Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
Chapter Thirty Six Ezra Holmes, before he joined the NC
I was seated on my little sister’s bedroom, looking at all the toys she had collected from the fast food meals I kept buying her. Her small desk was completely covered in art supplies-crayons in a jar, papers whereon she doodled, pens and used pencils.
I pick one of her recent drawing up, smiling when I noticed that she has drawn the two of us standing side by side. She was small beside me, she barely met my waist, and I was like four times taller than her, and she was holding onto my hand with her one hand, and her favorite pink teddy with the other. She was smiling happily.
The tick of the wall clock makes me turn toward the wall where it was hanging from and I look at the time: 13:30 pm.
It was time.
I swallow hard, feeling a lump form inside my throat, making it difficult to breathe. I held onto my black duffel bag’s strap, clutching the material tightly in my hand when I got up from the bed.
“Ezzie!” My little sister squeals, running into her little room. I barely had time to return the smile when she throws her little arms around my legs, giving me a hug from below with how small she was. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving again, Ezzie. Please.” She says, looking up at me with her eyes filled with unshed tears. She must’ve noticed the duffel bag in my hands when she ran into her room. It was the only colour that stood out from the rest of her pink and Barbie-themed room.
I duck down, coming face to face with my little sister, setting the duffel bag onto her Barbie rug. “I have to, sweetheart.” I tell her, giving her a small smile. “But I’ll be back before you know it.”
“You always say that, but you stay away for a loong time.” She drawls and for a three year old, she had quite a mouth on her. She reminded me of myself some days. “I don’t want to go with them… They scare me… They’re not nice to me.”
There’s pain at the back of my throat when anguish washes over me.
It was difficult to swallow the bile that rose from my stomach down, but I managed a comforting smile my little sister’s way. “That’s why you have Ursula to protect you.” I tell her, tugging the teddy bear she had clutched in her left hand.
It was the same pink teddy she has drawn in the picture, and the teddy’s name was definitely not Ursula, but at least my little sister laughed. The cute little sound of her laugh made my heart break inside my chest, but I forced out a smile her way.
“Her name is Poppy, Ezzie.”
I pull my little sister up so she could sit on my bent knee. I squeeze her pink cheek, earning a giggle coming from her. “I know her name is Poppy, sweetheart. I was just teasing you.”
