Chapter 1: Coming into her own

You figure moving into a new place would be turning a new leaf in your life, well…there's a first time for everything.

Lumina is our lovely protagonist here, a plump 27 year old woman moving into her new apartment. A short cocoa skinned gal with a scruffy mop of short dark brown hair, her usual attire nowadays consists of comfortable hoodies and skirts. Always wears sneakers unless she has to go somewhere special. Lumina would usually have a bubbly and friendly demeanor that hides the inner turmoil she feels, often masking her true emotions with a facade of cheerfulness. Despite her naivety, Lumina possesses a quiet strength and resilience, determined to carve out her own path in life. Empathetic and compassionate, she harbors a deep sense of empathy for others, often putting their needs above her own. Creative and artistic, Lumina finds solace in music, channeling her emotions into her instrumental and vocal performances.

Onward with the story!

The sounds of hefty grunts could be heard as a hired moving company placed a few furniture pieces and boxes into a nice looking apartment, a few of the nosy neighbors were leering outside their doors watching as they did their work. Whispering to others or just glaring at them. After a good 30 minutes Lumina lugged her last box into the cramped apartment, her breaths coming out in short puffs as she placed it onto her coffee table.

"Ms. Beaumont you know we could've helped you with that.." Spoke one of the movers as he rested against the nearby wall, in a greenish jumpsuit and slick backed hair was Tony, the manager. His three workers were at the kitchen island happily having slices of the bundt cake that Lumina made for them.

"I know…it's not that I don't trust you. I don't even know you guys, it's just my grandparent's things. I want to keep it safe." She smiles halfheartedly. 'Mother would not let it go if something happens to it..' She says in her thoughts, her phone suddenly buzzed to life insistently in her pocket. She already knew who it was and decided to ignore it.

"Anyway, thanks for your help fellas. You've got a hefty tip in advance with the payment for your work." They had soon shuffled their way out of her apartment, letting the short woman sit down on her couch and lay back and getting much needed rest. Her phone rang again which made her eyebrows furrow in irritation, with a sigh, she answered, already bracing herself for the inevitable barrage of disapproval.

"Greetings, Mother. How do you do on this fine day?" Lumina greeted, her voice lacking its usual effervescence but dripped with sarcasm.

"Where the hell are you?! I just came back and your room is fucking empty!" Her mother's voice shrieked through the line, sharp and disdainful.

"I told you I was leaving, it's for the betterment of my health." Lumina replied with a deadpan tone while raking her hand through her hair holding back a groan of anger.

"You didn't say shit! I didn't give you permission to do anything, get your ass back home now!" Her mother yells, Lumina could hear her throwing something at one of the maids, she heard him yelp.

"Mother I-" Lumina began to say but was interrupted.

"You're an ungrateful brat! Just like your father, you forget I made you who you are today! You're going to fucking regret leaving the only person who loves you!" Her mother warned, the threat implicit in her tone.

Lumina's eyes widened slightly, she then glares at the ceiling and grumbles. "I'll take my chances, thanks."

There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line before her mother spoke again, her voice icy. "Fine! But don't come crawling back to me when you realize what a mistake you've made!"

Lumina ended the call with a heavy heart, feeling the weight of her mother's expectations bearing down on her once again. "Just as encouraging as she always is.." She huffs, taking a look around the box filled living space, a sense of liberation washing over her. "But I made it.." This was her chance to finally break free from the suffocating grip of her mother's control, to pursue her own dreams on her own terms.

The short brunette hummed to herself as she unpacked her kitchen supplies, the clatter of plates and utensils filling the air with a comforting rhythm as she played music from her bluetooth speaker. A random assortment of music in her playlist, filling up the apartment was a jazzy song. (instrumental of Beneath the Mask: Persona 5) As she took out a cake stand which made her imagine the delicious meals and decadent desserts she could create in her new space now, she loves to cook and bake but her mother diminished that talent. As she set down the plates on the kitchen island, her gaze wandered over to the living room, where the other boxes lay waiting to be unpacked. The box of her grandparent's things on the coffee table its presence tugging at the corners of her mind. With a furrowed brow, Lumina squinted at the box, her tongue poking out slightly as she pondered its contents. She remembered why she had it, the weight of her mother's expectations pressing down on her even in the midst of grief.

