Gen Three- Chapter Seventeen

They'd all told me to give up. Well, they hadn't said it that exact way. Dad and grandpa had done their best to get to our house from their airport before we had to leave for school, but with delays and traffic and complications with their taxi my siblings and I would simply have to wait until we got back from school to see them instead. I'd pouted and fussed and gotten ready regardless, but not once had my eyes stopped watching the window. The clock on the wall showed we had two minutes before we left. All my wishing power thrust towards seeing a car coming towards our house. When I glanced out the window several seconds later, my eyes stung with merry tears as familiar red faces could be seen sitting in the back seat of a bright yellow car pulling up alongside the road.

     "Dad!"

The door was slammed open as I burst outside without any regards for who was around or the commotion I was making. All I cared about was them being there, and the instant dad saw me barreling towards him he just smiled and hunkered down to prep for my impact.

Color My World Short Story #6

Amaranth was the most adorable thing ever.

     "Are you having fun?"

I had asked him that question, and now he beamed up at me the most ecstatic smile I had seen from him yet. Coal teased me often that our son turned my heart to mush, as it did his, and not once had I ever been able to deny that. But, why would I want to deny it? I needed my heart softened each and every day. Work was becoming unbearable.

It had been almost a year since the chaos now. A year since a collection of idiots in our lower ranks decided to band together to undermine and steal from another group that we had momentarily allied ourselves with for a massive project. Not only had the idiots been caught breaking the formed contract, they had framed too much on people Amaranth would now never know- his grandparents. My parents were gone. Coal's parents were gone. The traitors had been weeded out and handed their punishments, but things remained a mess. Coal and I, though we had nothing to do with the project, had targets on our backs from our former allies still wanting retribution for how badly the deception screwed them over. They wouldn't try to take our lives, that would cause too much suspicion from our families, but they could find other ways to hurt us...like stealing away my little boy still grinning up at me. My little boy who blessedly helped me forget for those precious few moments that I was different from everyone else around me.

Vivid Family Picture Spam

Some of the pictures I took back when I was putting together the household for Gen 2.

Color My World Behind the Scenes #4

When going around aging everyone up after the first arc, I noticed that the Yonders had adopted a cat. I normally get rid of autonomously purchased pets because I've had trouble with them getting in the way before, but the kitten had come with the name Coal, so I felt obligated to let it stay. The thing was pretty adorable too.

Gen Two- Chapter Forty Two

When Buckeye had me ground under his figurative, and sometimes literal, heel, there had been a sense of weakness that accompanied the situation. When I laid there in the hospital for weeks while finding the simple task of breathing a great chore, that had come with another kind of weakness. I was experiencing yet another version of the sensation at this moment. It was mid-afternoon, yet I couldn't believe it. All that time we spent in the courthouse felt like it took up an eternity. There had been papers to sign, seats to sit in for ridiculous amounts of time as our case kept getting pushed back due to other cases going over, the actual meeting with the judge that included me having to be in a room with Mimosa for almost way longer than I could handle, and the repercussions of the judge's decision, which included a bit more paperwork and a series of unique new emotions.

We delayed going home, because Uncle Al and Aunt Dahlia were taking Mimosa straight home. It seriously was the most awkward thing having this tension riddled case with the other when we could so easily see the other person through our respective front windows everyday. Getting away from the stress was next to impossible, which was why dad had had the smart idea to take all of us to Mr. Mosaic's bookstore. It was empty at this time of the day, I had a nice corner to hide myself in, and the rest of my family had items they could use as excuses to keep themselves away from me.

Gen Two- Chapter Thirty Six

My back instantly straightened up, but my chest had a different idea of what I should do. The grating of the main cracked rib was so definite that I could feel the unsettling movement right before the now familiar searing pain erupted dark spots in the corner of my eyes. I instinctively curled back up, but I at least managed to catch the cough that rattled in my throat. It was even better that whoever was going to enter hadn't fully swung the door open yet. My sudden, random movement went unnoticed. Footsteps soon approached, however, and I made sure to freeze all further movement.

