AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prologue
Accompanying Song: “The Girl With All The Gifts” by Cristobal Tapia de Veer
Cage
My thumb brushes over the reflecting image of a girl with hair so white it could blind a man like me. Licking my lips, I stare at her delicate shape in the white dress, her soft posture as she leans into the green trees around her, and the way she wistfully stares at the blue sphere above her head. One moment is all it takes to capture her beauty. And I know I’ll have a lifetime to discover it.
I smile, cocking my head. “Her.”
That’s all it takes. That one word … and she becomes mine.
I can’t stop staring at her eyes. Those soul-crushing blue eyes seem so pure. So vulnerable. Unlike me.
But when the image is snatched out of my hands, my smile immediately dissipates. I turn my head and watch him take the pictures down from the glass, one by one, until nothing’s left but a gray stone mass behind it. No life. No green. No blue. No nothing.
I sigh out loud.
A hand touches my shoulder, squeezing. “Don’t worry … You’ll see more than just a picture soon.”
The hand disappears, and I’m left alone again in my cold, dark space.
But one thing has changed.
Me.
Chapter One
Accompanying Song: “Summa For Strings” by Arvo Pärt
Ella
The scent of freshly baked bread enters my nose and fills me with joy. I point at the loaf I want and smile.
“That one?” the baker asks.
I nod, and he grabs it from the shelf and wraps it in paper then puts it on the counter. I already have the money ready to pay, so I place it next to the loaf. He swipes it off and stuffs it into the cash register.
“Thank you very much,” he says. “Enjoy!”
I smile again while picking up the loaf and tucking it into my bag. Waving, I leave the store and face the sunlight again. I love how the warmth radiates over my skin, how it makes me want to close my eyes and take a deep breath. Summer is the time I come alive.
On my way back home, I take a detour through the park and pick up all the flowers I like. Red, pink, yellow—as many of the crazy colors as I can gather. Their aromas waft through the air with every summery breeze, and I love to just take it all in. Like a moment frozen in time, where everything is exactly the way it should be.
Untouched.
Perfect.
Unlike me.
Accompanying Song: “Kids” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
Twelve Years Ago
I pick up two rocks and stuff one into Suzie’s hand. “You go first.”
“No. Why do I have to go first? You know I’m not good at this,” she whines, putting out a pouty lip. “Why can’t we just do it my way?”
“Because we already did that yesterday. Now, we do it my way,” I say, frowning. “Now c’mon. Throw it.”
She sighs, so I rub her back. “You can do this. Just throw it like this.” I bend my arm and chuck the stone at the pond, and it skips across the water like a bug until it sinks.
“Wow, that’s far!” Suzie yells, her face full of amazement. “But wait … I was supposed to go first, right?”
I shrug. “We weren’t playing for real yet. But now we are. C’mon. Throw the stone.”
Her face lifts with a smile. “Okay, I’ll try.”
I nod a few times, which only makes her smile bigger. I cheer her on. “Go!”
She aims and then throws as hard as she can, but the stone immediately sinks to the bottom just a few feet from where we stand.
“Aw …” she mumbles with chagrin.
I clap my hands. “My turn.”
I snatch another stone from the ground and do it just as I did before, and it pitter-patters across the water farther than Suzie’s stone did.
She puts her hands on her side. “Fine, you won.”
“Yay!” I jump up and down. “I get to be the princess now.”
“But we do it my way tomorrow,” she says, grimacing. “Rock, paper, scissors.”
“But that’s just boring,” I reply.
“No, it’s not!” she quips. “I do it all the time with Bobby. He says it’s much better too.”
“I don’t care about Bobby. Bobby’s a boy; I’m your sister. Big difference.”
“So?”
“So I get to say what’s much better. And this is much better.” I pick up another rock and hold it out to her. “If you want to get better, I can teach you.”
“Really?” she asks, taking it and tucking it into her pocket.
“Yeah, of course. That’s what sisters are for, right?” I grin, and she hugs me. “All right. Now, let’s play,” I say, wrenching away from her arms.
As I run for the tree, Suzie chases after me, and I glance over my shoulder and giggle. “You won’t catch me!”
“Yes, I will!”
“No!” I pat the tree just before she does. “I win!”
