Five Candles

Every single person in the room is looking at me, horrified. I glance through every single faces in the room and landed my sight on the little crying baby in my mother’s arm. I took a deep breath very slowly then angrily stomped pass the fallen Christmas tree, and went straight to the attic. I heard furious shouts from behind but I ignored them, for they had let me down in the past months. I sat alone in the boxes of junks and dust. 

Back then, whenever I am unhappy, I will sit here in the attic, just to make mom and dad worry, they will always come after me, and try to make it up for me. But all has changed, they don’t care if their daughter is being gulfed up by the thick dust, they don’t care if their daughter is having a mental break down, not anymore. And I don’t blame them; it’s only because of the little brat downstairs that is making all the noise. I don’t care if I’d break the tree, because it is the little brat that drove me into it. The evil little monster made me destroy the one day that I loved the most.

I laid my back to the floor, and thought, I used to be the apple in their eye, why is it any different now? I hugged my legs together and tried to stop the tears from falling. Then I slowly fell asleep…
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go get her?” mom said.
“I don’t know, honey,” I heard a sigh, “we had been pampering her all these years, I think it’s time for her to learn a lesson.”
“But it’s Christmas,” mom exclaimed, “it’s her favorite day of the year.”
“I know, I know,” dad sounds defeated, “but don’t you remember how much effort did we put on the tree? And we made it just for her! I can’t allow her to take things for granted anymore!”
“Quiet, quiet,” mom whispered, but the words are still clear to me, “she might hear you, she is feeling bad enough, no need to worsen her feelings.”
“Sorry,” Dad lowered down his voice, “I really don’t know what to do anymore… how are we going to teach her to be…”
Then I heard cries, its Mabel… again…
“We’ll have to just make sure we don’t screw up on this one…” mom said and they left.

Am I that bad? Are they trying to imply that I’m screwed up? I am so angry and frustrated, that I don’t think that I had felt this before. I want to smash something. I NEED to destroy something! I jumped up on my feet and started to push down and hit everything in sight. I hate Mabel, I hate dad, I hate mom, I hate the tree, and I hate every single thing in the world!! Then a voice in my head said, then why don’t you hate yourself? I shouted back to it, “because everyone else is wrong and only I am right!”
“Are you sure? Because all I can see is you making everyone unhappy. Are you sure that is right?”
“I’m not going to reply to that because I know that you are not real!” I sat down angrily on the floor, grumbling to the voice that I claimed that do not exist. And magically, it did not speak anymore.
“I am really going crazy…” I mumbled to myself after calming myself down. 

      I looked around and wondered why mom and dad didn’t come up after hearing the sound of the wreckage. Maybe I am really too pampered… but even so, it’s still their fault. I did not ask to be pampered and become a spoilt brat… I sighed. Even me, myself could not accept that excuse… how I wish I can turn back time and try to stop Mabel from being gave birth… then none of this is going to happen. Suddenly, I saw a pack of candles that fell off from one of the boxes that I pushed down. I picked it up and turned to its back.    

                 1.Light up the candle             2.Make a wish

     Just take these simple steps, and your dream will come true.
      *this product is not refundable

Thinking that it’s probably a fraud, I opened its cover. There’s 5 candles inside, I lighted the first one and wished for the tree to be beautiful again. Then, I lighted the second candle and wished that mom and dad won’t think that I’m a brat anymore. Smirking at myself, I lighted the third candle and I said this one out loud because I know I sound foolish enough to make myself laugh. I said, “I wish I can meet Santa in north pole.” I actually thought that it might actually come true for a second but, just… 

“What…?” I was filled with fear as the attic started to move. I think that there might be an earthquake. I quickly hid under the dust filled desk with the pack of candles in my hands. I prayed that no one would get hurt so hard that I hadn’t realized that the quake is over. Then, I felt a ray of sunlight shining at my face. It’s morning already? Then I thought to myself sorrowfully, mom and dad did not even care to come and look if I’m injured… I have really done it this time. I carefully opened the attic door, careful not to make a scene. I wouldn’t want mom and dad yelling at me as the first thing in the Christmas morning… I looked out of the window at the end of the hallway. What? It’s snowing already? Aw… I missed it… I crept to my room discreetly. I swiftly worn my winter attire and ran downstairs. I giggled to myself as I made it out of the door without anyone noticing. I must be good; none of them realized that I am gone. 

The lavender colored pack of candles is still in my pocket because I have a hunch that I should stick with it for whatever reason… then I looked up to see if my neighbors are already having fun with the snow, but… WHERE IS EVERYBODY?! I ran to my right up a small slope, and I almost faint on the spot. The whole neighborhood is gone! My house stood alone in the middle of the snow. Frightfully, I ran back home to inform mom and dad that the neighborhood shifted… oh my god, that sounded like nonsense… they will just have to believe me! The search in my house almost killed me with heart attack, because I couldn’t find mom and dad or even the little devil anywhere! Everyone in the neighborhood, even my family, left? Leaving me behind? So… even my neighbors hate me? I walked out of my house thinking that it won’t do me much good to stay there alone. I have to find them, and take REVENGE. Nah, just joking on that… I don’t even think that I am going to look for them; I will find myself food and water, on my own. I am 10 after all, old enough to take care of myself.

I started walking towards north, the direction of the needle in the compass in my watch points to. And I wondered why dad bought me a military grade watch, they must have been planning for this mass moving for a long while… those cunning adults… suddenly, I saw not far ahead, a fat old man in red kneeling in the middle of the snow shouting, “NHO! HO! HO! HO! HO~” I looked up to the sky of which he is screaming at, and saw a sleigh with 3 pairs of reindeers pulling it, flying into the endless sky.  
*By darcastle 15.1.11  23.23pm