Georgia

It felt like I just woke up from a bad dream.

But the bad dream is just reality pretending to be a dream but is actually a nightmare in disguise.

Mom and dad's yelling told me that they are arguing again.

They couldn't even keep it down even if it's in the middle of the night.

Sleep exhaustion is bad for a 13 year old they said.

Not like their constant arguing is exhausting enough.

My parents weren't like this since last year and apparently I'm too young to understand.

I decided to check on Seira to see if she's awake.

My hand is centimetres away from opening Seira's door when the loud sound of plates shattering in the kitchen startled me.

The cold midnight air bathes me as my heart beat furiously—curious and afraid of what I'm going to witness.

With slow and silent steps, I approached my parents and as the distance between us gradually grow smaller their once incoherent yelling became clear.

I hid in the shadows and I saw my mom standing between piles of shattered plates and glass and my dad kneeling before her.

"I did what I did for us! Please honey, let's fix this. Let's fix our marriage," Dad pleaded and reached for her arm.

Mom swatted his hand away, "No! You killed him! He did nothing wrong and you killed him!"

Shock registered in my body and I stopped breathing.

He stood up and stared at her meaningfully, "I didn't kill him! Honey I would never do such a thing! He ruined our marriage but I would never kill him!"

"You're lying! You're a liar and I hate you! I wish I didn't marry you!"

"Honey you don't mean that, do you? We were happy and we're going to be happy again if you could just forget about him. Please, let's start over. Just do it for the kids. Please?" Dad gripped mom's hands.

She forcefully freed herself from his grip and glared at him with hate pouring from her eyes, "No! I've put up with you long enough. I'm sick and tired of pretending this relationship is working. Can't you see that I am already miserable?! I would rather die than be with you again!"

"No! Honey please let's talk this out."

Mom tried to get away, "Let me through! I'm taking Seira with me whether you like it or not!"

"No one is leaving!" Dad prevented her from escaping by extending his arms

"If Seira stays here any longer you will kill her too!"

"I can never do that honey please! I don't care if she's not my daughter. Please stay!"

My eyes bulged from its sockets.

'Not my daughter'? What do you mean?

"Calvin let me through!" Dad hugged mom and she struggles to free herself from his embrace.

She struggles frantically and I can see that it is taking a lot of strength from my dad just holding her.

Until mom kneed dad on his groin and lost her balance.

The floor is slippery from the shards of glass and water.

She tried to hold on to something but even her fingers slipped and she crashed her head into the hard marble counters.

Limp and unconscious, she slumped to the floor and impaled her head on a sharp shard of a bottle of wine.

Horrified, my vision starts to flash in black and white and I stared blankly on the body of my mom in utter shock.

My dad screamed and dived in to shake her awake and checked her pulse.

As he screamed and yelled in a futile attempt to bring her back, my legs slowly slumped to the floor and I sobbed in grief.

I didn't even know Seira was behind me and she let out an ear piercing scream when she saw the horrifying scene before her.

She ran towards our parents and bawled on my mother's corpse.

I wonder how much she heard.

Seira stared at dad in question and anger, "You did this to mommy! You did this to mommy! You did this—."

Dad embraced her and she thrashed wildly in his chest.

"Georgia! Please take your sister and go outside," he turned to me.

My protective sister instincts kicked in and somehow I carried her outside the house.

A minute after my dad went outside, the house went in flames and I watched it burn to the ground with Seira in my arms.