"You are such a beautiful baby, honey pie..."
She giggled in glee. "Thanks, Mom!" Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled in happiness as she reached out for her mother and held her tight. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes upon with and she fell in love with her the moment she opened her eyes while she was nursing her when she was still a newborn.
Her mother hugged her tighter. She had the sweetest and most caring mother in the world, along with his kindest Dad. She knew in her young mind that she was such a lucky kid for having the best parents.
And though she was just three years old, she was thankful to God for the family that she had.
"Goodnight, darling..." Her mother pushed her little body away from her and tucked her under the blanket. "It's getting late, you have to sleep now."
She smiled impishly as she brushed her bangs away from her face. "Goodnight, Mommy! And goodnight to Daddy too!"
Her father, as she knew, was busy in his small office downtairs. He was an engineer and he was busy with his new project. She saw him working on his drafting table awhile ago, drawing lines on a tracing paper that she didn't understand.
"Goodnight, darling." She kissed her on her both cheeks.
Her mother's soft lips felt like feathers on her cheeks. She kissed her too.
"Sleep tight, okay?"
"I will, Mom!" She cheerfully answered. "Goodnight!" She closed her eyes to drift to sleep while her mother was still on the side of her bed when she jerked as gunshot tore the silence of the night.
"Mom?!" She shivered in fear under the thick blanket.
"Hushhh..." She hugged her tight. "You stay here and do not ever go out of your room, okay?" Her voice was calm and soft.
She nodded her head. She was trying to stop the chills and stay calm.
"That's my good girl." She combed her soft hair with her fingers. "Again, do not ever come out of your room no matter what happens, no matter what you hear. You stay here inside and do not ever go out, understood?"
"Yes, Mom..." She bit her lower lip as she looked at her beautiful face. Her mother looked poised. There was never a worry nor fear on her face.
"I'll just check out what's happening outside. Again, just stay here, okay?" This time, her voice was firm and sterm.
She softly nodded her head.
Her mother stood up and walked towards the door.
"Mom..."
"Stay here, darling..." She took a quick glance back and went out of her room, locking the door.
She was left alone. She looked at the wall clock that hung on the wall. Ten o'clock in the evening.
What was going on? She tried to stay under the blanket as her fingers toyed with the skirt of her night dress.
"Mommy... Daddy..." She was dead worried of her parents. It was quiet outside and her imagination started to play with her mind.
She jumped off the bed when she heard noises. Something was broken. Then she heard gunshots again.
"Mommy! Daddy!" She tried to cover her mouth to stiffle her scream. She was so terrified now. And she just can't stay inside of her room while her parents were in danger. And she was so curious to know what the hell was happening.
With shaky legs and pounding chest, she slowly walked to the door, unlocked the doorknob and peeped outside.
Her room was on the second floor of their two-story house. The hallway was dark. She jumped off her feet as she heard her mother screamed.
"Mommy!" She ran downstairs and breezed through the darkness, tiptoeing while running. She was at the foot of the stairs when she heard commotions again in the living room. Without any hesitation but with shaky legs, she emerged in the living room.
Her eyes grew wide in terror as she saw a big built of a man, his head covered with a black bonnet, aimed a gun at her mother and shot her. Three gunshots roared like an angry beast and she saw her mother's body fell on the floor, blood pooled at her chest.
"Mommy!" She squeeked as her insides shook with terror. She just witnessed her mother's death before her very eyes.
Her eyes were glued at her mother's lifeless body, her scarlet blood spilling on the granite tiles. A few meters away from her, another dead body was spread on the floor, that of her father's.
"Daddy!" Her eyes grew even wider. She tried to wipe her eyes with her bare hands to double check if her imagination was just playing a trick with her vision, that she was just having some nightmares, but no, everything was real.
She was about to run to the dead bodies of her parents when she looked up and sucked her breath in terror. The gun was pointing at her! Her feet staggered on the floor as her flesh trembled in fear. She felt her heart hammered like crazy inside her chest and she struggled to breathe.
She knew she would be dead, just like her father and her mother, that she will be shot to death too by the murderer who covered his face with a bonnet.
She bravely looked at him. She cannot see his face but she can see his eyes poking between the small openings on the bonnet, a sparkling pair of ceruleans. Their eyes clashed, hers with shock and terror and his with unfathomable emotion.
"You killed Mommy and Daddy!" But no voice went out of her throat as his hand slowly moved to pull the gun's trigger.
Oh my God! She panicked in awe as she ran out of breath. Then her shaking, soft legs gave way as she fell into a deep pit of darkness. Her mind totally shut as she lost her consciousness.
"Oh..." Bella moaned as she felt her chest constrict. She had difficulty breathing.
She was having a nightmare, dreaming about a little girl who had witnessed the murder of her parents. The dream was so vivid that it was almost real!
But wait, aren't she dreaming about it before when she was young? Only that the scene was now complete and very vivid. She can almost feel the emotions of the little girl, the shock, the terror, the pain and her grief. It overwhelmed her that she was running short of breathing.
That nightmare went on for a while but stopped when she reached puberty.
Who was that girl? Her head spun with the thought.
She felt as if she was drowning and she struggled to hang on. She used her hands and legs to swim and stay afloat in a body of water that was trying to suck her down. She struggled to survive... her hands stroking anywhere in hysteria.
When something held her hand in a firm grip.
"Relax..."
The voice was soft and smooth but masculine. And it has a soothing effect to her rioting emotions, pacifying her. Slowly, she felt her body relax.
"Good... that's it. Just relax... You are safe now... You have nothing to worry about..." The voice was so sweet and reassuring.
Her breathing slowly returned to normal, her body relieved of any tensions. She felt fingers stroking her hair gently, consoling her, and she savored the tranquility of the moment.
She was already at peace when she drifted back to sleep.