.:The Past:.

A cute, petite five-year old Amber Liu ran towards her older sister, named Skylar. Sunlight shines through her eyes, and she was blinded for a moment until the tall canopy trees blocked the sun. She was at a small forest near their house, looking for her sister who was sitting near their little ‘secret’ treehouse. Her sister smiled warmly as Amber said, “Skylar! Skylar! Play with me!”

Amber was a parentless child, the same goes to Skylar, as their parents died due to some unexplained disease a few years ago, when Amber was still 2 years old. (She was way too young to understand back then, and Skylar wouldn’t tell her what happened either, due to her thinking that it would be the best for Amber.)

“What shall we play, Amber?” Skylar asked as she calmly stood up, towering over the little 5 years old girl standing in front of her.

“Let’s play bubbles again!”

Skylar gave her a mere chuckle, nodding slightly. “Of course, but promise me you will take your nap after this game, okay?”

Amber nodded, still being hyper as she had always been. “Can we take the bubbles out now, Skylar? Ple-e-ease?”

The older girl’s laughter grew louder as she took out a small with an ‘O’ shape at the edge, along with a small bottle filled with an opaque liquid with radiance reflected from the sun’s brisk rays. Amber watched intensely as the liquid created vast colors, making it look like there was a rainbow inside the bottle.

Skylar carefully dipped the twig inside the small bottle, and then bringing it back up near her lips and blowing it slightly. Out came a translucent bubble shaped lke a sphere. It floated in the air for a mere second before it popped, leaving Skylar with a surprised look while Amber’s laughter erupted all over the small forest.

.:The Present:.

Amber now was an eloquent 21-year-old, living in a small flat alone. Her older sister, Skylar, died due to a Dengue Fever when Amber was 16, and ever since then she had to live, work, and do all the things for her alone. She rarely ever smiled now, as the things that can only make her smile had disappeared years ago; her beloved sister and the little games they played.

Amber had a friend, a nice guy named Henry, who lives next door to her. Even though they were the best of friends at some points, Henry rarely ever seen Amber smiling genuinely. All Amber does is sit, and drown herself into her train of thoughts; Amber could never stop thinking of her family, and mostly, Skylar. It’s as if she was already dead; as if she could fell unconscious at any time and end her life any second.

“Amber? What are you doing here?” his soft, calm voice rang through Amber’s ears as she sat at an empty playground, staring blankly at the soft sand, deep in her own thoughts. Not getting any responses, Henry decided to sit next to the tomboy, and waited for her. He glanced curiously at the small bottle Amber was holding; it seemed to be a bottle of one of those bubble liquids to him, but what’s a girl like Amber doing with those?

“I used to have a sister named Skylar.” Amber said quietly, and Henry glanced at her as he started listening intensely, seeming a bit shocked to see a small smile forming on the girl’s face as Amber curled up her lips slightly. “We used to run around our small tree house, if not, we do it at this playground, blowing bubbles.” She laughed weakly. “And whenever they pop, she would make the silliest faces ever.” She added, before her face was filled with sadness once again.

Henry stared at her; she was a mess. She seemed so weak, as thin as a sheet of paper; she looked miserable. It didn’t take long enough for him to come up with a small idea, and he smiled excitedly as he took the small bottle from Amber’s hand and said, “Amber! Watch this!”

Amber watched as she saw Henry doing the exact same thing that Skylar would do, and a shocked/excited face grew as an enormous bubble emerged from the ‘O’ shape on the edge of the small twig Henry was holding, and her face would lit up brighter every time the bubble grew bigger and bigger. The bubble floated off, and ended up going back to Henry, tapping it nose, shocking the chubby-cheeked boy as the bubble popped right in front of his eyes.

Amber burst out in a quite fit of laughter, laughing exactly like how she does years ago with Skylar, and Henry shook his head for a few moments before joining the now happy looking girl.