Alex, Felicia, Liana, Evelyn, Valek, and Robin came home late. Very late. It was a quarter to 2 in the morning when the Mazda finally turned into the Cornell's driveway. Alex decided to leave the car in the there, behind Eve's Mini instead of risking waking a parent up by operating the noisy garage door. They used Felicia's key to get past the locked door and sneaked inside.
"So, what're we doing now?" asked Val as the group stood in the hallway, "a movie?"
"What?" snarled Liana.
"It's not that late, really. Just 2."
"That might work for you, but civilized people go to sleep by now." whispered Eve.
"Come on." protested Robin, "A short movie."
"No, no. Let them go to sleep if they want." said Alex locking the door.
"Fine." said Val holding up his hands in surrender. "But if you change your mind, you lot are welcome to join us."
"We'll keep that in mind." smiled Felicia.
All in all, after the boys' movie was over and the girls' chatting done, it took till 4 in the morning for the house to finally fall asleep. Not a single insect chirped as they moonlight passed through the staircase windows.
* * *
The morning came late for the three girls. It was about half past twelve when they finally descended the stairs down to the living room. For the boys, it was even later...an hour later.
"Had fun last night?" asked Deacon looking at his two boys trooping in. They two just grinned as their mother came over.
Alex, Val, and Robin sat down for brunch on the dinner table, while the rest of the two families sat in the living room.
"So," began Grace, addressing the children, "all of you lot better pack up."
"Come again? Pack up? Where we going?" asked Robin from the table.
"Well, as you know, Uncle and Auntie Arkwright have come to Denver quite a few times. So, there's nowhere left here that they haven't been. Soo, instead of getting bored here, we decided why not we all go to some place totally new together?"
"Really?" asked Liana, excited. "Where are we headed? Paris? Rome?"
Her father laughed and put a hand on her shoulder; "A little less ambitious than that; Vermont"
There were involuntary groans from all the six older children while both the Zoes looked surprised by this reaction.
"Why? Is Vermont bad?" asked Zoe Cornell.
"No, it isn't, sweetie." said Grace, "these six are just overreacting."
"But there's nothing to do in Vermont" protested Robin.
"How would you know? We've never been there." defended Felicia, not wanting to disappoint her parents,
"Yeah, neither has the internet." said Val in a low voice and got a stern look from his mother in return.
"Well, he's not wrong" reasoned Alex, "I've been there. It's...not the most modern place. Beautiful. Really beautiful. But a bit backwards."
"And that's the charm." said Paris, "We're going to a resort which is surrounded by natural beauty. Just for the weekend." Again the groans.
"Oh, don't be such children." said Grace with mild exasperation.
"Tell you what." said Val, putting down his fork beside his empty plate and looking up, "why don't all of you go while we stay here?"
"Val." said his mother warningly.
"No, I don't mean it rudely. I'm serious. None of us six wanna go there. What's the point of us going there with you just to bother you? All you parents and the Zoes can go, and us six will stay behind. That way you guys won't have to stress about us, and we'll be happy here."
There was a bit of silence in the room.
"No parties, no staying out too late, no nothing. We promise." said Robin before any parent could bring up that concern.
"Come on," said Val in a low, compelling voice, "Mom and Dad and Uncle and Aunt, you all deserve a break. Just take the two young kids, and we'll stay out of your hair."
Paris looked at her husband and saw the answer in his eyes. Martin nodded to his wife who gave in. "Okay?" Martin asked Deacon.
"I'm fine with it as long as Grace is." he answered.
"Okay, fine, you guys can stay here." said Grace.
There was a burst of cheer which subsided in an instant and Robin assumed the expression worthy to be by a deathbed.
* * *
Paris and Grace packed their bags for the weekend, and after lunch, the Arkwright parents and the Cornell parents with their two youngest children were ready to leave. They had decided to take an Uber and had declined Val's and Alex's offer to drop them off at the airport. It was gonna be a long four hour flight, which the Zoes were looking forward to, but definitely not their parents.A lot of reminders to the six children about their promises later, Grace and Paris walked out with Deacon and Martin carrying the bags.
As soon as the taxi was out of sight, all three boys and the three girls collapsed on the couch and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Ah, finally." said Robin, "now the real fun of you guys' trip starts."
