Amy Cahill's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the hotel room. She had sat up suddenly after having a nightmare. The luminous numbers in Dan's sports watch said it was two o'clock in the morning. Amy wasn't really a morning person. She preferred the night sky with it's mysterious twinkling stars and the ever present moon. The morning brought up too much memories for her. And she was remembering it right now.
Her third birthday party, her mother had organized a small party and had invited Grace along with five of her school friends; Tarynn, Ella, Jamie, Erika and Rose. There was a big white cake with pink roses on the side and the words 'Happy Birthday Amy' on the top of it in pink icing. The party was held outside, while the first flowers of Spring blossomed on the ground. The day was clear and the air was warm. The sun beat down at them but it wasn't too hot. The day was perfect.
Her first time having a picnic with her family at five years old. The four of them had gone to a park near their house and sat down below an oak tree. Hope Cahill had cooked all of Dan and Amy's favorite snacks which included chicken tuna sandwiches, apples, potato wedges dipped in ketchup and lemonade. Arthur Cahill had brought along his guitar and the family sang songs. The sun was shining down on them and they looked so happy. Couples were walking around the park hand in hand and little kids were playing on the slides. Nearby, a vendor was selling hotdogs which Dan had begged his father to buy him some. He had eaten three of them. Nothing could ruin that amazing day.
Those were only some of the memories but it brought tears to Amy's eyes. Her eyes, which used to be a clear shade of green was now so dark that it wasn't really a color anymore. She often wondered if you could cry away the pigment that colored it.
Amy Cahill had lost everything she loved. Her parents, Grace and even Ian Kabra. The only things left to her now was Nellie and Dan. But she wasn't sure if she could even trust Nellie after their trip in Australie. Too many secrets could ruin them and that's what exactly had ruined their family.
If their parents or Grace had told them about the 39 clues, maybe they wouldn't be so clueless about the hunt. Sure they had collected so many clues than the rest of the other teams put together but they didn't know what branch they were.
Dan thought they were Janus but secretly, Amy wanted to be a Madrigal.
She wasn't crazy, wanting to become the most feared branch of the Cahill clan. She just wanted to be known for once. All her life, she was the dorky one. Her parents' death had ruined her and left her unable to socialize and a little scared by fire.
And that's why she had wanted to be a Madrigal, to be feared by others and not to be viewed as a puny little weakling. A looser, a nerd, a geek, a dork.
Amy could hear the sounds of cars whizzing by on the highway just outside the hotel. She could hear the loud snores of Dan and Nellie and the purrs by Saladin. But what she wanted to hear most was her parents and Grace's laugh. She missed those sounds. The sounds that could instantly calm her even if all she could feel was stress and anger. The sounds that could make her feel at peace, make her feel at home.
Amy Cahill wanted to be feared. She wanted to be looked up to, to serve as an inspiration to others.
But inside, Amy was afraid of her own self and what she could be capable of doing if she ever became a Madrigal.
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