Sister of Time

2 Safe

Then a scream pierces the silence, forcing my eyes open and shattering the small shield that the tree had helped me create to block the painful memories in my mind.

Horrible thoughts force themselves to the front of my mind as I push myself up, standing quickly and letting my book fall to the ground unnoticed.  That voice… I knew that scream. I had heard it often in my childhood, playing in the streets of town. That voice belonged to my sister, Aleaya and that scream was not the scream of playing- that was a scream of pain.

Aleaya is the youngest in the family, only sixteen. She has hair as blond as my own, but her eyes are a deep blue color, quite unlike my grey eyes.  I take off, my breathing even and my heart pounding as I sprint towards my childhood home, nestled into the safe looking housing district.

When I reach the house I throw open the red wood door, barely stopping to turn the handle before stumbling inside, letting the door slam against the wall. I could barely make sense of the scene in front of me. There, kneeling on the floor where we used to play is my sister, clutching at my mother who  is sprawled out on the floor, her skin pale, her eyes rolling, searching for something. Aleaya is wailing as she rips off her cloak, pressing it against our mother’s stomach, just under where her heart is.

Dizzy, I move towards them, grasping her shoulders and pulling her away, her hands clawing at mine trying to return to our Mother’s side.

“No sister! Go. I will stay with her. Go!” I manage to pull her to her feet, her whole body trembling as her tears mingled with the blood splashed across her face.

“Wait. Were you hurt?” I quickly look her over, checking for wounds or scratches or anything as she shakes her head, sobbing and coughing out what sounded like a ‘no’. I pushed her gently to the door.

“Go to Cartol’s next door. I will meet you there. Go now!” She nodded and then fled, her hands covering her face as she went. I took my mother’s hand in mine, using my other hand to hold Aleaya’s cloak to the wound. It was obvious that she was almost gone now, there was barely any light left in her eyes. The cloak was soaked through now so released it, grasping her cold, limp hand in both of mine. Her eyes, crazed with what could only be fear, finally found mine.

“My- Arie… You- ca- came…” Her voice was weak, and when she coughed, blood spilled from her lips. I nodded, brushing a piece of hair out of her face and cupping her cheek in my hand.

“I’m here. I’m here.” I whisper, my words sticking in my throat. She gasps and her weak, labored breathing pauses and her eyes close as all of the color that was left in her face drained away as she wheezes again.

“I- I lo- ve you. You- an- and your sis- sister.” She reaches up towards my face, her eyes opening and locking onto mine. I press my face against her hand and hold it to my cheek with my own hand.

“I love you too. I love you very much mother. And so does Aleaya. We love you so very much.” Her hand goes limp and her eyes glaze over, falling away from mine and looking off over my right shoulder. I shudder and fall across her, her blood soaking into my tunic. My cries echo through the empty building, bouncing off of drawings I had done and books I had read and songs I had sung with my mother.

"Why?" I scream to no one in particular, sitting up and lifting my face to the heavens and whimpering as I realize just how alone I really am now. That is when I notice the writing on the wall, written in what could only be my mother’s blood.

"Come now, come."

I scream, dropping my mother’s hand and backing away from the wall on my hands and knees. Stars blooming across my vision as my head rams into a lower shelf near the door, stunning me. I ignore the new pain as I stand and stumble through the doorway into the taunting sunlight, and crashing into Faolise who had been jogging towards the house. He holds me tight so I can’t fall as I crumble, my bloodied clothes and tears soaked face scaring the daylights out of him.