“Today, we are brought together by my beautiful daughter’s birthday celebration. Happy Birthday, my girl! Let the party officially begin!” He threw his arm to the sky at the final word and the cheers that followed were deafening. Thankfully, they currently lived on a ranch, as Scarlett was pretty sure that if they had any close neighbors, they wouldn’t be too thrilled by the loud cheering and music.
Cher dragged Scarlett into the thriving crowd below, and before she knew it, she was swept in and swarmed. She didn’t know half the people but knew they were her parents’ acquaintances.
Why they were even there was lost to Scarlett. She deeply inhaled and looked up to the evening sky. The setting sun entered her sights and she wondered what she would give to be somewhere else.
‘Here’s to a long, long night.’
∞
Keeping to her word, Scarlett danced, jumped, and laughed. She didn’t care much for mingling but many didn't get the birthday girl’s hint.
Scarlett didn’t have ‘friends’. Sure, she had the occasional conversation with her online school classmates, but she didn’t feel the need to further those relationships. Conversing never appealed to her. Her older sister, Jenna was the world’s biggest social butterfly and sweetheart. Twenty-eight years old, working in the family’s business of selling wood, and exploring the world. She was beautiful, humble, smart, and kind; all the things Scarlett felt she, herself, wasn’t.
It didn’t bug her much. She actually liked being the ‘different one.’
Her feet throbbed and her eyelids felt weighed down by bricks. The only thing on Scarlett’s mind was her huge bed and the pillows she’d bury her face into.
The party began around five in the afternoon and winded down around midnight. Talk about a big and long celebration. The guests -to Scarlett’s joy- had finally left and it was only her parents, Jenna, and her grandparents on her father’s side. Yawns escaped her mouth as she struggled to make her way into the house.
Their backyard wasn’t too messy and the thought of staying up any longer had Scarlett cringing. The clean-up would have to be left for tomorrow. She walked down the hallway and turned the corner to the staircase, her endpoint insight. Her shoulders sagged with weariness and as she was about to start up the stairs, she heard her name.
“Scarlett?”
She scrunched her brows and turned in the direction of the call.
“Yeah?” she responded as she made her towards the voice’s location. Scarlett approached the living room and entered cautiously to find her family awaiting her. Her father stood by the fireplace while her mother, Jenna, and grandparents sat on the couch.
Cher’s face was pulled tight and her eyebrows were scrunched in deep thought. Jenna sat with a worried expression and continuously wiped her hands against her thighs. Contrasting them all, were her grandparents; they were the calmest of everyone.
“What’s going on?” Scarlett asked, swinging her gaze to her father. He stopped pacing the fireplace and uncrossed his arms as his posture grew rigid.
“Scarlett, take a seat please.” He gestured to the single couch in the middle of the room and Scarlett was about to begin towards it when she stopped herself.
“Can I use the restroom first? I’d like to freshen up before we start… whatever this is.” She spoke, unsure of what to call the meeting but she knew she needed to get out before whatever news they had got laid down. Her father opened his mouth but was quickly cut off.
“Go ahead Scar, just come back down as soon as you’re done.”
Roger swung his gaze at Cher and they shared a heated look. Jenna pursed her lips and moved to the edge of her seat as if ready to burst, while her grandparents watched with no changes. Scarlett slowly backed out of the room and as soon as she was out of sight, she dashed up the stairs to her bedroom.
Whatever was bothering her family must’ve been serious but she didn’t want to get into any discussion with the state she was in. Scarlett shut the door behind her and leaned against it as she huffed out a breath.
‘Thank, God.’
She glanced up to her bed, which appeared incredibly tempting.
As much as she loved to sleep, Scarlett never dreamt in all her eighteen years of being alive. It was always, close eyes, pitch blackness, and wake up the next morning. She hadn’t thought much of it and even brought it up to her parents once. They told her it was normal for some and that was that.
She’d even come to think of no dreaming as a perk. It made the night pass quickly and she was a light sleeper. Thinking of which, if she were to rest her head for a second, she should be fine. Right?
It seemed reasonable to Scarlett.
She leaped to her bed and threw her shoes off right before collapsing against the softness of her blankets. Her body sunk perfectly into the mattress and she released a deep sigh of relief. Scarlett’s body ached and it felt amazing to lay down.
Unknowingly, she’d made her first mistake.
Scarlett hadn’t felt her eyelids begin to lower and her breathing slow. Without knowing it, her mind was readying itself for what was to come.
The last thing across Scarlett’s mind as the familiar darkness clouded her vision, was the banging of a door and her sister’s worried shouts.
Two
Darkness.
Scarlett opened her eyes to see nothing.
‘Are my eyes open?’ she thought as she brought her hands up and rubbed her face. Why couldn’t she see anything? Scarlett couldn’t even see her own hands. Everything was pitch black.
She glanced around and saw not a single speck of light. Scarlett felt she was no longer on her bed and instead, sitting on a floor.
‘How’d I get here?’
Scarlett knew it wasn’t her room because it didn’t feel like her carpet. The floor gave her chills and it sucked her warmth every second her skin was in contact with it. She still wore her dress as the fabric swayed across her skin. Cautiously standing, her bare feet stayed in contact with the chilling ground as she stretched her arms out to feel for anything that might be around.
She didn’t know for how long she was walking, or even in which direction. Scarlett could’ve been walking in circles for all she knew. She called out for her mother, father, and sister and was met with silence every time. Something dark and cold began making a home in Scarlett’s chest. It slithered its way into her mind and heart, coiling and tightening itself until it’s stifling. Fear was spreading through her veins as rapid as a deadly snake’s venom.
Scarlett frantically searched the dark for any signs of light. She didn’t know how long she’d been there for. It could’ve been for seconds, minutes, or even hours. All of a sudden, she finally caught sight of something. It was so tiny that she thought her eyes were playing a trick on her.
It was there. The tiniest and faintest speck of light before her.
Scarlett hastily made her way towards it, desperate to get out of the dark. As she neared, the speck got longer and taller. A few feet away from the light, Scarlett was able to see all else that accompanied it. The speck of light shone from a crack between a wooden gate with double-doors. They were enormous and dark with intricate swirls of grey and black weaving throughout the mahogany wood. As with all beauty, there was the ugly to contrast.