Open Eyes

Chapter 1 pt1

My eyes open. I gaze upon the mystical swirls of colors and lights that swarm around me. Warmth rushed through my body as my eyes set on a mysterious person. Their emerald green eyes gaze into mine as they lean close to me. My heart beats faster the closer their face gets to mine, closing the gap between us while gently holding my face. Their touch sends shivers throughout my body. I wanted this, I craved this, I yearned for this, but who were they? "What was this? I can feel their breath on my lips, the smell of freshly washed clothes and lavender fills my senses, what I assume dreams smell like. I want to lean in closer, but something pulls me away. "Gabriel~" I hear a distant voice calling my name. "Gabriel~!" They get farther from me each time it calls my name, "GABRIEL!" Suddenly, a hard flick hits the back of my head.

"Ouch! What?!" I say startled at my sister's sudden outburst. I sat up from the wooden bench outside of my family's barn.

"What's the matter with you? I've been calling you for the last minute!" My big sister Élénora is "technically" the eldest daughter of our family, falling behind by two minutes is my big brother Clayton. This puts Èlènora in charge of me and the rest of my three younger siblings, Antonie, Bou, and Belle, when mother and father send us to town to sell our crops. 

"N-Nothing! I just got a bit distracted." I nervously say, rubbing the spot where she hit my head. 

"Well stop daydreaming and get up and help! We need to hurry and go set up shop before the Fredericks get there first."

The Fredericks are our neighbors and family's biggest and only farming competitor, and our family's biggest enemy. The families despised one another since the beginning of time. Every encounter between the two led to feuds and family wars, which made the hatred grow stronger. Those damn Fredricks take the best spot in town to sell crops every harvest. I can't stand them as much as my family does.

So we all woke up extra early today to take the best crops to sell, so we can finally have the spot that's rightfully ours. I get up from the bench and help pack today's crops and gather up Bou, Antonie, and Belle and put them in a small wagon while Èlènora and Clayton handle the cart. I get lost in the sound of the children playing in the wagon and the cart shaking and creaking every bump and dip it rolls over while we're walking down the dirt path road. As the sun beams down on my pale skin, a nice cool summer breeze flows through my fine black hair cooling me down. I close my eyes, taking in the fresh air, and unbutton two buttons from my white freshly pressed button-down so that I can feel the breeze on my chest. I start to think about the dream I had earlier. Who was that person? All I can remember of them were their eyes. Those beautiful emerald eyes I couldn't look away from. My heart beats harder at the thought, "I want to see them again,"