"How does any of this relate to Sephrina?" I said.
A tiny bit of her old fire returned, "Just listen to me," She growled.
Her hand went to her knife. Afraid she might use it, I went silent. "They married and built the house I live in," She said, gripping the handle. "None of us were ever welcome anywhere. So we survived." Her voice got bitter.
I watched a tear run down her cheek.
"So I survived," She wiped them away.
I found a few tears in my eyes too. I looked away from her face, praying I wouldn't cry. When had I gotten so soft? My hand crept up her arm until it rested on her shoulder. She made to brush it off, but halfway through the motion she started to sob.
"Oh Preston, how do you do it. How have you survived?" She said. I could almost see her crumbling.
I knew I only survived because of my sister.
"What happened?" I asked gently.
"My parents are gone," She sobbed. "They've been gone for years. It's all his fault."
I guessed that him referred to Jadyn. I clenched my fists as memories of my own parents filled my mind. My mother's soft laughter, always able to light up a room. My father's stories which always had all three of us captivated. Back when I had a home. Back when Jadyn was just my brother.
Banish those thoughts. An inner voice warned.
Justine started to walk rapidly now, towards something unknown. I was certain she knew where we were going. Light cast strange shadows around me. Evening was coming but she never looked back, perhaps because she was too proud to be seen crying, or perhaps because there was nothing left for her in her little house.
My already injured legs were burning from the effort of keeping up with her. I was afraid I was going to lose her.
"Justine," I called ahead. "JUSTINE!"
I felt the ground slide away from me. I looked down as my feet were swallowed by the ground. I screamed, and the sinking stopped. I was stuck.
"Preston," She cried, and then she came into view.
"You idiot, what did I tell you? Hold on," She said as she crept up to the very edge of the pit of sinking earth.
I reached my hand out, and she grabbed on. She pulled hard. The soil shifted but wouldn't let me go. I was thoroughly stuck. She kept tugging, getting more and more desperate.
"Come on come on come on," She muttered, but soon her gasping blocked out even that. She stumbled, almost falling in herself.
That was enough.
"Stop," I said. "Or you're gonna fall in too, and then what good would that do us?"
She let go, defeated.
She sat there, "What am I going-"
A strange sweet wind rose, filling my nostrils and making me want to sneeze. A low hum hovered on the breeze. Then a flash of pain shot through my head, which apparently Justine didn't feel. She looked slightly awed. She seemed to become smaller. Mist seeped in, tasting sweet. too sweet, unnaturally so. As it cleared off, an older woman stood in its place. Long silky silver hair shone, matching her flowing robes.
She held out her hand and I began to float up, out of the earth. Justine gasped as the soil fell free.
"Preston, we meet at long last."