One of these mornings Daniel would be able to wake up being… He’d never really finished that thought. It was a sunshiny day with no blotches of white staggered randomly across the sky. The emerald-tilled earth was drowning him in the glazing green grass, and Daniel could barely resist the urge to frolic in the open. He stared blankly outside his window. Old, battered, and cracked everywhere. He lived in a dump with his three siblings. Daniel’s three sisters are Skye, Crystal, and Madison—though they called her Madi for short. Daniel, on the other hand, was the only boy in the family.
It was a gorgeous day on the date of May 15th. Their family lived on the outskirts of town, a little bit far from normal civilization. Their family is just Daniel and his sisters. Skye, the oldest of the four, was striking in her appearances. No matter how beautiful she looked, she could be as sharp as a newly enriched dagger from the blacksmith. Madison, second-oldest, was the quiet one out of all of them. Her long wavy dirty-blond hair acted like a whip. Her razor-like eyes would bore into you; you couldn’t argue with her. Daniel, remarkably misleading was stunning in his own version, handsome in his own view. Crystal, the youngest and most sensitive was adorable. Her appearance has fooled many, cute on the outside, but can turn into a demon almost instantaneously.
Their parents passed away during their road trip down at Arizona. Lovely cliffs, may they have said, and lovely indeed. They were lovely enough to be killed by the beauty. Their parents died because they fell off a cliff. Daniel shakes his head in disgust. He hated thinking about his parents.
“Daniel! What do you want for breakfast?” shouted Skye from the bottom of the stairs. She had been taking cooking classes for three years, and it came in handy. They were poor and living in poverty.
“Do we still have pancake batter leftover?” Daniel yelled back.
“Not enough for all of us! And what did I tell you before? Don’t answer me with a question!” an irritated Skye responded. Sometimes Skye was an extremely happy person, and she looks like she can’t be broken down to a frown. Skye was like that; she could put on different emotions at any given time and easily fool a crowd.
“Sorry. I’ll just have some milk,” Daniel loosely said, not ready for an argument. He hears a knock on his door.
“It’s open.” He said to the person behind the door.
“Good morning! Ready for what today has planned?” It was Madison, grinning from ear-to-ear. He laughed.
“Madi today is just like every other day. Dull and boring with nothing to do.” Daniel answered. Madison was older than him too. He was the middle child. Well, partly. Crystal was the youngest, counting up from twelve years. Daniel was fifteen.
“Today is not boring! Look outside, dummy. It’s beautiful! Whaddaya say we go outside and run around? Look at the grass! It’s just calling to us.” Madi exclaimed. Madison was very optimistic and sensitive. He chuckled and looked outside. It really was crying for them to go outside.
“Ha-ha, okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll go outside with you,” Daniel finally said, defeated.
“Yes!” Madi whispered to herself as she pumped her fist into the air victoriously.
“Daniel! Milk is ready! Sorry it took so long, I had to go and get some cereal from the neighbors.” Skye reminded him.
Out of all of them, Skye was the mom of them. Daniel rushed out his bedroom door, leaving Madi staring in awe outside his window, and scrambled down the stairs. When he reached the kitchen, Skye eyed him from head-to-toe.
“What?”
“You look like a hobo,” Skye said as she carried the bowl of milk to the timeworn table. Daniel strided to the tiny bathroom in the living room and stared at the creature before him. Ragged and tangled brown hair, tired milky green eyes—with a hint of brown, baggy T-shirt with dozens of rips and cuts, worn out and battered khaki shorts. He scoffed.
“Look who’s talking, Miss Perfect,” He loved to annoy his sisters; especially Skye. She looked worse than him. Destroyed raven hair with natural highlights due to lack of showers, exhausted dark green eyes, broken-strapped tank top, and dirty shorts. She looked down at herself.
“Yeah, well, at least I’m the only one who keeps our family alive,” She did have a point there. Skye was the only one who kept them alive. The rest of them did practically nothing.
Madi came down the stairs. “What’s for breakfast? I’m so hungry.”
Madi looked identical to Skye. Same dark green eyes, but their hair was different. Madi had golden brown hair, which was livelier than Skye’s hair. Madi was wearing her favorite shirt, a quote she loved. “Dream until your dreams come true,” was the quote on her shirt.
“What do you want, Madi?” Skye questioned.
“Toast?”
“That’s fine. We have bread,” Skye sighed. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all. The three of them heard some noises upstairs; creaky wood and the sound of a squeaky door. Then Crystal appeared. She yawned loudly.
“Good morning. Can I have what Daniel is having?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. She always wanted what he had; it’s like she worshiped him or something. Skye sighed, exasperated of the chore of daily morning foods.
“Sure, Crystal. One sec,” Skye pulled out a bowl from the cabinets and poured it with milk. Daniel had completely forgotten about his breakfast. He walked over to the table and started eating. Crystal followed and did the exact same thing he did.
Daniel finished his cereal and thanked Skye for the food, and went outside with Madi and Crystal. The only pairs of shoes they have are the three typical types; snow boots, flip-flops, and sneakers. It was a relatively hot day, so flip-flops it was. Despite the decrepit house they lived in, the outside world was like heaven. Though the grass was mildly tall, the three of the siblings flattened it by rolling down the hill behind their house. The insects buzzed with glee at the gorgeous day.
“Daniel?” Crystal asked.
“Yeah,”
“When will mom and dad come home? It’s been over two years.”
They hadn’t told their little Crystal about the passing away because she would be devastated at the news, and she would immediately start crying and saying “I want mommy!” all year long until the pain numbed her. At least that’s what Daniel did, except the “I want mommy!” part.
“Crystal, what did I tell you before?”
“That they would come home when I’m fourteen,”
“And how old are you now?”
“Twelve.”
“Thank you.”
Crystal sighs. Daniel knew she missed them like crazy. He did too.
“Hey, cheer up. It’s not so bad with us right? Let’s go roll down the hill again!” He said, trying to cheer her up. Crystal jumps up excitedly.
“Race you there!” And off she goes.
“You know we have to tell her sooner than fourteen, right?” Madi told me when Crystal smelled the flowers. He nodded and sighed. It would break her innocent heart. Daniel buried his face into his hands and ruffled his hair.
