Free First Frost by Liz DeJesus Page A

had attacked Rose using her fireballs and the second singe mark from where Bianca had used fire to free her mother. It’d worked, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if it could’ve changed everything had she just let her mother free herself. She cried out in frustration. No matter how she played it out in her mind, she still would’ve done everything the exact same way.
    Even though she had seen it happen first hand, she still couldn’t believe it. How could Rose be there one moment and gone the next. Poof! Just like that. Gone.
    “This can’t be real,” she whispered.
    Bianca closed her eyes tightly and thought to herself, Wake up. Wake up from this nightmare. Mom is gone. Dad is gone. I’m all alone. Wake up. This has to be a nightmare. Wake up!
    She opened her eyes and half expected to appear in her bed with the bright morning sun shooing all the bad things back into their hiding places. But all she could see was the pale moon hanging overhead and reminding her of the things that were wrong in the world.
    She went inside and waited for Ming to arrive. The house felt empty and vacant of the love and soul that made it a home. Without her mother, the house was nothing but walls and a roof.
    Everywhere she looked she was reminded of her mother’s absence. Helpless. That was how she felt, completely and utterly helpless. There was no one to turn to. No one to tell her what she should do next. No one to tell her that everyone would be okay. Before she knew it, she burst into tears and sobbed so much that her body folded itself in half. She watched as her tears pooled on the hardwood floor. It felt like hours had passed by when she finally heard Ming’s car pull up on the driveway.
    She wiped her tears away and tried to pull herself back together. Ming turned the car off, and Bianca heard her friend’s footsteps as she ran to the front door. Before she could lift her hand to knock, Bianca opened the door and let her best friend inside the house. Bianca locked the door behind them. Ming hugged Bianca and did her best to sooth her dearest and oldest friend.
    “What happened?” Ming asked gently.
    Bianca then told her everything that had happened. When she finally finished speaking, Ming said, “That’s just…” Ming struggled to find the right word.
    “Incredible?” Bianca said.
    “Crazy. This is just twenty different kinds of crazy, B. I mean…I believe you because there’s no way you’d make something like this up, but that’s what I have to say about it.”
    “Yeah…it’s definitely crazy,” Bianca agreed.
    “What do we do now?”
    Bianca looked at the clock on the living room wall. It was already eleven o’clock. She was bruised and dirty. Every bone in her body ached. Her head was pounding, and her temples ached. She kept massaging them, hoping that it would somehow help to ease the pain, but it was hopeless. Besides it wasn’t like she could go lie down and sleep it off, she had work to do.
    “Right now? I gotta cover that broken window with a tarp or something and I need to tear this house apart and find that book.”
    “Well…I’m gonna help you.”
    “Really?” Bianca asked.
    “Of course,” Ming replied.
    “Thanks.” Bianca smiled.
    “Do you want me to stay the night?”
    Bianca nodded. She didn’t want to be alone in the house. Not after everything that happened. Even with Ming close by, she was terrified. Every sound made her want to leap out of her skin. Then the air conditioner turned itself on. It made a loud clanking sound whenever it was ready start. Bianca flinched and began to tremble.
    “It’s just the AC. Calm down,” Ming said.
    “Sorry, it’s just…you didn’t see what I saw. You have no idea what I’m up against.” Bianca rubbed her arms to try to get rid of the goose bumps that riddled her skin.
    “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out,” Ming tried to reassure her.
    Bianca wished she could make Ming understand, but she didn’t have