Chapter Ten: Return To A Shadowed Past
((A/N: The reason I haven't been putting "The caller will pay" is because Samara doesn't know if she wants to even go back or not. She's all mixed up and stuff... hehe.
Also, I'm sorry for not R&R any of my reviewer's stories! But my Internet sucks, and I can only use the Internet at my Dad's work, but it's Firewalled so much
that I can't review your stories. But believe me, I read them! Muchos love B.B.B ))
I breathe in the smell of the island. I can smell ocean, clean air, and... farm.
My father's farm.
Aiden gives my hand a squeeze. "How does it feel to be back home?"
I shake my head. "Like a runaway orphan, finally returning to see her parents. I can't believe this. It just seems like yesterday..." My voice trails off.
Sarah starts up on her pity mode again, but I ignore it, especially since Aiden is still kind of caressing my hand, which I have to say, I don't really mind.
I look across the water. I can see the lighthouse, and the ranch beside it. It's bringing back so many memories... and then I realize that we have to walk all the way there. That could take hours, maybe even a day or so.
"It's going to take too long to get to the ranch," I inform them. "if we just walk. We're going to go another way."
"How? A taxi?" Aiden said.
I snorted. "Like there are any taxis on Moesko Island." I take each of their hands and grip it tightly. "Hold on tight, and whatever you do, don't let go."
They stare at me in confusion.
Faster than the wind, we shoot straight up to the sky. Sarah lets out a blood curdling scream, and Aiden gasps like he's about to die. The sensation is a little weird for me too, but I'm used to it.
To make sure no one sees us, I go higher than I usually do, and above the clouds. It's hard, now that I have extra weight, but I still manage.
Sarah pants. "I can't believe this. Are we.... are we flying?" Her eyes widen. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God."
Aiden, however, has gotten over his shock. "Yaaaaa-hooooooooooooooo!" he screams. He spreads out his other arm as if he's flying like a bird. "I'm king of the wooooorrrllld!"
I laugh, but Sarah remains silent. She is still scared.
"Aww, c'mon," I said. "How many people ever get to fly above the clouds? I've got you. Don't worry."
She doesn't say anything, but then her face relaxes. She looks out into the beautiful sunset, smiling.
"This is amazing," she whispers. A tears rolls down her cheek. "It's breathtaking." She looks over at Aiden, who looks like he's having a blast.
We continue flying among the puffy clouds, lit up by the setting sun. The wind is caressing our bodies like a soft whisper from an unknown friend. We dance among the sky some more, before I realize we've nearly reached the ranch. The only way to actually land there is to shoot down as fast as we can.
"Alright, guys, time for landing," I say. "Hold on to your stomachs!"
We shoot straight down, heads first, like a dive at 500 miles per hour. Sarah lets out a scream even worse than before. Even Aiden starts yelling. I'm laughing, loving the sensation of whipping down to the ground like a bullet.
When it looks like we're about to crash, I slow us to a sudden hault, and we all float gently down, as light as feathers.
Sarah staggers, lets go of my hand, runs over to a clear patch of grass, and throws up. Aiden flops around too, and I steady him using his hand.
"You gonna be sick?" I ask him.
He smiles weakly. "I think I can handle anything now." He looks paler than ever. "Man, I thought my stomach was gonna shoot straight out of my mouth."
"Sorry. If I hadn't done it, we would've landed miles away, and be back to where we started," I said. I collapse on my knees, tired. Aiden wraps his arms around me and looks worried.
"What is it? Are you okay?" he asks me, alarmed.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. "It takes a lot of energy to fly that high, and even more to carry two humans."
He pushes my hair back behind my ears, and he swoops in for another kiss, even better than the last. I feel a rush of happiness flow through me and some of my energy returning.
"Thanks," I say. "How'd you do that?"
"Do what? Kiss so good?" he laughs, kissing my cheek.
"No, you restored some of my energy," I tilt my head.
"I did?" He looks at me strangely.
Sarah comes back over, wiping her mouth. "Geez, Sammy, warn a girl before you do that!" She says weaky.
"Sammy?" Aiden and I both say. He helps me stand up but takes his arms off of me.
She smiles. "My new nickname for you. You don't like it?"
"Uh, whatever," I laugh. I look up at the foreboding ranch, and the wind dies down to a sigh, as if releasing long-forgotten memories.
I look at the two, feeling a little frightened of going back into the past.
"Let's go."
( O )
Aiden knocks on the door. I can't move. I'm paralyzed with so many emotions. Seeing my father again, seeing...
The door opens. I gasp.
Daddy's gotten a bit tubbier, but otherwise he looks the same. Same tired, sad face. Same white hair. Same fallen expression.
