How Did She Know?

Chapter Two.

Chapter 2.
The Tragedy

"Archie, c'mon! Mom is expecting us to go home by 7 o'clock!" Maila Damero whisper-shout at her brother. They were at the grocery store trying to pick up some things for the house.

"I want to get the gummy worms over there. But I don't know what flavor I should get..." Archie, Maila's little brother, said pointing at an aisle.

"No, Archie. We can't afford to buy extra things right now. Let's stick to Mom's list for now."

"But U haven't eaten any snacks for so long!"

"Archie! No buts!"

Archie stopped. He just pouted his lips out of frustration and disappointment.

They approached the cashier and put their things on the counter. The cashier punched each item and typed some things on the computer before the receipt came out.

Maila Damero was just like Scarlett. Born in South Delly and badly wanted to escape the cursed fate they have. The only difference they have is that Maila couldn't see the future and Scarlett does not have anything to lose. Maila have a lot.

Maila grew up poor. Living with her mother and two younger siblings. Her father left them when she was just 7 years old and watched her mother became crazy because of heart break and grief. She took care of her younger siblings during those times. And helped her mother get back on her feet. Everyone depended on her.

She doesn't go to school anymore. She can even barely get a job so she can afford feeding her family. She barely even survived high school, but she made it out alive.

They walked together from the grocery store to their small apartment just a few houses away. They live in a tiny apartment, with only one room in it where they all sleep together. In that one bedroom, a single sized bed was in the middle, where her little siblings sleep every night and her and her mom sleep at the floor, right beside the bed. Maila thinks it was uncomfortable, but she knows it's the only thing they can afford to do for now, she can bare with it.

It was almost 7 o'clock when they arrived at their apartment. They opened the door and Sally, Maila's little sister was the first person they saw when they entered. She was sitting at a tiny chair, reading a book Maila bought from the thrift store beside the coffee shop she worked at.

"Hi, Sally. Where's Mom?" Maila asked as she put the groceries on the dinner table. She checked the room but her mother wasn't there.

Sally continued silent reading but replied, "She went out. Says she needed to buy a few things from the thrift shop. I asked her if she can buy me more books and coloring books but she says she doesn't think so but she'll try."

Maila paused for a minute. She was used to her sister's detailed replies but it'll always make her speechless. Reasonable, as Sally is only 5.

"What is that?" Archie asked her little sister and sat right beside her on another chair.

"A book about a little girl and a little boy being almost eaten by a witch who lives in a house made out of sweets!" Sally excitedly replied.

Maila ignores them and took out all of the groceries they bought from the store and started to arrange them on the fridge and on the kitchen. She doesn't know what her mom will buy from the thrift shop, but she guessed it was more clothes.

She prepared dinner for the four of them. Her siblings was a bit of picky eaters so she bought ingredients to food they like to eat. She cooked until her mom arrived with bags of clothes and accessories. Some of them for the family, some will be sold with a dollar or two increase in the prices her mom bought it for.

After dinner, she made sure her little siblings does their night routines before she tuck them in their beds. She and her mother then had a little coffee talk on the dining table.

"I need to find a new job." Her mother starts as she sips her coffee. She looked so serious.

"Why? Isn't your current job paying you enough? And wouldn't it be a hassle?"

"How come?"

"We have to rely on my little salary during the time you try to find a new job when you're current one is paying you enough!" Maila replied, trying not to raise her voice at her mother.

Her mother massaged her temples. "It's not enough, Maila! Why would you think the reason I'm trying to find a new job if this job I have is paying me enough?! It's not enough! You're siblings are growing up as the day goes by and that meant I have to work my butt off 10x harder!"

"Stop yelling, mom! They'll hear you!"

Her mom calmed down a bit. But before they could reply, they hear a loud thud before their house shakes.

"What the hell is happening?!"

They both heard the children's cries from the bedroom. They run towards them and hugged them tight. They don't know what was going on.

But before they could move an inch, everything went black.

The last thing Maila remembered was her sibling's cries and her mother's screams.

_________

note:

kinda short, i know. i'm having a writer's block at the moment, lol. i'm hoping this won't last long because if it does, this story would be abandoned. joking.

anyway, i hoped you like this one. and what a twist! there's a second main lead. i actually plan on making scarlett the only main character but then this idea just starts running on my mind when i was starting to wrote this chapter so i just went with it.

let me know what you guys think about me adding this new one. should i keep it? or should i erase her?

love,

euphemie.