The Prophecy Of The Black Day

Chapter 2

As expected, Selene felt angry tears sting her eyes when she closed the door of the store. She'd barely walked a few blocks when the tears fell. Luckily, no one was close enough to see her cry. It would have been even more embarrassing.

She hated the fact that Benjamin had decided to walk into the store while Tianna was chewing her out. Though he'd done his best to keep his expression impassive, Selene was sure he thought she was a loser.

She sniffed and took off her glasses so she could wipe her tears away with the sleeve of her black sweatshirt. By crying, she was letting Tianna win. She hated feeling so frustrated.

Selene didn't understand why she still felt hurt when Tianna went out of her way to be mean to her. Her aunt had been doing it for over a decade for crying out loud. She should have developed thick skin by now.

Even though her throat felt sore with unshed tears, she swallowed them back and walked faster. The heat from the sun was burning her exposed flesh. The last thing she wanted was to get darker than she already was.

By the time she got to Salt and Sugar, she was sweating profusely and her hair looked messier than it usually was. She dropped her order at the counter, then excused herself so she could wipe her brows.

In the toilet, she used some paper towels to dab her pasty forehead and tried to do something about the mess that was her hair. Her hair seemed to have a life of its own.

Selene wasn't in a hurry to return to her aunt's shop. Tianna was still spoiling for a fight.

She splashed cold water on her face trying to drown out the words Tianna had said. No matter how much water she used, she couldn't wash away the stench of failure Tianna always associated with her.

A lot of teenagers in her shoes would have rebelled and snapped back. Some would have run away from home. Selene knew she couldn't do any of that.

Sighing deeply, she brought out a gold locket from the insides of her blouse and wiped off some of her sweat from it. She opened it carefully.

A black and white picture of a beautiful woman smiled back at her. The woman looked so happy and so alive.

"I wish you never died, mom." Selene stuffed the locket back under her blouse before she'd begin to cry again.

Her mother had been dead for over ten years but the pain Selene felt whenever she remembered her mother was gone was so raw.

When she had been younger, Selene pretended that her mother had only gone to the store temporarily and that she would return soon. It was the only way she managed to survive the first few years without her mother.

Selene wished she could at least remember what had happened the day her mother died. Not being able to remember that day made it harder for her to accept her mother was truly gone.

If she closed her eyes and thought really hard, she could still see her mother's smiling face and could almost feel her mom's tender hands fussing over her stubborn hair.

She could remember how lovely her mother had been. Like most kids that age, Selene had idolized her mother.

But then something happened and she lost her mother in an instant.

Selene had never known her father. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to know the man who had been absent from her life from the first day she came into the world. She'd never needed or wanted a dad when she had her mother. She wondered if her life would have been happier if she'd know her father.

Before she could get too sad, she shook her head and left the bathroom. By the time she got to the counter, her order was ready to be picked up.

The boy attending to her blushed when she returned. He kept fiddling with the buttons on his uniform. He watched Selene's face when he held out an extra cup for her.