Weathering the Wicked (Chronicles of Folklaria Book 1) Read online

  “Yeah, we’ll see,” said January.

  April kissed her forehead and left. As always, January knew that her Mother was right. January desired balance and steadiness for her sister, but June’s lack of desire to commit to anything that would bring stability to her life drove January to the brink of insanity. Things like jumping from job to job, partying, and spending time and money on throw-away degrees were major deals to January. What January wanted was to see her sister thrive and succeed because she knew that June had it in her, but January’s approach needed a lot of improvement, if she ever wanted to get through to her overly sensitive counterpart.

  ***

  Just outside January's window was the bat that had puzzled June earlier. Only this time, the bat was not staring into the window, but floating in front of the fence. Since everyone was in bed, it was the perfect time for this creature to make its move. Swirls of purple lights twirled around its wings, and for a split second, the bat disappeared. Appearing in its place was a large scaly man with one large and gaping eye right in the middle of its forehead. This creature began unscrewing a jar with crimson liquid inside and when he was finished, he tossed the liquid out. All the scenery behind the area where the liquid was tossed became distorted, as though there was an invisible water current. He tugged at January's window but, to his dismay, the window was stuck. The monstrous creature gave it another go and with one mighty pull, the window slammed open.

  The startling sound of the collision sprung January up from her bed. She caught the creature heaving himself through this window, but before she could even scream, the monster heaved his scaly arms at January, snatched her from her bed and muffled her screams. January kicked, punched, and even bit the creature, but she was no match for the robust beast.

  April stormed into the room to see her daughter being dragged out the window, but before she was able to catch a glimpse of January's attacker, the creature leaped into the invisible water current with her daughter and vanished completely.

  Chapter 3

  June

  June woke up in the middle of the night to the discomforting sound of her mother sobbing and screaming. June leaped out of her bed faster than lightning and slammed open her door that led to the kitchen. As she rounded the corner to the living room, June found her Mother hysterical on the couch, clutching the arm rest.

  Clenching her fleece pajama pants, June asked, “What’s going on?” June noticed that Bill was also upset, and he was frantic on the phone with someone. It sounded to June as though he was talking to law enforcement.

  June felt her heart pounding in her chest. “Bill, what’s going on?” June yelled.

  “I need to report a kidnapping. It’s my stepdaughter,” Bill said tensely into the phone. “Please help us!” he pleaded.

  Oh no, January, thought June. Then suddenly: that bat.

  Just as this was sinking in, dark purple smoke oozed from the ceiling and filled the air within a matter of seconds, engulfing June and her family. June’s head began to feel alarmingly light. Confused, she felt so dizzy the entire room rotated around her, like a ferris wheel. June lost all control of herself as her entire body started to shake. Her palms dampened with sweat. Her vision blurred and all she could see was her mother and Bill disappearing in the smoke.

  June’s eyes opened, but she could hardly see anything. Her vision was blurry, and she was very groggy; it felt like she had slept for days. Immediately, her head started to pound, and she scrunched her nose and lips together. Feeling pressure in her arm, she looked down and saw an I.V. in her arm. June squinted and blinked to regain her vision, but it didn’t work. She dragged her weak hands up to her face to rub her eyes, but she could only see a blinding white light and some blurred objects. After a few seconds, her surroundings became clearer. Finally, she could make out a television mounted to the wall, and next to it, a whiteboard with words written on it, including June’s full name. A sterile sink and cupboards was oddly placed next to the TV. She finally realized that she was a patient inside of a hospital room, and she was laying on a narrow bed. Her arm hurt, and her heart caught in her throat to see a needle in the crook of her elbow, attached to a bag of clear dripping liquid hanging to her right. All at once, her headache pounded hard.

  “Where…where am I?” June moaned, wondering if she was truly alone.

  “You’re awake,” a voice said from her right side, “welcome back, dear. How are you feeling?”

  “My head,” June said shakily. No matter how much she tried focusing on talking, the words would not come out coherently. June finally slumped her head to the right to see an older female nurse.

  “What, honey?” asked the nurse.

  “My head,” June pushed the words out. “It’s pounding.” This statement came out more clearly.

  “Okay, give me a moment and I will give you something to help with the pain,” the nurse said. “My name is Mary-Beth. I will be your nurse for the next few hours,” she informed her as she injected medicine into June’s I.V.

  “What happened? Why am I here?” asked June, rubbing her temples.

  The hospital door swung open to reveal April walking in with an armful of get-well cards.

  “June!” April shouted in relief. “Oh, my goodness, I am so happy that you’re awake!” April unloaded her gifts on the counter then sat on the edge of the hospital bed. and patted her leg affectionally. “How are you, baby?”

  Suddenly, the memory of June’s twin sister’s disappearance came crashing down on June.

  “Where is January? Is she okay?” June asked, popping straight up to the end of the bed.

  “January?” April asked as she tilted her head.

  “My sister! Is she okay?”

  “Sister?” April asked, seeming even more confused. Her mother looked over at the nurse with a puzzled look as if she was seeking an answer.

