[TEN]

                                    

                                          

    “Three…Two…One. Ready or not, here I come.” A giggle escapes my lips as I remove my hands from before my eyes, scanning the empty living room before me. 
    “Where are you, Cora?” I say in a sing-song voice as I walk over to the drapes, pulling them open to reveal nothing but the large window looking out into the reserve. A pout pulls at my lips as I quickly run out of the living room and into the entrance corridor, carefully walking up the wooden staircase and holding onto the railing like Mum always tells me to. 
Once I reach the top I resume running and quickly make my way into Cora’s room, dropping to my knees to peer under her bed; she always hides there. My brows furrow with frustration when I still can’t find her. 
A huff escapes my lips before I squeeze my eyes shut and grip onto the spotted pink covers of Cora’s bed. Images flash in my eyes of the girl skipping up the stairs and quietly sneaking into her closet, hiding behind the hanging clothes. 
I open my eyes with a smile tugging at my lips as I rush over to the closet in the corner of the room and slide open the door. 
    “I found you!” I yell out with excitement as I pull away the clothes to reveal an unhappy Cora. 
    “That’s no fair! You were using your powers!” She cries out. 
    “No I didn’t,” I immediately lie as I can’t help the smile on my face, “I win for the fourth time in a row!” Cora suddenly bursts into tears as she jumps to her feet and quickly runs out of the room. I follow behind the older girl as she rushes down the stairs and into the kitchen.
    “Cora, what’s wrong?” Auntie Talia questions as she sets down her mug of coffee and hugs the sobbing girl. 
    “W-wren was cheating! She u-used her powers to f-find me,” the girl explains between sniffles, her eyes flashing gold as she struggles to control her emotions.
    “Wren! Is that true?” My mum exclaims as she raises an eyebrow at me in question. One of the biggest rules in our household is that I’m not allowed to use my powers. 
    “I didn’t! I promise, Mama.” I gaze at her with my innocent eyes softly. 
    “Cora, Wren is only five. You can’t get so upset at her, okay?” Auntie Talia tells the sobbing girl gently, “You’re seven, so you have to set a good example for her.” She wipes the tears from the girl’s eyes before setting her on her way with a cookie. 
    “Wren, the reason we don’t want you using your abilities is because you need to understand how to use them responsibly, okay?” My mum tells me as she kneels down to my height, “Auntie Talia and I are only going to continue doing lessons with you if you show us you understand and you won’t just play around with your abilities. Only use them during lesson time, okay?” I nod slowly in understanding, feeling guilty about lying as a small pout pulls at my lips. 
    “Laura is going to pick Derek up from school. Why don’t you and Cora go with her and she’ll buy you ice creams on the way back,” Auntie Talia suggests. A toothy grin replaces my frown as I jump with excitement. 
    “Go and find Cora,” Mum tells me. I quickly nod before skipping out of the kitchen, any guilt from earlier disappearing as I call out to Cora. 
~~~
The first thing I become aware of is the consistent beeping, the sound vibrating through my ears as I slowly become more conscious. Next, feeling slowly returns to my limbs. The pins-and-needles run up my arms, causing my fingers to twitch against the soft material that’s wrapped around me. My brain is foggy as I turn my head to the side, my stiff neck groaning in protest at the movement.