Chapter 33 | Time Apart

I was staring at the portrait, shell shocked.

"Allena? Are you okay??"

I was walking with Maia from the hallway to the atrium after eating breakfast when one of the paintings on the wall caught my eye. It was a painting of me... a nine-year-old me. I was standing by the window looking slightly up. There was a reflection of fireworks in the glass pane and my eyes.

I remember very well when this happened. It was the first New Year's Eve that I spent alone. That blue frock was my dad's birthday present to me. I watched the fireworks from my bedroom window while waiting for my mom.

"This... this picture? How, I mean what..." I didn't know what my question should be.

Maia looked at me curiously before responding.

"This is a girl that used to haunt Marcus's dreams when he was around ten. Do you know her?"

"No, I mean no. Um... Those reflections on the window are strange."

"There are a lot of things that are strange about this picture