A soft warm touch upon the sleeping child's chest awakens him from his slumber... his eyes struggle to regain focus so as to see the face in front of him. As his sight unveils a mother's smile, greeting him during an autumn's dawn. He smiles back, remembering her warmth & undying devotion to loving him, which awaits him every awakening. She pulls back the covers, beckoning him to what awaits him downstairs.... a meal prepared.
"Thud!" Goes the floorboards, as he rises & zig-zags his way to the bathroom... watching out for furniture in his path. Trying to regain awareness of his surroundings... No effort necessary for such a feat. For closely behind him strolls his mother, eyes fixed on his every movement... ready to leap in & parry off harm in any form.
Seated by a window, he stares out into the streets.... littered with nature's withered yesterdays... A mailman rides past, guess nothing for them today... Mother, father & child walking the pavement, hand in hand... giggles, laughter & glee are exchanged between them... He turns to face the table as mother lays before him an array of choice grub arranged on a white plate with silver rings. Bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs & toast.... mmmmm.... toast with jam... delectable!
As he eats, mother watches... a smile escapes her gentle lips whenever food falls or when milk decides to leave its markings on the boy. Without missing a beat, she wipes off the mess never taking her eyes of her child... There is no greater feel, than a mother's love.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning bolts down from the skies... thunder not far behind, bellowing through the air.... all of a sudden the child is surrounded by night. He's frightened... afraid of what lurks within the shadows.... "Mommy? Where are you?" No answer... the silence is broken only by the child's breathing.... "I'm scared... Where are you?" Nothing.
He plops his shivering body on the floor... crawling on all fours.... fearful of that which cannot be seen... Inching his way while feeling for something familiar to grab on to... Success! A leg in his grasp! Sense of relief showers over him as he looks up to smile at his mother...
Poor child, this truely wasn't his day... for as he gazed up into the darkness awaiting that familiar face to breakthrough & greet him, all his hopes were only met with eyes burning red like fire.... lips dry & peeling.... a grin, sinister & mocking shun down on him...
"She's with me now..." says the fiend. "She belongs to me..."
"Who....who are you mister?" questioned the child as tears flow down his cheeks...
"Never you mind... She's mine now... For all the sins she's done. That, is her ultimate punishment...." its voice trails away into the dark, leaving the child alone once more...
"Please don't take my mommy..." begs the child... "She's a good person."
It is useless.... The child is alone, hands covering his face... in disbelief that his mother had sins to pay... But who was this piper who laid claim to his mother?
A voice appears through the air....
"Wake up... wake up sweetie... come on honey...."
A dream?! Yes! Maybe.... just maybe.... This was all a nightmare!
The child awakens... A face appears... it's not mother, but a woman dressed in what appears to be a nurse's uniform. The child is confused, where is his mother? Where's her warmth? Her smile? Her gentle touch?
He lays there... lost...
The television is on.... he stares at it trying to focus on listening to the reporter in front of him...
The truth is unveiled.
"Last night a mother of four went on a bloodbath and killed her entire family. She slit the throats of her 2, 5 & 8 year old children. Luckily Thomas, the forth child, was saved by his father who lost his life while protecting the child, the estranged wife stabbed him numerous times in the back as he huddled over his son to shield him from his mother. Reports say that she was suffering from chronic depression & was prone to violent behavior. Our hearts go out to the sole survivor of this massacre... Little Thomas."
The child's blood ran cold.... jaws dropped, hands shaking.... his mind collapses. All that's left now is a body, alive & well... but with a dead soul...
Do we really know anyone as well as we think we do? Or is it just convincing illusions we create of others to shield the reality we dare not face?
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