  “Does she not have a sister?” Mary-Beth asked.

  “Mom! Where is January? Why aren’t you answering me?” June’s stomach twisted and turned with nerves so intensely that her last meal crept up her esophagus a bit.

  “Sweetie. You don’t have a sister. You hit your head very hard and I think that you are confused,” April explained.

  “Mother, stop! Where is my damn sister! Is she okay?”

  Mary-Beth chimed in, “Honey, you should lay down and rest some more.”

  June swung her head toward Mary-Beth. “Don’t tell me what to do. I don’t even know you!” June snapped. She had no idea why her mother was pretending that January did not exist, but it was filling her with rage and confusion all at once. She was already irritated to wake up in the hospital and her mother was making it worse. Her blood began to pump quicker.

  “June Marie,” April said, frowning deeply.

  “It’s okay,” Mary-Beth assured. “I’ll leave you two alone to chat.” The nurse grabbed her clipboard and left the room.

  “Mom, what is going on? Why are you doing this? Is this funny to you? Because I’m scared.” Words spewed out of her as she began to panic. “Why aren’t you telling me where my sister is! The last thing that I remember is Bill reporting her kidnapped to the police and now you aren’t acknowledging it!”

  “June, please calm down.” June saw genuine concern in her mother’s eyes. “Like I said before, you hit your head very hard and you seem to be confused,” April explained. “Please just lay down and rest for a little while.”

  Bill came strolling in, sighing as if he had been dragged in there against his will. “June, you’re awake,” Bill said.

  “Mom, where the hell is January?” June asked, demanding an answer and ignoring Bill.

  “Who’s January?” Bill asked.

  This was definitely his idea to screw with me, June thought. She was reaching her boiling point. “Stop it, you guys! Please!” June begged. “This isn’t funny! Did anything even happen to her? Was this all a joke?” June began to feel so frustrated that her eyes welled up with tears. She was about to get out of her bed when she realized that she was bound by an I.V. “Get this thing out of me!” June yelled, throwing her arm up.

  “Why don’t we get the nurse to come and give her something to calm her down?” asked April. “Bill, will you please come out in the hall with me for just a second?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Bill replied as he lowered his chin to his chest and scratched his head.

  Bill and April walked out of the room.

  Why is she doing this? June thought. Is she teaching me a lesson because I pushed January? June thought she had figured it out. Nothing ever happened to her sister. It was all a big joke to teach June a lesson; she was very aggravated by the thought of her Mother dragging something this serious out for so long. This isn’t like my mom, June thought.

  A few minutes later, April and Bill strolled back into the room with a doctor.

  “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” June asked, unable to stop herself from talking about it. She was really pent up at this point, but if her mother had been pulling June’s leg, then it meant that January was safe. This helped her to stay calm.

  “June, I’m Doctor Lamen. You suffered a head injury. It’s likely that you have a concussion. Your parents said that you fell and hit your head on the coffee table after rushing into the living room unexpectedly. How are you feeling?”

  “My head hurts,” June answered. She directed her attention back to her Mother. “I get it, okay. I shouldn’t have pushed her. I regretted it immediately. She said some hurtful things to me, I let her get under my skin, and the situation got the best of me.” June was holding back her tears. “I pushed her, but we’ll work it out. Right?”

  Again, June noticed sincere shock and confusion from her mother when April scanned the room as if she was lookin
g for validation or help.

  “I know what you’re doing. January told you about what happened and you’re teaching me a lesson. I understand. Just please cut it out,” pleaded June.

  April tilted her head and pouted her lips a bit, looking completely helpless.

  “June, do you mind if I speak with you alone?” Dr. Lamen asked.

  “Fine,” June replied.

  “We won’t be long,” Dr. Lamen assured Bill and April and they stepped out of the room.

  “Do you mind if I ask you some questions, June?” Dr. Lamen inquired.

  “I’m not crazy. My mom is teaching me a lesson,” she explained.

  “Fair enough. I don’t think you’re crazy,” the doctor assured her. “How’s your head? You said that it hurts.”

  “Yes, but it’s a lot better since the nurse gave me some medicine,” June answered.

  “Okay. What would you rate your pain on a scale of one to ten?”

  “A five, I suppose.”

  “Do you feel dizzy?”

  “Slightly.”

  Dr. Lamen asked her some other questions about her past health conditions, then he wrapped things up.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” Dr. Lamen asked.

  “Yes. When can I go home?”

  “Well, we’re just going to run a couple of tests. An MRI and a blood test,” explained Dr. Lamen. “Then you’re free to go, as long as there isn’t anything alarming.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  ***

  The car ride home was tense and awkward. June was still upset with her mother and she was very anxious to get home.

  Bill finally broke the silence.

  “Well, June. We’re very happy that you’re okay. We were so worried.” He said this with a lack of any real concern, so June didn’t bother responding. She could not function naturally or positively with his facade that June knew was for her mother’s benefit only. She felt that he actually wished she would go to a psychiatric hospital. “Are you happy to be heading home?” he asked.

