Don't Forget Me

It was a starless and eerie night. The only sounds are the screams of agony from the villagers and the crackling fire. Flecks of burnt wood and dust floated through the air, carried by the slight breeze. Thick smoke clouded the midnight sky, like large wraiths consuming the moon.

A middle-aged woman covered in ashes, stumbles out of a burning house, her children supporting her from under her arms and helping her limp towards the street. Her velvet gown was torn, leaving trails of soft silk dragging on the ground behind her. Her face was cut and bruised. A thin trickle of blood ran down her forehead, dripping off her chin. She took in short, quick, shuddering breaths as she clung to the little bit of life she had left. As she approached the crooked street lamp, she collapsed on the floor, along with her children.

"I love you... never forget..."

The youngest began to shake the limp body of their mother. "Mom, please get up!" The child began to scream and sob at his mother's dark figure lying on the abandoned street. Her last words etched upon her lips, aching for the warmth of life that lingered in the air. The wailing was soon drowned out by the crash of wooden boards collapsing in the house behind them, the sparks scattered on the ground like falling stars.

"We learned something today."

The words of the eldest child put a stop to the boy's cries.

"Now we know that this guy is after our father. He wanted revenge against our parents. We need to make finding our dad a priority right now. I know that he's still out there, and he must still remembers us."

The middle child looked at her in disbelief. "He's gone! And he's never coming back. He left us long ago. Just forget him already, he stopped caring about us the day he left. Why should we give a damn about what he's doing?"

The eldest glared back at her with a fiery determination in her eyes. It broke the middle child's heart to see her older sister so desperate.

"You can't be serious... he's gone. Hoping that he still loves us won't make him come back,'' she whispered. There was a glimmer of guilt in her voice, but nobody paid much attention to it.

"What do you know? You weren't there when he left! What were you doing again? Oh wait, you were just making another one of your stupid witch spells. " The eldest child's volume grew with every word that she said, and 'witch' came out like a viper spitting poison.

"At least those spells would help us more than our useless dad!" As she shouted, the middle child's eyes began to glow bright blue.

The eldest clenched her fists tightly. "Why won't you just listen to me!? He can help us! Why won't you just give him a chance?"

"He isn't the only person in the world! There are other people who can help us."

Silence succeeded her words, and the two sisters

Suddenly, a stern voice in the distance called out the children's names. "What are you three doing?"

The piercing sound of her voice sliced through the silence like a bullet in the wind. The children whirled around to see the middle child's magic mentor standing five feet away from them, with the most ferocious look on her face.

As she approached, her steps halted at the sight of their dead mother. "Oh dear... you all need to get to safety. Come with me."

When nobody moved a muscle, she yelled, "Now!" which jerked them into motion. The children were led to a clearing, where there was no one in sight, and where the flaming debris hadn't fallen.

"Gather around, I'll make a transportation circle."

The group formed a circle and held each other's hands. The mentor began to recite some magic phrases and soon enough, a glowing magic circle formed in the middle of the group. Each person stepped into it, and the light consumed them one-by-one.

"Hey wait! What are you doing!?"

At the last moment, the eldest child had stepped out of the circle, and watched as the others faded into the glowing light. She gave them a hopeful smile, full of woe, and said:

"I love you guys. Never forget that."