Deep breaths filling her lungs, four seconds in, seven seconds out. She was struggling to prevent a panic attack as she sit against the bathtub, knees tucked to her chest, arms keeping her legs close to her body. The white tiled floor was cold, her faucet leaking as she counts the drips. She can smell the candle burning on the counter, she closes her eyes as she tries to take her mind to a different place. Any place but here, in this place, at this second she has cancer. Her eyes filling with tears as she thinks about her world ending, the possibility of her taking her last breath. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She’s only 25, she just got her dream job as a journalist for an online magazine. She bought her little blue house with the white picket fence and the wrap around porch. Her dog, a Frenchie named Peanut, finally had a yard instead of living apartment to apartment. And Ben, she’s finally found him. After years of dating the wrong men and getting her heart broken, she found the one. It sounds cliche thinking of it that way, but she truly believes she found the man she’ll love forever. But will he still love her with her limited timeline?
She sat there on the cold bathroom floor, her feet tucked beside her, her phone shattered across the room. Tears filled her eyes but refused to fall. Each breathe taken was filled with exhaustion, Jake, her husband of 3 years, was gone. She still couldn’t believe it, everything happened so fast. Was it real, or was she having a nightmare? Maybe he was on his way home from work, stopped for yellow daisys and picked up her favorite Thai food on the way. Or maybe he had to work late, he was shooting for a promotion since the baby is due in a few months, and it was just some last minute overtime. She wanted to believe anything but the truth, she didn’t think she could handle it. Then flashbacks of the day before filled her mind. She was walking into her home, juggling the days errands in her hands, when she got the call. Suddenly, she dropped the bag of groceries and the tea from her hands; red tea stained the floor and splattered on the perfect white rug they picked out together. She couldn’t breathe, her throat was closing, her vision blurred. She didn’t know what to say, she started sobbing. The phone fell, as her legs lost their strength, she smashed to the ground right next to it. The phone call playing over and over in her head, “I’m sorry, your husband is dead.”
Becka’s hands started sweating, she wipes them on her new jeans she picked out yesterday. She doesn’t know why she feels the need to impress Kara, they used to be best friends. They used to have sleep overs, staying up way too late and eating so much junk food. They would share clothes and compare their bodies. People at school would ask if they were sisters for how similar they were. But that was over a decade ago, things are different now. Becka and Kara had an argument the week after graduating high school, she doesn’t even remember over what, but that was the end of their relationship. They stopped talking to each other, numbers were deleted, but the memories never forgotten. They were friends since they were five, from kindergarten to high school graduation they were inseparable. Even though they never spoke again, Becka watched Kara’s life through her Instagram. It hurt her heart to watch her best friend live her own life without her, but it would hurt her more if she knew nothing about her. It was almost time for their reservation and Becka’s nerves were a wreck. That was until Kara’s car pulled into the parking lot. The white Mercedes sparkling in the sun, she parks across from Becka’s black BMW, seems like their taste has changed a bit. Becka smiles, she knew her bestie has always wanted a Mercedes. She was so happy she got her dream car. Kara’s light brown hair blowing in the wind as she steps out of the car, she smiles at Becka when their eyes meet. She starts walking over to Kara, when Kara starts running towards her. Kara wraps her arms around her and squeals, “I have SO much to tell you!” And just like that, it was like they never stopped being friends.
Cotton candy skies and white almond trees in full bloom, Emy smiles as she scrolls through the pictures she snapped before she lost the light of the sun. Her favorite time of day was when the temperature starts to cool and the sun starts fading away. It had been three years since she moved to the small farming town. She lived with Ben, her fiancé of a year, and had 30 acres of almond trees lining her dream home. She spent most her days taking pictures of the small town. She continues clicking through her camera, she stops suddenly, “is that?” It couldn’t be him, and if it was him, who was he with? She can feel her heart beating. She couldn’t see his face, but his body, the body she had spent hours studying and caressing, it had to be him. What was her fiancé doing in the almond fields with another woman? The woman was shorter than him, her eyes a dark green and freckles filled her cheeks. Her long blonde hair down the length of her back, curls at the end. She was wearing a white dress, a cute little bow on the side. Her lips a soft pink, parted as she stares into his eyes. His arms wrapped around her waist, held her in place. Emy can feel her hands starting to shake, her blood rises and her cheeks feel flush. She couldn’t imagine her loving, handsome, affectionate fiancé cheating on her. Her mind racing faster than her legs, she had to get back home and confront him. “How could he?” She asks herself as she rounds the corner, she sees a white Range Rover pulling out from in front of her neighbors house. That wasn’t their car, who could it have been? She runs inside the house and throws her camera on the sofa. She runs up stairs and busts through the master bathroom door. There he was, his tan skin glistening as the water beads drip down his chest down to his abs. A towel wrapped around his waist, covering himself from her wondering eyes. He whips his brown hair back, water splattering the mirror behind him. His eyes reach hers and he smiles, his white teeth sparkling. He grabs for her hand and pulls her toward him. She couldn’t hear her thoughts over her heart pounding in her ears. This feeling, was it anger or lust, she didn’t know, but she didn’t want it to end. Maybe she was wrong, maybe it wasn’t him in the photo, she couldn’t see the man’s face after all. Her brain quiets down as he kisses her lips, running his left hand through her wavy brown hair. He grabs her with his right hand and lifts her up onto the bathroom counter. Spreading her legs and finding his spot between her thighs. She closes her eyes and raises her arms as he pulls off her shirt. He slowly starts kissing her neck when she pulls away. “We need to talk,” she says to him. His dark brown eyes lock with hers. He frowns, “About?”
It’s been four days now, I thought I was dreaming. They showed up at everyone’s doorstep, they seem to have a hold on us. No one is fighting back, no one is even acknowledging what is going on. They look just like us, but they aren’t human. They have glowing purple eyes and their skin is smooth, no wrinkles for indents or dimples. You can tell you are around one because your phone stops working, the radios turn to static and the lights flicker. They have the ability to not only read our thoughts but change them as well. All they have to do is maintain eye contact for five seconds. They don’t seem to hate us, it seems they enjoy to be around us. They have not harmed anyone, in fact they are able to cure us. They take our hand and tap our palms and cure any and everything wrong with us. It seems they came to cure our sicknesses. The more they heal from us, the stronger they grow.
