"I see the bad moon rising,

I see trouble on the way."

  This had to be one of the best nights you’ve had in a while. You were cleaning the house- well you were suppose to be anyway.

“I SEE EARTHQUAKES AND LIGHTNIN’!” you sang out.

“My dear, you are so silly!”

“I SEE BAD TIMES TODAY~”

“What on earth are you doing child?”

“Sing with me, Christina!”

  You had the broom in your hand as you slid with your socks across the hallway downstairs. You had your hair in a messy bun and was wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. And with CCR blaring on your stereo while cleaning with your maid, you felt content with life.

“Don’t go around tonight,

Well, it’s bound to take your life.

There’s a bad moon on the rise.”

  Christina appeared in front of you. She was wearing casual clothes and holding a Swiffer duster. And at the sight of you, she immediately began to roar with laughter.

  Technically, Christina is your maid, but for the past six years, she has become more of a mother to you than anything else. She had her dark graying hair up in a messy bun as well, and the wrinkles at the corner of her eyes were more visible now from you making her laugh. Around 6 pm that day, she had suggested that you and her should do some late night spring cleaning, and continue it throughout the week.

    It was now 8:35 pm and you were excited. One reason was that it was now April, and it was getting nicer out. Spring was always your favorite season. It meant new beginnings and freedom to step outside without coats or boots. The other reason was that Christina was going to take you to a university visit this weekend. You were accepted to college last fall in the town next to Moonlight Path. Moonlight Path has always been your home. For a small community, it was filled with life. Just like how your plantation home felt right this moment.

“I HEAR HURRICANES ABLOWING! I KNOW THE END IS COMING SOON~” you continued at the top of your lungs.

“Start cleaning!” Christina tried saying over her giggles. She was now clutching her stomach as you continued to dance.

  Shaking your , you refused to stop.

“I FEAR RIVERS OVERFLOWING! I HEAR THE VOICE OF RAGE AND RUIN!”

  And with that, you couldn’t hold back anymore either. You leaned up against the wall trying to refrain from doubling over in laughter. After a couple a seconds, your cheeks and your stomach hurt from not stopping. Pushing yourself up from the wall, you slid a couple more feet down the hallway and hugged Christina. Giggling, you made your way to the kitchen with her close behind. The music was louder than ever since that was where the stereo was at. You came to the kitchen because you knew that that was one of the places that definitely need to be swept. After sliding across the hardwood floor, you missed your footing.

“Christina have some fu-AHHHHH!!!”

  Annnnnnnnnnd down you went.

  You completely slipped backwards and cracked your head against the floor. Christina jolted and was now looking down at you. Her face made an O and she looked shocked. The ends of your mouth turned up, and at the same time, you both burst out and completely howled with laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH GOD DID YOU SEE THAT?”

  Christina was now crying from laughing too hard and gasping for air.

“Don’t go around tonight,

It’s bound to take your life.

Therrrrrrre’s a bad moon on the rise”

“I….think that you…...should go….upstairs and show-shower-er” She tried saying between breaths.

“Awh come on! Lemme just finish the kitchen!” you said while still on the floor looking up at her.

“Hope you got your things together,

Hope you are quite prepared to die.”

“No no no, you have school tomorrow, go on up!” She replied giggling.

“Fiiiiiiiine.”

  You got up, stumbled again, wiped your brow, and left the kitchen to go up the stairs, moving slowly so you won’t fall again. The whole time you were grinning and happily knew it wasn’t going away soon.

“Looks like we’re in for nasty weather.

One eye is taken for an eye.

Don’t go around tonight,

Well it’s bound to take your life.

Therrrrre’s a bad moon on the rise.”

Once you reached the top of the stairs, you turned left and opened the first door.

Your room was normal-sized, but that did not help the fact that it looked small compared to all the stuff you had crammed in there. Before any of your stuff was placed in your room, some may have even called it large. Right when your door opens, a wall is shown to sanction off your room. You always liked it because it gave you a sense of privacy. Unfortunately, the wall was bare except for its beige colored paint.

Maybe I should put some pictures up sometime, you thought.

Turning to your left and stepping into the main part of your room, you went to your dresser to get some pajamas, since the clothes you were wearing are now too sweaty to sleep in. After getting out another t-shirt and a pair of shorts you closed the drawer. You were about to leave to go shower when a book on the shelf next to the dresser caught your eye.

And maybe I should start reading a novel tonight.

Taking the book out, you glanced at the cover as you realized this was the one you bought around a week ago. You just simply haven’t gotten to reading it yet.

It was Dracula by Bram Stoker. You knew that the book was old, Stoker published it almost a hundred years ago. It was considered classic literature and you had always wanted to read it. However, the copy you had was shiny and leather, and looked like it belonged in a lawyer's private library. On the cover looked like an etching of a bat.

