Pacific

The house was trashed. To say the least. Egyptian tunes resonated through the house, children laughing and screaming mingling with the noise.
She could hardly believe how fast time had flown. She could remember when she had to stumble through a plausible explanation of how Symphony's hair had changed colors, giggles and screams, tricks and pranks, and now she was getting married.

Titus had even found love and she now had another grand baby: Octavia and Delma. Delmar and Kristy's little girl.

She was a little darling.
Thistle was now on her fifth boyfriend this month, although she constantly raved on and on about Teague who was twenty years her senior.
Emma often was the recipient of Thistle's ravings of love and heartbreak.
And now she was down to three...
A loud knock broke Emma of her reverie, when she heard the door open and Titus' deep voice greeting the visitor, Emma relaxed back into her chair and picked up her book, going back to reading about the mysteries of catching the golden koi.
It wasn't until later that Emma would regret not answering the door herself among many other poor choices made over the years.



The sunlight had begun to fade when Emma sat down her book and went hunting for her daughter that she ran into her.
Neitres.

"Hello." Her white lips curved into a smile, black soulless eyes gleaming.
"What, are you doing here?" Emma snarled.
"I'm here for Symphony, of course." Neitres fluffed up her white curls. "After all, it's o-nly natural when she's be-friended my daughter."
"Your-" Emma's eyes widened, mind flashing back to the blue girl. Nephyths. "You bitch." Emma lunged at Neitres, but fell flat inches from the white woman, feeling as if she'd just hit an invisible brick wall.
"Damn you." Emma hissed, glaring up at Neitres.
"Now darlin', you know betten than that." And Neitres turned and walked away from the seething woman.
Despite the rage coursing through Emma's body, she stayed where she was. She'd never be able to touch Neitres.
Instead Emma fled down the steps to the photo albums kept in the study.

Symphony's bachelorette party, Halloween, their birthdays. Picture after picture, Emma saw her. The white woman lurking in the background.
How did I never see that before?
Nephyths.
Neitres.
Now she could see the resemblance. It would have been impossible for them to be anything aside from mother and daughter.
How could I not have realized?
Why hadn't she seen it before?