The Day My Life Ended (Editing)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Lilac Stardust (Re.)

Something smelled good. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. The room was still so tiny, and dark. I curled under the blanket. Where's my mom? Or- or is it my aunt? Or the others, where did the others go?

"Oh! I forgot." The room became brighter. I flinched. "There you go. Light."

The blanket fell away. The voice sat at the edge of the bed, digging into a large dresser and taking things out. Mom folded things before tucking them. Instead of the bag becoming big and lumpy, the bag immediately flattened out. Mom stuffed in three more shirts. The same kind of flattening thing happened.

"Mom?" I asked, using my sleep sweater to rub the sleep from my eyes.

Mom pointed.

A plate sat nearby of yummy pancakes. I crawled over the bed to them, grabbing the fork. I quickly ate two pancakes. They were good!

Mom chuckled. I turned, tilting my head. My blue hair dangled by my face. "Sorry, you have some syrup on your face."

I squeaked. "Oh no! Ugh, I'll get the syrup sponge."

"No, no. It's okay. We just need to wipe it."

She climbed up the bed, crawling over to me. She grabbed a napkin from the nightstand, holding me upright. Her eyes were amber- no trace of purple. It's really Mom. She's holding my face, wiping syrup away with a napkin. It comes off my skin easier than it ever came off my scales.

Huh.

Cool.

Mom tossed the napkin away. She set the plate off on the nightstand again. She held my face again so I was looking at her. It's really hard to imagine looking at anything else. I missed my mom a lot.

Her words from yesterday floated back in my head. Her hand was warm. Dragons are usually always hot but now I'm shivering. Mom swept me up in another hug, covering my head in kisses. I giggled at a kiss to my nose.

"Mom!" I giggled.

Mom laughed too. "Yeah?" She kissed the side of my head, followed by a big kiss on my cheek.

"Stop!" I tried shoving her face off mine. Mom ignored me to kiss my forehead again.

Mom made a gross face. "Eww, time to brush your teeth."

I gawked. "What- Nonono! Kiss my face again. It's-"

"Nope." Mom rolled off the bed. She stood up, brushing off her pants. "Teeth. We got a lot to do today, and barely any time to do it. Go brush your teeth."

I whined. "But all you're doing is packing! I don't gotta help!"

"Yes you do." Mom replied. "And it's not just packing. We gotta go out. So go brush your teeth."

I crossed my arms, raising my nose. "Nope! Don't gotta! Cause my-"

A tiny blue toothbrush landed in the fold of my arms.

Mom went back to the dresser. She tossed another few shirts away, moving to another drawer full of pants. "Toothpaste is in the bathroom. Third door on the left. You're also getting dressed when you come back. Hurry! I gotta empty the laundry machine soon."

Grumbling, I went out into the hall. It's days like this that I really miss Auntie. Auntie would've had me eating more pancakes before making me brush my teeth.

"Oh! And don't talk to anyone. Any of them. Not a single person. Okay?"

I nodded. Stumbling off, I opened the door.

Nobody was in the hallway. The noises come from downstairs- more of that delicious smell of pancakes. I sniff, enjoying the smell. The hallway was saturated in the smell so I stood still to soak it in.