Alina woke up in the hospital. She was heavily sedated; Jenna’s beating had caused her arm to be fractured.
“Alya...sis…” she mumbled.
“I’m here.”
The girl’s eyes flung open and she was delighted to see that Alya was there with her.
“You’re here…” she whispered, reaching out for Alya. Alya smiled and took her hand.
“I am. You should rest.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Almost two weeks,” Alya said. “You were badly hurt by Jenna.”
“But...Aunt Jenna
The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Its lights fell on the series of tombstones in the graveyard. Colorful flowers were blooming all around the family which was standing next to a pair of graves with a shared tombstone. Despite the nice weather, the family was solemn as they paid their respects. The tombstone had a writing on it:“Here lies Sheila and Charles Wang. Loving parents and good people. Date 19XX to 20XX”Max dabbed his eyes, lamenting the loss of his granddaughter and her husband. Cain and Jason told him that they died in a car crash and also revealed that Alina is Sheila’s daughter who was being taken care of by her uncle and his fiance. Jason and Cain stood on his sides with their lovers. Alina was kneeling in front of her parents’ graves, silently crying.“I miss you
*Three Years Later*Jason was pacing back and forth outside the operation theater. His heart was anxious but thankfully, it was not in pain like the other times. However, it was extremely cold thanks to what was going on inside.“Relax uncle!”He looked around to see a spunky eleven year old girl with long, curly hair and the same blue eyes as him. Alina had a growth spurt over the past three years. She was now almost reaching his shoulder.“Aunt Alya will be fine!” she told him. “If you get too anxious, she’ll only panic.”“I can’t help it!” he scowled. “And kids shouldn’t be here! Why aren’t you at school?”
The silence of the dark night was disturbed by the rustling of leaves. A long, winding road cut through the forest with the large trees surrounding the area. While the large moon shone brightly in the sky, its light was blocked by the trees which threw dark shadows over the road. There was no other sound, not even the cries of cicadas. Not a soul was in sight at the desolated road since it was past midnight. The world slept on, unaware of what was about to happen at that lonely road. Through the darkness, a pair of headlights lit up as a car sped through the forest. Inside the car were three people. A middle aged couple were at the front seat while a small hooded figure was sitting at the back. The bespectacled man in his forties looked worried as sweat glistened on his forehead. His wife, a dark haired beauty with blue eyes, was glancing at the rearview mirror every minute to ensure they w
The sirens of the ambulance reached his ears as he rushed out of his car. There were many police cars around the crash site while photographers clicked pictures of the car. To his horror, the car was totally wrecked in the accident. His mind was numb, something he had not expected.How many years had it been since he saw them? He could not recall. All he remembered was being angry at his sister for running away from their family. She did not even turn up at the funeral of their parents. She had disappeared without a trace, preferring to run away with a lowly scientist instead of staying with his family.The rage he felt had not ebbed but seeing his sister and her husband’s car in that state gave way to an ominous feeling in his heart. As soon as he received the phone call, he abandoned everything and ran to the place wher
Jason rushed through the front door of his mansion, not even bothering to greet the household staff. The nanny he hired for Alina, Jocelyn Shin, came forward to address her master. She was a short woman in her fifties and highly experienced with children. With greying hair and a kind demeanor, Jason had hired her for her excellent track record since he was inexperienced with children.“What happened?” he demanded. “Didn’t you give Alina her medicines?”“I-I did!” Jocelyn protested. “She took her medicines in the morning but I don’t know how she suffered from another attack!”Jason did not stand around to listen to her excuses but ran upstairs where the doctor was examining Alina. He barged in through the door to fin
*Few Hours Ago*Alina turned away from the door and lay on her bed, feeling miserable. Ever since her parents had disappeared, she had been in a state of constant confusion. At first, she was not even understanding what was going on when the police entered her house and told her babysitter that she was to be taken away to live with her uncle, Jason. She had never seen him before but her mother used to talk fondly of him.“I used to carry little Jay on my back everyday to school,” Sheila used to giggle. “He was always sad because our parents used to fight a lot so we were very close. Whenever he heard our parents fight, he would hide in the treehouse for hours. I was the only one who was able to find him every time…”Whenever her m
*Present*The girl blinked. Alina stood there, staring at the girl with large, curious eyes.“Are you running away from my uncle as well?” Alina asked. The girl shook her head, confused.“Well, I’m not really running away,” Alina went on. “I just wanna spook him a little. And also…”She clenched her fists, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. “I also want to see my parents,” she added. "They are apparently at a place called 'grave'. I want to meet them and go home!" The girl sensed a sadness in the child’s tone, unable to comprehend why the kid was sad. But the girl’s soft heart was a
Alina was awed by the ethereal beauty of the mermaid. Her long, silver tail glittered under the moonlight while her skins shone like a pearl. There was a calming aura emitting from her which was alleviating Alina’s earlier anger against her uncle. Just looking at the mermaid was so relaxing and made her happy.“I can’t believe that mermaids actually exist!” Alina squealed. “I’ve been searching for one for so long!”She had read about mermaids and their amazing powers. The books she read were fictional but mermaids were faster than normal humans and quite strong too. They were known to be intelligent creatures which traveled from one sea to another in order to roam around the world.“You’re so pretty…” Alina s