Chapter five-Haru

My fingers drummed against Helena's desk. I had been searching...again. To see if she was really gone. To find out why... Yet I found nothing. My fingers brushed the sticky dust from her mirror.

Her name was graved in it. " Helena go on and open it". I smirked at the small five-year-old child with smudged birthday cake icing on her cheeks. She tore the silver paper from the present and giggled.

It was a mirror with her name engraved at the very top. Before I knew what was happing to warm tinny arms wrapped around my waist. " Now I can look pretty!" She squealed happily. I patted her head. " You always have".

I tear dropped from my face. I gazed back at myself. Dark, tired, sad, red eyes stared back. I found myself wondering where the little girl went. When she was little we always played pranks on the older boys.

Before I knew it though... She slowly slipped away from me. "You're my favorite bubby Haru". Her voice echoed in my head. I felt my heavy chest curl up as I laid my head to cry.

I tried to stop. I told myself I should be strong, but the weight of the world felt as though it hanged on me. The ache of my heart vibrated through my chest in agony.

Out of the corner of my water-filled eyes, I saw a folded piece of notebook paper. I unwrinkled it smoothing out the edges. It was a drawing... And a decent one at that. There were two faces. Both women staring back at me. Their eyes bore into mine.

I didn't know Helena could draw... I looked into the place I had found it and seen that I had uncovered a whole collection of her drawings. Was this what she did wail we were gone? Suddenly I felt guilt flow through me for leaving her here all alone. In most of the pictures, It seemed to resemble our family. yet there seemed to be an extra girl.

Had Helena really wanted a mother this bad? Should I and the boys have kept the truth from her at all? My head started to swell and ache. It doesn't matter now...

I took the drawings into the kitchen and pressed them to the fridge. Standing back I admired my sister's talent. I even felt a part of her with me.