That sound... So mournful, so sorrowful, so terrified... What can it be?
I slowly crawled from my bed, wincing as I finally staggered to feet. The cool floor brought some relief to the soreness that swarmed my body as I began to cautiously creep from my bedroom. The fire had died out in the den and a chill lingered in the air. I walked silently passed the kitchen to see it torn to shreds...
Memories of last night flooded my senses as I crept towards the stairs. I heard a mournful cry as I took the first step.
I feel to my knees in utter agony, but it was not from my wounds...
That sound...
That cry, so full of fear and anger, misery and sorrow. It was deafening... I grasped the railing of the stairs and struggled to my feet, as I took each agonizing step, the sound became ever louder and ever more painful. I finally reached the top of stairs in shear agony, feeling as if my heart was being ripped from my chest and torn to shreds while I took my last gasping breath. Feeling as though my soul was being dragged from my body, taking my life with it.
I lay in front of Nicole's door, tears streaming from my blood shot eyes. My mouth became dry and my breath became shallow as I reach for the doorknob. I turned it slowly and painfully pushed open the door to reveal a nightmare.
"Nicole?" I breathed as I tried to stand, a futile attempt.
As I lay motionless in pain, I heard a soft murmur coming from Nicole's bed. I then felt a surge of strength flow through my exhausted veins as a sweet melody floated around me.
I stood after a moment and rushed to Nicole's bedside. I saw her small fragile figure lying in her crib, shaking from the cold.
How dare them...
I grabbed a blanket from a closet in the attic and rushed back to her bedside for if I didn't, I was met by the agonizing cry that beckoned me to her. I gently picked her up and wrapped the blanket around her fragile body. I held her close to me and shared body heat, trying to warm her small body as it shook. I saw her eyes flutter underneath the lids; she began to shake violently... I couldn't stop it. I watched helplessly as she quivered in my arms.
Nightmares...
I then heard a soft sweet melody float from my lips, not realizing it was my voice as it passed my lips. My voice seemed to calm her and her violent shakes ceased, her fluttering eyes slowly stopped and I heard her sigh,
"No more presents. Please? Promise me?"
She then drifted off into a deep sleep. I felt my heart tear apart as I saw her red eyes close and a tear run down her ghostly cheek.
As God as my witness, I'll never let anyone harm her again.
Six Years Later
The years passed and Nicole's wounds from that horrifying night soon healed, the scars lurked in her blood red eyes. No one ever came over except for Father Pritchard whom Nicole had begun to trust. He is now beginning to tutor her in music, although she seems to be doing just fine. He helped nurture her growing talents that lie in music, art, and literature everyday from dawn till dusk.
Nothing could sustain her insatiable appetite for music and not one force on this earth could match her thirst for knowledge and her ravenous curiosity. She yearns for challenges that no one can ever give her. She longs for things unfathomable to most children her age. Never satisfied, she waits in her solitude for the new day to come, hoping for it to bring a challenge that could satisfy her undying quest for something that can never be found.
We did not have a Christmas get-together this year as we used to for fear of Nicole. The word "present" is never used in the house if I even have the slightest sense Nicole could hear it. If she ever receives something we call it a "gift." So not to send her into the shakes that she can not fight every time she thinks of that day.
Fear... The world is so cruel...
One evening after Nicole finished her usual study with Father Pritchard she came and sat by the window, flute in hand, and stared longingly out into the ebony night. Looking up at the charcoal clouds that threatened the earth with a ravenous storm, her eyes focused on them, pleading for a lightning bolt to grace the darkening sky with its power and light.
"Mother is it to storm soon?" she inquired, her voice soft as silk.
"It seems as if it may." I replied a smile crept across my face as I saw her eyes light up with anticipation.
Ever since she was young, she has always loved the raging storms that batter this earth. Most children fear the terrifying lightning and rampaging thunder that came in these charcoal clouds, but Nicole... She loved ever second of it.
She longed for the fury that the storms delivers, every roll of thunder that shakes the earth, every lightning bolt that scars the ebony sky, and every gust of wind that sends the raindrops exploding on our rooftop.
As the storm began to strengthen, she dashed up to her room and locked her door, just as I had finished cooking. I knew though that she would come and eat at her own accord.
With her small frame I always cooked a great amount of food, which most of the time I had to force her to eat it. I knew that it would be waste of breath to try and pull her from her fantasies.
She would become a part of the storm and slowly slip away into it, until she was gone. She'd slip farther away until she could feel the lightning's heat as it raced across the sky, until she could hear the heart beat of the rolling thunder as it shakes the earth, until she felt every cool raindrop as it dove from the ebony sky and bombed the earth with all its might.
Nothing has prepared me for this storm. This would be a shocker, literally.
