"I may have saved her from the monsters that crawl through the dark, but she saved me from the worst monster of all. She rescued me from who I would have become without her, the monster that would have easily conquered my body."
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Reese Chambler...
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"NAH! REE CEE!"
Meghan trips over her slurred almost-words, still struggling to be able to form real sentences. I purse my lips and look down at the baby, letting her attempt to finish what she is trying to say. She gets frustrated at me for not understanding and gives up. She instead whines and crosses her thin arms over her chest. I can't see her mouth, but I am sure it is set in an adorable little pout. Tears well up in her eyes.
I play along with her act for only a second before swiftly wrapping my arms around her and hoisting her into the air. Her golden hair, which has gotten a lot longer since I met her, flops over her forehead. I set her back down on her feet, but the unsteady little suckers give out and she lands on her bottom.
She doesn't seem to care, and instead just reaches her arms toward me again, wanting another. I repeat my action, throwing her up in the air and catching her under her armpits. Meghan makes a little cackle that brings soft laughter to my own mouth.
I take a moment to admire how strikingly beautiful Meghan is, even at her young age. It has been about five months since the prison, if I am counting correctly, and her physical appearance has changed quite a bit.
Her skin, which used to be made of delicate porcelain, is now an olive color from being in the sun for so long. We have been on the run for a while now, never staying in one place for too long. Before Brian, I had stayed put in that apartment ever since it started. I wasn't going to wait around for someone to show up and ruin what I have now like Brian did those many months ago.
Meghan's hair has been sun-kissed, looking very blonde and a lot more curly. Her small body is thin due to lack of nutrition. I do the best I can for her but it is sometimes not enough.
Her big blue eyes seem to glow in the dark. Looking into those blue eyes I found my new purpose, they were the very things that brought me back from the edge of that deep abyss I almost fell into. I had failed my sister, but I made a promise to this child to never let her down. She saved my life and gave meaning to it, and for that I love her so much.
I pick up my baby and carry her through the living room to the kitchen of the rundown house we have stayed in for a few days now. I rummage through the bag to find the last apple I have hidden there. The apple is overripe but that is alright because it will be easier to prepare Meghan's lunch. I peel off the skin with my small pocket knife then use the flat side to mash up the flesh into a chunky applesauce-like substance.
Meghan whines, impatient.
I tug down the green bandana that covers the lower half of her face so that it is like a thick necklace dangling around her skinny neck. She reaches her hand out to me, trying to return the favor. Her small fingers tightly grasp the faded corner of my bandana, pulling at it. I stop her, not wanting to unveil my face. Meghan whines again, then tries to put her bandana back on.
