Lost Souls

Chapter 1 : Gilmores

As she wrote in her journal profusely, Avery couldn't help but to feel a shadow looming over her. In hopes of it being her mother or father, she swivels around in her wooden chair. To her surprise, there was nothing but her bed and her nightstand that was neatly decorated. Her eyes trailed down to the floral pattern of the dresser just beside it—she had painted it herself. But still, in the midst of her own comfort space, she couldn't help but to feel—uneasy.
Avery stood up to get a flow of blood rushing through her. She's been sitting for longer than what she can remember, just writing away. Her eyes once more skimmed over the page she'd just written, and she found an error on the very bottom. Just as she began to pick up her pen to scribble over it and write again, the vase on the desk behind her fell and shattered. With a jump, Avery slowly turned around, only to find her own reflection staring back at her. It was herself but a duplicate, and her clone was holding a bright green Soulace. Avery looked down for her own and when it wasn't there—the ground opened up as if to swallow her. And down,down she fell.
That's when Avery shot up in her bed, gasping for air. Third time this month. As she tried to regain her breath, she spotted a note on her nightstand. Before grabbing it, she reached for her glass of water. Whenever she'd have these same dreams over and over again, there'd always be a glass of water awaiting her the next morning, even though she never remembered bringing up water the previous night. Although, she assumed it was her mother lately because she's the only one who knew about these recurring dreams. Avery believes them to be nightmares but her mother always told her you don't paint dreams or nightmares—we only paint our own realities. Whatever that meant.
Avery's hand found its way to the tip of her necklace. At least it was just a necklace for now. In 2 weeks she would turn 18 and it will be activated, becoming her Soulace. It was a beautiful shiny gem and soon it would open up to reveal what half figure Avery was given. Something in her says these dreams have to have some connection with it. But a lot doesn't make sense from these dreams. The color of the Soulace her reflection had in these dreams was always a bright green— Avery's was silver. She looked over to her journal placed on her desk. That's why she's been writing all these dreams down, just trying to figure out what it all meant. Although, her mother told her it was her nerves and that she should drop it completely.
She reached over for the neatly folded note left on the nightstand and unfolded it. It read :

My dear Avery, I've already given breakfast to your siblings. But I've saved a flat cake and some biscuits for you in the back of the pantry. Don't let the others see though (I've wrapped them in plastic). I've just gone out for a morning stroll with the ladies from Gilmore. Will be back soon! Watch your siblings!!
Love ,
Mama

