Shattered Skies

Rosie's POV

It was a lovely Thursday morning in Willow Creek, clear blue sky, the birds chirping and green grass swaying gently in the breeze. It was always this calm here, with the adults going about their day to day business and the children playing like they had not a care in the world. Who would have thought a day like this would break the Johnsons forever?

"Rosie I'm bored" my fun-loving sister, Sarah, said, drawing out the 'bored' so I'd know how serious she was. She never liked being cooped up in the house all day.

Ever since the holidays started, we had always gone over to our neighbour's, where we'd play with their kids until we got sweaty and tired. Now they had gone to Florida to spend the rest of the holidays with their cousins, and I and Sarah were left to find new ways to entertain ourselves.

"How about we ride our bikes?" I chirped, trying to raise her spirits

"Yesssssssss" she shouted, getting all excited at the thought

"Okay then. Let's go tell mum before we head out."

We tell our mum, and she said that was a good idea. "But only for 3 hours girls, and don't go too far out"

"Yes mum" We replied at the same time, happy to finally get to leave the house.

"Don't forget your helmets too" my mum said, and as an afterthought "take care of your sister Sarah"

"Okay mum, I promise to keep her safe" Sarah said with mock seriousness, but I knew she'd take care of me anyway

"Well then, have fun girls."

We headed out, and soon we were at the center of the town where all the main attractions were. There was a diner that sold the best food you could get in over 2,000 miles, but it was popular among kids for their ice cream which tasted heavenly. We got off our bikes and got ice cream as a form of break time treat. 

Next, we headed to the park which was not too far from the diner. We go around it a couple of times, until Sarah decided to spice things up a bit.

"Hey Rosie" She said, grinning widely and her eyes twinkling mischievously the way it always did whenever she got an idea. Nobody could ever talk my older sister out of anything once she got that look.

"How about we race around the park for a bit?"

I almost already knew where this was headed

"But Sarah, you're much better than me at this. You know I'll lose" I retorted

"Nuh-uh Rosie, you won't. Besides, I think you've actually gotten much better than the last time we rode"

"Really?" I asked, sounding hopeful. Maybe I might actually have a chance at beating her this time

"Yep, I'm sure of it." She continued "Tell you what, if you win, I get to do whatever you say for a week"

"A whole week?!" She had me hooked already. "Oh, you're on"

We agree to a start and finish point and then we begin the race. I was already very tired from riding all morning, but I pumped my pedals as hard and as fast as my little legs could go with Sarah's promise as my sole motivation. 

Somehow my sister was still way ahead of me, but I managed to close the distance between us in a matter of seconds, and I thought for a second that it was actually possible for me to beat Sarah, until she suddenly sped up. The sly girl was going slow on purpose so I'd feel like I had a chance of beating her.

In the end, she won.

Although I had lost the bet, and I'd to do my chores myself, spending with my sister actually made me feel good. She was the closest person to me after my parents. My sister was just 12, which made her 2 years older than me, but she always acted like an adult with me, the fun type. I was gangly and socially awkward at school and always got picked on by a bunch of older kids, she always stood up for me and even got into a fight with a girl once because she hit me. I couldn't imagine life without my sister.

"C'mon Rosie, it's time to go" Sarah called out

I brightened up and cleaned my sweaty palms on my shorts "That was fun Sarah. Let's do it again tomorrow"

She smiled at me "Sure!"

"Yayyyyyyyyy" I jumped in excitement 

We rode home slower than usual, mostly because it was hot already and we were sweaty and sticky. We talked about random stuff on our way home, like getting each other's hair done, and Sarah's crush, and we laughed at how she turned a bright shade of red at that. 

Sarah took off her helmet at some point and I stopped to admire her hair. It was chestnut brown, thick and fell down past her shoulders. She really loved it and always made jokes about how that was her best feature and how she'd never cut it even if that might save her. I loved it just as much as she did and spent time wishing I had that instead of my boring hair.

"We're home mum"

"That was fast. Wasn't expecting you girls back until the next 40 minutes" 

"Ah well, Rosie got hungry and tired." That was true, but still.

"Well, you're just in time for lunch"

We went in to take a bath, and by the time we came back down, mum had served our lunch. It tasted really nice, and in a few minutes, we were done, and I even went back for seconds.

We still had adrenaline from our ride in our veins, so we couldn't sit still for too long. We helped in cleaning up with mum, and after that, we decided to play a quick game of hide-and-seek.

"Wanna hide first, Rosie?" Sarah asked

"Hmm, okay" I responded

"Okay then. Go hide" Sarah covered her eyes and started the countdown "1,2,3,4…"

I scrambled into a hedge I knew she wouldn't think to check and sat as still as I could. Sarah was really good at playing this, and she always managed to find me almost immediately whenever we play. 

