TORMENTED HEARTS

Tragedy struck young Daria Moonwalk’s life long before her memory kicked in, but its effects linger even today.

She had recently been living with her aunt, uncle, and her cousin Mona. Her great aunt Elsa sent her away to live with them, as she wasn’t able to take care of her anymore. Even though Daria was young, she knew better. She knew there was a terrible storm coming and with it came evil.

One day, her aunt, and uncle prepared a welcoming party for her to ensure that she felt at home. About twenty guests were invited, they wanted to avoid overwhelming her.

“Hey baby girl,” said Marlene as she took Daria into her arms and carried her outback to where the party was to meet the guests.

“Hey aunty,” Daria said cutely and laid her head on Marlene’s shoulder.

Marlene noticeably smiled when she saw this, she was touched that Daria felt comfortable enough to lay on her shoulders. Cute she thought.

Marlene was a tall petite woman still in her twenties, she had long dark hair with a pink strip of hair on the right side that flowed flawlessly over her oval-shaped face. Daria admired her aunt so much that she wanted to be like her when she grew up. Daria and Marlene locked eyes as they looked into each other's eyes, Marlene had blue eyes that looked like the deep blue sea. On the other hand, Daria had big dark brown eyes. She had a heart-shaped piercing on her button nose. Which Daria often wondered if it was painful, seeing as she also wanted one. Daria thought her aunt was the most beautiful person in the whole world, from her pinkish full plump lips and a mid-size chest with full breasts. Her beautiful olive brown skin and that looked newly tanned. To lavender crop-top that revealed her belly button and a black leather jacket on top that complimented her hourglass shape. She had on blue torn jeans and black G-star sneakers. Not only that, but she had beautifully soft manicured hands with dazzling violet nail polish.

As they reached the backyard, Nicholas and Mona raced to them. Mona reached them first, and Nicholas purposely lost.

“I won,” said Mona excitedly to her mother.

“I would have won if I hadn’t eaten so much at breakfast and….,” breathed Nicholas as he feigned tiredness.

“Yeah right, dad,” Mona said, clearly not believing her father.

Marlene and Daria giggled and shook their heads at them.

“So, little one, do you like your party?” Nicholas asked as Marlene put Daria down.

Daria looked around at the party and saw different sorts of decorations from her favourite cartoons. There were balloons of Moana, Ghost spider from the series Spider-Man and his amazing friends. A jumping castle that looked just like the fun house from Mickey and The Fun House. Daria never missed an episode of Mickey and The Fun House, she always made sure to finish her break fast to make sure she didn't miss a moment of her favourite show. Kids were playing in the kiddie pool, giggling and splashing each other, there were a couple of entertainers surrounded by an audience full of toddlers and tweens. One was a clown and the others were a magician and musician. There was a table full of presents, they all looked big, Daria secretly prayed that one of those giant presents was a kid's kitchen set she had been dreaming about since she saw the advert on TV. A table with a buffet of every kind of food stood next to the pool, she could see every kind of pastry, cool drink and Juices. A three tier Vampirina Cake and different kinds of snacks and goodie bags. There was a big purple banner intricately written welcome home Daria and a few pictures of Winnie the Pooh eating from his honey pot and Vampirina showing off her toothie smile.

“Yes, uncle Nicky,” said Daria with a big grin on her face. She hugged him and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. His cheeks turned red as he blushed at her gesture.

Mona took Daria’s hand and pulled her towards the magician.

“Come on Daria, you have to see this cool trick the magic man does,” she said excitedly and they both waved at Marlene and Nicholas.

Marlene looked around at the happy faces and back at her husband. Who smiled as if the world had finally achieved peace. Nicholas was a very tall man who towered over most people at about 6ft (1.83 m).8inc. He had sandy blonde shaggy hair and green eyes. A long pointed nose and pink thin lips,

fair light skin. He had a naturally lean medium build and wide, broad shoulders. He wore a white t-shirt that showcased his six-pack underneath, topped with a dark blue denim jacket, and wore blue skinny jeans that revealed his toned legs, paired with grey Adidas sneakers. It was a beautiful day and the Capetonian sun shined brighter than ever. Seagulls flew by as they sang their melodies. South Africa was a beautiful place to be in summer. The ocean air smelt grand as it caressed your skin. As the DJ started a song, Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. Nicholas took Marlene's hand, and they started to dance to the song. There was a sudden boom and the music stopped, people looked towards where the DJ was and saw that his equipment had been burnt. A man in a black cloak stood next to holding his head and guests screamed in horror when they saw the head. Stormy clouds started to form, the sunny day turned dark