"

"Hi, Zia. Weren't you supposed to go out today?" I asked.

"Yeah, but there was a change in plans. We're leaving tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Why are you looking so down in dum-?

"It's nothing. Let's go to my room," I cut her off.

I watched her remove her sneakers and carefully put them on the shoe rack.

 "Hello," she greeted my dad.

 "Good morning, Zia," he replied gleefully. I gestured Zia to follow me into my room. I shut the door behind us. She and I flopped on the couch and made ourselves comfortable. Then we just stared blankly at the turquoise striped walls.

"So... have you completed that book report Ms. Grey had asked us to do?" she asked, with a certain edge to her voice.

"Shit. No, I haven't. Have you?" I replied worriedly.

 She sighed with relief. "Good, because I haven't either. We can do it together. Shall we?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, feeling relaxed.

She grabbed the nearest book she could find and flipped it open. I handed her my lucky pen, and she started writing rapidly. But nothing appeared on the page of my diary. 

"Is this a prank, Jadelyn?" she scowled. Zianna took out the refill of my pen. It wasn't even half empty. Then she scribbled on another notepad and found it to work. She tried it again on my diary and there was no change in result.

"Why won't this pen work on your diary, Jadelyn?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"I-"

I was interrupted by loud voices coming from downstairs.

"You don't understand. I could never hurt her." I heard Dad bellowing.

"You're a fool," the other voice growled. "You don't know what I can do, Chris. Just do as I say."

***