Gen Two- Chapter Thirty Three

I ran my fingers softly across the sill of the window and frowned at the subtle cold touch of the wood. The hospital did the absolute best it could to keep the heat in and the cold out, but it was impossible for them to make sure all of winter's chill remained where it belonged. The room could have been warmer if the blinds were closed, yet mom refused to block the window unless she was changing. It's not that I didn't get that desire. How many years had she been cooped up in this room for the majority of the time now? Restricting herself more from one of her few connections to the normal world wasn't a pleasant idea. However, I was tempted to go against her wishes for a moment. I truthfully doubted having the blinds closed would seriously make any improvements to mom's health, but it was not a lie to say I had been in a state of high paranoia for a few months.

Gen Two- Chapter Thirty One

Those two solemn words mom spoke lingered painfully in the air. Her eyes darted this way and that, but never got higher than the floor. She waited for someone to say something, for someone to react, but I think the rest of us, at least I was, were waiting for her to keep going. To say it was just a joke. To reveal it actually wasn't that serious. When the silence dragged on until it grew suffocating, I looked to dad. There was no doubt by the stunned expression he wore that mom hadn't chosen to speak to him about this beforehand.

     "Lung cancer?"

Wisp was the brave one to break the tension. Even his soft voice boomed like thunder as the horror was that immense.

     "But..but that's something that only people who smoke and stuff get!" Cerise piped up, her words dripped with denial.

     "It's more common for them, but that's not necessarily true," mom countered gently, "All the horrible bouts of pneumonia I've had are what's done it. My lungs have been weakened so much, it was the right environment for the mutations to thrive.

Gen Two- Chapter Thirty

My whole body froze in an instant. The most movement I could get was out of my fingers, and even twitching them had them feeling like they creaked and popped. What I saw almost made me feel nauseated as everything came at me in both slow motion and quickened speed. I didn't dare turn my head or blink, for I had had this dream many times. It wouldn't be long before my alarm went off. That's how it always worked. My mind would give me the sweetest but briefest moment of relief, and reality would snatch it away just like that.

     "Oh, my baby girl..."

His voice gushed softly, but his words echoed with a boom in my ears. That was his voice. The one I'd almost forgotten. I latched onto the sound with fervor. Dad rarely spoke in my dreams, and if he did the words were practically inaudible. I would try and strain to hear, I would try and get closer, and that's when it would all end.

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty Nine

Upon pulling the rolling chair closer to mom's bed, I gave her an exasperated but amused glance as I sat down in it. I thought she would be ecstatic with the news I presented her. She had instead frowned and let out a 'What?' that held an extreme mixture of shock, worry, and disapproval.

     "Please do remember that you told me to do something. 'Anything', you said. Anything," I pointed out with a grin, "Well, I picked my 'anything', so don't try to tell me now to chose a different something."

     "I know what I said, and of course I won't stop you if it's what you really want. But, a police officer? Coal, that's so dangerous."

     "I know." I accepted with a nod.

     "Berrybrook is a relatively calm place where there's not much going on, but there still have been murders. There is still crime scattered here and there, and it was just seven months ago where an officer in the department you'd most likely end up in got brutally stabbed and dropped out a window. You can't blame me for being hesitant about this."

     "No, I know," I repeated, much more solemnly this time, "I definitely don't blame you, and I certainly understand. Truth be told, I have become more nervous about it as the excitement has been wearing off and the reality of what being a cop entails sinks in. However, I'm determined to go for it no matter what. This is what I want."

Gen Two- Chapter Twenty One

The gentle tapping of me lightly hitting my forehead against the glass of the table beat out a steady rhythm one could make quite the lovely song to if one was so inclined. Song melodies were not what my mind concerned itself with though at the moment. It instead sped through every kind of job or random career I'd ever heard of in hopes that one of the ideas would catch my interest. The best I was getting were possible jobs that would at least not make me want to rip my hair out. However, there failed to be one that I actually wanted to strive for. There was so far nothing that gave me the impression that I would be happy doing it the way Wisp enjoyed his art or Prism loved his film making.

     "I want at least three things written down by lunch!" mom called to me, poking her head out of her bedroom door to add more stress.

     "I know." I growled to myself slowly in annoyance.

