32 comments

Adventure Fantasy Friendship

July 6th, Epsilon

Kadiya Callisto

“And so today,” I sob, accepting a handkerchief to wipe away fake tears, “we mourn the death of my beautiful daughter. Rest in peace, Lucia.” 

Among the crowd, some murmur, some wail, and some cry, but all mourn the death of the girl I loathed the most.

My sea-foam green Bugatti waits for me in the parking lot where I left it, windows darkened to near-black. Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I dial a number, opening the car door and sitting in the driver’s seat — the only one not stacked ceiling-high with bag upon bag of cash, all my hard-earned money. Our hard-earned money. 

“Kadiya, love. Are you on your way?” My husband’s voice soothes me the way it always has. 

“Yes.”

“Do you have the money?”

“I withdrew it all. It’s with me in the car now.”

“Not our account-”

“Lucia’s. I know.”

“And the rights to Dasha’s?”

I sigh contentedly, tossing my hair over my shoulder. “I’m working on it.”

He chuckles, his warm laughter fuzzy over the speakers. “We’ll work on it. But no rush, we’ve got time. We run Taxitas now.”

We run Taxitas now.


Read on for an after scene!

July 7th, Epsilon

Lilium Umbra

I shuffle my feet, the farthest and fastest I can move them with the brass chains that link my ankles together. Coming upon an empty cell, the jail master shoves me in, my knees scraping against the rough concrete and staining it red with my blood. 

“Enjoy your free time,” he says, picking the key to the cell off the large loop on his belt and double padlocking the cell door shut, “cause you don’t get much of it. One meal a day, choose now or I’ll choose for you.”

Whimpering as I pick myself off the floor, I ignore the stinging pain long enough to hear a soft whisper from the other side of the cell wall. “Lunch,” it whispers.

“Lunch.”

The jail master scribbles something on a sheet of paper tacked to a dusty, scratched-up clipboard, then looks up at me again. “You get one shower a week, and you’re blindfolded to go and come from everywhere. You crap in that corner,” he points to a hole in the furthest corner of the cell, “and you piss there.” He points to the one opposite it. “Once you outgrow what you’ve got on, you get one shirt, one pair of pants, and one pair of shoes each year. No more. Maybe less. The rest,” he turns and begins to walk away, “you figure out sooner or later.”

I let out a shallow breath, sitting against the wall. 

“Lilium. Are you there?”

Indigo. “Yes,” I whisper eagerly, tipping my head to the side so that I can hear her. “What are you doing here?”

She sighs, rapping her knuckles on the ground. “Accomplice to the murder of Dasha Halax. Xander, too.”

“Is he there?”

“Sure am,” he calls. I can hear him shrug up to the wall on the other side. This is how we talk now. 

“This is my fault. You guys don’t deserve to be here.” I stare at my thin fingers in my lap, wondering what life will be like. I turn nineteen in two years. I guess I don’t have too long to think about it.

“What happened, Lilium?” Xander asks, his voice a soft contrast to the forcefulness he usually brings to every conversation. 

“It’s…” I flash back to the memories of the last few days. All this in days. Days. “It’s a long story.”

“We have a long time.”

“Well…” I trail off, trying to think of how to start. “It’s July 2nd, Epsilon. I twirl a bright pink lock of hair between my fingers while I shuffle down the sidewalk, humming a song I barely know over the incessant honking and beeping of the traffic beside me…” 



And that's the end! Thanks for making it here!


July 05, 2021 19:06

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

32 comments

Ed Vela
03:19 Jul 05, 2022

Oooooooo, COOL 😎 Latest adventure in the Luger/Pyke saga... https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/rnqtsk/

Reply

Show 0 replies
Graham Kinross
10:22 Feb 06, 2022

Been busy? You should keep this going. Writing a book instead?

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
21:08 Feb 06, 2022

Yeah, yeah. I'm in my first year of high school now, so I've got all that plus I'm writing a novel so :) Got a lot on my plate, but once it clears out, I'll be back here posting regularly. Thank you for the concern though -- it really means a lot to me that people still care :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Phebe Emmanuel
21:54 Feb 06, 2022

Hey, Your comment just... made my day :) Tried to return the favor -- brought u up a few points (not too many :) Thank you for making me smile!