"Let's...not get out of hand too much." warned Alex.
"Just a bit." said Val with a wink.
"So, what're our plans?" asked Liana.
"We'll think of something. First, I wanna bake these cinnamon rolls that you promised to teach me." said Felicia.
"I'll come with you. It's not like we're going anywhere before evening, right?" asked Eve.
Val and Alex shook their heads without even looking up from Robin's phone who was showing them some hot girl's Snapchat story of her twerking.
"Boys" muttered Felicia, rolling her eyes and followed her sister and friend to the kitchen.
* * *
An hour later, Alex, Val, Robin, Eve, Felicia, and Liana were sitting in the living room, laughing as they played Truth or Dare with an empty plastic bottle. The cinnamon rolls were in the oven, and girls had had come out and forced the boys to put down their phones and play the game.
As the 5 of them laughed at Robin and his attempt to catwalk as his dare, the doorbell rang. "What? Who is it, I wonder." said Felicia getting up from the floor where she'd been crying of laughter.
"I'll get it." offered Val, wiping his eyes. He walked to the door, opened it, and froze. "Who is it?" asked Felicia. All she could see was Val's side-profile as he stood still just looking at the person who'd rung the doorbell. It lasted only for 4 or 5 seconds though. Val stepped back a bit, and a girl peeked through the door. "It's me." she said smiling, and giving a small wave.
The girl was very tall. At most she'd have been half an inch shorter than Val, but because she was wearing stilettos, she was almost 3 inches taller than him. She had rich dark blue eyes, and her hair, long and smooth, was black with a tint of blue in them. Eve wondered what hair color she used.
"Sapphira!" exclaimed Felicia, "What're you doing here?"
"Oh, Aunt Isabella made these." said the girl, holding out a Tupperware box with cookies in them, "she said I had to go over and give some to you guys."
"Aw, that's so nice of her." said Eve. "Come in, come in."
The blue eyed girl walked in. She wasn't shy, but there wasn't too much boldness in her manner either.
Sapphira smiled, lighting up the entire room. "These are our family friends we told you about. Val, Alex, and Liana" said Eve, pointing to each one of them in turn. "And this, is Sapphira. Mrs. Emerson, our neighbor's niece."
Alex gave her a smile and Liana waved at her. Val stood there by the doorway, just looking at her. Robin still in a half a catwalk pose, just stared longingly at her.
"Just put the box in the kitchen, please." said Felicia to Sapphira. She smiled again, and delicately walked away.
"Er...I think these rolls are done" came a voice from the kitchen.
"Oh, shit!" cursed Liana and rushed into the kitchen followed by Felicia and Eve.
Val came over, and sat down on the couch; deep in thought. Alex looked at Robin, who still had a longing expression on his face as he collapsed in an armchair. "Someone's got a crush." he teased. Robin looked up and glanced at Val, who still sat there, looking at nothing. Robin's lips spread into a smile. "Someone indeed."
Just then, Felicia came over proudly, and handed a cinnamon roll to Alex. "I made that." she announced. Grinning, Alex took the offered plate, took a spoonful and smiled widely. "This is really good." he said chewing heartily. "I'm not just saying that to please you. It really is."
Felicia smiled. "Couldn't have done it without Anne." She looked at Alex taking another bite, smiled, and walked back.
"Hey, you two. Come take these cookies and the cinnamon rolls!" said Liana from the kitchen.
"Coming!" shouted Robin and rushed off.
Soon Felicia, Eve, and Liana came from the kitchen, and sat there eating their desert. "These turned out really good." said Liana tapping her plate with a spoon.
"Well, the best pastry chef I know made them." said Felicia. Liana grinned while Eve put a friendly arm around her shoulders. She looked at Val who still didn't hold a plate. "Hey, if you don't get a roll soon, Robin will gobble them all." she said. Val didn't reply.
"Hey, Val." said Liana snapping her fingers. "What's wrong?"
