“Lotus look!” Amelia pointed at the red petal, floating with a reddish-purple shadow following behind it, almost like dust. The petals reminded me of the magic that was always left behind after either of my parents used their mana. 

For some reason they also reminded me of another familiar thing. Amelia’s eyes blended with the flowers almost being the exact same color. Staring, I reached up, attempting to grab the petal but I stopped myself, looking back at my mother, pointing up. Receiving that confirmation that I needed, I reached up to grab the petal before it flew away. 

Once my fingers made contact, this surge of energy ran through my body. Hitting every nerve and I was stuck, frozen in place. I can’t breathe. Staring at my hand, those same veins came crawling back up my arm. The pain was unbearable as I tried to drop the petals, my body didn’t want to move. My chest was tightening as this weight pushed me down. 

It hurts. 

Flashes of people I had never seen before only made the pain worse. The migraine made my legs give out and I fell into darkness. The last thing being seen was that petal flying away. 

Strangely, the petal was all I could see and when I turned my head, I saw a boy not that much older than me. The boy came running in my direction, face missing as he ran through me as if I wasn’t there. What the– My head whipped around at the sudden bang that followed the oddly colored door. The hall was now filled with complete silence. My mind pulled me seamlessly through the door and all that filled the silence was the light cries of the boy, his face buried in a pillow. 

I reached out for him only to get pulled back through the door. The darkness coming back and the faint sound of droplets hitting the ground, echoed around the blank room. My gaze shifted as a boy sitting in a corner alone, caught my eye. The soft giggles of feminine child-like voices bounced around the empty void. My teeth were hitting against each other as the cold air brushed against my skin.

“Lotus!” 

Frowning at the sound of my name, I turned around. What was that? 

“Lotus!” 

Mom? 

Running towards the voice my body jerked forward and I sat up gasping for air. “Lotus? Lotus are you okay?” The panic in her voice made me realize I was back in the garden. Looking around, I immediately dropped the petals in my hand. 

“What happened?” Shaking my head, I lifted my gaze, “I… I don’t know.” What was that? She kneeled down, her eyes darting around my face and she grabbed my chin. With my blurry vision and clouded mind I couldn’t really tell what was going on. 

Much like a blanket this warmth engulfed my body and my vision slowly came back along with my other senses. “Tell mommy what you saw?” she smiled, obviously trying to control her shaky voice. 

“Pictures,” was all I said and for a moment confusion settled on her face, “what kind of pictures?” 

Her warm hands grabbed mine, whispering something I didn’t understand. Opening my mouth to speak, my hand immediately went to the back of my head and began scratching, trying to get to an itch I couldn’t reach. 

This unbearable sensation only grew the longer Lydia held my hand. It was when she let go that I realized it was her causing that. “What were you doing?” I blurted out. With the smile coming back she stood, “just making sure my little flower wasn’t hurt.” 

She’s lying. Just from the smile I could tell. She’s smiling too hard. 

“Miya, it's time to go inside.” 

In a single turn she picked me up and made her way back inside. Laying my head on her shoulder I stared at Amelia. The deep scowl and crossed arms, she was obviously upset, I couldn’t blame her. It was my fault we had to go inside. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. Smiling, she lifted her head looking up at me. 

Returning the smile, I shut my eyes, holding onto our mother. “What do you two want for dinner?” 

Amelia shouting, “meat,” was the last thing I heard before my eyes shut and I was out for the rest of the night.