"There
is always
a glimmer
in those
who have been
through the dark."

-Atticus

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The whirring turned louder, my screams raging along.

"Leave me!"

"I'll never leave you!"

"You'll be marked forever!"

Red...

Green...

Black...

Kate gasped, her heart beating faster as she tried to regain her breathing.

She wiped her face, annoyed at the fact that her hand shook as she did.

"The dead don't come back. Don't let them haunt you."

"Don't let them haunt you," she whispered as she patted her forehead.

"They have no power over you."

"No power."

"Go back to sleep."

Who was she kidding? Even after a year, the incident was fresh in her mind.

She knew her mind had tricked her into believing that she was strong.

But her heart, which quickened its pace every time she had a bad dream, screamed that she was weak.

Nothing but a weak, little girl.

She shook her head, clutching a fistful of her curls. I'm not a bloody weakling.

She hit her forehead, her curls dancing with the movement.

In the dark, her silhouette looked like a bear, all credit to the mass of her hair.

Would the pain ever go away?

Would the memories ever stop haunting?

She pulled up her long sleeve, glancing at her arm which was always hidden.

It was hidden from everyone.

And what could be more painful? She hid it from herself too.

Was she tagged as a coward if she hid what made her afraid?

Would the memories stop haunting if her arm was hidden?

Those horrible moments were engraved in her heart like something carved on stone.

Neither could that be washed away, nor forgotten.

With a sigh, she placed her head on the pillow but stopped.

The wetness felt against her inner thigh made her groan.

"Mother nature," she whispered, her soft whines emitted till she reached the bathroom.

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A mix of three different fragrances filled the twins' room.

Kate was found spraying herself with deodorant, her other hand stuffed her scalp with talcum powder.

She huffed annoyedly as she put more and more talcum powder and combed her hair simultaneously.

"Kate!"

"Give me that." Elena glared at her through her watery eyes and coughed.

Kate gave her a sheepish grin. She snatched the talcum powder from her sister and poured more handfuls on her hair.

"Kate, are you--"

"Why isn't this working?" Kate dusted her hair, sending whiffs of the lavender scent.

"I'm going to kill..." Elena coughed as she slapped Kate's back. "You."

Kate whined. "My hair still looks oily. Why isn't this working?"

She groaned and punched the talcum powder bottle.

"So much for not taking a bath." Elena glanced at her distastefully.

Kate grinned. "On some days, I like to save water."

Her sister only shook her head at that.

"El, I smell good enough, right?"

"Very." Elena scoffed. "You could pass as a perfume shop."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Funny."

"Why is my deodorant almost over?" their mom's voice hollered from below.

Kate's eyes widened. "Now that's not funny."

"If I were you, I'd run," Elena whispered.

"Let's run away together."

Kate dashed out of the house, despite her tummy feeling like it was being pricked by a million needles.

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Attention was something Kate was used to. The way each student on the stage stared at her, reminded her of her previous school.

Her clothes always caught everyone's eyes. There was only one tiny difference--she was considered a fashion icon back then and a fashion disaster now.

Funny how a year could change a person so much.

Old Kate who never walked without a misplaced strand of hair, was now clad in her bunny pajamas in which she had slept in.

She ambled forward, the bunny ears on her fuzzy slippers shaking with her movement.

She sat in one dark corner and covered her face with the hood. Her back touched the carpet and she closed her eyes.

After some minutes, she felt someone's weight on her. She peeked one eye open and noticed Ivan sitting on her tummy.

"Get off!" she screeched and shoved him away.

Ivan smirked at her and handed her the script. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. The play needs your voice."

"Are you kidding me? This pain is going to kill me." She pointed at her stomach and wrapped an arm around it.

"Dramatic." Ivan rolled her eyes. "It's just a stomachache. No big deal."

Kate scowled at him. Her hand fumbled in her pocket and she felt something. No wonder I couldn't find it. It was here all along.

"You've had enough rest. Get up, now." Ivan extended his arm.

Kate opened the lid of the bottle in her pocket and grabbed a handful of it.

"Van, look at..."

Ivan looked the other way as Elena called out.

Kate grabbed Ivan's hand and transferred the handful of pink glitter on it.