  “Please just cut the crap. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but I get it. I was wrong, and I see that. Continuing to drag this on is cruel,” June asserted from the back seat, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “June, please just relax,” Bill suggested, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror.

  “Why are you even here?” she asked.

  “To make sure you stay in line.”

  If you were to ask any of June’s co-workers, friends, or peers they would tell you that June was kind, pleasant, and respectful for the most part. But there was something about Bill and January that caused June to act impulsively and immature; she allowed them to get deep under her skin.

  As they pulled up to the driveway, June felt apprehensive about approaching January. Clearly, a genuine apology was necessary, but she was unsure whether or not January would forgive her.

  She may hold this against me for a while, thought June. But, I have to try.

  Once the car stopped, June scrambled to unbuckle her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. Waiting for the front door to be unlocked, she tapped her foot on their doormat. June pushed past her mother and rushed inside. After flying up the stairs, she arrived at January’s room and hesitated. June was worried that they were going to get into a bigger argument, but a peace treaty had to be in order.

  June gave her sister a warning knock and crept right in. To June’s surprise, January was nowhere in sight. In fact, none of January’s belongings were in the room. The room was filled with gym equipment. No trophies, no posters of athletes, and no textbooks. Instead, there were dumbbells stacked on one wall, a treadmill under the window, and yoga mats spread out in the middle of the floor.

  Had her mother really gone to this length to teach her a lesson? Or was January just … gone?

  “No. No, this can’t be real,” June said aloud. She turned around and immediately raced back down the stairs. June made it to the living room, where she stopped dead in her tracks once she passed the family portraits on the wall. All the pictures were the same as they had always been, except for one thing: January was not in any of them. The picture of the twins meeting Santa Claus for the first time only showed June sitting on his lap. Their trip to Disneyland only pictured June screaming down Splash Mountain.

  Now June knew that her mother was not pretending.

  There was no lesson being taught.

  No cruel joke.

  Her Mother had no idea who January was... because January no longer existed.

  “What is happening?” June said out loud. Her chest tightened, and she saw stars. Her stomach felt like it was filled with a thousand butterflies all flapping their wings at once. She was queasy, and fuzzy, and it was hard to focus. “Calm down, June,” she directed herself while staggering through the living room. But she could not calm down. She could not relax at all. June could not stand still without her body fiercely shaking. June had to get out of her house before she became so overwhelmed that she had a breakdown.

  June whipped around and sailed out the front door.

  ***

  On a block nearby, something very peculiar was happening. A rose had formed a woman’s face out of the petals and was moving its leaves as if they were functioning arms. This extraordinary rose placed its leaves below its face, where a chin would be, and blew a shimmering teal stream of color at a lady who was strolling by.

  “Actually, I think I’ll go back,” said the lady out loud. She changed her mind so abruptly, as if magic had made the decision for her. The woman twisted around and began walking the other way, which happened to be in the direction of the Camas cemetery.

  When the woman turned around, the enchanted rose shifted back to its normal state as June sprinted toward the cemetery as well. June had run about a mile away from her house at this point. When she stopped running, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath. June’s heart was beating out of her chest. She huffed and puffed for at least a minute before her heart rate finally slowed. The second she straightened her back, her emotions flowed out of her like a waterfall. June could not hold the tears back for another moment. Many thoughts raced through her head all at once. What happened to my sister? Will I ever see her again? June needed answers, but where could she even begin to look for them?

  Suddenly, a voice from the left of the alley said, “Ma’am, are you okay?”

  June gasped. She did not expect to see anyone by the cemetery. June turned to see a woman, dressed in a tracksuit, who was approaching her.

  “Yes,” June lied. “No, actually no, I am not okay,” she said, huffing and puffing.

  “Can I help?” the woman asked.

  “No. Nobody can help me,” muttered June.

  “Are you sure? Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? Why are you so upset?” the woman pressed, taking a step toward June.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” June said, backing away from her.

  “Well, why don’t you try me? I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my life.” The woman stared at June with a warm smile on her face. For some reason, June felt a sense of comfort and felt that she could trust this woman. Besides, what did she have to lose?

  “Well, here it goes. Last night, I overheard my parents reporting my sister, January, being kidnapped to the police. The last thing that I remember is a bunch of purple smoke and being so overwhelmed with emotion that, I’m assuming, I fainted because I woke up in a hospital where nobody knew who my sister was.” June took a deep breath and continued. “And now I’ve come home to an existence without my sister. Her room is a gym. She’s not in our family pictures. I’m lost, confused, scared, nervous, and I just wish there was someone who could understand me,” June vented. “Now, I don’t know what to do.” June bawled again as she dropped down to her knees. She peeked up at the lady to see that a look of urgency had splashed across her face. “I know. You think that I’m crazy,” surmised June. “I guess I can’t blame you.”

  “You’re not crazy. In fact ... I know exactly where your sister is.”

  June popped her head up and looked at the lady in disgust. “Real funny. I hope that you’re entertained. Please, leave me alone now.”

  Insulted that someone would make a joke out of this, June stood up and headed into the cemetery for some privacy. The nerve, thought June.