The Purple Children (Book 1 of the Purple Chronicles)

Chapter 1: Last Day

"I'm sure it's not that bad." I tried not to be stressed about it. I proceeded by the cupboard and took a white mug that my aunt gave me for Christmas. It had a snowman chilling in a sunny day. I routinely started the coffee maker and waited for it to finish.

"You're going to die today," Bryce said out of the blue. I suddenly stopped waiting for the coffee machine to do its thing. The room fell silent except for the sound of water boiling and coffee being brewed.

I turned around slowly. He was still faced towards my direction with his impassive eyes and chilling aura. He looked away in the instant I made eye contact. I unplugged the coffee machine and sat in front of him.

"H-How?" I asked and looked at him with total shock and curiosity. Obviously, I didn't want to know the answer; it was as if a patient asked his the doctor if he has cancer. It just occurred to me that it's the only question that I could ask right then.

Bryce finally found the courage to face me, “Two men in tuxedos with guns and sunglasses," he answered. He'd clearly lost his appetite for his cereal, he barely had any appetite to start with at all. He had a few sips out of it and that was it.

"Please don't go to school today; you're the only person I have left," Bryce continued. He looked at me with pleading eyes that was full of sorrow and empathy. He was terrified but I was more terrified that he was. My leg unintentionally wobbled, I tried hard to stop it but it was no use. 

It was true that I’m the only family Bryce had. Our mom left us when our father died. He passed away in a car accident while driving home from work. We received the news on a sunny Monday afternoon. I remembered my mom as she cried just like those on drama movies, where your favorite character died and the whole city would mourn for him. We hugged her and gave her comfort while she was holding a picture of our dad, the one where he was smiling. Bryce was only ten and I was thirteen when we felt the pain of losing someone special.

She then left me in charge later that night. Our mom thought I'm ready to be independent sooner rather than later. She left us money in our safe, approximately five million dollars and she never did explain where she got that much money. I never dared to ask though. I think it was illegal money, but my mom was a nice person, so I hoped it's not. I was smart enough to stretch it for four years. Inside the safe was a note that said, 'Open when you're eighteen,' which will be next week. Hearing Bryce say that I will die today makes me think of it.

"Hey there, it's not going to happen. Not everything that you've seen has been entirely correct. Remember when you predicted I'd get a B on my Biology exam?" I said to him. I stood up and tried to remember the story.

"Yeah," he murmured.

"Well, I didn't review for it, hoping that was true. Remember what I got?" I asked while I looked at him directly in the face.

"D..." he wiped a tear from his eye, he looked away because he didn’t want me to see that he was crying.

"Correct. You predicted it, and I let my guard down, forgetting what I must do to make it a reality," I said. I tried to feel courageous despite of the thoughts that were running through my head, wondering if I was going to die or not.