Val just nodded his head slightly. How could he even explain to them, he thought. I need to stop looking so conspicuous, and get a move on. Just as he was about get up, a plate of cinnamon rolls drifted in front of his eyes. He stared at them for a second, then traced the hand holding the plate to the beautifully sculpted face of Sapphira who stood there looking at him almost apologetically. He stared at those deep blue eyes for a few moments and slowly got up. Sapphira didn't take a step back, which meant that both of them now stood with their faces barely a few inches away from each other. Again, he felt the magic of those dark blue eyes. So...serene.
Suddenly, before he knew it, Sapphira was on him, kissing him passionately. He was taken aback for a second, but as he felt her lips on his, their warmth, their affection, their eagerness...their love...despite himself he found himself kissing her back, his hands tightening slightly around her waist.
In those moments, it was just the two of them. The whole room vanished, and all that surrounded them was bliss. After a few moments intensity, Val broke up. "I'd forgotten how it felt to kiss you." he said in such a low voice that only Sapphira could hear.
"I hadn't." she replied. Val grinned and suddenly the room reappeared with the shocked faces of his five friends just staring at him.
Sapphira and Val stepped away from each other, and stood a bit awkwardly. Val immediately searched for Eve's face, and as he saw the pain in her eyes, he felt a sudden tinge of guilt.
"What in the name of fuck?" muttered Robin, breaking the silence. Everyone snapped back.
"I'm sorry." said Sapphira. "I...I shouldn't have..." Val waved a hand. "It's fine." he said, successfully hiding the guilt in his tone.
"Do you two know each other?" asked Felicia.
"We...er..." began Val.
"Yes. We used to be friends. I mean, are." intervened Sapphira.
"Friends" repeated Robin, sarcastically under his breath.
"I'm...I'm sorry for that." said Sapphira, locking eyes with Eve for a minute moment and then looking around the room. She then looked at Val beside her. "What're you doing here?" She asked him.
"I could ask you the same question."
"I came to visit Aunt Isabelle just last night" replied Sapphira. "I come here every few months. She gets so lonely, you know."
"I had no idea Mrs. Emerson was your neighbor!" said Val turning to the Cornells. "Let alone have any idea that you knew Sapphira."
"Oh, I just met Felicia and Eve a few months ago. They didn't tell me much about the Arkwrights though. I had no idea it'd be you." said Sapphira.
"What were the chances of that?" said Alex, laughing. "But no matter, it was a happy coincidence."
"Yeah, right" said Eve in such a low voice that no one heard it while at the same time, Sapphira said "That's doubtful." in a voice that only Val heard.
"I'll...be on my way now." said Sapphira. She looked around the room, gave a pained smile, and turned to go.
"I'm sensing unresolved issues..." said Alex raising his eyebrows to Val.
Sighing deeply, Val called out, "Hey, Saff!" Saphira, who was holding the door, looked back. "Yes?" Val walked over to her. "You...er....busy?" Sapphira lightly shook her head, her blue tinted hair rippling the effect. "Then let's go for a walk or something. Let's catch up. Over coffee?" Sapphira looked unsure. "I...I don't know...we should rather-"
"As friends." said Val with a smile. "No more...ah...frisky business." In the back of his mind, somewhere, he wanted to clarify that for Eve. Sapphira smiled. "That'll be great." she said.
Val grabbed the Volvo keys that Alex threw at him (Felicia and Alex were planning on going out) and walked out with Sapphira to the garage. Within a few minutes the two of them drove off in the silver wagon.
* * *
Alex gave a disapproving grin after his brother had left. "What a kid." he said. Robin started laughing too. "That guy is drowning in p-." he stopped himself in time.
"Drowning in what?" said Felicia a bit curiously.
"In girls." said Robin winking at Alex.
"Ah, I missed my chance with Sapphira though...damn bastard." he said in pretend regret. "But seriously, how many girlfriends...or ex-girlfriends...does a man need before he's running into them nine hundred miles away from home?"
"Having these many girls...playing with these many girls' emotions," said Alex shaking his head, grinning, "it's gonna come back to bite him on the ass soon."
* * *
Soon though, the five of them were back to laughing and playing games. Eve was a bit hurt, but she wasn't in tears about it either. "You know" said Liana, as she sat on the floor leaning against the table and looking at her four friends earnestly contesting second place in Uno "I'm gonna miss these days."
