Chloe Mallory - Chapter 3

“Mmm, that smells amazing—”

“What is she doing out of bed!?”

“Huh—?”

The woman suddenly burst forward, placing the basket down onto the table as her brow furrowed intensely. It felt as if the energy within the room shifted intensely after she realized what was going on. Her eyes fell on me as she quickly scooped me away from the man who was apparently my father. His hands reached back, as if he was begging to have me back.

“Come on, Charlotte! She looks perfectly fine to me; she even went outside today!” His whines continued as Luisa reacted to his words with a shushing motion. “Dad!” she uttered, as the woman’s eyes darted to Luisa. “So, you were the culprit!” she yelled. Luisa swallowed as her eyes slowly crept to the door. Feeling the pressure that was placed on me in the room over me, I realized just how important my health seemed to this lady. What should I do?

Thoughts rumbled in my head before a sudden solution came to mind. This woman seemed to be pressed heavily over the fact that I was out of bed. Luisa seemed pressured since it’s to be believed that it was her choice to take me out of the house, framing her in a bad light of who I could only assume to be my mother. Though my father, on the other hand, feels as if he isn’t around much due to work. I could only assume that would be why he didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to be out. The story started to make sense to me, which’d explain how everything turned out the way it did. Even if the situation was seemingly out of my hands, I felt this would be a chance to net some more favors from my poor sister.

“Wait,” I began, my voice softened quickly, as I rested my head onto my mother’s shoulder. Her eyes were drawn away from Luisa, who’d let out a small sigh of relief as she slowly retreated towards the stairs leading to an upper room. Her piercing green eyes peered deeply into mine, trying to sense what I’d possibly want to say to her in the moment. I gulped instinctively before lowering my eyes, trying my best to put on a sad impression. Wouldn’t it be charming to see a younger sister own up to something so that their sibling wouldn’t face the wrath of their mother? That made the most sense to me as I continued with my act.

“Don’t be mad at Luisa, I was the one who snuck out…She was only retrieving me after she realized I’d left! I should be the one you’re angry with, not her.” My voice whimpered softly as my eyes shifted to the retreating Luisa, whose face seemed shocked at the sudden turn of my words. Mother turned quickly to her, wanting to affirm if my words were true. “Is that right?” she said, using the same stare as before to get Luisa to talk. Even though I’d laid out an excuse for her, she seemed too stunned to realize that it was a chance to get out of trouble. It wasn’t until she looked at my eyes and head nod that she realized this was an opportunity to get out scot-free.

“That’s right!” She exclaimed with an awkward laugh, “I’d returned from taking care of the children down at the school, but noticed little Chloe wasn’t in her bed. Thanks to Gil’s help, we found our little escapee by the beach. It seemed as if she was searching for something, and probably got caught by a bigger wave.”. Her response was sound, following up on my set-up perfectly. I’d almost wanted to give her a thumbs up before my Mother sighed heavily. She placed her hand on her brow before looking to me again, with a face more concerned than not.

“And what could you have possibly been searching for?”

“Uh…I saw something shiny…?”

“Really, now.”

Well, to be fully honest, it was the truth. Well, sort of. Before I came to this world, the image of some sort of shiny object had stuck with me before the reincarnation took place. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly the form entailed. But the purple hue remained fresh in my mind from that time. I’d have to search for myself to see if there are any sort of things around here, maybe it’d wash ashore on the sand. I’d have to go check whenever I get the chance.

My mother slowly placed me on the ground, letting me stand on my own. Father didn’t seem to be too troubled at her stresses as he comforted her and began to hum sweetly to her. Luisa looked at me from the stairwell and smiled as she moved upward to the second floor of the building. My nose tingled, smelling the baked goods once again coming from the basket. I know I’m not one for sweets, but no one’s ever said no to some freshly baked treats! I took a few steps towards the aroma, slowly reaching out to the defenseless basket. One treat wouldn’t hurt, right? I’d been starving since arriving here; I might as well try to eat something.

Suddenly, the basket was swiped away by my mother’s hand. A look of disappointment filled my face as she shook her head disappointedly. “What am I to do with you, Chloe? You can’t run off and then expect things to be okay. What if you’d gotten hurt, or worse?”. Her words were filled with worry. I felt the gravity of the care she showed in the moment. It was sincere. I walked over to her and hugged her legs, pressing my head against them. “I’m sorry, Mother,” I continued with my act, hoping for a potential reward later from Luisa, who now owed me twice over. “It won’t happen again…”. The woman sighed again as she placed her hand on my head. “Knowing that you share your father’s blood, I doubt you’ll be able to sit around for too long. All that I ask is that if you’re going to look for anything “shiny” in the future, do so with someone to look out for you. We don’t know what’s out there beyond the gates where we can see you, so be careful!” Her words were filled with delicate care, and genuine worry. It seemed all too familiar.

“That’s right.” Father chimed in; he was then seen holding what seemed to be a fresh pastry in his hand. My mouth began to water as he paced around us. “Your mother is correct about you sharing the curious blood that runs through our veins. Wondering about what’s really out there in the world for us to find. What different things can we make? What can we truly do?”. His voice was chipper as he took a bite out of the flaky pastry, allowing the crunch of the crust to sound off within the room. His eyes shone the same amber as Luisa’s as he bent down to me, placing the bitten pastry within my hands. It took no time before it found itself in my mouth, the flaky texture filled my stomach instantly, the soft, warm jelly-like product in between the crust filled the desolate wasteland that was my stomach. A joyous occasion.