She smirked at the widening of his baby blue eyes. Before he could react, she grabbed another handful of the glitter and smeared it over his face.

"What the..."

Ivan's glare made her giggles turn into a belly laugh. Everyone stopped what they were doing and glanced at the scene.

Their faces turned another way as they tried hard not to laugh at Ivan's glittering eyebrows and eyelashes.

Not to forget, his shiny cheeks and nose.

"How could you!" Ivan rubbed his face, the frown eminent on it.

Kate scoffed. "It's not 'just a stomachache', okay?"

Ivan shrugged.

"Thank the universe you're not a girl," Kate said, sighing as she held her stomach.

Elena giggled at Ivan's glittering face but stopped when he scowled further.

"What's it going to take to get a smile out of you?" Elena asked him in between her giggles.

Ivan smirked, a smile creeping on his face. "A kiss."

Kate chuckled as Elena hit Ivan's arm.

Kate walked backward as Ivan inched ahead, a pinch of the glitter in his fingers.

She bumped into Max, who held her from behind. "Hey, we've got a ready-made bunny for the play."

She could feel the smile in his voice as she turned to face him.

Pink tainted her cheeks, noticing the proximity between them.

"Does the bunny need something?" Max asked as he pinched both her cheeks.

"Something sweet."

"Something sweet coming up." Max crept closer and kissed her cheek.

A mischievous smile etched on his face when he stood inches away from her and held her face.

Before Kate could say something, Elena squealed as she waved her mobile. "Look! You both look so cute."

Kate grabbed Elena's mobile and made a face. Elena had clicked it when Max had kissed her cheek.

That sunflower looked bright as usual and she... a white zombie.

Her finger hovered over the delete button, but Max snatched the mobile from her. "I want to see it too."

"Hey! Give me that." Kate raised her right arm as she tried to get the mobile back.

It wasn't that Max was too tall, but Kate's abdominal pain wouldn't let her stretch.

She tried to grab the mobile one last time, the sleeve of her right arm pushed backward as it was straight in the air.

She glanced at the skin in horror and hurriedly placed her arm down.

She glanced at the greenish-black skin and pulled the sleeves till her wrist.

Her heart raced as she lifted her gaze. She sighed in relief when she noticed Max smiling while pointing at the mobile.

He hadn't seen it...

She looked at her left, noticing Ivan staring at her unblinkingly.

Uh-Oh...

Kate followed his gaze, which was fixed on Elena's backpack.

More specifically, his blue eyes glared at the alien picture printed on the front.

He rubbed his forehead, frowning at the pink glitter which decorated his fingers.

Kate sighed in relief and pulled Elena aside.

"What?" Elena asked.

"Old Van would've ripped my head off by now."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows.

"He has totally changed, El."

"A handful of glitter doesn't prove that, Kate." Elena narrowed her eyes.

Kate held her sister's shoulder. "Remember he didn't talk to me for a week when I had mixed glitter in his shampoo?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "We were kids, Kate. Of course, he would sulk."

"But he doesn't now." Kate pointed at Ivan, who was chuckling at something Max was talking about.

"Jeez, he's eighteen, Kate! What do you expect?"

"I expect you to accept this fact. He has changed."

"I'll prove he hasn't." The determination was clear in the older twin's eyes.

"How?"

Elena grinned. "Do we still have that white gown?"

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Hey, people! 💖 How are you all? I hope you are doing well. :) So, I've been writing this since three days and I've finally completed it.

My lovebird, Mumu, has started playing more in the house instead of napping in his cage in this cold weather. *sighs* Once he's out, he doesn't let me use my mobile. He thinks it's a chew toy. 😂

What do you think of this update?

I know it was short and simple, but I'll try to make the next one longer.

Did you like this update? Yes?/No?

What do you think of Kate and her dream?

Did any scene/dialogue make you laugh? Or at least smile? I'll be glad if it did. :D

Like this chapter and the previous ones? Please do leave a vote by clicking on the star sign below.

Thank you so much to everyone who's reading so far. It means a lot. 🐰🐇 (See what I did there? 😂)

Sneak-Peek of Episode 33:

Any idea what Elena is going to do to prove her point? :P

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

VOTE, COMMENT, SHARE AND FOLLOW❣

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