Black. It surrounds us, we are clothed in it and I can almost feel it in the air, battling with the nectar of the flowers grouped a few feet away from us. The pews, floor and walls of the altar are all made of shiny black wood that resonate with the bleakness of my mind.

The oak doors of the St. Charles church open every several minutes but I do not turn around. The service is already on but I know a few more people are still on their way. Clayview has never known tragedy as this. They will be here for the flower that was plucked too soon, for the ones left behind, incomplete.

I try to focus, steady my eyes. I look at her portrait guarded by a small forest of daisies. She hated daisies, which was ironic seeing as she was named after them. The picture in the frame was mom's choice, she said it shows Daisy in her true element, doing what she loved.

It is true in a way, Daisy loved being a cheerleader, as long as she was top girl. I can hear the noisy sniffles from her squad mates, maybe being cheer captain was worth more than dating the quarterback.

The coffin is black too, like almost everything else. Looking at it, I know she'd hate her own funeral.

    There is someone at the pulpit. The fifth or seventh I'm not sure. Another familiar face that I can't name, spewing kind words that we only remember to say at things like this. At the funeral of a teenager we realize we had either judged too hard, spread rumors about or hadn't been very nice to.

"Daisy was a very sweet person_"

Kind lies.

I find myself zoning out again, it's something I have been doing a lot lately. My body feels like a vessel that anchors me while my mind wanders in empty spaces.

"Rose".

Chills run up my spine from the cold touch to my bare knee. I turn to my left to behold the face of my best friend, our best friend, Antoniette Campbell. Sandwiched by my sister Dahlia and I.

"They are closing the casket. Let's go see your sister one last time".

My mother's voice is soft but it doesn't hold any warmth. I want to tell her that it will not be the last time. I will see her everytime I pass by reflective glass, everytime I look in the mirror and everytime I look at Dahlia but all I do is rise and walk with the rest of my family to the open casket.

   My moms steps aren't as confident as I've always known them to be. She wavers a bit but my dad has a dead grip on her waist, gently guiding her to their daughter's new home before it gets delivered to ants and worms. She reaches out to touch Daisy and I watch from behind her, waiting for Daisy to swat it away as she always does but that doesn't happen. My mom gets a last feel of her daughter's skin and my dad lead her back to our seat as the tears escape her eyes for the millionth time.

  I stand there for a while, unsure of what to do until I feel lean fingers slip into mine and turn to look at light brown eyes that mirror mine almost perfectly. With our matching dresses from when we were thirteen and had to attend granny's funeral, she could be my reflection but she has her chestnut hair in a tight pony as she usually does.

She give my hand a tiny squeeze and with identical nods, we approach the last piece in our puzzle. I had convinced myself that I was prepared but now I doubt it.

I take two steps that feel like nine, gripping Dahlia's hand and when we look down at the open box, I gasp. Not from her beauty but the sudden rush of emotions I get when I look at her closed lid and realize that regardless of the redness of her hair, the corpse looks exactly like me.

🌼

   The last moments of Daisy's life were spent with the people she loved the most, her sisters and her best friend.

"Are you going to choose a song or are we just going to listen to Anto cry till we get home?" Dahlia calmly asked from the backseat but I knew she was irritated.

Shotgun calls the shots. That was our car rule and Daisy was riding shotgun, she was supposed to have chosen a song five minutes earlier but indecision was one of her few weaknesses.

Anto's sobs echoed in the car, she was an emotional drunk, we all knew that but it could still be annoying, especially if you had a good amount of alcohol in your system too and both my sisters did. We were on our way from the Halloween party of the year after all.

"What's she crying about this time?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the road.

"Drowning is awful". She gurgled out from beside Dahlia. I felt my brows scrunch.

"What's she on about?" Daisy's voice was chirper than usual and it suited her costume of Cheryl Blossom. Matching red crop top and a provocatively short skirt. Not to mention her flaming red hair. She had never chosen a more appropriate costume.

She was excited over something that I was curious about but too tired to find out.

"Titanic". Dahlia drawled in a manner that suggested she'd much rather be in her bed than here, just as her outfit suggested.

She was clad in sweatpants and an oversized polo. I don't know who she was supposed to be but I was a little bummed that I hadn't thought of that, she looked so comfortable while I struggled to change gears in my Moana skirt that Daisy said looked like something from the era of slavery.

Daisy's laughter rang out as we ascended the bridge but mine was cut off by a sudden pang in my head which was odd since I hadn't had even a sip of alcohol at the party, despite Todd's insistence.

"I really shouldn't have made her watch it with me". Daisy said, finally choosing a song that I couldn't make out because my brain was getting fuzzy.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Dahlia's voice came from behind and I nodded, feeling my head grow heavy. I tried to look at her through the mirror but my eyes were closing up. The panic set in but I could hardly feel that too.

"Rosie?" Daisy reached out and touched my arm.

I had to stop the car.

Someone said something, Dahlia or Anto but I couldn't make it out. I tried to get off the road.

"What's wrong?"

"Watch out!" The yell sounded so far away but the lights were blinding.

Daisy grabbed the wheel and swerved and it was only as we plummeted, enveloped in Justin Bieber's voice that I recalled we were still on the bridge. The one with the lousy wooden railings.

My body was stiff, hitting surfaces, unable to move until I felt the sudden kiss of death and I was gone.

*

*

Huff

Black.

Huff

Mounting pressure on my chest caused my eyes to fly open, coming face to face with vibrant blue hair, amplified by the streetlight that appeared to be too far away from us. Relief flashed in Anto's eyes but before I could question it, a huge cough escaped me, carrying with it torrents of water that flew through my mouth and nostrils.

"You are okay". Anto assured, her pant suit and vintage shirt clinging to her body.

I sat up and looked around, ignoring the pain I felt everywhere. We were at the bank of the lake, completely drenched.

"What happened?"

It was a stupid question. I knew what had happened, I had driven us into the damn lake. I should have stayed home and slept like Apollo had advised, I needed rest but I was DD, I couldn't ditch the girls.

"Where are_"

A passing vehicle on the bridge above us caste its glow on a figure a few feet away. Dahlia stood over something with her back to me, lean hands hugging herself.

"Dahlia?"

Slowly, she turned towards me and the whiteness of her face sent a chill through my aching body but not as much as the words she'd soon say.

She looked back to the ground before her and my eyes followed, landing on what could on be Daisy in her red outfit, her hair scattered in the muddy sand.

Dahlia returned her empty gaze to me.

"She is dead".

🌹🌹🌹
And so it begins. Accident? Or something more?

Halloween isn't really a thing where I'm from so, tell me about your favorite costumes or stories

Any guesses on who Anto and Dahlia are meant to be?

See you on the next one x