Emiliana Cornelius

    She woke with a start, sweat glistened on her forehead and covered her body sipping into the light pink tank top that which preferred to wear on hot nights. But this night was different, worse than the other nights. She had the same dream again, somewhat of a nightmare. It always starts the same, seeing children running around playing accompanied by their parents, all dressed in red; an image that had come to become unforgettable. The atmosphere always starts as peaceful and you can almost taste the freshness in the air. And she could never forget the gorgeous lady who stood out amongst all smiling down at the child in her arms but the veil over her head always hiding her face.
     And with the blink of an eye, everything changes, laughter turns to screams and happiness to sorrow. Darkness consumes the planes and blood coats the once evergreen grasslands. But the darkness always seems to have its sole attention in the woman and child, leaving the woman no choice but to run. The dreams always end there but this night, it was different. She heard her name from the woman's lips before it all went blank.
      Wrapping her arms around her body to soot the goosebumps on her skin, she got out of bed and walked towards the window. The sky was filled with so many stars tonight, and as her breath returned to normal she admired the beauty in front her. She had always loved stargazing, it brought her calm and peace of mind. The dream still played through her mind though but she could make no sense of it. It all happened too fast but she felt a strong connection to it as though she were taking a gleam into her past.
      Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she walked back to her bed, and drawing out the sheets lay down in the hopes of falling asleep again. But this time with no dreams.

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"Emili, hurry or you'll be late for school ", her aunt Mia called from down the stairs.
"Coming", Emiliana replied. Zipping up her gucci bag pack and swinging it over her shoulders she made her way out of her room and down the stairs.

Saying her house was big would clearly be an understatement. With ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms, and an adjoining guesthouse, her house was somewhat of a castle. Her father was a successful art dealer but she never guessed how much that would fetch in judging by the size of the house and interior. Most of the furniture were made from rare wood from different parts of the world and with gold making up a good amount of a lot of the parts of the house.

"Tough night?" Her aunt handed a cup of chocolate as she walked into the massive kitchen, which was one out of the three in total.
"No just woke up a bit early", she replied as she took the cup and walked to the cabinet to get out some cereal. She had always wondered how her aunt always looked so gorgeous and fresh every morning no matter the hour. She admired her aunt's smooth pale skin and violet eyes of that sometimes sparked in the light. Her friends always found it hard to believe her anytime she told them her aunt was thirty two because she clearly looked a lot younger. Though they had one thing in common, long, wavy black hair that fell all the way to their lower back. She really loved her hair and her eyes, bright blue with golden flecks. Her dad had always said he had her mother's eyes.

"Hi sweetheart, you looked like you didn't sleep well", her dad, Antonio Cornelius walked into the kitchen dressed in black sweatpants and white tee. His hair tied into a small ponytail and violet eyes steady on his daughter.
"I'll be fine", she replied as she poured some milk into her bowl of cereal.
"Your birthday is in three days. My baby is gonna be 18", her aunt Mia gushed as she sat beside her and lightly pinched her cheeks.
She smiled as she looked at her aunt. Mia had always been like a mother since she was a baby. She had been told her mother had died shortly after giving birth to her and since then Mia had taken up the responsibility of being the best mother to her.
"You should really start planning for your big day", her dad sat across from her with a cup of coffee in his hands as he took a sip.
"It's no big deal, it's just another regular birthday ", Emiliana shrugged. She didn't see the big deal for any major celebration. A lot of people turn 18 everyday.
Mia and her brother shared a brief knowing look before she masked with a smile and beamed at her niece.
"We can have a girls day. Go shopping, make our hair, get our nails done", Mia bounced on her seat as she took Emiliana's hand and gave it a light squeeze. Her excitement clearly showing on her face as she smiled.
"Sure, I would love that", Emiliana smiled at her aunt. She could never say no to her on matters like this. She really liked spending time with her second mother.
"And meet some boys ", Mia wiggled her eyebrows at her nieces making Emiliana blush hard.
"Mia", Antonio shot her a warning look clearly aware of what his sister was capable of.
"Oh calm your tits, she will soon become an adult and it's time she showed those guys what they are missing".
"Miaaaa", Emiliana covered her red face with her hands as Mia laughed while her brother playfully glared at her.
"I'm late for school", Emiliana jumped to leave clearly to avoid hearing more of her aunt's thoughts on her dealings with boys. "Love you" she gave her smiling aunt a kiss on the cheek and also one for her father before she grabbed her bag and walked out, her breakfast clearly forgotten.
"Love you too", Mia called as she watched her leave.
"Don't introduce my daughter to any boy", Antonio pointed at her as he walked over to the sink to drop his cup. He never wanted his baby girl with any guy, at least not now.
"Whatever you say", she rolled her eyes, giving her brother a mischievous smile as the wheels turned in her head already planning for the D-day.
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