A Daughter of Light(A Light onto the World)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2   

I open my eyes.  It’s the middle of the night.  The glow of the full moon slightly illuminates the whole room.  I’m alone in the bed.  I see myself as I was when I was a kid; I can’t be much older than Marisol.  I watch as I reach under my pillow for something.  I feel a handle of an object.  I slide it out from under the pillow.  In my hand is a long, old fashioned knife.  It looks pretty lethal.  I caress it in my hand.  I put the knife blade against my right palm and slowly cut, my flesh tears away onto either side of the gash.  I giggle as a river of crimson spews forth from the raw wound.  I slide the knife back under the pillow.  Blood drips over the mattress — it trickles down my arm, splattering more blood onto my ivory-laced nightgown.  I curl over in an upright position as I cradle my wounded hand.  I scream.

I hear the running of footsteps outside my door.  My door is flung open.  Familiar voices trail inside, panicked.  Mama is the only one with a lit candle in her hand.  The door slams shut behind them.  Mama and Papa turn their heads in astonishment.  In a fleeting moment I pull out the knife and I hide it behind my back.  They turn to me.  My scream is replaced with a huge, vicious smile.  A few stray moonbeams display their features.  Terror is displayed across their faces.  Mama and Papa are trapped within the room.  They are now at the foot of my bed; both still frozen in fear.

The window slams close and the curtains shut.  There is no escape.  I creep into a crouch, inching slowly towards them with the knife still concealed.  They still won’t move.  The temperature in the room allows their breath to be visible.  I can hear their breathing accelerate.  The only light in the room now belongs to that one candle.  Mama is standing inches away from me at the foot of my bed.  I lean forward and with a puff of my breath blow her candle out.  I spring.

I knock the candle back into Mama’s face; she lets out a blood curdling scream as hot wax scorches her skin.  Her scream paralyzes Papa momentarily.  By the time he’s able to react, I’m on top of him.  I leap into his arms like a child seeking comfort.  With my left arm around his neck I wrap my legs around his waist and I lean back to plunge the knife downwards into his heart.  Savage screams of obscenities spew out of my mouth.  Papa catches my knife hand.

We grapple for the weapon.  I’m about to overtake him when the flow of blood oozing from my gash causes me to lose my hold on the knife’s handle as he falls backwards.  Now the knife is in his power.  I bite his hand, but he doesn’t release it.  He lets out a shriek but he only grips the knife tighter.  He regains control of the situation and he pulls me backwards by my hair.  Strands of hair float down beside me as I land on the hardwood floor.  I recover and once again form my crouch.  The knife is still in his hand.

I fly at him.  He tries to take a swing at me with his right arm, but I chomp down on his upper arm; tearing a chunk of flesh off.  I consume it in one swallow.  As he cringes back in pain I rip the knife out of his hand and go in for the kill.  Just before my final thrust I stop.  I whip my head in Mama’s direction.  She’s screaming The Lord’s Prayer.

“Shut up, shut up you bitch, shut up!” I scream.  I cover my ears with my hands, shielding them from her words.  Wham!  For a fleeting moment I feel pressure on the back of my head and then nothing.

The scenery changes, all I can hear is a heart wrenching scream echoing all around me.  I feel pain but I can’t tell where it’s coming from.  It feels like it’s coming from my whole body.  The scream is on a continuous loop.  It takes me a second to realize that it’s emanating from me.  My flesh is burning, melting off of my bones.  All I can smell is the sickly sweet smell of my searing flesh.  The pain won’t cease.  Flames mask my vision.