A call from under the sea

Chapter 1: 6 years later

"You can't just ship us away Dad, not now!" The anger I felt toward him was overflowing. Tomorrow was the 6th year without mum, he just couldn't ship us away on that day, it would destroy CeCe. I had to try to make him change his mind before Cece got home, but how? "CeCe needs her father and where would we go?" The stone cold look from dad's face told me that he had made up his mind and CeCe would be home any minute, I needed to change his mind now.

"Maria, I have made up my mind, you are going to stay with my sister Tania, she lives in Australia so you'll need to take a plane," what? Dad was sending us nearly half way around the world to live with Aunt Tania. Last time I went there I was 4 and CeCe wasn't around but she was still a weird person. "She lives near a beach so when CeCe gets home go to the sh to but some simmers," dad's tone of voice told me that I wasn't going to win this battle.

"CeCe come on, you've got to talk to me some time," dad had broken the bad news to her hours ago, when she got home from flute practice and I had to drag her out of the house kicking and screaming to get to the shops. Having her cry the whole way there was embarrassing enough but everyone had to keep asking if she was alright as everyone around here knew our family well. She stopped crying when we got to the shops but trying to find swimmers we liked was harder than I thought. Having never needed swimmers before it was hard to decide what we wanted. Now, with swimmers for both of us and a new dress for CeCe to make up for early CeCe had finally decided to cooperate with me. CeCe was dragging her feet, her face red and puffy from crying.

"Sis, why do we have to leave?" Looking back at her, I could see if I didn't say something she would start crying again so I stopped and picked her up. I slowly started singing the lullaby that mum used to sing whenever CeCe cried. It soon lulld her to sleep and the walk home was easier but she was getting rather heavy, not like when she was 2.

Slowly lowering CeCe down onto her bed and using out of the room without waking her I felt the anger boiling inside me again. How could dad do this, we need to stay together tomorrow more than ever. Slowly breathing in and out I calmed myself down. Walking down the stairs I saw dad, staring at the place where I had seen him crying over mum's dead body. I had been so happy that CeCe was asleep. The screams had shakne me from my bed but CeCe had been spared of that horror but I couldn't leave her up there. Now that I look back I wish I had because when the police arrived she awoke and cried the rest of the night. "Dad, CeCe is asleep," for a second I thought he hadn't heard me but then he turned around and I stopped, he was crying.

"I'm sorry Maris but I can't look after you any more, you leave tomorrow at 10," before I could say anything he walked into his study and shut the door. I could hear the clicking sound of his door locking behind him. This must be tearing him up, he belices because he couldn't save mum he is unworthy to care for us. Glancing at the clock I realized that I hadn't eaten, so walking to the fridge and grabbing the first thing I could, I shoved it down my throat and walked up the countless stairs into CeCe's room and curled up on my own bed for the last time, allowing sleep to take me in its clutches.