Sunday
There’s a shift in the world. People go along their day unaware that it has. A father of a family of four sleeps in for the day. A divorcee goes through the drive-thru of her favorite coffee shop. A young boy nervously waits for his crush to text back. A group of friends wake up hungover from the previous night. A couple break up after being together for ten years. Today is just like any other day.
Only a few have noticed this shift. They’re only aware that it has but don’t know how or why. One such woman recalls that this isn’t the first time it’s happened. She’s still unsure if it was a good or a bad thing. She wonders if she has a role in it this time. But she’s thousands of miles away and can only hope for the best.
The woman finishes putting on the last bit of mascara so she can begin her day. She stares at herself in the mirror for a moment. Although she’s finally able to live a normal life, she knows she’s still not free. If she was, she wouldn’t have needed to dye her hair or wear colored contacts. Still, this is as close as she’ll ever get. The woman smiles then puts on her favorite green parka. She’s still getting used to the idea of having winters in July.
But at least she’s happy.
-
Adanismee Young runs to her adopted mother, who is tending over her birth mother’s garden. “What do you think happened?” She asks.
Her mother forcefully rips some weeds out. “You don’t have to worry about it right now.”
“We should go to her.”
“No.”
“Why? She’s ready.”
The mother stands then scratches the top of Adanismee's head. “Let’s give it a bit more time.”
“How is she doing?”
“She’s asleep right now.”
-
Virginia goes through photo albums taken over the years. She sobs as she realizes just how few she has of Grace. Virginia has forgotten that everything good in her life eventually gets ripped away, and now Grace has. She feels that she can’t ever escape this torment. She was born cursed.
She read that a girl’s tragedy is that they become just like their mothers.
Virginia weeps. She just wants her little girl back.
Sara Mera is at her mother’s grave. She stopped by during her search for Grace. She feels dumb for not noticing Grace’s obvious cries for help. She has no clue what she could have been going through for her to run away. It was all too sudden. Grace’s problems didn’t appear overnight the more Sara thinks about it. It’s been festering the entire time. Grace has grown so much and Sara wonders whatever happened to the dorky kid she loved.
Despite not needing too, Emily is out searching for Grace too. The only place she wants to be is locked inside her old room, but this is more important. Emily never thought her life would end up like this when she first approached Grace in the cafeteria of their school. She regrets cutting her out of her life for three years. She never imagined how important Grace was to her. Emily can’t find it to be mad at her anymore.
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Andrew and Cody are exploring the forest together in their search for Grace. The two used to be good friends until they weren’t. Cody never thought he could be peaceful if he was ever alone with Andrew. Andrew thinks how all of their issues with each other don’t matter at this moment. Both of them have the same goal now. Both of them want to keep the light that keeps them afloat from fading.
And Chris becomes conscious for only a second. The thread of fate in which he saw has nearly arrived. Despite all the forces trying to prevent it, it’s still bound to happen. History is not meant to be repeated. Chris falls asleep again.
_
Before you lies an endless stretch of road. The pavement is cracked. It is being scorched by the sun. Or perhaps it is covered in fog and you can’t see where you’re going. It might be covered in snow or flooded by the rains. There might not even be a road. Or it could be so bright, and clear that it becomes blinding.
But It always feels empty.
What do you do when you come across an answer when you never had the question?
Grieving is the retrieval of the soul. It is the dive into the darkness to recover the you that was lost. It is the most painful thing a person can ever do. We don’t like to feel this way so we suppress it. And this pain comes in many different forms. We disassociate and disconnect ourselves with our emotions. We stagnate. It poisons the mind. It poisons the body. It poisons the soul. It becomes frozen in time and nobody notices. And the only way out is to grieve. The only way out is to feel all of it. Otherwise, you cannot let go. The past will continue to be recreated as if it’s present. It will stay with you forever. You will never heal.
You will imprison yourself.
To grieve is to mourn. To grieve is to heal. You’ll remember your soul and regain connection to life, your body, your laughter, and your love. You’ll be connected to everything that is. Accept that you will suffer. It is never too late.
Take as much time as you need.
-
-
Felix gets out of the car first and adjusts his clothes. Omar gets out of the car and looks around their surroundings, making sure no one is near. He follows Felix to the entrance of the warehouse building.
“I thought you came back to rebuild,” He asks.
Felix unlocks the warehouse and heads inside. “That? Nah, I have greater goals.”
The two men walk through the empty warehouse, towards a tiny office in the far back.
“D’you give up searching for Marina?”
“I’ll find her. That day will come.”
“So what are we doing here?”
Felix takes out a special tool when he enters the office. On the wall, there’s a small slit where only this tool can hook into. It allows part of the wall to open and slide out, revealing a sage.
“Do you believe in destiny, Omar?”
“Not particularly.”
“I do. What life would I live if I don’t pursue said fate? It’s already mine,” Felix says then unlocks the safe. “And now it's ready.”
Omar chuckles, “What are you talking about?”
There’s a single item inside the safe. Felix grabs it and examines it on his palm. The dark blue liquid inside is just as beautiful as he remembered it.
“I was impatient and reckless. My mistake was thinking I had to chase it when it could just fall on my lap. Why do you think I had you stay in the state?”
“I don’t know now if you’re saying all this shit,” Omar shrugs.
“Who did I ask you to keep an eye on?”
“Grace? What about that little white girl? Ain't that the last vial? Why give it to her?”
Felix shakes the glass vial and smirks. “Grace is my greatest work. She can lead me to Marina. She will lead me to everyone who’s hiding from me. Grace is my paradise.”
The two men start to leave the building.
“Yo, I get Grace is cool and all but how do you know she’s like that white hair bitch?”
Omar raises a great question. Felix hasn’t been around Grace long enough to make the connection. He couldn’t make one to begin with and yet he still knows how special Grace is. Felix specifically knows why.
“Majesty such as hers is not a coincidence.”
Omar laughs, “Whatever you say, man.”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”