The wind blows gently through the open windows. It feels soft and calm on my face and hair. The sound of the leaves rustling outside is like music from nature. My younger sister, Sarah, and I are sitting on the wooden floor, playing checkers. We love this game so much that we play it every chance we get after finishing schoolwork.
"Don't you dare cheat like last time!" she shouts, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
I raise an eyebrow and grin. "You really think I need to cheat to beat you?"
"Well, you did last time, so yes, I do!" she replies, sticking out her tongue.
"Meeeeh, vow wid wa wass... shut up and play," I say, making a silly face to mock her.
She laughs so hard her cheeks turn bright red, and I start laughing too. Soon, we're both laughing like crazy, forgetting about the game.
Her laugh makes me happy. Even though she can be annoying sometimes, she's my best friend.
"Dinner's ready! Come to the table, both of you," Mom calls from the kitchen.
The smell of her cooking fills the air, and our stomachs growl. It's almost seven o'clock, and we're so hungry we leave the game and run to the table.
We sit down, and Mom starts serving us food. I notice that Dad isn't here yet.
"Where's Dad?" I ask.
Mom's smile fades, and she looks at the clock. "He should've been home by now. I don't know what's taking him so long," she says, glancing at the door with a worried expression.
"You two eat. I'll call him and check," she says, stepping into the hall with her phone.
"I'll wait for him," I tell her.
Sarah, however, digs into her food like she hasn't eaten in days.
She looks up at me and says, "What? I'm hungry. I'll say sorry when Dad comes home." She stuffs more food into her mouth.
I watch Mom from the kitchen as she talks on the phone, but I can't hear her. After a minute, she comes back and smiles at us.
"Everything's fine. He's just busy and will be home late. You can start eating," she says.
Feeling relieved, I pick up my fork.
BANG!
The door slams open.
We all turn to look. Dad is standing there, dripping with sweat and looking scared. He stares at us with wide eyes, like something terrible has happened.
Suddenly, the kitchen window shatters.
Glass flies everywhere. I see something red flash past.
I look at Mom—and my heart stops.
Her head is gone.
Her body falls onto the table. Blood is everywhere—on the table, the walls, and us.
Sarah screams so loudly it hurts my ears. "Aaaaahhhhhhhh!"
Dad runs toward us. He grabs Sarah and me and pulls us out of the house without saying a word.
He runs into the streets, carrying both of us in his arms. It's nighttime, and the streetlights barely light up the road ahead. Everything else is hidden in shadows. He's running as fast as he can, but I can see the fear in his eyes.
I glance at Sarah. She's completely silent, her face frozen in shock. I want to say something, but my own mind is a mess. Confusion and fear swirl in my head. I can't think straight or make sense of what's happening.
Dad's face is pale, drenched in sweat, his eyes darting everywhere like he's being hunted.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a strange green light far away. Without a word, I raise my hand and point at it. Dad sees it and changes direction, running toward the light.
As he runs, a loud explosion suddenly erupts behind us.
The sound is deafening, and I instinctively turn to look. Our home is gone. Flames and smoke rise into the night sky.
Before I can fully process what just happened, the ground beneath us gives way. We're falling.
It feels endless. My stomach churns, and I can't breathe. The fear grips me so tightly that I black out.
When I wake up, I'm alone.
It's pitch dark, and I can't see or hear anything. I sit up, trying to calm the panic rising inside me. I call out softly, "Dad? Sarah?" but there's no response.
I start to wonder if it was all just a nightmare. Where am I? What happened?
But it feels too real to be a dream.
If this is real, then who attacked our family?
Why was Dad running like someone was after us? Did he do something?
And who killed Mom?
Mom.
The memory hits me like a punch in the chest. She's gone.
Tears stream down my face, and I can't stop them. I sit there crying, the darkness around me matching the emptiness I feel inside. At some point, I'm too tired to keep my eyes open, and I drift into sleep.