A Summer’s Tragedy

“Mom, what are you doing in that box?” Callisto asked his mother, but she’s not replying anymore. “Didn’t you promise me that we’d have an unforgettable vacation, but why aren’t you moving?”

Tears wanted to run down Callisto’s face, but he was preventing them from going out. It certainly turned out to be an unforgettable vacation, an unforgettable nightmare of a vacation.

It was all my mistake, Callisto blamed himself. He left her mother alone at that time, and he chose to take care of other people, though he couldn’t even take care of his own family.

Looking at her mother’s fearful face, Callisto tries to convince himself that everyone’s time to die won’t refuse to come, but still, he can’t prevent the sadness from reigning.

There were many things Dorothy hadn’t told her son, and she couldn’t tell him anymore, as she could do nothing right now but lie inside her coffin. It’s still traceable in her eyes that she’s worried about what could happen to them, especially that the felon is just an inch away from them.

Meanwhile, Sebastian wondered why he was mourning his wife’s death if he could follow her anywhere he wanted. But his son, he remembered, would be alone in this world if he died too.

Don’t care about him: he’s of age to take care of himself. Those thoughts are drowning Sebastian between the devil and the deep blue sea. He doesn’t know what to do right now.

It was the saddest, slowest, most unforgettable days that happened in their lives, but life still continued as long as they didn’t want to follow Dorothy. So, they just believe that there’s a reason why these things are happening.

A week elapsed. Dorothy and Stalin’s mother were buried on the same day and at the same cemetery. There were no more people who attended the burial; only those who were concerned attended, and it shows that a lot of people are carefree.

In the days that followed, Callisto’s way of life had changed. He always woke up earlier than his father. He didn’t have someone who would prepare food for them anymore, so he was doing everything for himself and for his younger sister, who was still pretending to know nothing about what happened.

It never became easy for Ruth to shift her attention to other things. Meanwhile, Sebastian always spent his whole day drinking tonic, and that’s why he was lying on their couch all day.

Callisto doesn’t know how to stop his father from drinking-he’s becoming an alcoholic, and that’s not good for his health-but how much more from lamenting? He didn’t know when everything would end, and he didn’t know when his father would accept the truth that his mother was gone.

Meanwhile, during the days that they were busy mourning Dorothy’s death, the whirling wind was also searching for a way to start its dark plan, which is to take revenge on the man who brought her too much pain.

As the saying goes, “Love conquers all,” and perhaps it was because of her love to avenge. The whirling wind unbelievably turned into a beautiful goddess. Not a show on stage nor a bad dream, and not acted by Caroline or any other artist, but the real goddess had returned.

The pile of snow gradually disappeared as Estrella walked back towards her home on the mountain. Many things were painted in her mind as she took the path going to what seemed to be the past.

It was here, there, Sebastian here, Sebastian there, everywhere she saw Sebastian’s face. On the leaves and trunks of trees, on the grass, and on the water in the stream.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

It just made her remember her miserable past. The first time they saw each other, she thought it was destiny: she spontaneously fell in love with the strange man who she thought wouldn’t deceive her. But that fake innocent face was just a camouflage of his deceitful self, because now it’s so obvious where everything ends.

“Sebastian will never experience peace as long as I’m in this world,” Estrella soliloquized. But her servant suddenly interrupted her mind.

She was so disappointed that Cryrie became so disobedient. She thought that she had made a mistake by letting her stay with her mortal enemies. It’s not too late, and if she’s clever enough, she knew whom to choose.

While Estrella was thinking about Cryrie, Ruth was also staring out the window of her bedroom. Looking at the high mountain that loomed ahead, Something had changed. Half of it turned green, woody and grassy, and the other half stayed snowy. A hunch spontaneously struck her understanding.

Ruth knew that she came back, and now she had become more powerful as she could reinvigorate her home in just a few days. Ruth suddenly slammed the window, and as she halted, she could hear her own heartbeats.

Her dad and brother need to know this. But how? She can’t explain everything she knew about Estrella. For sure, the males won’t believe her words if she tells them that she’s the blue bird.

Ruth shook her head and finally made a decision. She had no choice anymore but to tell them the truth if she wanted to keep them safe. So, Ruth got out of her bedroom and went to their living room.

Sebastian was using a toothpick to remove the bits of food lodged between his teeth when he heard a few footsteps going towards the couch. He knew it was his little girl, but he didn’t know why she looked so worried.

“Have you eaten your breakfast?” Sebastian asked.

“Not yet,” Ruth replied in a mild voice. “Do you know where my brother is?”

“Your stubborn brother went anywhere he wanted without asking my permission. Well, he can go wherever he wants, he’s already seventeen and-why are you asking me-” Sebastian went near Ruth, who also stood up, and she disrespectfully walked out.

“What’s happening to that girl?” Sebastian screamed in his mind. He sat down on the couch and turned on the television.

He was surprised to see the news; he hadn’t noticed it, but the journalist reported that Mount Octover had gradually turned back to its old identity. There’s no scientific explanation for it, but perhaps historical studies about nymphs, fairies, and goddesses, which are almost unbelievable.

The journalist surveyed the Isabelaneans to know what they thought about this happening. Others believe it was caused by climate change, possibly global warming, so that the weather no longer depends on altitude but rather on season. It can’t be denied that some say the end is near, without the knowledge that Isabela is just a small town.

In this incident, everyone is prohibited from going to the top of the mountain, nor going near the mountain, and if possible, the people who live at the foot of Mount Octover should evacuate to the nearest evacuation centre so that they can avoid danger, because that mountain seemed to fall.

On the other hand, inside the rest room, Callisto had just finished bathing himself, and now he was checking his tongue in the mirror. He stepped backward to try to see it clearer, but his breath fogged up the glass, so he drew a new face and laughed. He looks inspired right now, perhaps because he’s falling in love. Not long, he noticed his sister’s obscure reflection on the mirror.

“Brother.” Ruth went near and cuddled her brother’s shank.

Callisto knew that his sister was sad, but he didn’t know that the exact description was “worried,” worried about their safety. Callisto lowered himself and looked at her eyes, which were filled with tears. He didn’t know why she was crying again, so he just wiped her tears out of her face using his index finger.

“Stop crying.” He tried to make her laugh by grasping the skin on her face. He tried to expand her lips to her ears, but he still saw the sadness in her eyes. So he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“You know many things about me, but still, there are a lot of things I’m not telling you, and perhaps it’s time for you to know the truth.” Ruth climbed on her brother’s back, and he brought her inside their dining room.

“So, what are you going to tell me?” Callisto asked while putting a bowl of pork stew on the table. He then sat down on the chair beside his sister.

It was already night, and Callisto climbed into his bed and began to think. He couldn’t believe that after a long time of being with Ruth, he had just known that they were not real siblings. He didn’t know that he was playing with someone who was one hundred times older than him.

Something different interrupted Callisto’s mind. Not bad at all, he thought as he reminisced about the way she would kiss his lips. There’s one thing he wants to know: if the real one has feelings for him. He was showing her thousands of signs every night, but she never showed anything that she liked him too. He didn’t know when he could kiss her lips either-perhaps everything would just end like this.

He knew their time to go home was coming, but he didn’t know if he could leave Stalin alone, and let her become a beggar, or even get struck by those cars. As an advanced boy, Callisto thought how this would end. He had to choose between himself, his future and the crazy girl who made his heart beat in an abnormal way. He thought about the consequences and found out that he couldn’t have a future if he chose her.