Late 1989
"Come on, babygirl." Magnolia heard her uncle, Woody, say softly. She felt him wipe away her tears, as she looked at the two caskets before her.
Woody knew that she needed to have her private moment, but it was time to lower them down. He told the rest of their family that they would meet them at his parents' house.
Her doctor didn't want her to leave the hospital so soon after the events, but she couldn't miss saying goodbye to her parents.
Woody remained by her side, even though he had broken down a few times.
Five days prior, Woody was called by his hysterical father, telling him what happened - his sister and his brother-in-law were dead from a gas leak fire.
He booked the first flight that he could.
Magnolia pressed her head into her uncle's chest and allowed her sobs to flow out.
She had been walking from her overnight babysitting job when she smelt burning wood. Something told her to run home. It didn't register that it was too late, as she ran into her and her parent's house.
The fire was so hot and impossible to look into, she wasn't even able to make it 3 feet into the house.
The burning coat rack managed to fall on top of her jacket, burning down to her flesh, acting almost as a warning for her to leave.
Magnolia wanted to believe that it was her parents trying to get her out of her shocked state.
Between the large burn on her arm, the burning sight of her home, and losing her parents, Magnolia would never forget that day.
The autopsy showed that her parents died of carbon monoxide poisoning, as they slept, and did not suffer.
In all honesty, she felt like that bit of news was the only thing that saved the last bit of her sanity.
_____________
Four months later.
Magnolia bit back her sobs, as she jolted upwards from her nightmare. She tried to slow her breathing, not wanting to wake Woody up. She heard him come in super late last night, because he was working on the set of an unnamed movie.
They were close in age, only having a 9 years age difference. He was more like an older brother than anything.
Woody moved to California 2 years prior, having a dream of becoming a director.
Magnolia had moved from Tennessee to California to live with him, after settling everything with her parents' wills.
Her grandparents thought that it would be a good idea for her to experience a different world.
Magnolia knew that they were worried about her staying in her hometown without her parents. With her being the only child, they felt she should try a new place. They made it known that their home would always be open to her, if she decide California wasn't for her.
And she agreed with them. She felt experiencing a different scenery may do her some good.
Lucky for her, she had graduated high school 2 years prior to the incident and didn't have to worry about school for a while.
_
Magnolia laid there until her alarm went off at 7:25am. She slowly got up and made her way to the bathroom. This would be her second week
working at a record store a few blocks down the street.
Woody expressed multiple times that she didn't have to worry about working so soon, but she needed something to keep her busy.
After getting ready for the day, Magnolia grabbed her lunch, that she made the previous night, before locking up.
She walked the 4 blocks, with her mace out. It wasn't really a sketchy area but you never know.
Magnolia reached the music store, around 8:53am, and she noticed that her boss was setting up the cashier's till. Noticing her, he gave her a smile.
He was a handsome man, at 24 years old, and had his head on straight.
The music store was a small hole in the wall but was making a lot of profit for the young man. Magnolia was in awe of it all.
Once she reached him, Tony, walked over to her and handed her paycheck to her. She reached for it and he moved his hand backwards. She raised her eyebrow at this action.
"Cool it, young love." Tony laughed at her expression. "I've been seeing you eye that camera for the past week. Maybe you should buy it." He suggested.
Magnolia thought about it, and she shrugged.
She planned on finding another part-time job to save money so she could get a car and an apartment, but it wouldn't hurt to buy her something nice for once.
Although she had received a payout on her parents' life insurance and the money that they saved up, she didn't want to touch it.
"Just go across the street, to the deli, and have it cashed out. I'll save the camera for you." Tony said with a smile.
"I'll think about it." Magnolia said, putting the paycheck in her purse.
_
Five hours later, around 1:30pm, she did just that. After eating her lunch, she returned to the music store where her other coworker, Gina, rung up the camera for her.
Her job wasn't hard at all, and she really loved how laid back it was.
Sure, they had some "musicians" come in with their latest demos, but it was harmless. Very entertaining, but harmless.
6:30pm arrived and it was the closing hour. Tony offered her a ride but she declined. She was used to walking everywhere back at home, and Woody's house wasn't too far away.
Magnolia took of her shoes at the door, before walking into the house. She started dinner and let it finish cooking, while she took a quick shower.
After getting herself situated, Magnolia turned on the TV to the news and proceeded to eat her dinner.
Feeling a little tired, she decided to head to sleep. She put the rest of the food up for tomorrow's leftovers and for Woody to have something to eat whenever he came home.
Climbing into her bed, she sighed dreading closing her eyes. She hoped that the nightmares would grant her a few hours of peace.
_
Woody.
Tony.