"Mr. Morgan?" Sarah says.
"Who are you?" Daddy asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Um, hi, my name is Sarah Referres, I'm a student at Franklink Roosevelt High School in Seattle, and I'm doing a report on horses," Sarah answers, smoothing her hair down. She nudges Aiden. "And so is he."
"Mm-hmm," Aiden says, as if snapping out of a reverie.
"Crazy horses?" Daddy raises an eyebrow.
"Um, any kind," Sarah says. "But the Morgan horses interested me particularly."
Daddy just kind of stands there. It feels so weird to see him again... to the see the man who has the paternity of me, to the see the man who never wanted me...
"Come on in," he finally says. "I have a little time."
We step inside the house. I can't believe this. I'm finally back home, after 45 years. Memories rush back to me.
Aiden and Sarah look around, interested. I float over to a too-familiar spot... in front of the oval mirror.
I look in it. I can't see myself... of course not. There's nothing to see.
The mirror flickers and I see a familiar face. I gasp, my eyes widening.
It's Mommy.
"Samara," she says gently, and she reaches out a deathly pale hand. I take it, an aching miss for my Mommy pulsing through me.
Suddenly a light bursts around her, and she smiles. I feel a jolt run through me, a crazy energy, like a hot fire...
"So tell me about the horses, Mr. Morgan," Sarah says, breaking the silence. I blink. Mommy's no longer there. It was just an illusion...
"The horses," Daddy says, shaking his head. "What's more to tell about, I wonder. They went crazy. They drowned. End of story."
"But surely there must be more to it than that," Sarah says. "Why did they go crazy?"
"The doctors said it was because of mental stress on the horse, maybe." Daddy shrugs. "But it was another reason." He looks over to the mirror, to where I'm at. His eyes widen and he gasps.
"WHAT THE--" he yells out in fear, and he backs away, nearly tripping.
"Mr. Morgan!" Aiden yells.
"WHY IS SHE HERE?!" Daddy screams, pointing at me. "YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"
Aiden, Sarah, and I all gasp. He can see me?
I look back in the mirror.
... THERE'S A REFLECTION!
I see myself. Long black hair, deathly pale childish face, white dress...
I instinctively put a hand up to my heart... and my hand doesn't slip through. It's warm. It's solid. And I can hear... a heartbeat.
I'm alive... again.
((A/N: The reason I haven't been putting "The caller will pay" is because Samara doesn't know if she wants to even go back or not. She's all mixed up and stuff... hehe.
Also, I'm sorry for not R&R any of my reviewer's stories! But my Internet sucks, and I can only use the Internet at my Dad's work, but it's Firewalled so much
that I can't review your stories. But believe me, I read them! Muchos love B.B.B ))
I breathe in the smell of the island. I can smell ocean, clean air, and... farm.
My father's farm.
Aiden gives my hand a squeeze. "How does it feel to be back home?"
I shake my head. "Like a runaway orphan, finally returning to see her parents. I can't believe this. It just seems like yesterday..." My voice trails off.
Sarah starts up on her pity mode again, but I ignore it, especially since Aiden is still kind of caressing my hand, which I have to say, I don't really mind.
I look across the water. I can see the lighthouse, and the ranch beside it. It's bringing back so many memories... and then I realize that we have to walk all the way there. That could take hours, maybe even a day or so.
"It's going to take too long to get to the ranch," I inform them. "if we just walk. We're going to go another way."
"How? A taxi?" Aiden said.
I snorted. "Like there are any taxis on Moesko Island." I take each of their hands and grip it tightly. "Hold on tight, and whatever you do, don't let go."
They stare at me in confusion.
Faster than the wind, we shoot straight up to the sky. Sarah lets out a blood curdling scream, and Aiden gasps like he's about to die. The sensation is a little weird for me too, but I'm used to it.
To make sure no one sees us, I go higher than I usually do, and above the clouds. It's hard, now that I have extra weight, but I still manage.
Sarah pants. "I can't believe this. Are we.... are we flying?" Her eyes widen. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God."
Aiden, however, has gotten over his shock. "Yaaaaa-hooooooooooooooo!" he screams. He spreads out his other arm as if he's flying like a bird. "I'm king of the wooooorrrllld!"
I laugh, but Sarah remains silent. She is still scared.
"Aww, c'mon," I said. "How many people ever get to fly above the clouds? I've got you. Don't worry."
She doesn't say anything, but then her face relaxes. She looks out into the beautiful sunset, smiling.
"This is amazing," she whispers. A tears rolls down her cheek. "It's breathtaking." She looks over at Aiden, who looks like he's having a blast.
