Glimmer

Amber

When I got home, it was already dark. I went upstairs to my room to drop my things before going to the kitchen to see if I could help Aunt Marianne with anything. She was scooping rice onto a bowl and had her back to me. I jumped when she turned around. The front of her shirt and her right arm were covered in blood.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a look of concern on her face, oblivious to the red stains.

"What happened to you? Are you okay?" I asked as I leaned on the kitchen door frame. There was a gradually increasing pain in my head.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your shirt," I pointed. The blood was gone. She was covered in blood a while ago. Did I just I just imagine that?

She looked at her shirt then at me. "Are you alright, Amber?" She put the bowl down on the counter and walked towards me. She placed her hand on my forehead, "You're a little hot. Maybe you should go rest. I'll fix you some soup and bring it to you later."

I nodded and went back to my room. Hot or not, headache or no headache I took a quick warm shower. I can never go to bed without doing so unless I was too sick or the doctor says I couldn't. I brought out the sunstones and the book from my bag and began looking for crystal combinations against headaches.

There was a knock on the door and Aunt Marianne came in with some soup. She put the bowl on my desk by the window saying I must be pushing myself too hard and that I should rest. "A day off from your internship wouldn't hurt either."

"I can't. The opening is at the end of the week."

She sighed. "Fine. If you're better tomorrow you can go but if not..."

"I know. I'll stay home."

"And no working on anything tonight. You've made enough pendants for the store."

I nodded as I got up from my bed to eat the soup she brought. Before closing the door she told me to leave the bowl outside my room when I'm done and get some sleep. I tried to eat as quickly as I could while reading the crystals combination book. I left my bowl outside and locked the door. I brought out my crystals' box to see if I have some sodalite or lapis lazuli. I ended up with putting an amethyst under my pillow before I went to sleep as I didn't have either.

We were in the garden again. She was no longer singing as she stroked my hair. She whispered something in my ear. She placed the teardrop opal in my hand and as she moved away, a gash appeared at her throat and blood started to drip down her white dress.

I woke up soaked in sweat. My dreams of the brown haired lady had always been good. I would wake up with a warm feeling and a sense of security. Tonight, that warm feeling was gone and was replaced by fear and dread.

Turning on the lamp, I went to my dresser and picked up the opal pendant I usually wear. This looked like the one the lady in my dreams placed in my hand. Now what did she whisper to me? As I tried to remember, my head began to hurt.

I checked the clock at my bedside which told me it was three in the morning. I did not want to go back to sleep, so I opened the packet of sunstones, brought out my tools and started making another pendant.

At breakfast, I told Aunt Marianne I was feeling better and hoped she didn't notice I'd been up since three. She looked at me, checked my temperature and when she was convinced I was fine, she let me go.

Lila was running a steam brush on the Belle costume when I got to the museum.

"You're here early," I said to her after leaving my bag in the library.