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"School is only a week away and I'm not ready to go back," April told Talia through FaceTime. Talia could hear cabinet doors slamming and the faucet running in the background. "Don't you think summer vacation went by too fast?"

"Times goes by when you're having fun," Talia smiled, dressed in her satin pajamas. "But think of it this way: only one grade left until we walk across the stage and receive our diploma. And then it's off to college."

"It's so hard to believe that soon we're about to move into the next chapter of our lives. I mean, just yesterday we were in the sixth grade where the most difficult thing was trying not to get on Miss Cooke's bad side. And now..." there was a long pause, "we actually have our future to think about."

Talia took a moment to register her friend's words. If there was something she rarely thought about, it was her future. Of course, she knew that in her sixteen years of living she was going to take her life seriously at some point, but it didn't really cross her mind when she was a child. In reality, no child contemplates about duties and responsibilities. Why worry about money and where your food was coming from when your only job was to be happy?

"When I lived in Israel, we had a saying: 'One must not let the sadness of the past nor the fear of the future ruin the happiness of our present.'"

April raised an eyebrow. "The people in Israel say that?"

"They would if you were there," Talia said, before bursting into a fit of giggles. "All I'm saying is that you shouldn't dwell too much on the future, because then you will be occupied with thoughts of 'what will become of me' or 'what path will I take' instead of focusing on what is now: your present. It's better to live in the moment, April."

The redhead smiles. "You know, Taly, you remind me of someone."

"I'd like to know who."

"You and him would get along real nicely, seeing that you two have a talent for sharing your daily dose of wise words."

"Him?" Talia mused. "You've certainly got me intrigued."

"Maybe one day I'll introduce you to him," April smirked. "Him and his family- which, speaking of, two of them attend the same school as us. What do you say I introduce you to them on the first day back?"

"That would be lovely."

"Sweet! Well, guess it's that time." April turned off the lights, darkness swallowing her room. "Night, Taly."

"Goodnight." Talia waved. "Love you."

"Not as much as me."

And that's how the FaceTime call ended. Talia set her phone on her nightstand and crawled under the covers. As she drifted to sleep, only sweet dreams filled her mind: her parents, April, her hopes and goals; everything. Sometimes, she even dreamed of traveling to different time periods and meeting historical figures from a specific era. In other dreams, she dreamt about finding the one and building a life together, children and all.

That was the life she yearned for the future. Perhaps not the time traveling part, but the part where she would be surrounded by her loved ones. Everything would be fine.

But sometimes, what one wishes to become reality, is nothing more than an illusion.

***

Talia didn't know how long she was asleep, but a loud bang coming from outside her room snapped her out of the wonderful dream she was having. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at her clock: 2am. Who could possibly be awake at this hour? Talia sat up and remained still, trying to hear to decipher the noise that had just woken her up.

She would've thought it was nothing, had not the source(s) of the noise grew louder. Since she knew it would take her a while to catch her sleep, she slid on her slippers and tip-toed out of her room and down the hall. As she descended down the dark corridor, she saw the only room who had the lights on was her parent's room.

Talia slightly frowned. Shouldn't they be asleep by now? Did something happen? It was clear that her parents were arguing about something, given the tone of their voices, but Talia only heard the words 'mistake' and 'danger'.

Mistake? Danger?

Worry overtook her and Talia knocked on the door. "Imma? Abba?"

Her parent's voices died down. Silence.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Her mother said.

"Is everything alright? I heard you two arguing and I thought something was wrong."

"Nothing is wrong, Talia," her father assured. "Come in."

Talia turned the knob and saw her parents: her father was sitting on the edge of the bed, while her mother was looking out the window. Contrary to her father's words, Talia could sense a hint of tension in the atmosphere, but she figured not to bring it up. She knew better than to meddle in the affairs of her parents.

"We are sorry if we woke you up, dewdrop," Seth used his nickname for his daughter apologetically. "Your mother and I were just talking."

Talia directed her gaze onto her mother and saw that Genesis did not move her eyes from the window, even drumming her fingers against the wall. What reason could she have for looking out the window at this hour?

"I see," Talia nodded. "Then I'll be going now."

Seth returned the nod and gave his daughter a forehead kiss.

"Goodnight Imma," Talia walked over to her mother to give her a kiss on the cheek. Genesis reciprocated, but Talia saw a flash of something in her eyes: anxiety. Talia frowned in slight concern, but alas, headed back to her room.

The look in her mother's eyes bothered her. If Talia wasn't mistaken, she would say Genesis was anticipating something...and it was nothing good. And why were her parents arguing beforehand? Before this day, Talia had never heard her parents shout at each other like that before. The most she heard them squabble was when they struggled what movie to watch as a family for movie night. There was nothing going on...was there?

Talia couldn't do anything other than return back to her room. Whatever it was, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. The topic of her parent's discussion had to be that bad, otherwise they wouldn't have woken up so late just to discuss the matter.

