Chapter Text
Solum. Having no companions, friends or protectors. Alone. This was how Luz felt as she ran through the woods, too upset to care where she was going and too caught up in her thoughts to notice the tree root sticking out of the ground in front of her. Her foot caught on the root and she tripped, hitting her head hard against the wet ground, before everything went dark and she lost consciousness.
Luz’s day had started off like any other rainy monday morning, chaotic.
“ Luz get your ass outta bed already, school starts in 45 minutes and I don’t wanna get detention again because you decided to stay up late for the fourth time in a row.” came a voice from downstairs.
Luz pulled her blankets tighter around her. “Five more minutes Lucia, I just got comfortable again!” Luz yelled back, hoping her sister would leave her alone.
“ Luz if you make me come up there I’m gonna drag you out of bed by your feet!” Lucia yelled back up the stairs.
“ Ugh, fine I’m getting up.” Luz yelled as she slithered out of bed with a groan. She spent the next fifteen minutes completing her morning hygiene routine, which consisted of showering, changing into clean clothes and brushing her teeth. She ran down the stairs while combing her hair, which really didn’t need to be combed considering how short it is, and stopped when she saw her sister glaring at her from the front door. “ Why are you looking at me like that?”.
“ You need to start going to bed on time Luz. We’ve been late the past four days because you keep going to bed so late you don’t get up on time.” Lucia said as she threw Luz her bag and opened the front door.
“ Geez, I already said I’m sorry.” Luz said as she slung her bag over shoulder and walked out of the house behind her sister.
“ Sorry’s not gonna cut it Luz, I didn’t care about being late the first couple times, but now I’m getting detentions and it won’t be long before I’m suspended.” Lucia replied, her tone serious.
“ So what, it’s just a suspension sis, not like it’s the end of the world!” Luz said as she checked to make sure everything was in her bag.
“ Maybe not to you Luz, but to the rest of the world getting suspended is not something we set out to accomplish on a regular basis!” Lucia snapped back, anger evident in her voice.
“ You don’t have to walk to school with me Lucia, you can just leave and I’ll follow behind when I finish getting ready.” Luz replied, she was starting to get annoyed with her sister.
“ That’s just it Luz, if I’m not there to make sure you get up and go to school, you wouldn’t even bother to get out of bed. That’s why mom has me babysit you when she has to go in to work early.” Lucia whisper-yelled as they passed a couple on the sidewalk.
“ Have you ever thought about why I wouldn’t go to school if given the choice? And I don't need a babysitter Lucia so you can go ahead and stop if you want to!” Luz yelled, not caring if anyone heard her.
“ No, Luz, I haven’t thought about why you don’t want to go to school and frankly, I don’t care. Mom put me in charge of making sure you get to school on time when she’s not here to do it herself, even if you don’t want me to. I’m not about to get in trouble with mom because you don’t want to go to school, and you do need a babysitter!” Lucia yelled back, drawing the attention of a couple passersby.
“ Why do I need a babysitter Lucia? Give me one good reason!” Luz yelled back as she turned to look her sister in the eyes.
“ Because you're not normal Luz, and you never have been!” Lucia yelled, and immediately regretted it when she saw the hurt look on her little sister's face. “ Luz, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it I swear I -”. Luz ran off before she could finish her sentence.
“ Wait, Luz, come back. I didn’t mean it!” Lucia yelled as she ran after her sister.
“ Luz! Where are you Luz?”
Lucia had followed Luz into the forest near their house, but had lost track of her shortly afterwards. It was beginning to rain harder and Lucia was becoming more and more worried about her sister as the minutes passed.
“ Luz where the hell are you? I’m sorry about what I said! I didn’t mean it! Please, Luz just come out.” Lucia yelled into the rain, which was still coming down harder and harder as each moment passed, making it almost impossible for Lucia to see past a few feet in front of her.
“ Stupid fucking storm! Did you have to happen now?” Lucia was now extremely worried about Luz. There was a river somewhere to the north of the forest and if it continued to rain like this, the river could overflow, possibly flooding the forest if it rained long enough.
“ Come on Luz, I’m sorry about what I said but we need to get out of here before this rain gets worse!” Lucia yelled. Moments later she pushed through a few low hanging branches to come across something she had hoped she would never see. Her little sister, lying motionless on the ground in front of her.
“ LUZ!”