Felicia looked up from her cards. "What do you mean?" she asked. "You know, when we've all gone our separate ways, I'll miss these days." replied Liana. Eve slammed her final card on the pile, smirked at her brother who had only one card left, and gave Liana a cold gaze. "Our separate ways?" she asked bitingly.
"Oh come on" said Liana softly, "You know I'm right. We've all...grown up. Look at us! Al is moving to Vancouver as assistant manager. Fel too got a job in Vancouver as a UX designer. You've already been offered placements in some of the best interior designing colleges, so you'll be leaving soon. I've got offers lined up as computer animator too. Val...well, he's already earning very well as a stock broker. How long do you think he'll stay now that he's finished High School? Robin will finish school soon, then he's off too. All of us are gonna be going to the opposite ends of the world. This period of time right now is like the final end of an era; a time just before each of us move out and drift far away..."
There was a moment of silence as what Liana said sunk in. Felicia gave a small smile, got up, and sat beside Liana. She gently patted her head. Liana always loved whenever Felicia did something like this: adopting a motherly nature towards her. Like an older sister she never had but desperately wanted. "You're right; we've all got jobs now' ", said Felicia gently, "but that doesn't mean we're imprisoned. As you say, since we're 'grown ups', we get to decide what to do. So, all we have to do is meet up like this every year."
"I know, I thought that" said Liana "but the jobs aren't the main thing. The jobs just signify how we'll get absorbed in our personal lives soon."
"Hey, if the group calls, I know that every single member will show up no matter how 'absorbed' they are." said Felicia "You know that. No matter how busy we are attending to new relationships, we'll always make time for this one."
Liana shook her head and smiled. "You're right. I'll always make time for family. I need to stop being so poetic about this."
"That's right" said Eve, "at that stage, maybe all six of us can agree to even hold our annual 'hangouts' in some tropical paradise or...or...some snow-capped ski lodge."
"Hahahaha!" laughed Alex, "if we did that, you three wouldn't even come out from under the blankets because of the cold." Felicia smiled, "True, but you'd be there to keep me warm." Eve cleared her throat. "Us. I mean us. All of us warm" said Felicia snapping back.
Robin made a half-disgusted and half questioning face. "Alex keep all of us warm? That just sounds fucked up."
"Shut up, Rob" said Felicia, going a bit red. "Let's just finish the game." All of them burst out laughing suddenly. Rejuvenated, in came even more snacks and even more soft drinks.
As they sat there eating cheese and bagels, suddenly there was dim flash of light. It lasted only for quarter of a second, and disappeared.
"What the hell?" said Alex, looking around, "what was that?"
"What?"
"That flash. You didn't see it?"
Suddenly, with a loud bang, there it was again, right in the middle of the room lasting for a second. Everyone sprang up from the floor in shock.
"What the fuck was that? Electricity?" exclaimed Robin. Everyone looked around; nothing.
Once more it hit, this time lasting longer; the accompanying bang a bit louder. The girls shrieked and the boys took a further step back. The five got a look at it, but before they could process much, it had disappeared again.
"What the fuck is happening!" exclaimed Robin. "Are our wires leaking or something?"
"That's not electricity." said Alex. "It was straight like a pipe. Wasn't a bolt like electricity would be. Plus, look, no damage to the carpet." And true enough there wasn't single burn mark on the carpet. As the five stood scrutinizing the carpet, once more there was a flash and a bang. This time they got a good look at it. It was like bluish-white tube-light placed vertically. Stretching from the roof down to the carpet; it felt like the light had no beginning or ending. It just...appeared there.
This time no one had screamed. The light disappeared after a few seconds. The five of them just stood there, staring at the exact spot the light had appeared...expecting...knowing...it would strike again. And sure enough it came. But this time, it struck five times consecutively with five accompanying bangs and disappeared again.
Suddenly, Alex felt a strong sense of foreboding. "Listen, let's get out of here." he said, "We'll figure this out from the driveway." Before anyone could react, the light came back for the tenth time with the loudest bang yet. This time, it didn't disappear. For a couple of seconds, everyone just stood there, mesmerized by it. And then, suddenly, it started expanding...engulfing the entire room and everyone in it.
Alex saw nothing but light for a moment, and then, nothing. Just darkness.