-Flashback-

A younger Lumina, age 18, stood at her grandfather's funeral, tears streaming down her cheeks as she mourned the loss of the man who despite being a very old-fashioned man loved his wife and granddaughter, and his own daughter as well but they were strained. But her grief was met with scorn from her mother, who chastised her for showing weakness.

"Pretty women don't cry, Lumina," Her mother whispers in an angered tone, as she looks down at her daughter.

"If they do, they get crow's feet. So cut the tears." The flashback shifted, the scene morphing into her mother dropping a box of her grandparent's belongings into Lumina's hands with a dismissive gesture.

"You're going to keep these and honor them," her mother had insisted, her tone laced with thinly veiled manipulation.

"Your grandparents were upstanding people, and your grandfather was a respectable man, unlike your father. You don't want Grandpa's spirit to be unhappy because his 'favorite' granddaughter didn't care for his special possessions, do you?" Lumina felt the familiar pang of guilt gnawing at her conscience, bearing down on her once again. It was the same cycle of manipulation and obligation that had defined their relationship for as long as she could remember.

-Flashback ends-

Lumina found herself standing at the coffee table and staring down at the box with a mixture of reluctance and curiosity, her heart ached at the memory, the sting of her mother's words still fresh even after all this time. She had never understood her mother's indifference to her grandfather's passing, the lack of empathy cutting her deeply. She actually never really cared about anyone at all unless it helped her out, she didn't even seem to love her family. It had been two years since her grandfather's passing, and yet she hadn't mustered the courage to open it, the guilt of neglecting her duty as the "favorite" granddaughter weighing heavily on her mind. She was their only grandchild anyway, so they doted on her a lot. They were actually the ones who worried about her being an outcast with other children and with her parent's turning her into a child star. Lumina gives a curt nod to no one before kneeling at the table to open up the box, there were a good couple of things in there. A chipped and slightly cracked statue of a dolphin, reminding her that the last time she saw her grandparent's her grandma got real into collecting dolphin figurines. At first it was to make the den look pretty because her husband's hunting trophies made it look gaudy. Speaking of hunting, one of the things was a taxidermy squirrel dressed in a Hawaiian shirt.

"Why though?" Lumina sneered with scrutiny, she set that down and continued rooting, her eyes soon fell upon the family photo nestled among the other items in the box. Her mother's family stared back at her from the grayscale image, frozen in time. Lumina's gaze lingered on her mother,a smug looking little girl hugging the stuffing out of a plush rabbit…poor thing, standing beside her was an older brother she had never known existed. He wore an army uniform, his expression serious and determined, hinting at a life shaped by duty and sacrifice.

"I have an uncle?" Lumina murmured in surprise, her mind racing with questions.

What really caught her gaze was an old timey radio, it was very ornate. It was definitely something gramps would have, he collected weird things or already had him. He did grow up in the early 30s, he was weirdly attached to it though, never let her near it or touch it. Lumina gingerly lifted the dusty old radio from the box, her fingers tracing the intricate designs etched into its surface. Even with its worn appearance, there was a certain charm to the vintage device, a relic from a bygone era that seemed to whisper of forgotten memories and untold stories. As she examined the radio, Lumina felt a strange sense of connection to the device, as though it held a deeper significance beyond its outward appearance. Despite the dust and the signs of wear and tear, she couldn't shake the feeling that it still held a spark of life, waiting to be reignited. With a determined nod, Lumina decided to keep the radio, resolving to find her tools and attempt to repair it. She envisioned it sitting proudly on the top shelf of her bookshelf, a tribute to her grandfather's love of music and the simpler times he cherished. As she lifted the radio in her hands, a strange sensation washed over her, sending shivers down her spine.

Unbeknownst to her, she had just unwittingly unlocked a powerful entity, one whose influence would soon shape the course of her destiny in ways she could never have imagined.