Sapphire raised an eyebrow as she spoke into the phone. "It can't be, though."

"Honey, I'm as alive as ever," he responded, and she could just picture the smile glowing on his face.

"Nicholas?" she asked, her heart frozen in confusion. There was absolutely no way. She remembered staring at his body in the casket and seeing the cold face looking back at her. She remembered throwing the first hand of dirt to bury him. Sapphire remembered every single painful moment that his death forced her to endure. He was most definitely dead, no doubt about it.

There was silence on the receiving end that seemed to last for an eternity, or perhaps it was just Sapphire's anticipation growing. Her breaths sharpened with every second that passed, her heart racing past the speed of light.

"Hello, Saph," he answered on the other side. She felt her heart drop. This was most definitely Nicholas, but how? He was dead.

"I'm confused," she began, not exactly sure what to say. Of course, she had always hoped that Nicholas would come back to life, but she never really expected it to happen.

Silence fell on the other side.

"Nicholas?" she called out, but there was no answer.

Nothing but silence and confusion plagued Sapphire. She pondered at the phone that now only fed radio waves into her ear. She stood up, her phone still clutched in her palm. Something was extremely wrong here and she needed every ounce of help that she could gain.

In a panic, she dialed Scarlett's number. She would call Selene, but she was far too piratical for this sort of thing. Scarlett, on the other hand, was open minded and would understand her.

"Hey, Sapphire?" Scarlett answered after only a few rings.

"Thanks for answering! Oh, Scar, something strange just happened," Sapphire said out of exasperation. She tucked a few strands before her ear, not knowing how or where to even begin.

"Saph, I love you, but work is extremely busy right now. Is this of utter importance, or can I call you back later?" Scarlett asked, her voice sounding tender and shaken, as well. It was as if she had just gotten a call from her dead husband.

"No, Scarlett, something is wrong!" Sapphire emphasized with a drawn out sigh.

"Okay, what's up? Have you been drinking?" Scarlett inquired.

Sapphire rolled her eyes a little, tugging at the long black sleeves that laced her skinny, pale arms. "Well, yes, but that's not it."

"Sapphire, just go take a nap," Scarlett replied, suddenly losing interest.

"No, Scar, you don't understand! I did nap, but I had such a strange dream," Sapphire tried to explain at a loss for words. "Look, I fell asleep and this old guy appeared, telling me to pull my life together and answer the phone. When I woke up, the phone was ringing, and I answered it."

"Okay?" Scarlett's mind seemed distant, like she was scribbling a design down on the other side.

"It was Nicholas on the phone, Scarlett."

"Sapphire, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's impossible," Scarlett noted.

"So, you see why it's weird?" Sapphire asked, feeling like she had finally made her point.

Scarlett hesitated with her response, probably just unsure of what to say. While she had gotten several strange calls like this from Sapphire before, none of them had ever included a dead person. "Sapphire, just lay off on the alcohol and take a nap. I'll swing by to see you later."

"Scarlett, no, you cannot just hang up, okay? I need you right now," Sapphire pleaded, though not knowing how to keep her sister on the phone. She knew full well that Scarlett had a million of responsibilities to attend to, but didn't her sister's mentality count for a little more than that?

Scarlett sighed heavily. "It will be okay, alright? I'll see you later." The click signaled that the phone call had ended, and Sapphire heard the radio waves reaching out to her once more. She put her phone down and looked around the living room, not sure what to do. Everything looked so dark and gothic, though she did not mind. It was the perfect lighting for her.

She strolled over to her desk near the window and brought out her sketchbooks, Indian ink pens, and watercolor pencils. She did not have a very stable job. In fact, Sapphire did not have a job at all! She did, however, dabble with a few comic strips in the local newspaper. It barely provided her with any money, though. Her income was based off of everything that Nicholas left her with and that the military provided for her.

She was a struggling artist, and as far as she knew, that is what she was going to be for the rest of her life.

Her hand started to sketch out a thin oval, in preparation to draw out the face of her next graphic novel protagonist. What she really wanted to do with her life was create a successful series of graphic novels that young adults would rush to the stories to find out what happens next. It was time to finally put that dream together.

And it all begins with the first brush stroke.

***************

Author's Note:

That concludes Sapphire's first chapter, and now we switch back to Selene!  The sisters will also have a joint chapter coming up soon, so that you can see them all interact.

Hope you enjoyed!  As always, feedback is welcome!

Also, thank you to arielklontz for creating this lovely cover!  Make sure to check out her stories ♡

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,

Ali xoxo