TRAPPED

15

Celine

A day passes. I don't speak a lot, but everyone seems to want to speak to me.

I'm sitting in the living room with Léo when Mateo and Nicolas walk in with a small box. The former grins. "We found home movies."

     Léo's eyebrows raise in surprise. "From what?"

     "Grandma gave us them when we went to see her earlier. We forgot to show you." Nicolas answers, sitting down beside Léo as Mateo slides a tape into the box beneath the TV.

I frown as the image changes. "I was watching that."

"This is better." Mateo replies. He sits down next to me. "We can all see baby Celine."

     I frown. My memories of everything are scarce. I don't think I want to remember stuff, if it was as bad as my mother says.

     Speaking of my mother—she hasn't tried to message me at all. Or call me.

     Nicolas hits play, and suddenly the scene on the TV transforms into this very living room, except there's different furniture and younger versions of people.

     My father—only younger—is in the video. He's holding a baby, and it doesn't take a genius to know that it's me. I'm on his lap, on the couch, leaning on him. He looks up into the camera, then smiles.

"What do you want me to do?" My mothers voice fills the speaker.

My father frowns. "We need to video these things so the kids can look back on it for memories."

"Mum!" A small voice exclaims. Little Léo comes running into the frame. I hear my mother sigh.

Nicolas nudges Léo. "Aw, you're so cute."

Léo's only response is an eye roll and a muttered: "shut up."

I return my gaze to the screen.

"Hi mum!" Léo exclaims. "Merry Christmas!" Then he looks over to where our father sits and jumps up and down as he moves over to him. "Celine!"

Our father smiles as he sits baby me on young Léo's lap. "You stay here with your sister, and I'll go make you guys some hot chocolate before your brothers wake up. Then we can open presents."

Little Camilo cheers. Then the video ends. It opens on another one that looks to be on the same day.

"Celine." My fathers voice fills the speakers again. He laughs. "What have you got there?"

"Box!" Baby me exclaims, giggling as she attempts to climb in it.

"Aw." Mateo says.

"You don't want the toy?" My father questions.

"Box! Box! Box!"

He laughs again before setting the camera down. When he picks it back up again, baby me is inside the massive box, sticking her head out and laughing.

"Daddy!" She exclaims. "Get in box!"

"I can't get in the box, baby. It's yours."

     "My box?"

     "Yep. All yours."

     The video ends again, but this time nothing else plays. Mateo frowns. "That was short."