"Weirdo…" "She sure is a weird kid… " came murmurs as a crowd began to gather. Ember hated being the center of attraction, but there was no escaping this one. She had shrieked, tumbled and fell into a gutter, and people were surprised by her actions. ''Well… that's what you get when you walk through a street filled with old people…" she thought to herself, as she got up and dusted herself. If it were a place filled with teenagers, she wouldn't even have had to worry as most people would not even noticed someone fell beside them. Everyone concentrated so hard on their business these days, and there was little or no attention left to spare for someone in need. "Are you alright kid…?" asked an elderly looking man in worn out jeans, and a faded t-shirt. Oh how she badly wanted this people to mind their business. "Hmmm", she mumbled a response to the man, attempting to find her way out of the crowd. "Do you want to go to the hospital?"… Another woman from the crowd asked, completely throwing her off guard. "Hospital???" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. She just fell down. Apart from the shriek, there was nothing really unusual about falling down. "No, thanks ma," she responded rather swiftly, squeezing her way out of the crowd, which was still increasing.
After a while of trying to get out, she finally did and the crowd began to disperse. For the rest of her journey home, she decided to play some music to keep herself preoccupied, to avoid thinking of what happened. Retrieving her earphones from her bag, she quickly connected them to her device and then brought it out to search for a song to play. Finally settling for Shape of you by Ed Sheeran, she increased the volume to the highest and kept on moving.
My name is Ember Flynn, and I'm a college student at the University of Arizona. I'm a 19 year old lady, an introvert and a story lover. I was born and I grew up in Arizona, pretty much spent my entire life in this city. I live with my grandma, as both my parents died some years back… when I was 8. According to the story relayed to me, they were coming from a meeting from out of town, and they had a car crash…
Remembering the scene from 11 years ago made her sniff. She was dropped off with her grandma some days back, as her parents were going on a trip, and for some reason, they thought it not safe to bring her along. She had cried when she realized she would be left out, as she didn't really like being anywhere without her mom, but her mom had persuaded her that it would only take a few days, and they'd be back very soon for her. They had given her lots of treats as bribe, and her grandma was extra friendly, and had won her over. She was still sad when they were leaving, but she didn't nag like before again. All young and naive, she had waved them goodbye, expecting them to return for her… but it wasn't meant to happen. She remembered waking up every morning during those times, heading straight for the door, and waiting anxiously for their return; she'd wait till she fell asleep, and be carried inside by her grandma. Days went by, and one cloudy evening, a guy had come to their house, requesting to see her grandma. She had pointed him in, and continued her wait outside, until she heard her grandma scream from inside. Momentarily forgetting why she was outside, she dashed inside the house with fear, her heart racing inside her chest. Heaving in relief when she had confirmed her grandma's safety, she became worried with the gloomy expression her grandma wore. Noticing her presence, her grandma quickly comported herself, blinking severally, and wiping her face with her hand, in a desperate attempt to hold back the tears that were threatening to drop. "Nana… what happened?" she had said, in her still little voice, trying to comprehend the entire situation. "Nothing… Ember, this gentle-man would be staying the night with us." Her nana said, mustering all the strength within her to keep her voice from breaking, keeping her talks short. Even as young and naive as she was, Ember could tell then that something was not right. She couldn't tell what wasn't right, but she knew something wasn't right. She had always been a smart girl right from time, and she could tell that her grandma was trying to hide something from her. Desperate to be put out of her misery, she tugged on the man's shirt… "Sir, what did you do to my grandma…" the young man who had been standing there motionless, looked down at her, rubbing her head he said… "I didn't do anything, grandma is fine." "But she's not. She was smiling before you came…" Ember argued, raising her voice. Nana, watching what was going on decided to step in, and also change the topic. "I'm fine, and you don't talk rudely to someone older than you… that's disrespect." She said, drawing the young girl into her embrace. She didn't know how she was going to break the news to her, and she couldn't hide it for long too… she just wished it hadn't happened, but there was nothing she could do now… The responsibility of protecting the girl had fallen solely on her, and she must do everything in her power to protect her. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and Ember had lost hope totally on her parents return. The stranger had left their home very early in the morning the next day, and after a few days her grandma had traveled leaving her with a neighbor, and had returned shortly after. She had cried herself to sleep the first few weeks, when her grandma decided to let her know her parents weren't coming back. Her Nana had explained to her that her parents were involved in an accident, which claimed both their lives. She remembered vaguely that she didn't understand most of what her grandma was trying to explain to her that evening, all she could pick out of it was 'her parents were never coming back' and that was hurtful enough.
Taking a turn to the Left, Ember was grateful she had left the midst of those people. Although she wasn't quite fine with people referring to her as weird, she had gotten used to it over the years. Heaving a sigh of relief as she got to her home, her joyful mood soon dwindled as she realized her grandma wasn't home, and the door was locked. "Shit!" she cursed… grandma had always warned her to go out with her keys whenever she was leaving home, but she always forgot still. She was always lucky most of the time, as her grandma was always home. Her parents left her a business chain, which was being supervised by her fathers most trusted aide; although he answered to her grandma. Her grandma had stepped up to the task when her parents died, making sure she didn't want anything, and everything she demanded was given to her. She was homeschooled for the rest of the year, and throughout her high school, so she didn't really have many friends. She had vehemently declined the offer and luxury of staying home for college, while her teachers came to take her privately. Her grandma had succumbed to her wishes, just to make her happy. Although she moved out of her grandma's house because she wanted privacy, part of the conditions that she had to meet was coming back every weekend to spend the weekend with her grandma. She still had a key to the house, in case she felt like coming over, but she always left it at her place. Now she just had to wait patiently for her Nana to come back.