Smearing apricot jam on her bread, Lorraine glances at Aubrey who is now quietly munching on her breakfast. She notices that the girl has been slightly off since yesterday. She came home three hours later than the usual time, drenched from the rain and looking distraught. Something must have happened at school, but as always, Aubrey chose not to talk and went straight to her bedroom.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Lorraine asks for the third time in the past thirty minutes. "We can always call Mrs. Cornard to reschedule your tests."

Aubrey looks up, her dark irises contrasting her pallid face. "I'm fine. No need to reschedule. It's just a cold, Lorraine. No biggie."

"You should've given me a call yesterday. I could have picked you up."

"My phone died. I didn't charge it long enough in the morning."

Lorraine takes a sip of her soy milk. "Pastor Marlon also waited for almost an hour. Then we decided to proceed with the house blessing without you."

"Why did we need a house blessing?" Aubrey takes another bite of her bread.

Lorraine clears her throat. "It had been a while since this house was blessed. I thought I would ask again to bring more positive energy into our home."

"I see."

If Aubrey notices her dishonest answer, she doesn't show it. But for now, Lorraine can't tell her the truth yet.

"I'll take you to school this morning. Sandra let Bob bring her car today so that he can take you home." Seeing Aubrey frowning, Lorraine quickly adds, "I understand you don't like it when people make extra effort to help you. But this is different, Aubrey. As much as we don't want to be a burden, our health is also our number one priority. Not taking care of ourselves means we are not thankful enough for what God has given us."

Still with a scowl on her face, Aubrey nods. "Okay."

The silence slowly creeps in, revealing the growing anxiousness that Lorraine's been trying to suppress the whole morning.

She can't hold it anymore.

"Aubrey, can I ask you about... your mother's jewelry box?"

"Sure. What about it?"

Lorraine takes a deep breath, feeling hesitant but it's too late to back out. "When you found it up in the attic, did it have something else inside it?"

"Something else like what?"

"A red fabric that covers the inner part of the box, and a golden metal frame with a mirror in it?"

Aubrey tilts her head before shaking her head. "Not that I know. Is there supposed to be a mirror?"

"Yeah," Lorraine mumbles, her head full with questions that have been bugging her since she saw the wooden box in Aubrey's room. Who took out the mirror? Who brought it back to the attic? And the biggest question is: how did it reappear in one piece after being smashed into pulps? Maybe Pastor Marlon is right. Maybe it's just an identical box that Claire happened to keep without telling her.

"But I'm sure there was no mirror."

"Okay. Maybe your mom took it out for some reason." Lorraine bites her lower lip, feeling guilty for giving Aubrey another nonsense. "And I have one more question if you don't mind."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Aubrey glances at the clock above the fridge. "Hit me."

"Two days ago, when I woke you up for Sunday sermon, I asked about how you found the box. You said you found it in the attic amongst your mother's stuff. But you also said something else." Lorraine pauses, her heart drumming faster against her chest. "You said they told you I would be happy to have the box back. Who are they?"

Aubrey knits her eyebrows. "Did I say that? I don't remember."

"You don't?" When the girl shakes her head, Lorraine waves her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Nevermind. I might have heard it wrong."

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Claire sat on her bed, shakingly clutching the blue stick in her hand. Her face was as white as the loose shirt she was wearing that day.

"I'm scared, Lori," she said, half whispering. Her lips quivered as she brushed her red hair backward.

"That's understandable, but you need to do it now, Claire. The sooner the better, then we can think of what to do next."

"I suppose you're right." Glancing at the pregnancy test in her hand, Claire stood up and trudged to the bathroom. She turned around when she reached the door. "You're not leaving yet, right?"

"I will be here as long as you need me. I promise." Lorraine smiled at her best friend, earning a nod from Claire before she disappeared behind the door.

Claire had been sick in the past few weeks, which Lorraine believed was just the stubborn stomach flu. She urged her to see a doctor, but when Claire finally confessed that she missed her three-month period, the idea of seeing a doctor wasn't that appealing anymore. At least not there, in their small town. On the next day, Lorraine drove to the city down the hill, where people didn't recognize her, to buy a pregnancy test for Claire.

Lorraine was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Claire's sharp squeak. She dashed out of the bedroom and found Claire squatting on the bathroom floor, both her hands hugging her knees as she sobbed. The blue stick was sitting next to her, showing two strong red lines on the result window.

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"I know what I'm going to do. It's a ticket to exit all of this mess," Claire said as she arranged the colorful plastic cups into a pyramid shape. For some reason, she looked more alive and full of spirit that day.

The Sunday mass was almost done and soon, the congregation would fill the church meeting room. Lorraine and Claire were assigned to handle the refreshment that week, and they left for the pantry before the closing prayer.

"What are you going to do?" Lorraine asked. The paper napkins almost flew out when she tore the plastic bag.

Instead of replying, a mischievous smile played on Claire's lips.

"Claire? Why do I feel like I'm not going to like this?"

"That sounds about right." Claire laughed.

"Please, tell me this isn't another prank plan for his wife. You know it's not going to solve anything."

"Oh no, I'm not going to touch his trophy wife. My problem is with her husband. He's denying me and," Claire glanced at the door before pointing her forefinger at her belly, lowering her tone, "and this unborn child. So, he'd better pay attention to what's coming his way."

"Pray tell! What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make a deal."

"A deal? What kind of deal? And with whom?"

"With a guy who hangs out in that house; it doesn't matter who he is." Claire swatted her hand. "Anyways, he said he will take care of this if I agree with their terms."

Lorraine gulped. "What do you mean by taking care of this?"

"To give him a lesson, of course. And no, they're not going to kill him. It's just a soft reminder."

"Claire..." Lorraine's voice faltered as she heard footsteps thumping from the hallway.

"Need extra hands, ladies?" The church organ player emerged from the door, flashing his toothy smile.

"Thomas! Just in time! We need a macho man to move that huge lemonade dispenser to this table, please!" Claire called in an over-excitement tone.

That was a cue for Lorraine to drop the topic, but the uneasiness never left her. She knew Claire couldn't think straight right now because she was hurting. The man she was falling for treated her like garbage after she told him she was pregnant with his child.

Lorraine had been pushing Claire to bring this situation to the church since Jack was also a part of the church congregation. Not only that, the very man was also her school teacher who happened to be Pastor Marlon's son-in-law. But Claire refused the idea. She was adamant that she was going to fix this by herself, without involving the church.

Weeks went by and Claire started to wear loose dresses to hide her bump. Lorraine never heard of the continuing of the plan. Until one day the church announced the news about the tragic accident that caused Jack to lose his legs.

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