We continue flying among the puffy clouds, lit up by the setting sun. The wind is caressing our bodies like a soft whisper from an unknown friend. We dance among the sky some more, before I realize we've nearly reached the ranch. The only way to actually land there is to shoot down as fast as we can.
"Alright, guys, time for landing," I say. "Hold on to your stomachs!"
We shoot straight down, heads first, like a dive at 500 miles per hour. Sarah lets out a scream even worse than before. Even Aiden starts yelling. I'm laughing, loving the sensation of whipping down to the ground like a bullet.
When it looks like we're about to crash, I slow us to a sudden hault, and we all float gently down, as light as feathers.
Sarah staggers, lets go of my hand, runs over to a clear patch of grass, and throws up. Aiden flops around too, and I steady him using his hand.
"You gonna be sick?" I ask him.
He smiles weakly. "I think I can handle anything now." He looks paler than ever. "Man, I thought my stomach was gonna shoot straight out of my mouth."
"Sorry. If I hadn't done it, we would've landed miles away, and be back to where we started," I said. I collapse on my knees, tired. Aiden wraps his arms around me and looks worried.
"What is it? Are you okay?" he asks me, alarmed.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. "It takes a lot of energy to fly that high, and even more to carry two humans."
He pushes my hair back behind my ears, and he swoops in for another kiss, even better than the last. I feel a rush of happiness flow through me and some of my energy returning.
"Thanks," I say. "How'd you do that?"
"Do what? Kiss so good?" he laughs, kissing my cheek.
"No, you restored some of my energy," I tilt my head.
"I did?" He looks at me strangely.
Sarah comes back over, wiping her mouth. "Geez, Sammy, warn a girl before you do that!" She says weaky.
"Sammy?" Aiden and I both say. He helps me stand up but takes his arms off of me.
She smiles. "My new nickname for you. You don't like it?"
"Uh, whatever," I laugh. I look up at the foreboding ranch, and the wind dies down to a sigh, as if releasing long-forgotten memories.
I look at the two, feeling a little frightened of going back into the past.
"Let's go."
( O )
Aiden knocks on the door. I can't move. I'm paralyzed with so many emotions. Seeing my father again, seeing...
The door opens. I gasp.
Daddy's gotten a bit tubbier, but otherwise he looks the same. Same tired, sad face. Same white hair. Same fallen expression.
"Mr. Morgan?" Sarah says.
"Who are you?" Daddy asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Um, hi, my name is Sarah Referres, I'm a student at Franklink Roosevelt High School in Seattle, and I'm doing a report on horses," Sarah answers, smoothing her hair down. She nudges Aiden. "And so is he."
"Mm-hmm," Aiden says, as if snapping out of a reverie.
"Crazy horses?" Daddy raises an eyebrow.
"Um, any kind," Sarah says. "But the Morgan horses interested me particularly."
Daddy just kind of stands there. It feels so weird to see him again... to the see the man who has the paternity of me, to the see the man who never wanted me...
"Come on in," he finally says. "I have a little time."
We step inside the house. I can't believe this. I'm finally back home, after 45 years. Memories rush back to me.
Aiden and Sarah look around, interested. I float over to a too-familiar spot... in front of the oval mirror.
I look in it. I can't see myself... of course not. There's nothing to see.
The mirror flickers and I see a familiar face. I gasp, my eyes widening.
It's Mommy.
"Samara," she says gently, and she reaches out a deathly pale hand. I take it, an aching miss for my Mommy pulsing through me.
Suddenly a light bursts around her, and she smiles. I feel a jolt run through me, a crazy energy, like a hot fire...
"So tell me about the horses, Mr. Morgan," Sarah says, breaking the silence. I blink. Mommy's no longer there. It was just an illusion...
"The horses," Daddy says, shaking his head. "What's more to tell about, I wonder. They went crazy. They drowned. End of story."
"But surely there must be more to it than that," Sarah says. "Why did they go crazy?"
"The doctors said it was because of mental stress on the horse, maybe." Daddy shrugs. "But it was another reason." He looks over to the mirror, to where I'm at. His eyes widen and he gasps.
"WHAT THE--" he yells out in fear, and he backs away, nearly tripping.
"Mr. Morgan!" Aiden yells.
"WHY IS SHE HERE?!" Daddy screams, pointing at me. "YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"
Aiden, Sarah, and I all gasp. He can see me?
I look back in the mirror.
... THERE'S A REFLECTION!
I see myself. Long black hair, deathly pale childish face, white dress...
I instinctively put a hand up to my heart... and my hand doesn't slip through. It's warm. It's solid. And I can hear... a heartbeat.
I'm alive... again.