Six Hours

     Mera went back walked out of her mothers room and into the little kitchen. She jumped up on the kitchen counter and opened the top cabinet. She reached as far back as possible and felt around for her secret stash. "Yes," she whispered to herself as she pulled down a box of cookies. Mera's mother began knocking on something. Mera jumped off the counter and hurried to see what her mother needed. When she walked into the room her mother was holding up her board.


     "What cookie are you talking about. We don't have any cookies," Mera told her. Her mother flipped the board back towards herself and wrote something down then showed it to her lying daughter. "Of course I'd never lie to you mommy," she said with a wicked smile on her face. Her mother put down the board and raised her hands motioning for a hug. Mera slid the box into her waist band and gave her mom a hug. When she leant in for the hug her mother got hold of the box and stole the cookies. "Crap Lily's going to kill me."


     Her mother tore the box open and grabbed a cookie and shoved it in her mouth. Mera just stood there and watched as her mother stuffed her face with cookies. Eventually her sugar monitor started beeping and Mera had to pry the box away from her. "You know for someone that's so sick you have quit a grip young lady," Mera said. This caused her mother to start giggling and she loosen her grip on the box. Mera yanked the box back. She looked in the box and all she found was five cookies and a tooth. Mera didn't say anything she quickly left the room and put the tooth in the trash.


     "Mom," she said reentering the room. "You put a hurt on that box. Lily really is going to kill me this time," Mera looked at her mom. Her mom was holding a needle. "It hasn't been six hours yet mom," she told her. Then her mother shook her head and point to a box labeled penicillin. "What's this going to do?" she asked. Then her mother pointed a her sugar monitor. "Are you sure?" she asked. Her mother shook her head yes. "Okay," Mera took the needle. "You better not get me in trouble," she said as she administered the medicine.
     Eventually her mother dozed off and Mera finished off the box of cookies. She took the empty box outback and tossed it in a tin trash can. She then walked over to a little bench and grabbed a box of matches. She stroke one and tossed it in the tin. But nothing happened. So she went back over to the bench and got some lighter fluid and added it in. She stroke another match, and tossed it in. There was a quick burst of flames then it quickly died down.
    "MERA WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Lily yelled from the other side of the fence.
    "Sorry, Mera's not hear right now please leave a message after the beep," she yelled while she looked around for the lid to the trash can.
     BANG! BANG! BANG!
     "Holy shit let me in," Lily yelled. Mera ran tot he door and opened it. Both of the girls scattered into the house and locked the door behind them.
     "Are you okay," Mera asked her sister.
     "Yeah," Lily smiled holding up a little box.
     "What's that?" Mera asked.Lily pushed the button and a loud bang noise came from the box. "I'm telling mom."

Part 1: Chapter 1 Olive

    I can still remember the day we got Olive. It was a dark stormy day. I remember coming down stairs and seeing Papi pacing back and forth talking to himself. I stood there on the bottom step wondering what he was talking about. Miss. Viola strolled around the corner with a vacuum in her hand and a whistle in her mouth. When she saw me all whistling halted.

    “Come on Mita lets go upstairs and get you dressed,” she put the vacuum on the wall and rushed toward me.

    “It’s alright Miss. Viola,” my father told her. “Come here Mita,” he called me over to him. Miss. Viola stepped aside so that I could go to my father. I ran up to and hugged his legs. At the time I was only five. So the leg is all I could get. But it didn’t matter Papi would just pick me up so that I could reach him. Which he did. Then he walked over to the couch and sat down. “Mita your Papi is about to go out with Tio,” he paused, “and I was wondering if you would like to join us?”

    “Yes!,” I shouted with a big smile on my face. It was very rare when I hung out with Papi outside the house, and even rarer to see Tio. I jumped off Papi’s lap and dashed upstairs.

    I tore through my room looking for my favorite light blue dress. It looked like a long sleeve shirt and a puffy skirt attached to one another. The top part was a navy blue but the bottom puff out into a wonderful pixy light blue. Mamai had made it for me right before she fell asleep. I carefully put it on making sure it wouldn’t tear. I grabbed some matching rain boots and went downstairs.

    Papi was at the front door holding my matching umbrella. “How did you know?” I asked him.

    “Papi knows everything,” he handed me the umbrella as I approached him. He opened the front door and a gust of wind blew through the house. He looked down at me and smiled. “Wait a minute,” he closed the door, “someone's not wearing their coat.” he said as he looked at me.

    “It’s okay I got long sleeves,” I reached for the door.

    “I don’t think so young lady. Your not getting me sick,” Miss. Viola said from behind me. I dropped my head. “Come here and put this jacket on young lady. I slowly turned around with my head still pointed at the ground. When I looked up there it was. The ugliest pin jacket known to man.

    “Do I really have to wear that one Papi?” I asked him with my big brown eyes. Papi froze he couldn’t answer. When it came to my eyes he was defenseless.

