Wired: Metta's Story

Sunshine

Mistral

Piedmont, California - September 1, 2012 - 9:26 AM

Her hair blows in the wind. The sunshine warms her cheeks. The beautiful ocean stretches out in front of her. She feels completely at home here, having grown up visiting the coast.

Suddenly the ocean grows dark, dark as the night sky, and she steps back, gasping. The darkness surrounds her. It's difficult to breathe. She reaches up to grasp at her own throat, falling to her knees, powerless. She can barely even scream as the shadows envelop her. The shadows terrify her. Always have.

Something is coming.

Mistral Pines awoke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her heart felt as though it wanted to pound straight out of her chest. She took a few deep breaths, taking in her safe bedroom, decorated in pinks and yellows just how she liked it. She was safe, she could breathe. It had only been a dream.

According to the clock, it was 9:30. Time to get up. Typically, she would want to sleep in for longer, since it was the last weekend of the summer. But, today was special. She couldn't miss it.

Mistral brushed the tangles out of her long brown hair, highlighted with pink. It wasn't hair dye or anything like that, her hair had just always been like that. No one knew why. Her father liked to joke that the chemicals from his work must've seeped into her hair, and that's why she was so good at science. Just like him. Maybe someday she could even join him in working at his lab.

She wasn't sure yet what she wanted to do for sure, though. A few things sounded appealing, and she just couldn't decide. But it was okay. She had lots of time. Mistral was only going into the seventh grade, after all.

Once she had gotten dressed and sped her way through the bathroom, brushing her teeth and the like, she rushed downstairs, speeding past her yawning father on the way. Her mother was humming in the kitchen as she cooked. Mistral grinned, smelling something delicious.

"Good morning!" She greeted her mom brightly. "What's for breakfast?"

"Good morning, sweetie." Mom handed Mistral a plate of waffles and gifted her a kiss on the forehead. "See for yourself."

Mistral laughed and thanked her, carrying the plate over to the kitchen table and sitting down to busy herself in the waffles. A glass of orange juice was already there waiting for her. A perfect breakfast for the perfect day.

"I think I need coffee, stat." Dad rubbed his eyes as he followed in behind Mistral. "Anything other than waffles in here? Not sure how much I should count on getting any, with how fast Mistral is scarfing those down."

"Hey!" Mistral said indignantly through a mouthful of waffles. "Nuh uh!"

"I already made us both a pot." Mom gestured to the mostly full pot of coffee, her own mug in her hands and affection in her voice. "But maybe you wouldn't need so much coffee if you don't stay up so late working."

"I know..." Dad poured himself a cup, seeming embarrassed. "I just get so into it!"

"Of course, honey..." Mom kissed him on the cheek, laughing softly. "I'm the same way with my writing. I'm just teasing."

"So, when do I get to stay up working?" Mistral swallowed her food to contribute to the conversation. "I get excited about stuff, too!"

"Get excited about your homework." Her father squeezed her shoulder as he went past her to sit down. Mom joined the two of them at the table as well. "Then we'll talk."

"Awww..." Mistral pouted. Her parents laughed.

Mistral looked a lot like her dad, with his fluffy brown hair and soft features, although his eyes were brown rather than yellow like hers. His hair was just a little long and not usually brushed. Also unlike her, he had glasses, which were often askew. On the other hand, she didn't look like her mother at all, except for maybe her hair texture. Besides that, her mother was a blonde, blue-eyed woman who people might not even believe was related to Mistral.