One Moonless Night

Prologue three years ago.....

I watch my mami as she wakes up and goes to the kitchen to make herself coffee. As she passes by me her lilac perfume wafts up my nose; I breathe in deeply and take her into my lungs. As she’s walking back to her room she stops and checks on my five older brothers Zane, Jacob, Eli, Mat, and Max. She passes by my room and opens the door quietly to check on me. I see myself lying in bed and wonder how I can possibly be in two places at once? Once assured that we’re all fine she closes my door and enters her bathroom to take a shower. I wait outside of the bathroom door until it opens again to reveal my mami dressed in faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt. I stand by and watch as she blow dries her long black curls.

She grabs a tube of mascara and applies it lightly making her already big eyes slightly bigger. She then grabs blue and black eye shadow and applies it to her eyelids giving them a smoky look and making the green in her aquamarine eyes pop out. She puts on a light shade of pink lipstick and smiles making her dimples appear. I smile at the similarities that my mami and I have. I have long black hair with natural blue streaks going through the waves. I have deep dimples that when combined with my petite stature and long wavy hair make me look younger than I really am.  I also have aquamarine eyes but mine are more blue than green. When she is finished with her makeup she turns and I stare in awe at her beautiful face.

As she walks out of the bathroom she walks right through my spectral form sending a shiver down her spine and down mine. As she heads towards my room I notice that she’s holding something in her hand. She opens my bedroom door quietly and enters my room. She smiles as she looks around at the mess that is my room. She walks over to my bedside and places a small artfully wrapped box on my nightstand. My mami gently brushes my hair out of my face and places a kiss on my forehead.

“Felis cumple años Skarlet.” She says tenderly as she looks down at my sleeping face. I smile sleepily up at her as I rub my eyes.

“Oh, that’s right. Today is my 13th birthday.” I say groggily as my mami continues to smile down at me. I smile back and ask her, “Are you going to work already?”

“Si mi niña, I am.” She says in her wonderfully accented voice.

“Okay, well, I’ll see you when you get home.” The me on the bed says as my mami kisses my cheek and leaves my room after saying goodbye. The spectral me continues to follow my mami around as she goes into the kitchen and begins to prepare her coffee, adding enough creamers so that her coffee looks tan then adds two tablespoons of sugar. She takes a sip and goes to her room to say goodbye to my papi. She finishes her coffee and places her empty cup in the sink. She grabs her purse and leaves the kitchen and goes out the front door. As she leaves the apartment a feeling of foreboding envelopes me.

 She continues walking down the sidewalk in a leisurely pace as she looks up at the shining sun. Suddenly a giant rusty red truck comes speeding past me. I turn to my mami only to watch in horror as the truck barrels into her. She flies through the air then finally falls to the floor as I begin to scream.

“Mami! Nooooo!” I wake up in a cold sweat with my heart beating against my chest like a frightened bird locked in a cage. I wipe at the tears that blur my vision with shaky hands and breathe in raggedly as I realize that it was only a nightmare. I lie back down on my bed and breathe in trying to calm my heartbeat. I close my eyes right as my phone vibrates signaling that I got a text. I look at the text that my brother Zane’s best friend and the boy I was currently in love with, Daniel sent me. Happy Birthday Skar, it says. I smile as I tap my touch screen to reply.

Thanks Dani! Will I see you at my party today? I press send and lie back down as I wait for him to respond.

Maybe, was his reply. I smile as I put my phone on the nightstand. I turn over to my side and close my eyes falling asleep; my nightmare totally forgotten.