Jade hurried down the street, clutching the bottle tightly. She must be careful. Very, very careful. One slipup and the bottle will shatter. So will her heart.

Pushing open the door to her house, Jade tried to sneak upstairs without Granny noticing but it was too late.

"Jade! How was your walk?" came the old lady's voice.

"Um...good?" Jade replied, eager to go upstairs.

"That's marvelous dear. Are you hungry?" Granny smiled at Jade standing frozen by the door, the vial behind her back.

"Nah, not really, Granny. I have a project though and I really need to start working on it." Jade said in a rush before Granny could question her further.

"Oh, alright honey. I'll call you when dinner's ready." Granny smiled and waved Jade away, going back to her knitting. Still keeping her arm behind her back Jade burst up the stairs. She came to her room and closed the doors.

Taking deep breaths, Jade locked the door and gently placed the vial on her bedside table. She sat down on her bed and simply stared at the green potion inside of the vial. Finally, she dragged her gaze away from the potion and flopped onto her bed. Head in her hands, Jade suddenly came face to face with something she hasn't thought about.

Holy cow, how am I supposed to get the potion to Mom?

Jade was now 16. Her mother died when she was 3.

She's probably a skeleton right now. Can it even work on a skeleton? Jade Collins, you are a stupid idiot!

Jade grabbed a pillow and slammed her head with it. She slammed the pillow down on the bed and pounded it with her fists. Angry at her own stupidity, Jade finally threw the pillow against the wall of her bed and watched it fall, almost in slow-motion, down towards the bedside table.

It was only when the pillow had knocked the vial flying through the air did Jade realize what was about to happen.

"Hey!" she shrieked at the flying vial, hoping somehow it would fly back to the bedside table on her command. But it was not to be. Jade watched, eyes wide, as the vial landed on the wooden floor and shattered.

Jade suddenly launched into action. She jumped off the bed, and desperately tried to sweep the potion back into the shattered vial with her hands. A stinging sensation travelled from her hand to her elbow, like bee stings. With a scream, Jade launched backwards and collided with the leg of her bed. Jade hardly realized. All she could do was stare at the shattered vial and the potion, sprayed all over the bedroom floor. Lost forever.

Suddenly, the potion started to emit a hissing sound, like a thousand snakes. The potion started to steam up, and green smoke erupted from the liquid.

It's evaporating!

Throwing herself at the evaporating potion Jade swiped at the smoke, with no effect. She tried to scoop up more potion, but only felt the stinging sensation again in her arm. Finally, all she could do was sit there and watch her hope fade away.

"Please," she choked out to the smoke, "Please. I need just a little. Only a little. I-" Jade swallowed, "I just want my Mom to be alive again."

The smoke hissed.

Jade cried, brushing the salty tears from her cheeks.

Then, the smoke parted, like a veil at a magician's show, and Jade felt her heart beat faster at what she saw in the smoke.

Her mother.

Jade was only 3 when her mother died but seeing the woman before her, Jade knew, deep inside her, that this was her mother.

Ivy June Collins.

Granny had talked about her a lot, ever since she came to stay with her grandmother after her mother's death. She didn't even know her father. Apparently he was some douchebag who abandoned her mother and her after he found out that her mother was pregnant.

Her hands shaking, Jade reached out towards the image of her mother. But as soon as her fingers touched the smoke, the image went puff in a cloud of green smoke, and disappeared. Jade stretched her hand back in shock, and watched as the smoke started swirling around like a green tornado and disappeared as well.

"What?" Jade stood up, shaking, "What happened?! Wait-what, come back!" she shrieked at the empty air. Jade collapsed on her knees. That was it? She sees an image of her mother and that's it?

Jade stood up and headed over to the window. Around the corner, she could see Gwyneth's Bakery, and just beyond that-the cemetery.

She had to find out what was the image. Perhaps her mother was coming back to life and the image was...what? A sign? A warning?

Without hesitation, Jade grabbed a jacket and practically flew down the stairs. Granny wasn't knitting. She was asleep on her rocket chair. Jade stopped briefly to cover her with a red woolen blanket and then headed out. Grabbing her bike, she hopped on and pedaled at speeds that would've given Granny a heart attack towards the cemetery. As she passed Gwyneth's Bakery, she saw that the number of the press had increased, dramatically. People were even setting up tents on the street. Jade ignored them, and pedaled on.

Finally, she was there. The cemetery. Shoving her bike up against a bush, Jade sprinted inside, searching for her mother's grave. She hadn't come to visit her grave in years.

Jade came to a stop at a simple gravestone, underneath a sapling of an oak tree. It was untouched and unmoved, no sign of unearthing the grave or anything. Jade felt her hope wither and die.

Then, out of the blue, from behind her, came the words, "Hello, daughter."

Jade whirled around.

Standing in front of her, dressed in a white, flowing dress that made her seem like an angel, was her mother.

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Well, what did you think? Did you enjoy this chapter? 

Thoughts? Opinions? :D I would love to hear them!

~Rose~