Inheritance

Sage let out a frustrated sigh. She reached for the steering wheel of her car, stinging her warm fingers on the cold surface. Getting into her car and putting her keys in, she began to drive. She, along with the rest of her family, was called just a week after her great-grandmother's funeral to get her inheritance. Even if she got a bit of whatever the inheritance might be, her family would sure as hell try to get it. To make matters worse, the sky appeared to reflect her mood, because not a star could be seen in the new night sky as cold air pounded against anything and everything. Her great-grandmother, along with a cousin, were the only two people in her family that Sage really liked, because the others all acted insufferably half of the time.

It just had to be her, didn't it? Right at Christmas, too. She thought to herself, another sigh escaping her slightly parted lips.

Tonight just wasn't her night, was it.

...

Finally reaching her great-grandmother's house, she stumbled to the front door of the nearby mansion, once owned by her great-grandma, barely able to see through the cold winds, and barely able to walk because of how bundled up she was. Quickly pressing the doorbell, she was suddenly face-to-face with one of her aunts, Matilda.

"Hey, How are you? Come in, come in! All we need is you to begin splitting the inheritance!"

Figures. It took nearly all of Sage's will to not scoff something at her aunt. Of course, all I'm worth to her is a little bit of money or a piece of jewelry. Every family event went like this. At least one relative was either extremely nice, just so they could try to use her for something later, or they were just outright rude. She stepped into the well-lit house, remembering all of the good times she had with her great-grandma. Her house always somehow smelled of cinnamon and vanilla, perhaps from all of the candles that lined the walls of the house. She was getting close to the main gathering room, but the hall was long, and the most interesting things in it were the plentiful candles and the few paintings which were spread out pretty far across the wall. As she stared into a simple painting of just an apple, which she remembered watching her great-grandma paint, Sage heard loud and quick footsteps racing toward her, coming from the direction of the gathering room. As soon as the person began to talk, Sage immediately recognized her.

"Hey, Sage!" Em, her cousin, almost ran into her but stopped right before that could happen. "How have you been? Gosh, it's been ages since we've last seen each other!"

All Sage could do was laugh because she was so glad to see her old friend again.

...

In the gathering room, nobody said anything. The room had a soft beige colored carpet, and several red chairs lined up almost perfectly with each other, all made to be extremely soft. An old friend of her great-grandma stood before the family and was given instructions from her great-grandma as to who gets the inheritance and how. Sage found it odd that she didn't just have everybody split it, but it wasn't like she could argue it considering her great-grandma was now one among the dead.

"Mary (I) had specifically told me that once she passed to tell all of you that only three at most can share the inheritance, and if you want the inheritance, you must find it."

Hearing the family shout and curse in protest, Mary's friend restated to the family that it was Mary who came up with the rules and not him, so he just walked toward the door to leave, apparently not wanting to deal with the family anymore.

Em's mother proceeded to quickly get up and run to search for the inheritance, not wanting any of the other relatives to get it before she. Noticing this, everybody began to get up and race around the house to try and find the inheritance. With ep frustration, Sage began to walk back down the hall to the front door, Em deciding to tag along.