*Clara's pov*
I was settled in, finally.
The headphones were on, the controller felt right, and the beautiful, fictional chaos of Love and Deepspace filled my screen. I was hunting a rare item when the loud knock came.
"Come in," I shouted, not bothering to pause the game.
My mom walked in, and I knew what was coming. She gave me that look,the one that said I'm worried you'll become a hermit.
"Honey, you've been home from college for weeks. All you do is play games. Don't you want to step away from your computer?"
I rolled my eyes. "Mom, if this is about following you to Aunt Shysie's house, the answer is no. I'm not going." I said it firmly.
"I really don't get why you hate your aunt so much. And you know this family gathering is our tradition every single year," she replied.
"Mom, stop pretending you don't know why. I'm not going because she is literally a witch," I shot back, the anger bubbling up.
"Now, stop talking about your aunt that way," she scolded.
"I know she made bad choices, but she's changed, and your dad and I forgave her."
I never understood their forgiveness. How could they forgive someone who used dark magic against them just for money? That wasn't a mistake; it was an attack.
"She tried to steal Dad's stuff with black magic! Dad is her brother! If she can do that to her own family, what's she going to do next?" I challenged.
My mom's face went hard. "That's enough, Clara. That was four years ago. Your father and I have moved past it. You will show her respect, and you are going to the family gathering, whether you like it or not."
"Fine. I'll go," I said, annoyed. "But don't expect me to be nice."
As soon as she left, I grabbed the controller. I needed to dive back into Love and Deepspace before her nagging ruined the rest of my evening.
****************************************
The next day felt like a punishment. The drive to Aunt Shysie's house was incredibly long. It was hours away from our city, a totally pointless journey. When we finally arrived, Aunt Shysie was waiting outside.
"Oh, how I've missed you all! It's wonderful to see you after so long!" she said, hugging my mom and dad tightly.
"Why would anyone want to see you after what you did?" I mumbled, low enough for only myself to hear.
"My nieces and nephews! You've all grown so much!" She wrapped her arms around me, my older sister China, and my younger brother Caleb. I didn't hug her back.
Time moved slowly at the dinner table. I kept my head down, praying she wouldn't talk to me. Just when I thought I was safe, she called my name.
"Oh, Clara. How is school? I'm so sorry I haven't had time to check in on you." China and I made eye contact. We both hated how fake she sounded. Mom gave me a look that said, Answer her.
"It's fine," I replied flatly.
"Oh, that's nice. Which university are you attending? I'd love to send you a little…"
I didn't let her finish. I stood up fast. "Excuse me. I need to use the restroom."
I walked upstairs, planning to find the bathroom quickly. She really thinks I'm going to tell her where I go to school so she can use some black magic trick on me? Her house was huge and confusing. I realized I hadn't asked where the bathroom was, and now I was completely lost.
As I walked back downstairs, I saw a door that looked odd. It was slightly open and felt suspicious. Because I'm naturally curious and maybe a little stupid, I had to check it out.
I pushed the door open. It was dark, pitch black. I found the light switch and flipped it on.
The room was shocking. It was full of weird items: candles, dried plants, strange statues. Black magic supplies.
"So, she's still doing this awful stuff," I muttered to myself, feeling a fresh wave of disgust.
My eyes scanned the objects until they landed on a black crystal orb. It looked like polished, captured shadow. It was so pretty and strange that I couldn't look away. My curiosity won again. I walked over and picked it up.
"This is beautiful. Aunt Shysie won't mind if I borrow it for a little while," I decided, slipping the cool, smooth orb into my jacket pocket.
"Clara! Get downstairs! We're leaving now!" my mom called up.
"Okay, Mom, I'll be right there!" I hurried out of the strange room and down the stairs.
"Clara, where were you for so long?" my mom asked.
"Aunt Shysie's house is so big I had a hard time finding the bathroom," I quickly explained.
"It took you an hour to find the toilet?" China sneered, trying to cause trouble. I shot her a nasty look, but thankfully, no one paid her any attention. China and I were four years apart, and we rarely got along, but when we teamed up to hate on someone (like Shysie), we were a great team.
"Okay, Shysie, we're going to head out now. Thank you for having us," my mom said.
The long, awful drive back finally ended around eight P.M. I was exhausted. I went straight up to my room. All I wanted was to play games and sleep.
After washing up, I sat at my system to play Love and Deepspace. My favorite character is Sylus. Even though he was just a fictional guy, he was perfectly designed: gray hair with dark roots, tall and muscular, with a broad chest and dark red eyes. If a guy like him existed, I wouldn't think twice about doing anything he asked. "Ugh," I sighed, frustrated with myself for daydreaming about a fake character. Maybe that's why my relationship with Raph was such a mess I live too much in my own head.
I finally turned off the game and jumped onto my bed. I immediately felt something stiff hit my stomach. I reached into the jacket I wore earlier and pulled out the black crystal orb.
"Why did I even take this thing?" I asked myself. I walked over and placed it clearly on my desk, then got back in bed and fell asleep.
*************************************
It was early morning, and the sunlight was shining right through the gap in my curtains because I was too lazy to close them properly the night before.
I was enjoying my last few minutes of sleep when my mom burst into the room. "Time to get up! Freshen up and come downstairs for breakfast!"
As I started to get out of bed, I froze. The weird-looking orb I had taken from Shysie's house was not on my desk where I put it. It was resting right next to me, on my bed, near my pillow.
"I definitely put this on my desk. How did it get here?" I whispered, totally confused.
I headed to the bathroom. As the water ran, I remembered that university would start again soon, and I had to start my job and internship search. At least I'd be graduating soon. But the strange, moving orb was now the only thing I could really think about.
End of Chapter