Cryptic Bonds

It was one beautiful yet gloomy morning. The streets were enveloped in a soft, ethereal mist, muffling the sounds of the waking city. Not a single soul was in sight, and an unusual quietness hung in the air, creating an atmosphere of eerie serenity. It was not like a regular morning; it was too quiet.

RING RING RING

A hand pressed the phone to stop the alarm, and a young girl woke up with a frown on her face. As she put her feet on the floor, coldness from the floor suddenly rushed into her feet, but she was rigid as her mind wandered into the unknown; not minding the situation. She stretched her hands and bent her body sideways, a form of exercise she did every morning. She then turned her head towards the window, outside the foggy glass; she saw white eerie fog surrounding the huge buildings near her apartment. There was a beautiful lake nearby, which was a sign of peace and tranquility. But it was now shadowed by a white blanket of fog. She didn't like it. The air was cold. It was as if nature were trying to show something. She held her freezing hands together, as she rubbed her hands together for some warmth, she thought of all the days and nights she worked hard to pass the exams; it was the most tiring days of her life, and then she sighed,

"What a bad start to the day. There is so much fog outside. UHH, I have to get up. I have a test today.". Tests were always a bad omen for her, they ruined her peaceful days.

As she got up with a grunt, she looked at a young boy sleeping in the bed next to the window. He was sleeping soundly, unaware of the despairs of the world. His mind was at peace. As she strode towards the door, she looked at her brother again and smiled to herself.

She found her younger brother's sleeping position amusing. It was a funny scene to look at. His eyes were half open, the blanket covering only one leg, and his hands were facing north and south. It was truly a sight to behold.

After observing her brother's carefree sleep, she thought, "He is so carefree. I am so jealous of him."

She then muttered to herself as she left the room, "Look at this kid, he is still sleeping. Doesn't he have school today?"

Being an older sister put pressure on her. As she grew older, her younger brother was always in her care. But the girl always had a special place for her brother in her heart. While her brother could be one of the most annoying humans in the world, paradoxically, he was also the most caring person she had ever met.

As the girl moved toward the living room, a lingering unease gripped her. The weather was matching her emotions, and she felt a striking pain in her heart. The rooms she passed by were dark and scary, she jerked her head away from the rooms and focused on going towards the light. She sighed, glancing at the clock on the wall—a ticking reminder of time slipping away faster than she could comprehend.

She finally reached the living room and saw her mother sitting on the sofa, looking at her mobile. When she saw her mother all the worries in her life disappeared, she felt a sense of comfort and the pain in her heart vanished.

Her mother was wearing reading glasses and was immersed in something on her phone. She was not aware of her surroundings because she didn't notice that the girl had arrived in the room. "Mom, good morning. What are you looking at?" the girl asked with curiosity brimming on her face. "Oh, nothing dear! I was just seeing the news," her mother replied with a smile on her face, but it seemed forced. A suspicion lingered in the air. The girl wanted to grab the remote and check the news herself, but it was not the time. Fear and anxiety about exams began surfacing, causing her to shiver at the thought.

Brushing aside these curiosities, Arin, the girl, proceeded to the bathroom, determined to prepare for the looming exam. The clock taunted her; 7 in the morning had arrived faster than she anticipated.