"SIS," Tashia called her sister, who was staring off into the distance again.
She just blinked and looked at her in surprise. "Sorry, Tashia." She apologized to her.
She just nodded. Tashia escorted Ashley to their home; her Grandma Felicia's wake had been ongoing for almost two days.
"I will come back tonight." Tashia said bid goodbye to her half – sister, Sharlene.
She just nodded.
"Ashley, get dressed, don't make it too hard for your mom today," she told the child who was just looking at her.
Ashley only smiled and nodded at her.
"Tashia, ah, here, I know you don't have an allowance right now, and also, a payment for helping me." Sharlene immediately handed her an envelope.
She just looked at it and stared it for a while.
"And I know that's not enough, when I have more, I'll give you the rest." She smiled at her.
Tashia's body had a mind of its own; she hugged Sharlene without warning, but immediately let go, only to be met with her confused gaze.
"That's for you, sis. I'll just contribute that to grandma's burial." That's all she could say and return the money.
Sharlene only smiled at her, took something out of the envelope.
"Here, take this for your journey, let me be your older sister, Tashia." That's all she said back then.
Tashia knew that Sharlene was really persistent, so she still accepted that money, but she knew she would spent it for important things that would contribute to the expenses of her grandmother's burial.
They were both left by their parents, even though their real parents abandoned them and left without a word.
She just nodded, "I'll go ahead, sister." That was her farewell back then.
Sharlene just waved, she looked around, and saw a few people outside her grandmother's wake. She waited for a jeep to ride, so she could go home to where she was currently staying.
Tashia knew that her sister Vivianne was still working, and while she was waiting for the jeep, she saw the face of Sharlene's husband again, followed by its best friend, Sheila.
She saw them kissing before entering into the house, and she just raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Tashia hailed a jeep and immediately got on, peeking out, and was surprised to see a woman in mourning clothes following Sheila.
She couldn't see clearly because the vehicle started moving immediately, so she shook her head, wondering what she was seeing now.
She looked at her wristwatch, it was almost five in the afternoon, good thing her schedule was early today, and she was grateful she picked up Ashley from school.
Tashia already saw their place, immediately hailed a ride, paid, and got off right away. She looked around at the surroundings, took the key to their place.
She even caught up with her older sister, Vivianne.
"You must have gotten home from work early today, sis," she said immediately.
"Ah yes, that's right." Vivianne just replied to her while Tashia's gotten very busy, and went straight to the room to change into her home clothes.
She immediately got dressed to help her sister, so she could also rest because she would be going to Sharlene's house again later.
"How is she?" Vivianne suddenly asked her.
Tashia just turned around. "Who?" she asked back at her.
It didn't answer, she even heard it let out a sigh.
"You know, I had a dream the other day." Her companion recounted. She was just waiting for what she would tell next. It's typical for them to chat, since it's just the two of them in the house they rented.
"I saw Grandma." Tashia heard her say to Vivianne. "She was asking for help from me." She just sighed.
"You probably need to rest now, sis." She said back then, "Aren't you going to come now?" She asked and turned to the person she was talking to.
Vivianne exhaled and shook her head. "When I'm okay, Tashia, I'm still haunted by what I saw in the dream."
She immediately shook her head and frowned, "What kind of dream is that?" she asked her.
"I don't believe in superstitions or ghosts, but I don't know why I feel different today and in every dream I have."
She looked at it, and on Vivianne's face, she could see the anxiety and worry while Vivianne was deep in thought.
"In my dream, I saw a woman in mourning wearing this dress, but I couldn't make out her face. Grandma was with two people, who seemed like a couple, their hands tied to something I couldn't see." She continued recounting the story.
Woman in mourning attire? She questioned in her mind, her thoughts becoming even more chaotic, because just a moment ago, she saw a woman in mourning following the two.
"And then, I saw Ashley."
"Huh? Why did Ashley get involved in this?" She asked her companion.
"I don't know either, my mind is telling me something bad will happen to that child." She stared at him, her face worried, and he saw the fear in her eyes.
"Sis, just take a break for now." Tashia said, not wanting to scare herself with her sister's words.
She just sighed. "Yeah, maybe I just really need more rest right now, just eat there, and tell me when you're done." She said this without enthusiasm and immediately went back to the room. Tashia stared at the things back then, held onto the table, and sat down for a moment, weighing what her older sister was saying now.
No way, that can't happen, Vivianne just needs more sleep. She thought to herself, she had finished cooking, she needed to eat, so she could also rest.
She immediately went straight to the couch in their home and lay down, ignoring what her sibling said now, because her sibling's joke or thought was not good.
I'll just take a nap. She immediately closed her eyes. She could feel her surroundings became quiet and her mind calmed down.
Tashia heard a faint sob, so she opened her eyes and got up from the couch. She immediately scanned her surroundings. She could still hear the faint sobbing and crying, so she listened carefully to where the crying she was hearing now was coming from.
Tashia stood up to find the source of the crying she heard, gasping, when she saw a child wearing a hospital gown, hiding in the corner. She felt a chill run through her body.
She was puzzled as she looked at the child crying in the corner, because she had closed the door to prevent anyone from entering their home.
He approached it slowly.
"Child." Tashia called out to her.
She is still crying and softly sobbing.
"W – What's the problem?" she asked again.
Slowly, she looked at her, and she was just surprised by what she saw in her eyes.
"--- As---Ashley?" she found her voice, disbelief of what she's seeing right now.
"W --- What happened? Why---" she didn't finish what she was going to say.
When she witnessed that her tears were turning into blood.
Help --- Help, sister Tashia. That's all she heard, a scream that calling her name.
Tashia woke up from her bed then.
A dream? She sweated profusely because of her dream.
Maybe something happened to Ashley. Tashia quickly got dressed to go see Sharlene, she saw that Vivianne was still sound asleep, and she immediately got dressed.
"Are you leaving?" "Vivianne suddenly asked her, probably waking up from the noise she was making now."
Tashia only replied with a nod.
Vivianne got up and looked at the clock hanging in their room.
"It's almost nine in the evening." She just sighed. Vivianne stepped out of the room, she was getting dressed and preparing to leave now.
She passed by her older sister who had prepared food for her.
"I'm leaving now," Tashia said as she bid farewell.
Vivianne only replied with a nod. She immediately waited for a ride, still thinking about her dream earlier that it felt so real.