Thirteen-year-old Aurora shivered as she sat down on the deck of her mum’s house, watching the Southern Lights and her foggy breath as she breathed out. She watched as green, red, violet and misty blue danced across the the night sky dotted with stars. If only her family was as peaceful as the aurora hanging in the sky…
It was a year after Mum and Dad’s divorce– for what reason, Aurora had no idea (and wasn’t interested). She lived permanently at her mum’s house in the country and never really saw her dad. Soon after, her mum married a guy called Tommy, who had a daughter called Summer. They were nice– but not really enough to fill the gaping hole in Aurora’s heart.
She remembered: several days ago, her mum had invited Maggie, Aurora’s older cousin and bestie, to their house for the Southern Lights viewing. But today, when Maggie came, she insisted on bringing her mum’s family (Dad’s younger sister Delia’s family) to their house.
“So we can all have some fun and take photos together!” was Maggie’s reason for letting Aurora’s dad’s kin come.
Mum wasn’t happy, giving her recent divorce with Dad and a painful conflict with Aunt Delia and her mother-in-law. She didn’t want to see Dad again. “I don’t…” She stopped herself in time. Tommy and Summer were out today, coincidentally. So… it was worth a try. (Was it, though?) “N– no, no. They can– can come,” she said in a shaky voice, her smile as fake as plastic. Maggie was overjoyed, though, and gave her a thumbs-up.
Hours passed, and the first arrival was Aunt Delia, looking as snooty as a millionaire in her sleek new car. Mum greeted her coldly– Aunt Delia side-eyed her– “Bombastic side-eye,” Maggie gulped– Mum insulted Aunt Delia– then screams and yelling and—
“WHY CAN’T YOU AND MY BROTHER GET BACK TOGETHER?!?!”
“WELL, I CAN’T, CAN I? HE’S HORRIBLE TO ME AND DOESN’T DESERVE TO LIVE IN MY OWN HOUSE!”
All hell broke loose.
Dad and his family arrived soon after in the evening, witnessing Mum and Aunt Delia fighting in the living room and screaming. Swearing and bullying broke out, with Aurora’s gran yelling at Mum why she gave up on Dad and the rest of the family following suit. The volume increased– yells and screams made its way into the bathrooms, where Aurora and Maggie were hiding– the time ticked by– the Southern Lights appeared in the sky–
Now Aurora was outside, in a black puffer jacket, puffing out misty clouds of air, and staring at the Southern Lights, flashes of colour curtaining the sky.
A scuffle, then the sound of a door being shut. Aurora turned around to see Maggie outside, having just closed the balcony door.
“Wow!” Maggie exclaimed. “Auroras are sooo beautiful. Wish I could see one everyday.”
“Same,” Aurora replied quietly. Maggie sat down on the deck and they watched the aurora in the darkness.
The light show truly began when Maggie sat down. Brilliant emerald green, deep crimson, hazy azure, lavender, violet and hot pink streaked across the black canvas of the sky. Shimmering white stars winked from high above. The two girls sat in silence, hoping it wouldn’t end. Maggie’s jaw dropped with wonder and thought that she would never leave her cousin’s place. Ever.
They didn’t speak for a while, until Maggie said:
“I’m sorry for being so careless and forgetting about your mum’s rivalry with your dad’s family. I just wanted all of us to have fun together for one night… y’know?”
Aurora sighed. “It’s alright,” she mumbled.
Suddenly, the screaming broke out from inside the house; the family wasn’t done fighting– the night wasn’t over.
Maggie laughed bitterly. “Nothin’ like a little rough and tumble to keep us on our toes, eh?”
Aurora stiffened. “I nearly forgot how badly they fought.” It was something she’d hidden in the back of her mind, locked up in a secret room filled with unpleasant memories. She never wanted to enter that room again; she didn’t want Maggie ruining her feelings with the slightest mention of Mum and Dad’s fights.
The two cousins sat there, in the numbing cold of the night, admiring the dancing aurora as it moved from here to there– like a toy train on a track, going round and round and never stopping, or like a sleek, shiny fish swimming in the river, Aurora thought wistfully.
It was so peaceful (if you ignored the yelling and fighting in the house, that is). Aurora didn’t want to break the silence, but she had to ask Maggie something.
“Hey, Mags?” Mags used to be Aurora’s favourite nickname for Maggie in the good old days. Saying the name felt calming, almost nostalgic.
“Hmm?”
“Do you know how auroras are formed?’
Maggie shook her head. No, she did not.
“Bits of plasma drop off from the Sun and kinda float into the Earth’s atmosphere and react with it to form the Northern and Southern Lights at the Poles. Isn’t that interesting?”
Maggie’s face lit up. “Ooo! Like, the Sun and the Earth– two totally different worlds collide! WHAM!” She clapped her hands together, making her cousin laugh. “And…” Maggie paused for effect. “Ta-daa!! An aurora!” Maggie grinned.
“Y’know what, Maggie?” Aurora asked.
“What?”
“The Sun and the Earth colliding– that’s like Dad’s family and Mum’s family, forever destined to be arguing and fighting with each other. Don’t you think so?”
Maggie scratched her head, thinking. “Well, I guess so… but what about the auroras produced? What’s that then?”
Aurora shrugged. The sky was slowly lightening– her watch said it was 5 am in the morning– but she decided to answer this last question. “I don’t know– maybe Mum’s ‘apology’ soufflé pancakes that she always makes after fighting with Dad’s family, but there’s an aurora right here– me!”
Melanie’s writing journey 