5. The Sunset

"JOHN! You scared me.", I screamed at my brother. "I am sorry, but I intended to!", my brother said while laughing with hands over his tummy. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!", I screamed at him angrily. Then we both sat there together and enjoyed the serenity in the lap of the nature. The sky was a beautiful shade of red, young birds chirping on the way back to their nests. Sun was carelessly drowning behind the mountains. The view made me feel nostalgic.

"Boys! Come inside, it's getting dark now.", my mom yelled at us from the window. We obediently got up and went inside the house. We were never allowed to go outside after sunset in California. We often heard about people disappearing in the forests. The forests were full of wild animals but the legends of the forests were also quite famous. I trembled thinking about it.

The aroma was delightful inside the house. Dad and uncle sat laughing near the fire place in the living room. The smell of burning wood burnt my sorrows away. Mom and Auntie were cooking something delicious in the kitchen. I looked outside the window. It had turned dark outside now. The house was away from the main countryside, on the edge of the forest so the only thing I could see clearly were the trees near the house. I started feeling a little uncomfortable looking out of the window so I shifted my gaze back to the fireplace. Uncle looked at me for a moment and curled his lips in a strange way as if forcing to smile.

We all had our dinner and went to our rooms to sleep. Me and John took out the blankets from the cupboard. I tucked myself up in the blanket and closed my eyes, unaware of the surprise awaiting for me on the next day.