Gen Two- Chapter Fifteen

Dead silence rang throughout the house. Time stood suffocatingly still, and the lingering echoes of Uncle Blaze's words rang in my ears. They lost? We lost? Some judge had seriously thought taking Rosemary away by forcing her to live with people she didn't want to live with was the best thing for her? The fact that Rosemary was happier than ever and had soared in school rankings to be the number one student in her class wasn't proof enough of how much Uncle Eden and Aunt Deny had helped her? Shipping her off to the other side of the country during the last third of the school year didn't seem absolutely absurd to the court?

I had no idea what to say. I had no idea of what to do. Uncle Blaze and I just stood there in the silence. He still wore that strange expression I couldn't read, and there was something off about the whole aura he emanated. I could have sworn it was almost as if he was holding back a smile. I stared up at him with eyes unblinking- until those eyes swarmed with tears once more. The tears of heartbreak, not the wet eyes caused by a cold that I had been dealing with all day. My tolerance levels completely shot thanks to the exhaustion of my illness, I was about to utterly lose it. I wouldn't be surprised if my legs collapsed on me again as I turned into that blubbering mess. Seconds away from that happening was when Uncle Blaze's attitude rapidly changed.

     "Coal, wait, please don't cry. I'm so sorry. I'm just an asshole. Phrasing it like that on purpose like that to see your reaction was such a dick move. I don't know what I was thinking." he apologized for whatever reason.

Confusion putting a possible block on my tears, I frowned as I awaited clarification.

     "Eden and Deny technically lost the case, but Mary will be staying with us."

Gen Two- Chapter Nine

My search for my sister brought me to Prism's room. I rarely went in there despite our rooms being right next to each other. It was true my brother had been a lot less annoying since dad's disappearance than he had been, but as the weeks progressed he was steadily working back up to his old levels of bothersome once more. A sadness did continue to linger about the house, but the constant somberness and seriousness as if someone had died was gone. I usually on went into Prism's room if I was desperate to use a computer or if I was trying to dig up some sort of blackmail to use on him to get him to stop pestering me. Then there was also the fact that I avoided his room because it often smelled how it smelled when I walked in at that particular moment. Prism was big on working out, and the scent of his sweat was not exactly something I preferred.

     "Forty." Desire counted the chin-ups Prism was doing.

     "I've already passed that!" he said back shakily as he fought slightly to pull himself up another time.

     "Well, there have been some that you struggled with, so I didn't count them."

     "As long as I get my chin up, they count! It doesn't matter if it takes longer than normal!"

     "Whatever," Desire smiled nonchalantly, "You're close enough. Just do a few more, and you'll definitely hit your goal of fifty."

     "Some counter you are." Prism mumbled under his breath.

Gen Two- Chapter Eight

I must have walked around my room a half million times. I had sat quite still after rushing upstairs while I let the situation sink in. It took a long time before the shock wore off. Never before in my life had I seen mom act anything like that. It hadn't even felt like she was the same person I had known for my almost eleven years. There had clearly been a monstrous amount of pain she had been holding back, and I felt horrible about pushing her when she pleaded for peace. I had asked to be yelled at. However, I did feel a little indignant as well. Okay, I deserved to be rebuked, but did she really have to have mocked me like she did? That was the part that was bothering me the most. Surely she knew I hadn't meant to make light of her past the way she implied I did, right? If I ever boasted, in my mind I was only thinking about how cool and amazing mom was for being so strong to get through all that had been in her way.

Having been sitting on my bed for about three seconds, I slid off as my body demanded I move. The little incident had swept my exhaustion away. My body craved to be as active as my racing thoughts now were, but I was a bit scared to leave my room. I wasn't sure what would happen if I did dare to go out the door. Would I somehow make mom angry again? It felt like I would be much safer if I did simply hide out in my room until the following morning.

Gen Two- Chapter Seven

It had been a long week at the beautiful islands, but it was already our last full day on vacation. We would be spending time together as our one big group in the afternoon, but for that morning the girls had gone off to do their thing while we boys went another way to do ours. Most of our time had gone into fast-paced activities like speeding around at the new go-kart track. Now, however, we were slowing down for a nice of lunch of, surprise, hot dogs at Uncle Sap's favorite spot on the islands before we were due to meet up with the girls.

