Disclaimer: I do not own Batman
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
-Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel
Who knew that silence had a sound? Impossibly loud, pressing on my ears. The only thing that shattered the silence were my ragged breaths and pounding of my heart. It was pitch-black in the cellar. Not even a sliver of light escaped through the door.
Using the wooden railing, I slowly navigated my way down the rickety steps, careful not to trip. My sneakers scuffed against the stairs in the darkness, and soon I hit the bottom of the steps onto cold cement. I fumbled around for a moment before finding the flashlight that I had stowed away for nights such as this. Switching it on, it illuminated the cluttered cellar. A faint dripping sounded from the back, adding to the grimy atmosphere.
Sighing, I carefully picked my way towards the back, steering clear of the small puddle of dirty water. On one of my previous nights, I had found an old mattress. I cleaned it off the best I could, but there was still dirt on it. Now, I sat down on it, ignoring the lumpy feel of it, and grabbed a tarp, pulling it around my shoulders as a comforting blanket.
My life never used to be like this. Not as bad as this, anyway. We still lived in the Narrows, but my parents loved me. Dad used to try to find work, but it was hard. Eventually, he said he found some, but he couldn't tell us what it was. Now that I think back on it, it was probably something illegal, but it hardly matters now.
My mother... I could still picture her sweet face surrounded by dark hair and glowing blue eyes. I remember how she used to sing me songs that were playing on the radio at the time to try to coax me to sleep. She never liked those lullabies...
"Hold your head up... Keep your head up," I sang softly, from my mother's favorite song, Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. I let out a ragged sigh before clutching the tarp more securely around my shoulders. Staring at the flashlight beam, I allowed myself to be pulled into memories.
"Codee!" my mother sang as she walked into my room. "Your dad says that he'll be home for the evening. We'll have to do something special!"
I looked up from my examination of my homework. "Awesome. Like what?"
"How about the three of us watch a movie?" Mom suggested, smiling brightly as she came to sit on the edge of my bed. "We can watch one of those comedies that you love. Monty Python?"
"Yes!" I cheered as I pushed my homework away and impulsively hugged my mom, who immediately returned the hug. "It's going to be the first time he's been home in a while," I said softly.
"I know." She pulled away softly to kiss my forehead. "Come on. Let's go make a meal fit of a king!"
I followed her out of the room. The apartment was cluttered with junk, and the wallpaper was peeling. Outside the jeers of drunk people could be heard, but Mom simply turned on the piece of junk that she called a radio. Tuning to a station, she began dancing around, singing along.
Time passed quickly, and soon we heard a key in the lock. Whipping around, holding a bowl and a mixing spoon, I was met with the sight of my tired father walking into the room. A large grin stretched across my face, and I dumped the bowl and spoon onto the counter before running towards my father.
He caught me and brought me into a tight hug. Usually he was sleeping or at work, so I saw very little of my father lately. "Miss me?" he joked weakly.
"Come on; we made dinner," I said, dragging him over to the kitchen where he kissed my mother before inspecting the bowl full of waffle mix.
The evening passed in a happy, cozy manner. We watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail while eating waffles drenched in syrup, just the way I liked them. Later, I was in bed reading when it happened.
There was a screech of tires and I heard the shattering of a window. Moments later, I could smell the smoke.
Leaping out of bed, panicking, I opened my bedroom door. Fire streamed in, burning my hands, and I screamed.
I jolted myself out of the memory, tears streaming down my face. The fire... The screams of my dying parents, shouting my name...shouting each other's names...
I let out a sob and curled into a small ball on the lumpy mattress in the dark while listening to the steady drip...drip... onto the cement floor. It was cold, so I huddled into the tarp more.
The flashlight flickered and went out, and I was plunged into darkness once more.
Sniffling a little, I wiped my face with my sleeve. "Hello, darkness, my old friend," I whispered.
A/N
Hello again! I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but the next one should have Crane in it! :)
To clear up something... This is going to be an eventual CranexOC. There will be no romance while she is underage.
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Keep 'em coming! XD
~Eva Sirico~
