I pushed the gate open, the familiar creak of its hinges oddly comforting, and made my way to the front door.
Standing in the doorway was Jia, her arms crossed and a worried look etched into her face. "Taryn," she said, her voice tight with concern. "Where have you been?"
I stared at her, the events at the school just keep crashing down on me like a tidal wave. My lips parted, but no words came out. I didn't even know where to begin.
Jia stepped closer, her brows furrowing as she studied me. "You're shaking," she said softly, her tone shifting from stern to gentle. "Come here." She pulled me into a tight hug, her warmth grounding me in a way I hadn't realized I needed.
The dam broke. Tears streamed down my face as I clung to her, the weight of everything finally catching up to me. I tried to speak, to explain, but all that came out were broken fragments of sentences. Jia held me through it all, her presence steady and comforting.
When I finally pulled away, she guided me to the couch and sat me down. "Start from the beginning," she said firmly, though her eyes were filled with nothing but concern. "What happened?"
Meanwhile , Devon leaned against the counter listening to what his sisters were talking about. As he was dunking cookies into a glass of milk, one after another. The cookies—golden brown and perfectly crisp on the edges—were my grandmother's specialty, her way of showing love in every bite. Devon seemed entirely at peace, unaware of the chaos that had unfolded.
I took a shaky breath, my thoughts racing as I tried to piece together everything that had happened. "It started at school," I began, my voice barely audible. "There were these... these strangers. They weren't normal, Jia. They moved like—like machines, but not quite. And they were chasing us."
Jia's expression darkened, her worry deepening. "Chasing you? Why? What did they want?"
"I don't know," I admitted, my hands twisting together in my lap. "But Yike seemed to know something. He said it had to do with the eclipse shift, the constellations... I don't know. It doesn't make sense."
She frowned, her fingers tapping against the armrest of the couch. "Eclipse shift? That's astronomy, isn't it? What does that have to do with... whatever this is?"
"I don't know," I repeated, frustration bubbling to the surface. "None of it makes sense. But they were after us, Jia. They would have caught us if we hadn't run."
Her gaze softened as she reached out to place a hand on mine. "You're safe now," she said gently. "Whatever's going on, we'll figure it out. But right now, you need to rest."
"Just stay with me Jia. Just today." Jia nodded, as we both went to my room. "Also I will just wake you up when it's dinner time , would that be alright ? Or you just want to rest fully?"
"I will eat dinner , I just need a quick nap. Before I could tell you what happened with the rest of the chasing thing."
I eventually drifted off, I hadn't realized how much I needed that—just to feel safe.
Devon's bare feet padded softly against the cool wooden floor as he descended the stairs, the dim glow of the early morning casting faint shadows along the walls. He yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he reached the living room. The stillness of the house was broken only by the faint creaks of the old floorboards beneath his weight.
Reaching the television, he hesitated for a moment before grabbing the remote and pressing the power button. The screen flickered to life, illuminating the room in a pale bluish hue. He turned the volume down low, not wanting to disturb anyone as he flipped through the channels. But before he could settle on something, the news broadcast caught his attention.
"…beginning of daylight saving time and the highly anticipated solar eclipse," the anchor was saying, her voice crisp and professional. "Experts predict that this eclipse will be unlike any we've witnessed before, with some unusual celestial activity accompanying the phenomenon."
Devon frowned, his interest piqued as he leaned closer. His sleepiness began to fade as images of the eclipse filled the screen—dark skies, a glowing corona, and the eerie stillness that seemed to permeate the atmosphere in the footage.
Upstairs, the faint murmur of the television must have reached his grandparents' ears. Their bedroom door creaked open, and moments later, their grandfather's voice called out. "Devon? Is everything alright down there?"
A second voice followed, his grandmother's, laced with concern. "What's all that noise, dear?"
Devon twisted around to see them descending the stairs, both wrapped in their robes and looking a mix of curious and slightly alarmed. "It's nothing," he said quickly, turning the volume down further. "I couldn't sleep, so I came down to watch TV."
His grandfather squinted at the screen, adjusting his glasses as he caught sight of the news banner scrolling across the bottom: 'Daylight Saving Begins; Total Solar Eclipse Imminent.'
"What's this?" the old man asked, pointing at the screen. "The eclipse?"
Devon nodded. "Yeah, it's happening soon. They're saying it's going to be different from normal eclipses. Something about unusual celestial activity."
The anchor's voice cut through his thoughts. "The eclipse is expected to reach its peak in just under an hour. Scientists are still studying the unusual patterns of the celestial bodies leading up to this event, but they assure us that it remains safe to observe with proper precautions."
"Unusual patterns…" Devon murmured, echoing the phrase as a shiver ran down his spine. He glanced at his grandparents, who appeared just as intrigued as he was. "Do you think this has anything to do with, you know, what Taryn was talking about? The stuff at school?"
His grandmother tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What do you mean? Is Taryn alright?"
He hesitated, unsure how much to share. "She… she had a rough night. Something about strangers chasing her and her friends. It sounded crazy, but... I don't know. This eclipse thing—it feels connected somehow."
His grandfather scoffed lightly, though not unkindly. "You've been reading too many of those sci-fi stories, lad. An eclipse is just an eclipse."