Prologue
Audere est Facere
To do is to dare.
Prologue
Thea
A warm smile dances across my face as the soft strains of music waft through the hallway. I cross my arms comfortably, leaning against the cool wall, and embrace the moment of anticipation. I begin to count, letting the rhythm fill my mind. One. . . Two. . . Three. . .
The door opens, and Emrich yells something, but there’s confusion. I pull my lips into my mouth and cover my mouth, not wanting them to hear me. “Where is she?”
“Did she sneak out? You are playing a game with me?” Mum lets out a gasp as Dad asks her. “No, why would I play a game when I know I won’t win?” I can imagine Dad rolling his eyes while Emric giggled.
“What are we going to do now?” Mum asked. “We are going to call her mobile. And I will check with the guards to see if she sneaked out with her friends.”
“She didn’t sneak out! She would tell me.”
“You wouldn’t tell me.”
“Theo. . . I would tell you everything.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Are you two going to fight all night? The candles are melting!” Emrich spoke. “Who is going to blow the candles?”
“Me.” I step out of the closet, and three pairs of eyes fall on me. “Thea,” Dad breathes out while Mum’s eyes widen comically when she looks at me. “You didn’t sneak out?” Dad immediately wipes his face towards Mum.
“She was going to sneak out?”
“She was supposed to, but she’s here. I think she isn’t going to.” Dad rubs his forehead. “You said you have no idea about her sneaking out.”
“I honestly don’t.” Emrich pulls on Mum’s dress. “We are supposed to sing a birthday song and let Thea blow the melting candles, Mum.”
I laugh, making my way towards them, standing in the middle of my room. “Happy birthday, darling.” They start singing the birthday song while I make a wish before blowing out the candles.
Dad pulls me into a warm hug and kisses my forehead. “Happy birthday, Thea. I love you.” He smiles, showing the wrinkles on his face. “I love you, Dad.” Mum passes the cake to Dad and pulls me into her arms to hug me tightly.
I wrap my arms around her and inhale the sweet smell of roses, vanilla, jasmine and the mix of something spicy that belongs to Dad. “Happy birthday, baby.”
“Thank you, Mum.” I look at Emrich, who is eyeing the cake. I flick his forehead. “Ouch.” He frowns before wrapping his arms around my stomach. “Happy birthday, sister. I hope you grow up this year.”
“Emrich. . .” Dad warned, and he immediately stepped towards Mum. Who let out a chuckle. She ruffled his hair. “Why would you want her to grow up?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” He opens and closes his mouth, deciding on something safer. “Okay, I don’t want her to grow up.”
“Now, can we have the cake? I really like Megan’s cakes.” Mum shakes her head. “No, not before the family picture.” Emrich groans before standing before me. Dad calls the guard standing outside. Mum hands the phone to her and stands beside Dad. Dad wraps his arm around mine, and Mum’s, and we lean into him from either side while Emrich stands before Dad— Leaning back on Dad’s legs while Mum and I place one hand on Emrich.
*
We four sit around the fireplace while I open the gifts they’ve gotten. Emric is on the floor looking at the gifts. “There are so many gifts,” he says. I opened the first one, which was from Mum. She seems excited, while Dad looks like he isn’t ready for whatever it is.
I gently pulled the books out, and my eyes widened in shock. “Oh my god! Thank you so much, Mum. I love it!” Dad groans while Mum beams. “I know that you always wanted the collection.”
“Yeah, I did! I can’t believe you gave it to me. . .” Mum had the prettiest special edition of the Fifty Shades of Grey collection. I was thirteen when I sneaked into her closet to try on her dresses when I found them, along with many erotic novels. I was taken aback and had always wanted them.
But I knew how much she adored her special editions. “This isn’t a good influence,” Dad said. Mum playfully slapped his hand. “She’s seventeen, and she is bound to read erotic novels, and there’s nothing bad or good in it. It’s just a kind of romance.”
While they argued in the background, I beamed at my newest collection. Emrich blew a raspberry. “I don’t know what this fuss is all about. Aren’t you going to open the other gifts?”
I look at him. “What did you get me?” I ask, and he points at the small gift beside the big one. I place the books on my lap and pick up the box. Mum and Dad had stopped arguing and now fixed their gaze on us.
I opened the gift and looked at the cube. I furrow my brows before looking at him. “I don’t know how to solve a cube.”
Emrich rolled his eyes. “Emrich,” Dad whispered, hinting at a warning. Emrich’s cheeks turned pink. “Sorry, I know you don’t know, but I’ll teach you how to solve it.
I chuckled. In his free time, he had been learning how to solve a cube with Dad. He had been obsessed with jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku and cubes. I throw the cube at him, and he catches it. “Now show me what you got there.”
Mum leans against Dad while we watch Emrich. Emrich’s eyes twinkled as he started twisting the cube and concentrated on solving it. I watched in jest as my little brother worked on the cube. I will miss him and his fights when I leave for university. “That’s amazing, monkey. You are improving so much.” I ruffle his hair while his cheeks turn pink.
“Good job,” Dad said, and Mum just kissed him. “My babies.” Emrich stares at me. “You will learn how to solve this cube before you leave for university.”
“Awe, I hope so.”
