Red everywhere

Upon reaching her home Noah lifted her hand to open the door, her heart raced with worry as she heard the sound of glass shattering from inside her home. Fearing for her sister's safety, she hastily pushed open the door and rushed inside.

"Tell me, where is the money?" her drunken father's voice echoed through the house, filled with anger and aggression. Noah's eyes widened in alarm as she saw him standing over her trembling little sister, Mia, with a broken bottle in his hand.

Her young sister, Mia shrunken herself at the corner of the wall, covering her ears with her little hand, and closed her eyes tightly.

"Father! Stop" Noah shouted at the top of her lungs, rage filled her mind seeing her sister visibly shaking from fear.

"Oh! here you are, give the money" 

He staggered towards her, reeking of alcohol, and forcefully snatched her bag, seizing the money she had earned through a day of hard work. Noah didn't resist or try to reclaim the bag; she knew it would only end up with bruises in her body. This was a familiar scenario – her father's drunken outbursts had become routine.

"Shh…Mia, its alright I am here"

 Hearing her sister's voice Mia opened her eyes.

"Noah…." the tears that she didn't shed until now rushed out and she sobbed loudly hugging her sister.

Noah's heart broke hearing her sister's tears. She hugged her tightly in her arms and patted her head gently.

"It's ok.. It's ok I am here. It will be alright" she didn't know whether she consoles her sister or herself, because she is aware that their life didn't get better anytime soon.

She carried her sister to their bedroom and placed her in bed. She knelt down and wiped her tears, "Did.. did he beat you?"

Seeing her shake her head Noah took a deep breath which she didn't know she held it all the time.

"Promise me you will tell me if he ever touches you. Ok?" 

Mia nodded her head in understanding, "Noah did you eat?"

Noah felt warmth spread inside her heart, the days' exhaustion suddenly disappeared. She smiled gently at her and pressed her stray hair gently.

"Hmm. Did you eat?, I put the dinner in fridge before I left"

Mia looked at her sister deeply, suddenly she jumped from the bed and ran towards her desk to take the plate that contained half the portion of food that she saved for her sister.

She pushed the plate to her sister, "I know you still didn't eat, didn't we promise to take care of each other. Eat now"

Tears flowed from Noah's eyes as she kissed her sister's cheek, they both hugged each other to find solace in each other's arms.

Siren, who had been occupied all week with Aiden and her work at the mechanic shed, was now taking a moment to rest at home. She calmly sipped her juice, her gaze drifting absentmindedly over the plants visible through the glass wall.

Her garden was filled with flowers of different colors ranging from pink to yellow which was planted by none other than Alex, saying that just like these colorful flowers her life will also be colorful.

Setting down her empty juice glass, Siren rose from the sofa and made her way outside to the garden. She gravitated towards a corner where white daisies adorned the pathway in neat rows. Squatting beside one of the smallest plants at the end, she observed the delicate lines etched into the petals.

While everything about the flower was undeniably beautiful, Siren couldn't help but feel that it lacked something essential, something she couldn't quite put into words.

Siren brought the empty glass above the flower and crushed it with her bare hands. As the glass shattered, blood began to drip from the cuts on her palms, landing on the delicate petals of the flower and painting them a vivid red.

A small smile graced her lips as she observed the transformed flower.

 "Beautiful," she murmured, a sense of satisfaction washing over her despite the pain in her hands.