     "I can't believe that more people don't come up here or even know about this place." I remarked as I glanced at the picturesque pond and brilliant view we had from our elevated position.

     "I know! Even the majority of locals don't bother with this area. Although, I suppose I should be glad. This spot wouldn't be as enjoyable as it is if it was full of people and tourists like the beaches and shops are." Uncle Sap recognized.

Gen Two- Chapter Five

I hadn't looked at the clock in hours, and it felt like it had been that long since I last moved. During that first week of dad's disappearance it had been next to impossible to stand being in my room for even short amounts of time. However, ever since I overheard mom's startling confession lazing about dismally on my bed had become my new favorite pastime. I was highly glad there was still a decent chunk of summer vacation left. All I could focus on was what I heard. Homework would be too much of a pain to try and handle too.

On one hand, I understood everything perfectly. Putting together mom's and Uncle Blaze's words, there was no denying it. Dad had been doing something illegal. He was poking around in something no normal person would dare to touch, and there had been people on the other side ready to pounce if he messed up and revealed himself. Unfortunately, he had gone ahead and done just that. So, that was that. There was the other part of me though that simply couldn't wrap my head around it. Dad? Dad of all people, my dad, was involved in something like that? It didn't fit with the person I knew him to be at all. I wanted to know more. I wanted to understand better, but I obviously wasn't going to be getting any answers. I shouldn't have even known what I knew. Mom was still pretending to be hopeful. If she wasn't going to come clean about that, there was no way she would explain everything to me if I admitted I had been eavesdropping.

     "Coal?"

A call of my name and a solid knock on the door made me jump.

     "You can't stay in there all day. You've had plenty of time to mope over the weekend. You need to come eat some lunch since you couldn't be bothered with breakfast." Desire instructed like the determined kind of sister she generally was.

     "I'm coming." I muttered reluctantly, not caring that my response was not audible to her in the slightest.

Gen Two- Chapter Four

It had been hard to break out of my melancholy mood, but the challenge I was facing was finally beginning to surge some energy through me. My glazed over expression instead narrowed in determination as I had to now pay attention if I didn't want to get absolutely pummeled. I hadn't even noticed how far ahead in points Rosemary had gotten, or that she was now duking it out with Malachite for first place.

     "You're finally starting to learn." Malachite teased as he only just avoided letting Rosemary total his car with hers.

     "And soon you're not even going to have time to trash talk." she warned competitively.

Malachite simply shrugged and continued speeding along, but there was loud shouting and cursing on his part and raucous cheering on Rosemary's part when her car once again came out of nowhere to successfully annihilate Malachite's car off the track this time around.

     "Are you sure you don't want to pick a different place to read?" I asked the question to one of the others sitting on the other couch.

Gen Two- Chapter Two

The two of them had no idea what was coming for them. They had seen me enter the pool area, but they were so engaged in their swimming and casual chatting that they didn't notice me subtly sneaking over to the diving board. I wasn't a diver by any means. I rather sucked, in fact. What I did excel in, however, was making the biggest splashes in the whole family, which I thought was impressive given how relatively small I was compared to everyone else. I watched in enjoyment when they heard the bounce of the board, their heads whipped in my direction, and another annoyed call of my name echoed out. Unfortunately for them, it was too late. I was already sky-high. The two girls in the water barely had time to clear out of the way before I sent cascading surges of water drenching over them.

Gen Two- Chapter One

No life can be perfect.

I know that now. I know it very well. The agonizing heartbreak and sense of loss I face everyday refuses to let me forget just how greatly my life has changed from those early days. Back then, I did believe my life was perfect. I suppose it was ideal in a way, but there was no way for it to remain like that for eternity. I cry sometimes when I think about the better half of my childhood. Those days feel more like an illusion and hopeful wishing spurred on by the cruelty of a tragic event I can no longer change than a reality that had once been. I wish more than anything to return to that time. Return to it, and prevent everything bad that has happened from happening.

Starting with the day that triggered it all and destroyed my world of perfection.