The Inheritance of Shadows

Chapter 1

She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, clearly amused. "Still the same little troublemaker, huh?"

I tried to sound charming. "Aren't you happy to see your amazing favorite daughter?"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Elsa, you're an only child."

Fair point. But honestly, sometimes I wished I had a sister—someone to argue with, to share secrets with, to be annoyed by. It sounded like the kind of chaos I'd enjoy.

"If it's any comfort," she added with a teasing smirk, "you're also the most modest person I know."

I shrugged off the sarcasm and suddenly had a thought. "Wanna watch something on TV with me?"

She sighed, but I could already tell she'd say yes. She always did. These were the only real moments we had together.

"If you don't wake up on time tomorrow, I swear..." she muttered, heading to her room. "Alright, just let me change. You—go turn off your light, pack your bag, and get in pajamas."

Ugh. The orders. I felt like a character in some old board game, following commands I didn't ask for. But I obeyed, turned off my bedroom light, slipped into shorts and a T-shirt, and made my way to the kitchen before heading to the living room. I grabbed a McDonald's bag on the way—my last-minute bribe.

When I walked into the living room, my mom was already on the couch, digging between the cushions for the remote.

I sat down beside her, and she only noticed me when I placed the bag on the coffee table. Her eyes lit up. "Aw, sweetie, thank you—but you didn't have to!"

I winced. Time to confess. "Don't thank me. I used your money. But it's the thought that counts, right?"

She laughed—a real, genuine laugh. Rare and beautiful.

"Did you already eat?" she asked.

"No, I was going to, but I got distracted by the laptop. Time flew."

I decided not to mention the near-death experience of the laptop falling.

We ate in silence, warmed by the glow of the screen as I flicked through Netflix. I went straight to the "Horror" section—her favorite. After a quick browse, we landed on Scream, a classic.

I jumped and yelped every few minutes, but halfway through the movie, I noticed she had fallen asleep. How could anyone sleep during a slasher film?

I turned off the TV, cleaned up the mess, and quietly headed back to my room. At that point, I was way too tired to even pretend to study.

So, without even crawling under the covers or switching off the string lights that framed my bookshelf, I collapsed face-down onto my pillow and fell asleep instantly.

The next morning, I was yanked out of sleep by my phone alarm screeching in my ear. BI-BEEP... BI-BEEP... Honestly, I needed to change that. Who wants to wake up feeling like they're being chased by a forklift?

Still groggy, I pulled the blanket off of me—and immediately shivered. Goosebumps took over my entire body. November. And cold. Wait a second. Blanket? I didn't have one on me last night...

I sat up slowly and noticed something on my phone case. A bright yellow Post-it.

"Hi Elsa, just wanted to let you know you're a goat. You fell asleep with the lights on and no blanket—in November! Girl, your survival instincts are nonexistent. If I'm not here when you wake up... well, you'll know why.
Kisses.
–Mom"

I laughed out loud and stuck the note next to the collage of photos and memories on my wall. It earned its place.

After that, I dressed quickly—random jeans, black hoodie. I glanced at the mirror in the corner. Not bad. Casual fits were always the best.