๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ง๐
๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ข'๐ด ๐๐๐
Ohio, Fall 1995
Natalia and I ride our bicycles through the neighbourhood, heading home after being at the play park with some friends from school.
"Hey, Nat! Hey, Ana!" Our friend Lily hollers from her front yard as we ride past.
"Hi!" I shout back as we both wave at the girl and the other kids with her.
We reach the house and leave our bikes in the driveway before rounding the house to get to our backyard. Natalia whistles a long note and the sound of Yelena whistling back makes me smile as I whistle the last note. We reach the backyard where we find Yelena doing a back bend, her blonde curls in the dirt. Natalia and I join our sister, bending backwards into a bridge.
"We're all upside down" Yelena giggles.
"And I bet you're gonna fall down first" Natalia retorts.
"No, Ana will" Yelena argues.
"Hey, I will not" I pout.
My little bones start to ache and my limbs burn, but I refuse to lose this game.
"You can't hold it much longer" Yelena tells us.
Natalia pulls a funny face at us and makes a weird noise, causing Yelena and I to laugh. We both lose our balance and hit the dirt with a grunt.
"Told you you'd fall down first" Natalia says matter of factly, jumping up to her feet.
I help Yelena off the ground, sticking my tongue out at my blue haired sister who grins at us triumphantly. Yelena instantly runs at her and my eyes widen in surprise.
"I told you! I told you!" Natalia taunts as our little sister chases her around the play set "I told you so!"
"Be careful, Lena!" I warn the blonde in concern.
She doesn't listen to me and ends up tripping, her knee scraping on the ground.
"Mommy!" The six year old screams.
Our mom exits the house and walks over to us after Natalia and I wrap our arms around Yelena in worry.
"What happened?" Mom asks us.
Yelena pulls out of our hold and leans towards our mother.
"She fell on her knee" 11 year old Natalia tells her.
"Oh, you bump your knee?" Mom asks the youngest of us with a sympathetic pout.
"Mmhm" Yelena nods.
"Oh" Mom frowns, leaning down and kissing the scrape on her knee "Kiss it better. There we go"
I turn my head to see Natalia walk off, climbing up the play set and sitting at the top of the slide.
"Oh, come on, little one" Mom says to Yelena encouragingly "Get up. You're okay. Come on. You're a brave girl"
"Your pain only makes you stronger" The woman declares as I sit down on the swing next to Natalia "Right, you two?"
"Yeah" Natalia and I chirp in unison.
"Yeah?" Mom smiles.
"Look!" Yelena shouts "Forest stars"
"Yeah. You know what? Those are actually part of the Lampyridae family" Mom explains to us as we watch the fireflies "And the glow, that glow that you see, that comes from a chemical reaction called...bioluminescence"
"Come on, time for dinner" She adds.
"Bio goomin feasants?" Yelena questions as we walk towards the house.
"Bio goomin feasants. That's right" Mom humours her, making me giggle.
"When does daddy get home?" I ask curiously.
"Soon, angel" Mom answers before turning to see Natalia still staring at the fireflies "Dinner! Come on, dinner, big girl!"
We enter the house and Natalia comes running after us so I slow down a little bit to let her catch up.
"I want mac and cheese" Yelena announces.
"Oh, you want mac and cheese? Okay. Well, I want...caviar and champagne" Mom says dramatically as we enter the kitchen "Grab the napkins"
"You take this" She tells me, handing me a bowl of corn while Yelena grabs the napkins "Thank you"
"Oh, would you grab the ranch dressing for Dad?" She asks Natalia who nods.
I carry the corn to the table and place it down, Mom and Yelena coming up beside me and placing down more bowls of veg, meat and mashed potatoes.
"Green beans are my favourite vegetable" Yelena declares, sitting down.
"Me too" I agree, sitting down opposite her.
The thud of the front door hits my hears and I perk up happily.
"Dad's home!" Mom yells.
We start eating our dinner and Dad enters the room looking a little deflated.
"Hi, daddy" I grin.
"Hi, princess" He smiles weakly before turning to look out the window.
