CHAPTER ZERO

BACK FROM THE DEAD

The wind of the cold Louisiana morning hit the coat of Harlow Mustapha as she got out Miss Grayswoods car. People would arrive any minute.

Her heart pounded, she could practically hear it and the blonde orphanage director noticed.

"Harlow." She called, no response, the girl just looked around at the scenery. Just a bunch of grave stones, trees and a tall black gate and fence surrounding the whole cemetery.

"Harlow. Honey." Madelyn called again making the girl turn her head. "How are you feeling?" She knew the answer, she had to ask anyway.

"You know the answer to that. I'm burying the last relative who gave a damn about me." She pursed her lips and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Did any of them respond?" She asked the blonde.

"I'm sorry Harlow. They recieved the invite but nothing, I tried calling but straight to voicemail." Madelyn replied as they started getting flowers out the trunk.

"They change their number every time we try to contact them. I just thought they'd have the decency to at least come to their sisters funeral. Guess I was wrong." Harlow explained, she wasn't the most proud of her family. "They don't deserve to anyway."

The hearse with the body of the late sun and moon witch had arrived a few minutes prior and the men had taken the coffin the burial site.

Harlow tried calling her friends again but no response. She sighed to herself as she held the bouquet of lily's and walked down to her mother's burial sight.

Her mother wasn't born in the United States but Louisiana felt like her real home so she requested that she'd be buried there. The other reason would be because her sons were buried there.

"Monica was supposed to come but her mother went into surgery. She said she's sorry that she couldn't be here and that she'll keep us posted." Madelyn told the girl.

After a few more minutes, more people arrived and soon all of Abeni Mustapha's friends arrived, the only known
, living and non estranged family she had was her daughter.

Abeni Jendayi Mustapha
1965 - 2018
mother , daughter, friend, hero

Harlow read the gravestone with a heavy heart and trailed her eyes to read the other two.

Xavier Abaeze Mustapha
1997-2014
son , brother , friend

Derek Abeo Mustapha
1997-2014
son, brother , friend

Harlow didn't even realize that she was crying until Madelyn came up to her and pulled her into a side hug.

The priest had arrived and so had most her friends. Harlow noticed that she left a bouquet of Rose's in the car so she told Madelyn that she'd be right back.

After quickly rushing to the car and walking back, she heard screams. She looked at the guests and saw that some of them were fading away, while others backed away in fear.

Madelyn quickly pulled her away from the chaos that was unfolding. That didn't make a difference.

"I feel weird. Miss Grayswood! I feel weird." Harlow panicked.

She couldn't think of a spell that her mother had taught her. She hadn't done spells since her mom died a month ago.

The guests that were still alive watched the daughter of the woman who they were burying start to the dust up from her legs.

"Madelyn!" Harlow cried as the rest of her body dusted away with the few other people at the funeral.

"Harlow!" Madelyn Grayswood called as she looked around. "Harlow!"

It was too late Harlow and half of all existed in this universe was dead and there was nothing Madelyn Grayswood could do.

FIVE YEARS LATER

Harlow felt weird, again. Like she was being moved but wasn't moving. Despite gaining her magic a year after her brothers' deaths, she knew for a fact that what ever happened to her, wasn't magic related...or was it?

She had only closed her eyes for a second when she opened to find herself in the same place she was several minutes ago. She patted herself down to make sure she was in one piece and saw a few more people appear.

She shrugged her eye brows, they were just at the funeral where could they have gone. One thing was true, they were just as confused as she was.

She saw more gravestones and burial sites than before and that just confused her even more. She looked around and gasped when she noticed something.

The pile of dirt, the shovel, the bouquet of rose's and lily's, the family picture of Abeni, Xavier, Derek and herself was all gone.

The flowers in the vase were wilted and dead bugs floated in the water. She looked to the left, there was a grave that wasn't there before.

As her heart beat quicken and her lips began to tremble, she read the grave stone.

Maria Rambeau
1964 - 2020
mother , friend , hero

"But...but the surgery, just started a few hours ago. And-" she paused as she looked at her mothers grave. "You weren't in the ground yet." She quickly wiped away a tear.

She quickly tried to think of a spell. Something that would reveal what the hell was happening.

"Veritatem." She enunciated, nothing happened. "Veritatem!" She whisper yelled. "Come one work you stupid spell! Veritat-"

"It won't work." Harlow heard the voice say before turning around and seeing the blonde woman. "Harlow? Is it really you? Not just a figment of my imagination?"

"Of course it's me Miss Grayson. What's happening and when on earth did you get bangs? Where is everyone?" Harlow asked the woman quickly, her sad expression remained. "Miss Grayson, what's happening. You only make that look when something bad has happened. Last time you made that look my mom died. Which was a month ago and the funeral hadn't even properly started and that was a few minutes ago and now she's been buried and Maria is dead and these flowers." She babbled before grabbing the dead bouquet. "Are dead. What. Happening?"

Madelyn began to walk towards her. "Harlow you need to sit down for what I'm about to tell you." She said leading her to a black bench that was put there 3 years ago.

"When did this bench get here?" Harlow mumbled to herself.

"Harlow honey. I really don't know how to say this but. Okay here goes." She took a deep breath. "When you disappeared, you weren't gone for a few minutes or hours. You were gone-" she gulped as her lips started to quiver. "Dead...for five years... you and half of everyone on this planet and every where else too." Madelyn practically felt girls heart break

"For...five...years? For five years." Harlow stuttered as her lip quivered. "But...what about... my mom.... and...and... the funeral and Maria?"

"The surgery was a success but the cancer...it came back." Those words made Harlow choke down a sob. "And...your moms funeral...it happened."

"So I died and didn't get to bury my mom." She let out another shakey breath. "I didn't...get...to bury...my mom?" She didn't even realise that she was crying at this point nor did Madelyn.

"I am so sorry, Harlow." Madelyn gently rubbed her back as she cried.

"Why does this always happen to me." She sobbed into her hands.

Harlow Mustapha did have a point, why was it always her.

HEREEE WE GOOO

harlow is about to go through some things

Anywho here we gooo