    Miss. Viola saw what I was doing and walked up to me, and held out the jacket. “Now, young lady,” she cleared her throat. I put the jacket on, and she zipped it up. “Have fun,” she whispered and kissed my forehead.

    “Alright let's go,” my father opened the door. I started making my way to the car and my father asked me where I was going. I pointed to the car. He pointed over past the car. “That’s going to be our ride for today.

    I ran around the car and saw Tio standing on the helicopter pad. “Really Papi!?” I yelled out. He shook his head yes. I ran over to Tio, and gave him a big hug. “Hi, Tio,” I refused to let go.

    “Well hello Mita. What are you doing out here?” he smiled.

    “Papi said I could go out with you guys today,” his smile vanished and he looked up at Papi who was walking up the stairs. “She’s coming with us?” he asked. Papi shook his head yes. Tio then said something in a different language, and Tio seemed to get angry when he responded. “Anyway your guest is already in there. He’ll be sitting next to me. So there’s more than enough space,” he told Papi.

    “Thank you,” Papi said. Then he picked me up and opened one of the doors and put me in a seat. There was a man in the front seat already. He turned around and waved at me with a big goofy smile on his face. Papi secured me in my seat nice and tight, gave me a kiss on the cheek and shut my door.

    While he was walking around to the other side Tio stopped him for a bit and they started to talk. Tio didn’t look to happy with Papi. The guy in the front turned around and started to talk to me. But I didn’t hear a thing he said. I was more interested in what Tio and Papi were talking about. My father looked over and saw me staring at them. Then he saw the guy turned towards me. Tio turned around and quickly made his way for the front door, and my father was half a step behind him.

    “Everyone okay,” Tio said as he jumped in the front. The guy turned towards my uncle to answer.

    “Are you okay Mita?” Papi surprised me from the left fastening his safety belt. I shook my head yes. “Good,” he whispered.

    Tio looked back at me and gave me a smile. “Everyone ready,” he started flicking somestuff on the front panel. The prapellers at the top started up. My father put a pair of huge headphones on my head, then himself. “Lets go!” I could hear my uncle through the headphones.

    It was my very first helicopter ride ever and it was very, very dark. Papi made me close my eyes the whole time. He said he didn’t want the torm to scare me. But I could hear him, Tio, and the man all talking in a different language in the headphones. Every once in a while Papi would stop talking to them and would tell me what a great job I was doing. Then I would yell thanks, and a loud noise was sent through all the headphones.

    “Mita you can open your eyes we’re here,” I heard Papi say. I opened my eyes and it was gray out. The rain seemed to have lightened up but the sky looked alot worse than what it was when we left. Once Tio had completely shut down the helicopter everyone moved into action. Papi unfastened himself and jumped out of his side to come help me. Tio quickly took the keys out the engine and got out and followed Papi. The guy just sat in the front whistling a tune. Papi opened my door and got me out of my seat. He held me close to him and refused to let me go. Even when he was on the ground he didn’t let me go. Tio was right behind us with my umbrella already open. He followed Papi across the landing pad with the umbrella covering all of me, and little of them.

    “Stop,” a big deep voice said from behind me. “What are you holding?” the man asked.

    “My brother is holding an umbrella,” Papi answered.

    “Don’t be a smart ass,” the voice said.

    “It’s my daughter,” Papi said defeatedly.

    “No ones that stupid to bring their child here,” the voice chuckled. My father head dropped on my shoulder. “Turn around,” the man demanded. Papi slowly turned around. Tio followed so the umbrella was still over me. The man knocked my uncle to the side. “Get that umbrella out of my face.” That’s when I felt the rain. “I’ll be,” the man said as he looked at me. The man snatched the umbrella out of Tio’s hand and gave it to me. Then he turned around and opened the door to let Papi, and me in. “Stay in here,” he pointed to a dark room. Papi turned around so that he was facing the door and began to walk in. The man held out his hand and stopped Papi. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

    Papi slowly put me on the ground, “Go ahead Mita,” he waved me to go in the dark room. I shook my head no and clung onto his leg dropping my umbrella.

    The big man picked it up and bent down coming to my level. “Young lady if you ever plan on becoming a leader you must first be able to hold your own umbrella.” I took the umbrella out of his hand and loosened my grip on Papi’s leg. “Now please go inside,” he motioned me into the dark room. I slowly walked up to the door a gust of wind knocked me in.

    “MITA!” Papi and Tio yelled out. But the big man had stopped them from helping me.

    I stood up and the once dark room was now lit. “Go down the hall and take a left. Then your going to go into the first door you see,” the big man told me.

    I looked back at my father and he reluctantly waved me inside. I started walking down the hall. The big man closed the door behind me. I made my way down the hall until I came to a split. The left hallway was quite and calm, and from the right hallway you could hear a bunch of men hollering and carrying on. So I went down the left until I came to the first door. At first I knocked but no one answered it. So I went in.