That's Cole

Cierra's Everything

Cierra’s skin is pale, soft, and some parts are scarred.  

“Scars are just skin cells that grew back differently,” she told me one day.  I worried.  

Cierra’s eyes are pure; innocent.  

Cierra’s body is small and perfect.  She has a tattoo of a bird on the top of her right thigh.  I’ve traced it a million times.

Cierra’s house is big.  Four floors.  She lives with her parents and two dogs, Norman and Walter, they’re both huskies.  Cierra’s parents both work in advertising so they’re gone a lot.  The fact that her parents were hardly ever home didn’t seem to bother her; she tells me that they never showed that much interest in her anyways.  

I like Cierra.  I like kissing her. I like hugging her.  I like seeing her.  I like talking to her.  I like her.  

Cierra and I met in our usual spot.  At the park, just past the monkey bars.  Her hand intertwined with mine.  She looked deep into my eyes.

“Forever?” she asked, quietly.

I nodded, “Forever.”

The thing about being an Unseen Mortal is when you’re with an Unseen you can choose to shut yourself out or bring the Unseen in.  So, you can either make yourself invisible to the naked eye or you could just make the Unseen visible.  Thats why some physics are so good at what they do, they simply bring the Unseen in.  

Cierra’s parents know all the ghost stories, but they don’t understand it completely.  She told me that when she was younger she would bring in the spirits that lurked throughout their house.  Her parents were terrified at first, but they slowly learned that she had a gift.  However, the fact that their daughter could see and talk to dead people, kinda restricted them from having any other kids.  

A few days past and I brought Cierra to my mother’s apartment building, it was across town from my childhood home.  

She knocked on the door.  A few minutes later my mother appeared in the doorway.  She looked extremely different.  Her hair was dyed from a light strawberry blonde to a deep maroon.  She had dark circles lapsed under her eyes and the small freckles that used to pollute her face where now faded away.  

“Hi, I’m Cierra,” Cierra said, her voice small.  

“I don’t want to buy anything,” My mothers voice slurred.

“No,” Cierra responded, “That’s not why I’m here.  I’m here regarding your son, Cole.”

My mother snapped, “He’s dead.”

I didn’t know this woman standing in front of us.  She was sharp and her breath reeked of alcohol.  What happened to the woman who used to tuck me in at night and walk me to school and refused to ever touch a drink that was anything beside water.  

Cierra looked at her, “I know,” she calmly said.

My mother looked uninterested, “Then, I think you should leave.”

The woman who used to be my mother began to close the door.

“I’m dating Cole.” Cierra called, loudly.  

My mother opened the door wide again and signaled for us to enter the house.  

We sat around a green, rounded table sitting in the right corner of the kitchen.  My mother's apartment was nice, minus the fact that bottles of liquor were scattered everywhere.  

After about three or four hours of Cierra explaining everything to my mother, I got up.  

“Cole,” Cierra looked up at me, “Where are you going?”

My mothers jaw dropped, “He- he’s here?”

Cierra nodded “Do you want to see him?”

My mother put her face into her hands and sniffled, then nodded.

I sat back down as Cierra took in a breath, closed her eyes and focused.  Cierra let out a sigh and my mother stared blankly.  I looked down at my hands.  They were no longer a transparent-grey colour but they were changed to the pale shade of flesh that they usually were.  

“Where’s Estella?” I asked, Cierra slid her hand into mine.  

“D-” My mother started, her eyes wide “Daycare.”

“And you just think you can be a drunk?” I said quietly.

“Cole,” Cierra tried to calm me down.

“What happened to the mother I knew?” My voice became loud, “What happened to her?”

Hot tears now streamed down my cheeks.  I pulled my hand away from Cierra’s and swiped a few bottles onto the floor.  I then stormed out of the house.  

When I used to storm out of the house that used to be my house, I would be chased after.  

Nobody chased after me.

Not a single soul wanted me to apologize for what I had done.

Why? Because, they understood.