She sprawled herself on top of her bed, fiddling with her necklace. Deep in her head, she couldn't help but ask herself all these questions, none of them having an answer that made sense. Did her parents do something wrong? Was someone threatening either one of them?

Talia believed the last thought to be ludicrous. Everyone who knew her parents held no ill will against them— especially since they were such respected and benevolent figures known to the people of New York City. No crazy thought would cross through the head of anyone.

Nearly an hour had gone by and the young girl was so engrossed in her thoughts that a sound from outside brought her attention. She walked over to the window to see what it was and a gasp escaped her lips when she saw the security guards laying unconscious near the main gate.

Immediately, Talia sprinted out of her room and ran as fast she could back to her parents room. Her father was just exiting his chambers, as he had his phone to his ear. Talia studied his face and only saw one emotion: fear.

"Abba? What's going on-" she tried to ask her father, but he only ran past her and went for the emergency button that was on the wall. The emergency button was to notify the police in case the mansion's security system detected intruders.

That thought made every hair on Talia's body to prick up. Someone is trying to get in?

"Dewdrop, you and your mother should go to the safe room," he advised her. Talia noticed in his voice that he was trying not to scare her for her sake. "I will find out what's going on."

"But, Abba-"

"Listen to me! Just get to the safe room as fast as you can!" Her father said frantically, ignoring her protests.

What was happening? Talia had no time to ponder over that question. She once again made it to her parents room, only to see that her mother was not there. Talia checked in the attached bathroom, but she turned up empty-handed.

Perhaps she had made it to the safe room already? No, that was not possible. Her father said 'you and your mother', implying that both were supposed to go to the safe room together.

"Imma!" Talia felt like a chicken without its head, running from room to room, hoping her mother was hiding somewhere. With each minute passing, Talia felt her palms freeze up and she was sweating like a sinner in church.

After being out of breath and searching each room, it had occurred to Talia that the only room in the entire mansion she had not searched was none other than her mother's office.

For as long as she could remember living in this house, she was allowed to go anywhere her heart desired, except for her mother's study. It was forbidden, and when she was little, thought that behind the door was a looming shadow monster ready to devour her. But as she grew older, she believed that her mother simply just didn't want her to mess around in her workspace; it was none of her business. As far as Talia knew, her father wasn't allowed in either.

Guilt rushed in her stomach as Talia marched upstairs and soon saw the door. The same door that lured her with the temptation to open it and see what was inside. She almost felt like she was committing a crime, but she pushed those feelings aside once she thought about her mother's safety at hand.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the door was ajar, pelting light into the dark hallway. That's funny. Mother never leaves the door open, not even the slightest.

"Imma...?" Talia was millimeters from touching the wooden surface of the door before she heard a voice:

"I will ask you one last time: where is it?"

Right from the start she knew the voice belonged to someone else— a man. His voice was nothing she'd ever heard before- it was like hearing the earth itself talk. The tiny opening didn't allow Talia to view the whole picture, but she saw enough.

Talia covered her mouth when she saw her mother on her knees, hair disheveled and her glasses lenses broken.

"I've already told you," Genesis swallowed. "I don't have it."

If only I can see who is in there... Talia felt trapped. She couldn't do anything without risking her or her mother's safety.

"You know very well I don't have it. You can't kill me." Genesis said as sturdy as possible. "You can't."

"The bait dies before the fish," the man spoke coldly. Talia almost gasped when she saw double blades sharper than a saber tooth tiger's fangs edge closer underneath her mother's chin. "But both die on the same hook. I'm sorry, Dr. Elbaz. I can't let you live."

Talia knew at any moment she wouldn't take it anymore. Where was her father? And why was the police taking so long?

"I know you stole it," the man insisted. "Give me one good reason not to kill you."

"I have a husband and daughter worth more than gold." Genesis looked straight at her assailant. "I wouldn't let myself get killed!"

"We had a great business, you and I. But you took me for a fool."

Genesis shook her head. "If you think I have it, then you can't kill me. Let me go. I'll give it back."

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I'm sorry, but I don't make the rules. They were already set when I joined this trade," the man said solemnly. The double blades were then replaced with a gleaming tip of a sword's blade, much to Talia's horror. "This is to send a message to the entire clan— to make sure this doesn't happen again."

The blade slightly tapped Genesis's chest, and Talia could see her mother's chest heave up and down. "The one who's a traitor dies. And that rule applies for everyone."

The blade retracts and deadly silence envelops the atmosphere. For just one second, Talia foolishly believed whoever held her mother at sword point changed his mind and decided to spare her.

And that one second would be the last one she would receive of her old life. Before Talia even had time to react, she heard the sound of a blade swinging, followed by a horrible splatter. In the pale moonlight, the last image Talia would have of her mother was her mother's slouched body, with a sword impaling her heart.