Chapter Three
The scene unfolded slowly before her.
It was the smell that caught her attention first. A musty scent filled her nostrils and she wrinkled her nose. She felt movement underneath her and looked down. Someone held her on their lap, clutching her tightly to their chest. Rosemary breathed in deeply and briefly caught a lavender scent. A woman held her, and she immediately perceived that this woman was her mother.
The woman – her mother – sang softly, stringing together words in a beautiful arrangement. She looked out into the room, but could only see dim shadows and dark shapes. Rosemary nuzzled against the singing woman and felt an overwhelming feeling of acceptance and safety in this woman's arms.
A man with brown hair and dark eyes dropped to the floor beside her, scooping her hand in his. He wrapped the two of them in a warm embrace and held them there. Rosemary smiled. Mother had never held her like this. Neither had Father. It was against the rules to touch anyone outside of the family unit, but there was little need for touching in any situation. Rosemary wondered if, apart from the memories, she could ever experience this feeling of complete satisfaction.
Suddenly, she could hear noises, loud noises. First a thud, then a shout, neither of them from within the room.
Light blinded her eyes as someone kicked in the wooden door. Voices screamed in a language she couldn't understand. The man leapt in front of the light, shouting as shadowy figures pushed through the splintered wood. Rosemary strained to see their metal weapons, helmeted heads, and white lightning bolts stitched onto their costumes.
The intruders brutally shoved the man aside and strode towards her. Her chest constricted as she struggled to breathe. Rosemary knew it was only a memory and that she was in no real harm. But the fear of these men was more real to her than anything had ever been. She clung to the woman who held her, searching for that feeling of safety she had felt before.
One of the intruders grabbed her shoulders and pulled. She screamed and tried to hold on to the woman, but it was no use. The man reached out to her, kicking and punching the person holding her. Suddenly, a loud crack filled the room and the man crumpled to the ground in a spray of red. The woman screamed and launched herself at the intruders, her eyes filled with desperation. Rosemary stretched out her arms to the woman, yelling in a language she could not understand. It was the longing, the fear of separation, the loss of security that compelled her to scream for this woman.
The intruders pulled her out of the room.
Slowly, the memory began to fade away. Rosemary sat up, struggling to breathe.