[Year 1997]
Persey went to kindergarten when she turned five. After years of my mom and dad saying she'd have to go to an academy for gifted kids, I was relieved when they told me they were going to put her in the same school as me.
We were sitting on my bed, eating breakfast before we had to leave. Persey asked me if I could burn an incense cone for her, and she sat mesmerized by the smoke. Persephone loved incense. She loved to sit and watch the smoke billowing out from the cone. Smoke was one of the most beautiful things to her; swirling around erratic and shapeless, towering up like translucent white fire.
While her dark eyes still fixated on the smoke, Persey fell backwards onto my bed. She glanced at my clock and sighed, "I don't wannaa..."
"Sorry, Persey. All kids have to go to school," I said.
"But there might be the same girls there. Same girls who were mean to me," she said.
"Well, just ignore them," I said. "What they say shouldn't matter to you. Just go and have fun, they'll have lots of cool stuff to do there. You'll be fine."
Persey stared at me with an anxious shine in her eyes. "You promise?"
"Promise."
We waited until the incense stopped burning, and I put my candle lighter back into the drawer of my nightstand.
On our ride to school, my mom kept rambling on and on about how happy she was that Persey could finally go. Persey tried to act pleased for my mom's sake, but I knew she was terrified. I wasn't used to seeing her this scared before; she seemed the kind of little kid that wasn't scared of anything. She would even pick up spiders and show them to me, and she could watch horror movies, like Evil Dead II, without getting scared. But for some reason, going to school was her limit.
When we stepped out of the car, Persey stopped and tugged on my arm.
"But Zan, what'll I do if the same girls are there? What if they're mean?"
I blew the air out of my cheeks and just shrugged. "Come on, let's just go, we don't have time to go over this again."
"But Zan!"
"Just don't beat them up, okay? We don't need you in trouble again."
Persey pulled at my arm again and pouted.
"Come on, Persey! You'll be fine, I promise! If you're not gonna come then I'll just leave you right here!"
This convinced her well enough. We entered the school and I walked with Persey all the way to her class. A smiling lady was welcoming all the little kids that went in. Her smile widened when she saw Persey and me, which made Persey want to stop again.
"Hi, Zander, it's good to see you!" she chirped. "Is this your little sister?"
"Yeah, this is Persephone," I said, patting her shoulder. "Say hi, Persey. She's just gonna take you to your classroom."
Persey only smiled shyly.
"Very good," the overly cheerful lady said. "Your name is Persephone? That's so pretty! I'm Mrs. Zayn. Come with me, honey."
"Call me Persey," I heard my sister mutter as I left.
Everything was going okay for me, until it was time for lunch. I was planning on meeting Persey outside, but when I came out, there was a loud commotion near the playground. Kids were running away from the bushes, yelling to get the teacher's aid.
YOU ARE READING
Through the Acheron
General Fiction[Formerly Persephone's Death Wish} Zander was seven years old when his little sister Persephone was born. A few weeks later, he had to go to his first funeral. His first experience with death left him mystified and overwrought, fearful that when h...