Reply

Graham Kinross
21:59 Feb 06, 2022

No problem. I hope you’ve got more stories in the works. Thanks for the likes. Are you working on the next one?

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
00:35 Feb 07, 2022

Of this series? I was thinking that I would leave it here and just have it be a constant retelling... wasn't really intending on going into life at the prison or how they die at a certain age and all that, but now that you mention it, maybe I will. I am, however, still going to finish up the choices series, maybe (possibly) turn that into a little book of short stories (since every path is its own story). I've gotten high praise for that one -- if you want, that's the series that I really recommend.

Reply

Graham Kinross
01:20 Feb 07, 2022

I’ll have a look at it. Thanks.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 2 replies
23:29 Jan 20, 2022

Hullo

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
18:51 Jan 24, 2022

heyyyyy its been a while missed u and this place

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
01:12 Nov 26, 2021

Phebe, it sounds like you have a good plot line going. Let the reader fall into it, it is interrupted by the 'thank you for reading' style which is very junior high. Let the reader follow as if they are peering into another world. We readers need to get hooked onto at least one character. Let us build a relationship with one before spreading out our attention to too many others. Thanks for posting. I look forward to more!

Reply

Show 0 replies
19:26 Jul 21, 2021

Woooooooo! You're back! (I'm speed reading this series and it's so good!)

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
05:17 Jul 24, 2021

I am!!! Yay, thanks!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
03:52 Jul 17, 2021

Oh my goodness Phebe! I need another part for sure. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on Reedsy but I wanted to come back and see what you’ve written, and I’m so glad I did. This story was so compelling, can’t wait until you publish the next part of the series!

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
20:42 Jul 17, 2021

I know! I kept looking at your profile thinking it'd always be the time you'd posted another story, but it wasn't :( I'm so glad you're back!!!!!! I actually intended to leave the story there... maybe I will do something with it later though! Pleeeeeease stay!

Reply

23:06 Jul 18, 2021

Aw that’s so nice thanks! I know, I really want to come back and write more, but unfortunately, preparation for my senior year of high school has been keeping me super busy! I will definitely stay and keep up with your writing, though, and hopefully I’ll be able to write at least a little! Oh my gosh do not end the series like this, keep it going!!! There’s so many ways you could do it, and I know you’ll be able to come up with something brilliant!

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
16:45 Jul 20, 2021

Aww :( Come back soon! I'm also a tad bit inactive because I'm going into high school for the first time as well...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Phebe Emmanuel
16:45 Jul 20, 2021

Aww :( Come back soon! I'm also a tad bit inactive because I'm going into high school for the first time as well...

Reply

22:14 Jul 20, 2021

I hope so! Ooh good luck, it’s an interesting experience for sure!

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
16:45 Jul 21, 2021

:) i hope you graduate well!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 2 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
TJ Squared
23:24 Jul 05, 2021

reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee once again, so caught up in reading that I couldn't comment XDDD lkjhgftyuijhgfdgjkhgfrtyujhgfghg I really like this series despite the deaths. It was full of action and fantasy and friendship just like the tags lol i like how it's on of those on-going stories, kinda like a loop, cause it ended with her retelling the tale to her friends. kjhgfdsdertyuioiuytrdesfghuiuytrdfghjuiuhygfdfghjuiuytrfdfghjkjhgfcvghjk super great job with this!!!

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
16:04 Jul 06, 2021

yayayayayay! *jumps up and down* YAYAYAY i think i forgot to mention my teacher loved it :) i'm glad you do too!

Reply

TJ Squared
21:05 Jul 06, 2021

*joins in the jumping* XD I can see why! :D

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
19:11 Jul 13, 2021

lol

Reply

TJ Squared
19:16 Jul 18, 2021

:))) how you been?

Reply

Phebe Emmanuel
00:05 Jul 20, 2021

Great, you? How was your weekend?

Reply

Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Nicole Of 2022
23:06 May 14, 2022

I LOVED IT!! It was different and new. Also, well written👏🏼👏🏼 ....read mine?

Reply

Show 0 replies
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.