The day broke with a brilliant cascade of sunshine upon the sleeping city in upstate New York. That show that had played out since before the beginning of time lasted one memorable moment.
Before the sky noticeably dimmed, so much so that some of the stars awoke from their all too brief slumber and the birds stopped chirping as if cut off brutally mid song.
The lone woman standing on her porch of her house nestled within pine trees stared at the mosaic of colors now playing out in the sky as the light of good suddenly surrendered itself to the darkness of evil. She sipped from her mug of coffee thoughtfully.
Just another day in Pt. Charles.
Only this day looked more like night. Suddenly she remembered why and shivered. The sun had tried futilely to dawn on one of the darkest days in the city's history.
The day that the denizens of this city would lay to rest its most esteemed member, and criminal. Michael Sonny Corinthos. The woman had no plans to attend. She'd packed up the few possessions she intended to take with her towards her next phase in her life. The boxes and suitcases were stashed inside her car, the one parked on the straight waiting for her to drive it the hell out of Dodge.
Only one thing left to do. She reached into the pocket of her leather jacket to pull out the match. She lit it, and tossed it into the broken window of the living house.
Then she walked away, got into her car and drove off as the explosions became more muffled the further she got away from Pt. Charles, informally known to some of its residents as Hell the better and more alive she felt. Leaving the city that had nearly destroyed her, had killed her through muting her one day at a time.
Well fuck that, she told herself, fuck them all, as she journeyed up the coastal highway.
The explosions which raised a customized house nestled in the forest of pine trees, poison ivy and wild animals went unheard. A young brunette woman with a lanky build and a pinched face kissed the photo trapped in a silver frame and then placed it back as the centerpiece in her shrine.
Then she knelt before her shrine, closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, to pray.
She whispered softly but fervently, squeezing her hands tighter with each spoken word. Sweat beaded her forehead.
"I am the most beloved child...I'm the most loved...I'm the favorite one...I'm still Daddy's little Girl...even with that Jerome brat. I'm still winnning…"
She rocked a bit on her knees as she repeated her manta. A ritual she'd been practicing since before she could remember.
These exact words amended with the birth of each one of her half siblings. Most recent edit had been when she finally had a half sister.
The worst moment of her accelerated life if she had been supplanted as Daddy's princess. She had moved into his compound to cement her place in his life as his favorite little girl. She was Mary to the new girl child's Elizabeth, exiled and she knew it.
The door creaked open behind her, and she knew without turning who had interrupted her.
"Little sister….I see you've finally decided to drop by to check on us…"
The younger woman, an even more willowy, softer brunette with a piercing glare clucked her tongue.
"Darling sister, I'm also your cousin you know as you are mine. I'm here to help your stepmother prepare for my uncle's funeral."
The older sister signed settling back with her feet tucked under her knees. She arched a brow in permanent reproach.
"But where is that woman called our mother? Where is she now?"
The younger sister shrugged.
"Who cares? The only thing that matters is that we're mourning the most beloved soul in our city and we need to be here for his family."
The older sister nodded.
"Yes, as my father might have said, if he were alive. Mother dearest is dead to me."
She knew her dearly departed daddy would be so happy for her for winning.
The most recent woman to give birth in Pt. Charles sat on the couch waiting for the father of her children to return home from some unspecified errands he had said needed to be done.
An item of painfully grueling items to be completed and checked off a list which just reminded him of the unthinkable.
Michael Sonny Corinthos was dead.
A tremor tore through the cramped penthouse as a timely aftershock to recent events which had broken the Richter scale. She glanced around her furtively.
"Son and daughter Is that you?"
Nothing responded except the faint whistle of the breeze blowing through town, fresh off of the harbor which hid many secrets.
Then she settled into the plush couch awaiting the arrival of her husband.
The blonde creature in front of him's voice turned from begging into whining. The broad shouldered unsmiling man grunted. His eyes looked past her.
"I'm not acting for very much," she said, "I just want a baby, a reminder of what I and my husband had and since he's not here...who better than his best friend forever?"
The man folded his arms looking taller. He grunted and sighed and grunted again.
"I...can't….I can do anything else just not...that."
The woman snarled and her clenched her fingers, revealing her talons. Then she started pacing.
"You know how much I loved him….I never wavered from that...not for very long anyway. And you've always been my best friend, there for me whenever. Sometimes I didn't even have to call you. We were psychically connected."
The man blinked, not so sure about that. Then grunted again and cleared his throat.
"Like I said, I can't...I'm not allowed. I don't even know myself. So the answer is no…"
She stepped closer to him and traced his arm with a talon.
"Oh but the act of conception, it'd be like hot...not as good as my husband and just between us, your caliber is much higher…"
The man blanched and then coughed and then grunted.
"My wife...it reads here that I'm supposed to be the hawk or wolf on this show since they're mad at …" his voice dropped to a whisper… "You know who…."
She pulled out the crucifix as a shield.
"Don't mention him. He's Satan. He killed my husband, well he would have if he'd had the chance. He's to blame for everything...not being able to find a parking place at the mall. The increase in price of gummy bears and hot cocoa…global warming...world wars..."
The man crouched and then grunted again.
"You're not…."
Suddenly a figure dressed in a black tank and jeans grabbed him from behind and knocked him out cold.
The woman's face smiled and she giggled.
"I KNEW you'd come back for me. Now I need to ask you a favor…."
The wiry nurse knocked out the blonde one for mouthing off at her and then clocked into her shift on the computer.
Last one thing she wanted to hear this morning was another round of gossip. Her live in boyfriend was sleeping in after coming to her rescue the previous night.
He was entitled. She had her middle child make him a sandwich before she left.
After clocking in and stepping over the body of the blonde nurse, she picked up an issue of hte local newspaper.
Her heart tightened and she berated herself for her lapse in memory about the most tragic event in the city's history. She was damaged goods, one of the masses of unwashed residents of a city of thousands. The population of them had decreased with some of them leaving town in the dead of night.
Suddenly she was interrupted by a tall willowy redhead woman she vaguely remembered seeing on occasion. The woman pranced up to her handing her an envelope. She looked at the wild eyed girl woman suspiciously.
"What is this?"
The other woman smiled.
"Oh don't you know? You and I are long lost sisters! I just found out today! Open it up and you'll see I speak the truth."
The nurse arched her brow but sure enough the letter proved to be as claimed. She and the vaguely familiar woman in front of her were siblings.
"Wait...I have a sister...just out of the blue like this too but she…"
The other woman waved her hand dismissively.
"Who cares? You are MY sister. I'm not YOURS. Now excuse me I have a daughter, a son, and two ex husbands to receive letters. This is SO exciting. I'm SO glad I woke up this morning."
Her recently notified sister looked horrified.
"How can you say such a thing? This is our darkest hour. Sonny has just died…"
The loon nodded.
"Oh that...he's my first boyfriend I ever had...I'll just leave his letter with his next of kin…"
The nurse watched the woman flounce off down the hallway, and rolled her eyes. She had enough work to do. Brad had informed her that two lovers were awaiting DNA tests and the results wouldn't make either happy. And could send both of them to jail.
Fuck this town.
In the distance another explosion pierced through the quiet mourning of an upstate New York town.