"Everything okay?" Mom asks him as I eat a mouthful of mashed potato.
"How was everybody's day?" Dad asks, changing the subject.
"Mommy taught me about lamp bugs" Yelena answers.
"Lamp bugs?" Dad chuckles.
"And I fell and hurt my knee, but it doesn't hurt anymore" She continues.
"Mmhm" Dad hums.
"And we also saw fireflies in the backyard. That was my favourite part of the day" Yelena adds as Mom and Dad both leave the room.
"Yelena, we see fireflies every year" Natalia retorts.
"They're still pretty" I argue.
"Yeah, Natalia" Yelena says smugly and Natalia rolls her eyes.
"Hey, be nice" I frown, gently kicking Yelena's foot under the table.
"Yeah, Yelena" Natalia says smugly and I groan.
"I hate when you guys do this" I huff in annoyance and they both giggle at me.
Mom and Dad sit down at the table as I shovel another spoonful of mash into my mouth.
"Girls" Dad speaks up and we all look at him "You remember when I told you that one day we would have that big adventure?"
I look at Natalia with a deep frown, my little heart dropping to my stomach and my older sister looks just as worried as I feel.
"Today's the day" Dad declares.
"Yay!" Yelena cheers.
I make eye contact with Mom who gives me a guilty look that only worsens my fear.
"All right, let's go" Dad says.
He gets up and leaves the room, Yelena on his tail. Mom looks between Natalia and I, frowning deeply.
"I'm sorry" She tells us before getting up and exiting the room.
I reluctantly pull myself to my feet and slip on my shoes before grabbing Yelena's shoes from the back door.
"Come on, we gotta hurry!" Mom rushes us.
Natalia reaches out to grab the family scrapbook but Mom turns to us, waving her off.
"No, leave it, leave it, leave it! Go wait in the car" She demands.
I grab Natalia's wrist with my free hand and tug her towards the garage. We climb into the backseat of the car and I pass Yelena her shoes, helping her tie the laces on them.
Mom and Dad then jump into the car and we hit the road.
"Where are we going?" Yelena asks.
"Home" Mom answers simply.
"Mommy, you're silly. We just left home" Yelena replies.
We pass a bunch of cop cars, blue and red lights tainting my vision while sirens pierce my ears.
"I want my song" Yelena states after a while of silence.
Dad pushes the tape in and 'American Pie' starts playing on the stereo.
"Bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
but the levee was dry
Them good old boys
were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing, 'This'll be the day that I die'" Yelena sings along to her song and I toy with a loose thread on my denim shorts.
We eventually come to a stop and our parents immediately jump out the car, Mom swinging the back door open on Natalia's side. I hop out the car on my side and help Yelena out too while Natalia climbs to the front to grab something.
"Come on, Yelena" Mom says, grabbing the blonde's hand before looking at me "Hurry up, baby"
I nod, following behind Dad as he walks towards a tarp and pulls it to the side to reveal a plane.
"Let's go. Come on, Nat. Hurry up. We gotta go" Mom hurries my sister "Come on, you gotta run"
Yelena and I pull the stoppers away from the wheels and run towards the door where Mom is stood. She helps me up first before lifting Yelena in next to me.
"Nat, hurry up!" She calls out.
"I'm coming!" Natalia shouts, running towards us.
Natalia climbs in and sits on the other side of Yelena, Mom climbing into the plane too.
"Okay. Seat belts" She warns us, closing the plane door.
We all buckle in as Mom climbs into the pilot's seat and starts up the engine.
"Why isn't Dad in the plane?" Natalia asks in confusion.
"He's coming. He's coming, baby" Mom assures us.
She starts driving the plane and I grab onto Natalia's arm, worry coursing through my body.
"I'm scared, Nat" I whimper.
"It's okay, Ana" My big sister whispers to me.
The plane speeds up and I turn my head to see Dad running along side us.
"Mom?" Natalia speaks up.
My eyes widen as Dad jumps onto the wing of the plane and starts shooting at the black cars chasing us.
One of the men from the back cars shoots at the window I'm looking out of and Natalia yanks me back as a bullet smashes through the window, hitting our mother.
