Een

She was a stunning beauty, one that caused the sun to beam his teeth even brighter in her silhouette. Her body curved and twisted in the perfect glass for any hour. Her skin shone in bright bronzer, and along with her full lips dimpling up with delight, males would be reeling over on their heels. By the time they balance their bodies back to solid ground, the girl would vanish, embarking to the unknown that males wanted to discover. Oh yes, they tried. They tried every tactic and method that they could conjure, but alas, they fell short. She was a dancing light, in a flicker of smoke. The males would only get singed, and they quickly put their fingers to their mouths, what a brief, tingling sensation! But it wasn’t enough. The only source that they could get a pinch of information was from her older sister, Adonna.

Adonna was also graced with rarity of beauty; in fact she was the first of bloomer of big bum and breasts. She was the starling that males would drool over, she was the vanilla mixed with praline. Her round eyes held droplets of the Maker’s oceans, and her buttery lips were shiny enough for looks, but not to hold a kiss. Adonna was the bejeweled prize that peers would handled with awe. Until Aura blossomed.

It was an unexpected; Adonna saw that her baby sister now held meaning. Walking down the halls of her life were like crossing the red sea. She didn’t need a staff. Or blue contacts, or hair extensions, no head status as being the lead cheerleader. She only need herself, and her trusty camera, ande her carrot orange hat, and her bright brown eyes that soaked up everything. She only needed she as light, which made Adonna look upon her with a withering, dissolving heap of contempt.

So of course Adonna had to quickly build back her walled status before it crumbled and weathered away. The poor males, thanks to Adonna, were now even far away from their prize. Thanks from the silken honey, their light was now even impossible to touch with fingertips.

Twee

A waft of wind lilts through my whole body, and sigh deeply, feeling it run thrills. I hoisted up my body, tweaked my orange hat, and aim my camera towards a group of colors, all creating a dizzying light. How dazzling band instruments are, silver and blue, and especially gold, which mirrors the sun. And we all know that without sun, there’s only darkness, no images to capture, no memories that will be revealed. That’s why I’m anticipating to snap this photo for the cover for year book, reminding our students that beauty was shown in the light, where no darkness can interrupt it.

“Um, excuse me…”

At the deep sound of monotone rumbling in my ear I swiveled around, causing my camera to fly out of my hands. I shrieked in alarm, already visualizing shattering glass spinning at my feet, memories smattered. But before it could formulate into reality, strong brown hands reached through the air and caught it, smoothly.  He handed it over to me, with a “I’m sorry miss,” on his lips.

To this day, IO thanks the Lord for letting me look up. I don’t always look up, because my world is down, in the camera lens, and that’s all. But today I looked up, without my lens, and there I saw a stunning creation that not even a high-tech camera such as mine could capture. He was tall, a male with smooth chocolate that made me melt in his presence. The strong jaw line was there, and the curly black hair, was I reminiscing? I flitted my eyes at him and tried to think of something to say. “Thanks, you saved a fortune!” I uttered.

The male gleamed at me(good God, he had white teeth too!) and held out his hand. “ Are you reffering to the camera, miss, or yourself?”

Butterflies were bursting to unleash my response to his flattery. I quickly reached out my matching brown hand to clasp his, the perfect moment---

“Hey yall!!!” I turned just to see my sister flounce up towards us.  Her cheer outfit which she “slightly adjusted” made the sun catch the sequins and throw it in my eyes, causing me to squint. “Hey Adonna, I mumbled, trying top lok down.  It was my natural response whenever I am in her presense.  But it was now hard to look down with the male’s eyes staring down at me. What color were his eyes. Iyearned to know, but in order to know I had to look up…

“ Hweey my sweet Ethan.”  Adonna blinked her blue eyes at him, then taking the hand that was cradling my possession, she pressed it to her cheek. “Don’t people just bore you to deth with all teir yak-yakking?”

Ethan’s laugh was a harmonious wonderful sound, but I knew he was unaware that Adoona smirked in my direction That ‘yak-yakker’ was me.

