Discovering Sapphire

SURPRISE! NOT.

Grace’s party was awesome! We ate, drank, danced and sang and Grace was loving every single moment of it. She had tons of gifts that we and her really caring parents showered her with.

“THE LATEST PRADA BAG?!!!! OHMYGOSH!” She squealed, unraveling a black leather purse with intricate designs on them. I never knew anything about designer brands and never wanted to know. Information from school was enough and it’ll probably give me a bigger headache if I had to remember all those designer labels as well.

“Glad you like it hun.” Replied her mother. Grace’s mother was a slender woman with her hair usually tied up in a neat bun. She was around 50 and had light blue eyes. Her image was really important to her as she was a businesswoman who worked for one of the biggest companies in the world. Hence she was always polite, confident and calm. Never once had I seen her lose her cool and she was always so composed about everything. Like one time, when Grace had a really bad fall when she was 15 and had broken her arm and some bones in her ribcage, her mum came to the hospital, her face not showing any signs of anxiety or panic. She was calm and her expression was that of concern and worry. She didn’t get into a fit of any sort like how some parents will after finding out that their precious baby was hurt badly. I have a lot of respect for Grace’s mother and she is my goal in life as to how well I want to be able to carry myself in the future.

My cell phone rang and I saw that it was from my Mum. Oh right! I forgot to text them that I would be at Grace’s house tonight. My parents were the overprotective, overly concerned sort and I always wondered why. It’s not as if I was being chased or eaten by monsters right? I picked up the phone and placed it on my ear, “Hi Mum! I’m fine… I forgot to tell you I’m at a party and I’ll be home late. 11 tops.”

“Sapphire… How many times have I told you to inform us if you were ever going out alone and especially at such a late hour? It’s dangerous you know… Please try to come home earlier. Your father and I am very worried.” She spoke, her voice calm but I could tell the concern that came with it.

“I know I know… I’m sorry. Okay, I’ll try to be home earlier, I’ll come home once the party ends okay? See you mum! Love you!” I replied, fingers crossed, hoping they wouldn’t force me home this instant.

“Alright then, don’t be too late. We’ll be waiting for you. Love you too dear.” My mum said, I could tell the weariness in her voice. She was really exhausted. She must have been working endlessly the whole day even though it was her day off. I felt bad for keeping them awake so I decided to leave the party earlier. I’m good like that.

“Hey Sarah, Grace! I’ll have to leave now. Mum’s waiting for me to get home. I’ll see you in school tomorrow kay?” I gave them each a big hug before leaving.

“Bye girl!” They echoed together as I left.

It was already 10 when I was walking the street towards my house. I breathed in the fresh air and felt the gentle breeze caress my face. The crickets were sounding and sky was clear. It was a full moon tonight and the moon shone brightly in the night sky. I felt alive in the dark, like there was nobody who could hurt me. It was just nature and me. I loved the feeling of walking down the quiet, empty street. The people in my neighbourhood had a thing for sleeping early and most of them were already getting ready for bed by 10. I was always the exception. Even when I was young, I would stay up till the wee hours of the night, admiring the dark sky, the stars and everything that came with the night. That was why I was always late for school because I wouldn’t be able to get up in the morning.

I heard the distant sound of footsteps behind me and I turned around. Well, jumped around to be more exact. There was nobody there. I could have sworn I heard somebody walking behind me just a moment ago. Maybe it was just a cat or a bird. I continued my journey and again, I heard footsteps. Was I imagining it? I spun round once more and again, there was no one. This was getting a little too freaky for my liking. I quickened my pace and was almost running towards my house. If people had seen the way I looked, I would have looked like a crippled duck trying to run. I looked like I was hopping, running and walking altogether and I would have probably laughed at myself too if I had seen myself run/hop/walk to my house. The footsteps behind me grew louder and faster. It confirmed my belief that SOMEONE had been following me all this while. I turned around again to see who it was and yet again, I was greeted with nothing but air. I hit into a hard wall as I turned my head back to the front and fell straight on my butt.