Sunken

02 Death Water

"Remember dinner's in the fridge and make sure Lynn doesn't consume all the cookies in the pantry," Mom explained.

"Got it now go, don't want to keep Brenda waiting," I smiled.

She kissed me on the cheek before walking to the door. The sound of her heels clicking against the tiled floor was heard until it was cut off by the sound of a door opening and shutting.

Mom was going out somewhere with one of her salon clients/friends. It was nice to see my mom have a life, but it also was like a kick to the gut whenever I'd compare it to my own.

I climbed up the stairs and pushed Lynn's door open.

"Hey Lynn, Mom went out..." my words trailed as I glanced around her room in awe. "Woah."

There were pictures of aquatic life everywhere, mainly stingray. Some pictures were hand drawn, others were printed out.

"Jesus Christ Lynn," my eyes hung on the giant stingray image above her bed.

"You like it? I've been drawing and printing all day," she said.

"Did you use my printer?" I asked.

Lynn turned away with a guilty look on her face. I sighed and sat next to her on top of her bed.

"How many pictures are we talking?" I asked.

"Just maybe fifty..." she murmured in a quiet voice.

"Fifty?!" I exclaimed. "Do you know how much ink costs?"

"I'm sorry, but mom was too busy to take me to the library," Lynn frowned. "And I really really wanted to put these pictures up in my room."

I leaned against her headboard and glanced at my sister nervously shielding her face with her long chestnut hair.

"Just tell me one thing," I pushed her hair out of her flushed face. "Why stingray?"

Her cobalt eyes sparkled as a sliver of a smile slid onto her lips.

"I guess I always had a thing for them. But lately I've been having these dreams, of me swimming underwater next to the stingray and they're talking to me," Lynn smiled. "They said that they're my friends and they'll protect me."

"Protect you from what?" I asked.

"I don't know," she frowned. "That's the part when I always wake up. But sometimes I swear, it feels so real. It's like the stingray are calling me to the ocean."

I chuckled and shook my head at her.

"I think you're imagination is getting way too big to fit in your tiny head," I told.

"I'm serious," Lynn whined. "Sometimes I even..."

"You what?"

"Never mind," she brushed off. "Do we still have cookies in the pantry?"

"Mom just bought some from the store today. Go crazy," I smiled.

Lynn flashed the biggest child like grin I've seen her wear in a while and ran out of her room. I sighed as I stared at the large picture of a stingray by her window.

Come to think of it, I do actually remember Lynn talking about stingray every now and then when she was smaller.

Suddenly an image of us on the beach by the water with my dad submerged into my brain. We all had blue hair again, and Lynn was petting the stingray that was circling around her in the water.