1 Chapter 1— Life before the thunder
~Fun Fact: Did you know that it is very unclear how much time goes by between certain events between the 31 October and 1 November. In the novels, it is said that a whole day passes between when James and Lily died and when Hagrid arrives at Privet Drive, Hagrid and Harry are missing, or unaccounted for, for nearly 24 hours.
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It was 8pm in the evening. A storm raged outside as a young man with curly black hair, blue eyes and chocolate brown skin sat at the till in a corner store mindlessly looking out of the window at the storm raging outside. That young man was unfortunately me.
"Make sure to hand me the cash out of the till once your shift is over Omar!" My boss hollered from the staff room.
"Alright!" I shouted back.
'Damn shitty old man, forcing me to work overtime and not even properly paying me!'
I sighed in annoyance as I drew my gaze from the window and towards my boss; Armand. Armand was a frighteningly overweight old man with receding slicked back hair and seemed to be in his mid 50s. Although he was kind to me when it mattered; he was also an absolute slave driver. He took every opportunity possible to make sure that he got the bang for his buck in terms of my work and considering I wasn't actually 18 yet, I couldn't be paid the minimum wage of an adult. Well I could, but Armand wasn't legally obliged to do so and therefore didn't.
Life wasn't always like this for me. Ask any of my teachers and you'd find that I was a pretty gifted psychology student— if I do say so myself. However, that all changed after the death of my mother. It didn't help that my father wasn't present in my life meaning I had to become the sole provider for myself and my three siblings.
Shaking my head in a futile attempt to rid myself of these negative thoughts, I returned to looking out of the shop window at the tumultuous weather outside. I focused on the sound of the heavy rain as I felt a pang of sadness in my chest. The memories of mum were bittersweet; not as painful as they once were but something that I would always both love and hate.
(Flashback)
The school bell rang signalling the end of the school day. The sky was a shade of unremarkable grey, yet that could do nothing to hamper Omar's happiness. A younger Omar, looking to be around five, ran towards a woman with a black coat who was waiting outside the school gate amongst a crowd of other parents and their children. She had shoulder length black hair that was pulled back back into a ponytail; dark blue eyes, brown skin and a heart-shaped face that expressed nothing but overwhelming love for her son.
"Mama, mama!" Bawled a younger Omar with tears threatening to stream down his face.
"Yes, little one?" His mother replied, patting his head affectionately.
"Wh- why does everyone have a daddy except for me?!" He hiccupped while his mother looked at him sadly.
"Your daddy isn't around anymore" She stated quietly, melancholy visible on her face. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't love you. In fact your daddy will always be watching over you." she said
"Mama, where is daddy?" Younger Omar questioned.
"He's at a special place that people go once they finish their journey in life. Once you finish your own, you can go and see daddy okay?" She said as she stuck out her hand for Omar to hold on.
"Okay!" He replied happily as he grabbed onto her hand as they began to walk home.
Life only got better after that. The ensuing years were spent in happiness and bliss with the arrival of my 3 younger siblings. Time went on as I was admitted into a good high school; graduated and then went to college to study psychology. But it all went wrong when mum was diagnosed with late stage liver cancer. The doctors said that they may have been able to save her if she was diagnosed sooner; however it was too late. The cancer had already spread to other places and was no longer isolated in her liver. A few months later, she died in her bed after refusing to be admitted to hospital knowing full well that we couldn't afford it.
Soon after her death, I had to drop out of college both due to mental strain and the responsibility to provide for my growing siblings. My maternal grandparents were in Africa and had no means of coming to England so the only viable option for me was to drop out and find paying work instead.
The shop doorbell rang as a sleep deprived office worker stepped through the door, disturbing me from my musing.
"Welcome to Armand's mini-mart sir! What can I get you?" I asked in a faux happy voice. Moments later, a spiritless black haired man with droopy eyes dragged his feet to the counter.
"Just this six pack of beer please…" He mumbled tiredly, suppressing a yawn.
"Of course sir." I replied, scanning the pack of beer.
'Fucking hell, this dude looks like he hasn't had a good nights sleep in days. Though it's not like I'm any better right now…'
"That'll be £6.50 sir." I stated as the black haired man fished around his wallet for a £10 note. Opening the till, I took the note from the man and handed him his change.
"Have a nice evening sir!" I called out with a fake smile as the black haired man trudged out the door, grunting noncommittally..
"Hey Boss!" I said, turning to face the room behind me.
"What? You damned brat!" Yelled Armand jokingly.
"I'm calling it a day" I replied as he carried the till into the office.
"Alright, get the hell out of here and take that bottle of Pepsi for your siblings" He said from the sofa, waving his hand at a two litre bottle contained inside the mini-fridge adjacent to the television.
"Ha! As if that'd make up for the hours of overtime I've worked!" I retorted..
"What, so you're saying that you don't want the Pepsi?" Asked Armand, a greedy glint in his eyes.
"Oh hell no! Of course I want the Pepsi! It's free ain't it?" I spluttered as I picked up the bottle and ran straight out the shop door.
"Make sure you're here bright and early tomorrow!" I heard Armand yell as the shop door closed behind me, the bell overhead ringing.
I looked down at my phone; my eyes widening in shock.
"Ah Shit! I'm late for the family dinner" I exclaimed, sprinting down the pavement.
Thunder cracked overhead as I weaved and dodged in between the multitude of office workers coming back from work.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light as the smell of ozone filled the air.
My body jolted with shock as I crumpled to the floor dazed, my arms tingling.
'Lord above! Of all the ways to go out, struck by lightning. And I have a sinking suspicion that I won't be waking up with super speed after this'. I thought.
Despair gripped my heart as I came to the realisation that I wouldn't make it back to my siblings. Everything in my life, be it joy or sorrow, was gone; reduced to ashes. Reflecting on my life and the situation that I was currently in; my despair subsided and was replaced with a calm acceptance after I realised that there was truly nothing that I could do.
'Fuck man, at least there's a sizeable amount of money for them to use after I die and it's a good thing I wrote a will to tell everybody what to do in case of my death; can't be too cautious. Grandma and Grandpa should be able to take care of them with the money left if they can make it here...' Were my last thoughts before I drifted off into the cold embrace of death.
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