Sighing with content, you took the book and walked over to your four poster queen sized bed and plopped it right in the middle. Still holding onto your “pajamas,” you walked out of the bathroom. You heard Christina humming below on the lower floor, still in the kitchen.

The door next to your room is the bathroom. You opened the door, flipped the light switch, and walked in. The bathroom was all white and more narrow. The wall opposite of the door was the walk-in shower and adjacent to it was the clawfoot porcelain tub. Thinking it over in your head, you decided to go with the shower.

Once you were in, you began to think about what clothes to wear to school tomorrow. The shower was always your thinking place. You could ponder about anything: how the day went, what to wear, what to do, how to calm yourself, or other things. You had come to realize that bathing in general was relaxing. Maybe that's why you always took it at night. After standing under the steamy hot water for five minutes, you decided that you should wear black leggings, a tanktop, your black and green hoodie, and your green converse. Congratulating yourself, you began to wash yourself and yearn for sleep.

About 15 minutes passed by when you decided to turn the shower off. As soon as you twisted the knob, you already began to shiver from the cool air that started to seep into your skin. Grabbing a towel, you stepped out and dried your body, then your hair. You walked over to pick up your clothes and put them on. Feeling exhausted, you yawned and took the towel to wipe off the mirror that was foggy. You took a quick glance at yourself and frown.

You have never been happy about your appearance. Looking back at you was a short and chubby body with a round child-like face. Your eyes were almond shaped and your jawbones were very visible. Growing up, you always wished to be good-looking. Prettier. Better. More perfect. It didn't help that throughout elementary and middle school you were bullied. Bad.

Memories started to flood back in that you tried so hard to forget.

Why has my mood changed so suddenly?

Yeah, it was true that your dark hair did accent your pallored skin. And that your chest was a size that girls wished of having, but it never seemed to be enough. It didn't seem enough for all the times you harmed yourself, or tried to do worse. Especially after your parents died. Thankfully, that was 6 years ago, because that was a period of time you never wanted to go back to again. You crossed your arms over your chest and began to rub your shoulders.

I need sleep. Like now.

Opening the door and switching the light off, you walked out.

"Goodnight Christina! Don't stay up too late cleaning!" you called down to the bottom floor.

Christina giggled, "Goodnight my love, sleep well."

Walking back into the room, you absentmindedly threw the towel on the messy floor and crawled into bed. Forgetting all about the book, you dozed off into a deep slumber.

The next morning, you woke up to a loud alarm less than a foot from your bed. Groaning, you rolled over and and pressed snooze on your phone. Why have alarm clocks when you have cell phones? Rolling back over, you fell asleep again.

Fifteen minutes later, the same thing happened again. and again. annnnd again. Groaning for what seemed like the hundredth time, you finally opened your eyes fully and shut the alarm completely off.

"Great, my phone is at 22 percent." you said aloud to the room around you.

You decided to lay there for awhile so you wouldn't get a head rush. After a couple minutes, you began to smell delicious cooking from downstairs. While rubbing your eyes, you finally raised yourself from the bed. Slowly, you got up and walked to the small walk-in closet. Opening the double doors, you grabbed the hoodie and the tanktop. Then walking over to your dresser, you got the rest of your clothing. You very eagerly wanted to go eat and so you walked back over to the other side of your room to your trunk chest that lied at the foot of the bed and unlatched the top.

Inside was an all cram packed area with your shoes. You dug around for the converse and then hurried down the stairs to greet Christina.

She was sitting at the kitchen island smiling at you while muching on her food when you came down. You sat across from her and picked up the egg and cheese toast sandwhich she made for you.

"Thank you, good morning." You said quietly and tiredly.

"You're welcome dear, ready for a new week?"

You shook your head no and began eating. At this point Christina was done, so she rose from her chair and placed her plate in the sink. She walked over to you and kissed your forehead.

"Your backpack is by the front door for when you leave." she said sweetly.

You smiled for the first time that morning and continued eating. Christina went to the fridge and got you a glass of apple juice. Unfortunately, you only had about five minutes left before you had to go so you began to hurry.

While eating, you began to think about how much she has done for you all your life. Christina has always been your rock, the only reason why you're not alone. No amount of words could explain how much you appreciate her. How much you love her. She was all you had left and she is simply your everything. When you finished, you also put your plate in the sink and walked over to her and gave her a huge warm hug.

"Have a good day at school sweetie." she said softly.

"I'll try just for you."

Walking out the kitchen and through the hallway, you approached the foyer and picked up your backpack. Slinging it over your shoulder, you opened the front door and left the house.

2020 Update: I (Gaia) have combined chapters one and two, made adjustments and grammar corrections. Also removed pictures.