Clara paused, then stopped scrubbing the dishes altogether. The dishes were inside of a wooden basin located in front of Clara's feet. She looked up as she heard the familiar sound of the wooden front door opening. The oak door slowly drifted to the side as it opened, only to reveal Mercy now standing in its threshold.

     "Hi, Mercy!" A bright, warm smile swiftly formed on Clara's face. The cheerful smile lit up Clara's face like the colorful, blinking lights of a Christmas tree would. As Mercy closed the door behind her, she looked up to meet Clara's happy green gaze with her own cyan gaze. "Hi, mom." Mercy quietly greeted her mother, proceeding to fully step inside of the house. Mercy used her small left hand to shut the wooden, oak door behind her standing body.

     Clara suddenly frowned as she began to notice the saddened look etched on her daughter's face. "Mercy, are you okay?" Clara asked as she dried off her soaked hands with a soft, cotton beige towel. Mercy's head was slightly lowered and her shoulders were slumped. She had this look in her clouded cyan gaze that greatly concerned Clara. The look gave a subtle hint that Mercy wasn't caring about much anymore. Is she depressed? It seems like it. I should talk to Mercy. Clara worriedly thought.

     Mercy hadn't moved an inch, and was still lingering in the same spot that she was standing in. Clara frowned as she walked over to Mercy, stopping once she was directly in front of her daughter. "Mercy, are you okay?" Clara gently asked. She couldn't catch a glimpse of Mercy's facial expression, since Mercy's long light brown bangs had dropped down to obscure the upper portion of her face. With a small shake of her head, Mercy said, "No. I'm not." Clara's frown remained etched upon her face as she stooped down to be eye-level with Mercy. "Honey, what's wrong? You can tell me anything. I'm your mother." Clara gently told Mercy, awaiting her silent daughter's response. Worry lingered within Clara's dark green gaze as she continued to look into Mercy's cyan eyes.

     Mercy suddenly burst into a loud crying fit. She wrapped her arms around Clara's torso in a hug, desperate for her mother's comfort. "I'm just so worried about my friends!" Mercy sorrowfully wailed. Warm, wet tears were cascading down Mercy's face like a downpour of cold rain. "Oh, honey. It'll be okay." Clara gently told Mercy as she rubbed her daughter's back in a soothing manner. "Everyone is doing everything they possibly can to find your friends. Even as we speak, the authorities are working hard." Clara informed Mercy. Mercy peered up at Clara, letting loose a few shaky breaths as her emotional body kept insisting to cry. "Really?" Mercy gazed up at Clara with an expectant look in her cyan blue eyes, almost as if a fire of hope had been rekindled inside of her. "Yes, sweetie. It's okay to be worried or sad, but you just have to remember that sometimes it is better to think happy thoughts." Clara gently told Mercy.

"Okay. Thanks, mom." Mercy managed to form a small smile on her face. "You're welcome, dear. It's getting late. You should probably go get ready for bed." Clara informed Mercy, releasing her daughter from the hug. "Okay, mom." Mercy responded. After having said that, Mercy turned around and went upstairs to enter her room. Clara watched Mercy as she left with a worried look on her face. I just hope she will be okay. Clara nervously thought. A lot is going on right now.