"…8,9,10, ready or not, here I come" I heard her voice ring out

My body shook in excitement and I saw her go the other way to look for me. She's never going to find me easily this time, I thought. In all my excitement, I forgot about staying still and the bush I was hiding behind started rustling more than usual. That drew her attention and she burst out laughing

"Good job, Rosie. Except for all the noise you made, I never would have thought to check there"

Her compliment made me feel smart and I beamed 

"It's your turn, Sarah"

"I won't give myself away like you did" She said with a grin

I turned around, covered my eyes and started counting, while she went to find a place to hide. Once the count was up, I went looking for her. She always hid in the hardest places, and it took me almost 10 minutes to find her. We laughed over it and decided to continue playing

We got so carried away that we didn't notice the sky darken with clouds. It started getting windy, and people started going in for cover

"Sarah, Rosie, its time to come in" Mum called

"Okay mum, I just have to find Sarah first" I shouted as loud as I can

I checked every possible place I could, but I still didn't find my sister. Behind the house, under the car, everywhere. I was starting to get worried, until it hit me that Sarah could have been hiding inside the house and I laughed out loud

"She really is good" I thought to myself

I turned around and headed back inside, and noticed how unbelievably dark it had gotten at this point, and it was even starting to rain. I started to run and tripped but caught myself. I managed to find a path with less vines, and I followed that until I got home

"ROSELINE, COME INSIDE RIGHT NOW" My dad yelled just as I got to the door

"I'm sorry mum. I thought Sarah was still outside" I said apologetically

"She should be inside changing out of her wet clothes. You should go do that too" My mum said a bit calmly

I went in to do that. At this point, the rain was crazy and the wind was howling with lightning flashing, and it was so dark that I needed a flashlight to see, even though it was just a bit after 4 pm. Couldn't even be called rain at that point, it was a thunderstorm. Willow Creek was known for having a lot of those. You could call it our natural disaster.

For some reason I couldn't place my finger on, I felt really uncomfortable and I tried to shake the feeling off. It was only a matter of time before I realized why.

I changed out of my clothes into something warmer and more comfortable, and then I went back to sit with my parents in the living room. My mum offered to make hot chocolate for us, and we were grateful for that.

"The hot chocolate's ready. Rosie, go call Sarah" My mum said.

I blinked once.

I blinked twice.

I haven't seen her since I came in.

She can't still be hiding, can she?

I went to check her room, but I didn't find her there. I checked every part of the house, but she wasn't anywhere. I was shaking at this point

"Mum, I can't find Sarah"

"What do you mean you can't find Sarah?" My mum asked, looking fearful

No. No. No.

"Sarahhhhhhh"

We all started calling out, hoping she'd answer one of us. Maybe she was sleeping. Maybe a door got jammed and she couldn't hear us over the sound of the rain. I refused to think of the worst. She has to be inside, right?

"Sarah"

Lightning flashed

"SARAH"

Thunder boomed

"SARAH! WHERE ARE YOU?"

The rain beat down heavily

I started to cry "What if she's still out there? We were playing outside when the rain started mum"

"That's impossible. She would have turned right around and come back inside" My dad said, not believing a bit of what he said

"THEN WHERE COULD SHE BE" My mum screamed hysterically

"Dennis, you have to go check" I've never heard my mum refer to my dad by his name before

Trembling, and without another word, my dad picked up a flashlight and headed out

My mum kept crying, and I kept trying not to imagine the worst. I couldn't take sitting there anymore, so I dashed out after my dad. I heard my mum call out to me, but I wanted to see by myself. I heard her behind me a few seconds later. The rain had let up a bit, and visibility was better so we didn't need the flashlight so much.

"Sarah, baby girl, where are you?" My dad kept calling out as he went

We decided to split up to cover more ground, and we kept calling out as we went, but there was no response

Sarah, where are you hiding

And then, I saw Sarah.

Hair streaked with dirt, bloody lip, scratches all over

Torn clothes, missing shoe

Pale skin, Lifeless eyes

No. No. No. No. No. 

Lightning flashed, and I screamed

"SARAHHHHHHHH"

"Sarah please answer me"

I heard footsteps first, my mother's gasp next, and my father's choked cry last

Sarah was dead. Struck by lightning. Because of me.

Time stopped, and when it started again, mum was on the floor, her eyes rolling back in her head

"Mum, no, please" I cried over and over again "Not you too"

Lightning struck

Dad tried all he could while calling 911, but nothing worked. Mum went cold before the paramedics got there, and we both sat there crying.

Then lightning struck, and I was back to the present, my mascara running, my throat hoarse from crying and talking, and David was sitting across me, his eyes just as red, and he was trying hard not to cry.

"I'm so sorry Rosie. No 10-year-old should have to go through that" He said, and wiped my nose with a Kleenex, my eyes with another, and then he hugged me.

I remembered where I was, and then I tried to pull away when I realized I was crying on my boss's shoulder, but he held me closer and looked me straight in my still-teary eyes.

And then he kissed me.