Prologue- Singers dream

In the distance, I heard my mom and my sister arguing. My sister wanted to stay with my aunt because she could not bear supporting me in my dream of singing. We were preparing to leave to catch a flight to New York. I had the privilege of singing in one of the talent shows. This was a dream come true and I was definitely not going to let my sister ruin it for me.

"But mom what if I wanted to go all along and I was just joking about the fact that I didn't want to go and see her do good with this?" My sister chided.

"The decision is final Nicole. We can't change the arrangements now. You should have thought about this when you joked around and kept up the act." My mom looked pissed and my sister tried everything to waste time.

"Would you guys go already you are going to be late for your flight!" My aunt came walking out the front door with my uncle following close behind. "Nicole, get your bags inside. What is done is done. You're staying the week and it's final." She concluded the argument for my mom.

My dad was waiting in the car already and yelled out from the driver's side window, "Let's go! Let's go!"

We quickly said our goodbyes and made our way to the car. It was a pretty hot day and I was super thankful for the aircon in the car. The cool breeze that hit me when I got in was so refreshing. It felt like a heavy hot cloud was looming over me outside and the cool air just blew it away.

My dad drove off and all I could do was stare at the massive castle-like mansion my aunt stayed in. It looked like one of those creepy-looking castles from all those Dracula movies I've watched. Tall pointy towers stood on all four sides with gargoyles guarding each tower. There was ivy growing all over the walls and moss growing in between the ivy. The place used to have beautiful cream-colored walls but now had green and brown streaks running down every wall. But the mansion had been in our family for centuries and I guess it would probably be for centuries to come.

My mom put on the radio and my favourite song came on. I couldn't help it and started to sing along. I was so excited about this event. My mom joined in and my dad just looked at us every now and then with the biggest smile on his face.

Then all of a sudden it felt like the air was ripped out of my lungs. My whole body hurtled forward and hit the seat in front of me. Extreme pain rushed through my head. I heard my mom scream in pain and then everything went dark.

~~~

"Nadia you have to wake up." I heard a voice whisper. Everything was so bright. I could hardly keep my eyes open. It was white all around me and then I felt a jolt. The air rushed into my lungs and I felt my heart beating in my throat. Then my eyes focused and my surroundings looked unfamiliar. I didn't know where I was. I started becoming restless when a male face appeared in front of me.

"Thank goodness! She's alive!" He shouted. "Nadia is it?"

I nodded my head since it was the only thing I could do. My mouth was dry and my throat hurt so speaking was not an option.

"You are being transported to the nearest hospital. You have been in a head-on collision and barely made it. My name is Dave. I'm the paramedic that just brought you back to the living. Just keep still for now. We are almost at the hospital." His face held a smile of relief and he sat back against the side of the ambulance and breathed heavily.

Everything was given to me all at once and I couldn't process the information. I felt light-headed even though I was lying down and then everything went black again.

~~~

I regained my consciousness and saw bright lights flick over me. There were people talking all around me. Everyone was moving so fast. I noticed Dave looking down at me and then he said," Everything will be alright Nadia."

He stood back when they pushed me into a room with even more lights and transferred me to another more uncomfortable bed. The icy cold surface touched my back and I couldn't help but grunt. My throat hurt and then I realized it was because I had a tube in it.

Someone looking like a doctor stood over me and said," You're going to go back to sleep for another while." He just finished his sentence when I felt drowsy. And just like that, I fell asleep.

~~~

It was dark all around me. People lay dead on the ground in blood puddles. It smelled of rotting flesh. The stench was so bad that my eyes started watering and my body started convulsing.

The mist came creeping in and with it a black smoky figure with bright orange/ red eyes. "You did this. All of this is your fault. I gave you the option to give it all over to me." He spoke to me in a chillingly calm voice.

"Who are you? What did I have to give you?" I had a hard time keeping my fear concealed. Everything seemed to be pulled away when I heard someone call out to me.

"Nadia... Can you hear me? Nadia..."A soft feminine voice called to me. I slowly opened my eyes and looked in the direction the voice was coming from. A young nurse with a soft smile looked at me. "Good to see you are waking up. You had the doctors worried a few times under surgery." She turned and walked to the foot of my bed and started filling in papers.

"My name is Athena." She mentioned while still looking down at the paperwork.

"Can I please get some water?" I asked her with a hoarse voice that was barely audible. She heard it though and immediately obliged. She poured me a glass of water and let me drink from a straw. The cool fresh water felt like cool spring water after a long walk in the desert.

The doctor walked in and held a sympathetic smile." Good, you're awake. I'm doctor Julian." He fiddled with his hands before he continued. "The two passengers that were with you in the car, were they your parents?"

I then realized I forgot about my parents. "Y-Yes" Was all I could say.

"Miss I am so sorry, but they did not make it. When the paramedics arrived at the scene they were declared dead." I stared at the doctor in disbelieve. I couldn't breathe. It was like the air was ripped from my lungs all over again. Why now? Why was this happening? Everything was going so well. I needed answers, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know. The doctor looked at his shoes and then back at me. "You barely made it as well, but by some miracle, you're still here."

"Thank goodness," Athena said concerningly.

The doctor walked over to her and looked at the paperwork." We are going to keep you here for the week to make sure you are stable." He mentioned while still looking down. He looked up at me again and said," You will be able to have visitors in a few minutes. There are already people waiting outside." Then he walked off.

Athena walked over to me and moved the water jug and glass closer. "I am so sorry about your parents. If you need anything, just ring me." Then she also walked out of the room.

A few moments later My aunt Patricia and my uncle Brendan walked in. My aunt looked like a ghost. Her eyes were sunken yet also puffy from I guess crying. My uncle looked tired and couldn't bear to look at me.

As soon as my aunt looked at me and saw me in my condition she immediately started crying. I couldn't hold it in anymore and also started crying. She rushed over to me and hugged me so tight. Not a sore hug, just a very tight hug. We cried like that for who knows how long. We finally stopped when there were no more tears left to cry.

I heard the room door creak a little and looked to see who it was. My sister walked in and I could not believe that she was looking at me like I disgusted her. After everything that happened." Why are you still here and our parents not? Why did you have to go to that stupid talent show thing? If you didn't go mom and dad would still be here." I saw a tear roll down her cheek. She then spun around and walked out.

My aunt and I starred at each other in shock and again started to cry. My sister now blamed me for our parents' deaths. But I guess she was right. If we didn't go, everything would be so different now.

The week flew by and it felt like I was watching it in the third person. I was glad to get out of the hospital and it's an uncomfortable bed and just go home. But then it dawned on me that home would not be the same and neither would it be the ideal place to go to now. We decided to stay at my aunt and uncle's until I had the strength to go home. An empty home without my parents.