"Mom!" Natalia, Yelena and I scream.
Mom slumps down in her seat and looks back at us.
"I need you up here" She tells Natalia.
Natalia listens, climbing into the co pilot seat and I turn to Yelena, frowning at the blood splattered on her face. I wipe the crimson liquid off of my little sister's face and she grabs onto me tightly in fear.
"I need you to pull right" Mom tells Natalia.
The plane straightens up as Natalia does what she's told and I hold onto Yelena as we slam back down onto the wheels.
"Mom, you've got blood on you" Natalia says in concern.
"It's okay, baby" Mom assures her.
"Close your eyes, Lena" I tell the little girl and she nods, squeezing her eyes closed.
"Hit the accelerator there" Mom orders.
Natalia pushes on the lever and bullets start hitting the plane, making us all scream in fright.
"Hold it steady, hold it steady" Mom warns the blue haired girl "You're gonna pull back at 55 knots. Let's count together"
Yelena covers her ears, her eyes still squeezed tightly shut and I hug her tighter to my chest, tears welling up in my hazel eyes.
"45, 50..." Natalia and Mom count.
The two cars in front of us crash into each other and start flipping towards us, my heart dropping and tears running down my face.
"Pull back. You can do it!" Mom demands "Pull back. All your strength"
Natalia heaves the wheel back and we scrape the car slightly as we fly into the air.
โโช โโชโ โช
After hours of flying, Dad lands the plane and jumps out, lifting a very pale Mom up in his arms. Yelena, Natalia and I run behind him as he carries her to four soldiers with a stretcher, placing her down on it. My sisters and I walk by our mother's side as she's carried over and placed down on the ground next to a med kit.
"Get up, Mommy" Yelena sobs, laying her head on Mom's chest "Pain only makes you stronger, remember?"
Tears roll down my cheeks and Natalia grabs my hand tightly, trying to comfort me although she's crying herself.
"ะัะพััะธ ะผะตะฝั, ะผะฐะผะฐ. ะฏ ะฝะฐะฟัะณะฐะฝ" Natalia says.
(Forgive me, mom. I'm scared)
"Never let them take your heart" Mom tells us.
"ะฏ ะฝะต ั
ะพัั ะธะดัะธ" I cry.
(I don't want to go)
A soldier huffs at us, pushing Natalia and I harshly away from our mother before doing the same to Yelena. We take a few steps back, Natalia wrapping her arms around Yelena and I.
"It's gonna be okay" She tries to assure us.
They put an oxygen mask on Mom and lift her into the back of an army truck.
"Mommy?" Yelena whimpers.
"Mom?" I sniffle.
"Daddy!" Yelena abruptly screams, running towards Dad "Daddy!"
A soldier grabs Yelena roughly and I sprint forward with Natalia.
"Yelena!" We shout.
"Daddy!" Yelena cries out in panic.
"Get away from her!" Natalia demands angrily, kicking the soldier's arm as I pull Yelena into my arms.
Natalia grabs the man's gun and points it at him, pushing Yelena and I right behind her in a protective way.
"Don't touch her!" Natalia barks "ะฏ ะฑัะดั ัััะตะปััั! Don't touch either of them! I will kill you all! ะฏ ะฑัะดั ัััะตะปััั! ะะต ััะพะณะฐะน ะธั
!"
(I will shoot. I will shoot. Don't touch them)
"Honey" Dad speaks up, standing in front of the gun Natalia is pointing "You're gonna need to hand me that gun"
"I don't wanna go back there. I wanna stay in Ohio" Natalia cries softly "You can't take them. You can't. Yelena's only six"
"You and Ana were even younger" Dad counters, taking the gun from her "It's okay. Come here"
Dad kneels down in front of us and we all look at him through our streams of tears.
"You're gonna be all right. Do you know why it's gonna be all right?" Dad assures us, kissing Yelena's head "Cause my girls are the toughest girls in the world. You're gonna take care of each other, okay? And everything, everything's gonna be fine"
I feel the pinch of a needle going into my neck and my vision goes black as my body goes limp.
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