Avery was used to these messages by now and she continued on with the rest of her day. She changed her clothes after brushing her teeth and headed downstairs to see what her siblings were up to. Their family had a pretty big house, but so did everyone else in this town. It wasn't exactly what one would call a rich town, but more a very historical one. A lot of the houses around here were built half a century ago, but they were extraordinary.
As she made her way down the long staircase, Avery caught sight of her youngest brother, Connor.He was in the middle of a very intense stare down with a bug he had just found on the floor. Connor had just turned 4 and this wasn't his first experience with a six legged specimen. Avery rushed down the stairs in hopes of catching up with her brother before that bug found its way into his mouth.
"Finn! Alisia! David! Comehere right now!". Avery swooped up her baby brother and threw him on the side of her hip. She swiftly snatched the bug away and gave Connor a soft kiss on the forehead in exchange.
In just a second, 6 footsteps made their way to the front of the staircase. They all stood there, watching intently at their big sister, wondering what she would say next. Avery paused before speaking. Finn was 10 and Avery considered him the level headed one out of the group. He had the same brown eyes as her and his Soulace was bright blue. David was his twin and they couldn't be more unalike. David already had dirt stains on his shirt and it was only 8:30 AM. Ironically, his Soulace was a dark, forest green. Alisia was 12, but she acted as if she was 9. But Avery could deal with it because Alisia looked up to her so much. Her Soulace was a royal purple. They weren't that far from each other in age, but Avery was soon going to turn 18 anyway. Avery turned her attention back to her siblings.
David spoke up first. "Are you just gonna stand there or actually yell at us for something?". Alisia elbowed him in the side, followed by a glare and a loud groan from David. "Sorry." Avery held back a smile.
"I'm sure Mama did not tell any one of you to leave Connor alone, to eat bugs by himself with no supervision.."
That's when Finn spoke up. "Would you prefer if we let him eat bugs with supervision?". Sometimes that kid can be a smart ass, Avery thought to herself.
Avery sighed, "Go clean up whatever mess I know you all made and watch Connor while I eat breakfast. Can you manage to do that?". They all nodded, except Alisia who voiced a "Yes." Avery handed Connor to Alisa who gladly took him.
"Enjoy your flatcake," David muttered as he walked by.
"What was that?" Avery asked.
"Nothing."
"Wait—how do you know about my—" Avery signed.
"I kinda saw Mama right the note." Avery gave him a shove and made her way to the pantry. Waiting for her was a half eaten biscuit and portions of what look like dirt covered flat cake. As she rolled her eyes, Avery reached over to the cabinet to get some Frosted Oats.
She had brought down her mothers note to make sure she hadn't missed anything. As she reread the note, Avery couldn't help but to laugh at her mother's discreetness. But the name Gilmore sure did catch her attention. Gilmore was the neighboring house to theirs. It had everything their own house had, except a little bit better. Everything they did, the others did a little bit better. If the Gilmores were dirty water, the Windsors would be poison rain. In comparison, the Windsor were always a little bit worse than the Gilmores. You'd think it would cause some tension between the two, but honestly Avery's mother adored them rather than envy them. Although to Avery, sometimes it felt as if her mother was getting some sort of intel on them—always trying to take notes.
Ever since their father died, things have been harder to mange around the house. Especially for Avery. Everyone had their coping mechanisms. For Avery, it was writing in her journal. Something about putting your words into ink on paper. It seems to be that her mother's escape from that emptiness she feels are the Gilmores. Her children fill most of it, but honestly, Melany Windsor was a happier woman when she was with them. Maybe it was because of how close Avery's father was with them.
There's usually four ladies who run the house ; they all grew up together. Two of the ladies, Mrs. Corinna Nightingale and Mrs. Kelly Nelson, had children. Corinna Nightingale was the pride of their family; she graduated with a bachelor in mechanical engineering, she married a surgeon, and had 3 kids of her own. As far as Avery knew, she was a very brilliant person but also a caring mother-like figure for everyone she met. Not to mention all the time's she's come over to fix a leak in the pipes. She has a 17 year old daughter who was named Alverda, meaning gifted from resourcefulness and compassion. Alverda has had lot of pressure on her, considering her family set one of the highest bars to reach. Even her younger brother, Christopher, won the diocesan science fair and received an honorable mention. And he was still in the seventh grade. There's no beating the Nightingales.
Mrs. Nelson also had a daughter named Clarice. Clarice was a thin, quiet girl who often read to herself during any public events. She might be quiet, but she definitely wasn't shy. In fact, Clarice was one of Avery's best friends who brought her down to earth whenever she'd freak out over some minor issue. Clarice was always grounded and knew exactly what to say. It's not surprising, considering the fact that her mother, Mrs. Nelson, was a quiet, caring lady herself. Clarice was adopted into the Nelson family, and now she has a younger brother name Dominic. He had just turned 6 only a couple weeks ago.
As for the other two ladies, Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Joyce--they never talked to anyone. They were getting really old and often were cranky. But Avery and her siblings luckily never really experienced the grumpy side of those ladies. They've always liked the Windsors--said they had some good in them. They've been here longer than anyone else, and some people swear they have some psychic abilities or what not. They treasured their gems and crystals and believed a good cleanse of the aura was just as good as going to confession! Mrs. Allen had minor memory-loss but at times--just the slightest times--it would be as if she never forgot a thing. And as for Mrs. Joyce, she just loved pinching the towns kids' cheeks. Although, you could tell they were both very wise and powerful women.
Avery's mom mostly hung out with Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Nightingale, and often went on morning strolls with them. Although, the Gilmore house wasn't just the residency of 4 ladies. There was one man there--Aaron. There used to be a fifth lady who was the main person running the entire Gilmore House--Mrs. Gilmore. She died when Avery was about 4 years old and the whole town was mourning. Mrs. Gilmore had died so suddenly. Avery doesn't remember much about that day, but when her mother was dressing her in the only little black dress she had, she had tears running down her face. When Avery asked her mother what was wrong, she didn't get an answer. Although that day, she overheard a lot of conversations.
"What an unexpected death that was. She really was a wonderful old lady."

"A fate like this, I don't wish on anyone, but on sweet little Mrs. Gilmore? Never."

"May she rest in peace. Her love and compassion was unbeatable. A shame."

Avery might have been young, but she remembered what loss looked like that day. That was the only death her family had experienced besides their father. She didn't personally know Mrs. Gilmore, but from the stories her family told her, she was a woman who knew and helped everyone in the town. She was a mother to everyone and touched the life of every kid, and every adult. Avery wished she had met her every single day after that.
That day, September 4th, Avery was following loosely behind her mother's skirt and holding her hand. At one point in the ceremony, Avery's big brown eyes looked over to the next pew. Her eyes met with two big, blue eyes of a boy that was her age. She didn't know it at the time, but she was looking into the eyes of Aaron's son. His name was Matt, and Avery would later find out they were born on the same day.
Avery was snapped back into reality when she heard a crash coming from the living room. It was followed by an "Oops" from David. This was already going to be a long day.

What's up readers?? Okay so this is my first story and I would've literally never thought I'd be on Wattpad, writing a story. Like what?? Anyway, I hope you liked that first chapter. Thanks for reading. If you stick around long enough...stuff gets really juicy ;)