I always felt this way around my sister, small and inconspicuous. But as I looked upon her, her praline butter cream hand massaging at Ethan’s shoulder, her eyes trying to swallow him in one big bite, Something foreign happened within me. A tingle turned into a searing sensation, it was brief, but it was real, and it hurt. I clutched at my stomach and gasped, causing them to look over at me.

“ Are you alright?” Ethan’s brown (I knew he had brown!) eyes filled up with concern.

“Of course she’s alright,” my sister drawled , flipping her black extensions. I fingered at my shorter locks, stretched it tight, and let it go. Boing.

“I’m fine, just gotta snatch more pictures.” I managed to smile up at him. He smiled back with sunrays. Alright, I really have to go. I grabbed my camera, waved. “See you at home, Adonna,” I called to her.

I knew she wouldn’t answer. I knew she would just continue her performance in her light. I walked away quickly, kicking up wafts of smoke.

I arrived home just as the sun was beginning to snooze  in the earth’s depths. I threw down my hand, plumped onto my beanbag chair, and stared. It was so quiet with my parents and sister gone. My parents informed us that they’ll be back on Wednesday but it’s already Friday, and I don’t expect them to be back on Sunday. Noththat Im worried. My mom  told my dad when they were courting that life feels much freer without having kids. Better not interfere in their fantasy.

 I curled tighter to get comfy, and before I was aware, I inserted an old memory my camera slot. I  clicked at the sidebars, watching my life unfold in the lens.

There’s my sister, all bundled up in a lace blanket, staring directly at the camera. Her tuff of hair was clip[ back, and my parents were shining art her like a million books. What happened to the no children policy?

I flipped through more pictures. Adonna was everywhere, petite and angelic in the camera flash. Her eyes shone with confidence, saying. Look at me. I’m pretty and I know it. Even as a child she held this status. Even with her real skin color and eye color she knew that she was beautiful.

I stumbled upon Adonna looking up at the camera with a squeamish uncomfortable face. It surprised her because in all the previous pictures she was all light and smiles. I looked closer at the picture. There was pink bundle in her lap.

That bundle was me.

My fingers shook, as I pressed the closeup button. I was a shriveled up being, crumbled and battered, ruining a perfect picture because of my presence. Ruining a perfect girl’s light because I was in it.

I wanted to hurl my camera at the wall, as well as my feelings, but both were delicate and I could not harm. I buried my face in the covers. All my life I was ugly and weird, and now that boys are paying attention to me, I don’t know what to do with myself. How can I shine my candle if I don’t know how to light it?

I was deep in slumber when I heard it. It was a moan, a shuffling, a rustling. I sat up. Was it a rat? A robber? I grouped through the darkness trying top find the light.

I suddenly tripped over something, cold and soft, and I cry rang out. My heart froze, and I switched on the light. “Adonna!”

I could barely recognize her. She was all crumbled and battered, a shuddering heap. Her clothes was stained with wetness, and blood was seeping in her clothes. I shrieked and clutched her hand. “Adonna, Adonna!” I forced her to look ath me. “Who did this to you?”

Adonna sniffled and looked up in my eyes. And I saw the same eyes that I have seen through my lens, her eyes were like mine, a deep brown. And so was her skin, but whitened it so that no one could have known.

I remembered the day Adonna started to wear the contacts. It was when she discovered that my cup size was bigger than hers. Then she brushed past me and cried in her room

And I remembered when I had the first boy ever to call me. And he also happened to be the cutest boty in school. Adonna didn’t speak tp me in a week.

And I remembered, most vividly, when I was six and she was nine, and I said, “see how pretty my skin shines in the light?” and she bought skin lightener secretly, when she turned thirteen.

As I stared at her I wondered, was I just light to my sister or darkness that happened to influence her. Was it because of her avoidance to the reality of things that she escaped to find something new? Including tonight, all broken so she could show me that she was better than I?

I stroked her hand, softly.”Don’t worry, Adonna, I got you.”

Her eyes, I realized, were like mine, but they were even more beautiful because they have been hidden away for so long…