Emotionless »« Newt

PROLOGUE

"Ring-a-ring-a-rosies, a pocket full of posies; a tissue, a tissue, we all fall down."

Her voice is gentle as she carefully places the stuffed rabbit in the crook of her arm, one of the eyes missing with a button stitched in its place. It's quietly that she carries the stool over from the kitchen to the sitting room, placing it directly in front of the window before flinching at the quiet scraping sound. Her gaze immediately snaps to the door, expecting a voice, but there's nothing.

"The king has sent his daughter, to fetch a pail of water," she sings quietly to herself as she steps on the stool, going up on her toes to stare out of the window. "A tissue, a tissue, they all fall down." Immediately she's met by the sight of the dark sky lighting up in flames, the moon staring at her like a big, round eye, the barely perceptible movements in the darkness of people running, panicking, hiding.

Perhaps, if she'd opened the window the slightest bit, she'd have heard them screaming.

"The robin on the steeple, is singing to the people; a tissue, a tissue, we all fall down," she whispers, gripping the bunny tighter in her arms as she watches everything, her blue-grey eyes suddenly turning sad. "The wedding bells are ringing, the boys and girls are singing; a tissue, a tissue, we all fall down."

"Leandra!" The sudden voice makes the girl jump and whirl around, very nearly falling off the stool, eyes setting on her mother in the doorway. Her jacket's half-on, a bag on the ground beside her, eyes wide in fear. "What are you doing?"

"Alex wanted to see outside," she mumbles weakly, holding her bunny up. "He can feel them. They're all sad. They're crying. It's the feeling like when Alex skins his knees when he falls off his bike."

Immediately her mother's rushing over, lifting her daughter onto her hip and hurriedly shutting the curtains. "Andi, we can't look outside, okay, sweetie? It's dangerous. If they see us then they're going to get us. We have to leave."

"Are we going to Auntie Bernadette's?" Leandra questions hopefully. Her mother falters, glancing away for a moment as tears prick at her eyes. "She said we can go to her house whenever we want. Do you remember, do you remember?"

"I remember, sweetie," her mother whispers, sitting Leandra on her lap before quickly yet carefully slipping her arms inside her jacket. "But we can't go to Aunt Bernadette's. At least, not today. We need to find a safe place to hide."

"But hiding means we have to go outside," the four year old frowns, then gently touches her mother's cheeks. "I can feel your sadness, Mama. Why are you scared?"

"Listen to me, sweetheart." She gently pulls Andi's hands off her cheeks, looking into her soft eyes. "We're going to have to go outside, but no matter what, you can't make a sound. No matter what you feel, you have to stay quiet. It'll be over soon, okay?"

"No." Suddenly the girl's shaking her head, a sudden fear forming in her heart, affected by her mother's. "No, I don't want to go outside. I don't want to feel the sad. It hurts, Mama."

"I know. I know, baby." Her eyes start to water as she brushes her daughter's blonde curls down, pressing her lips to Leandra's forehead. "I know, but we have to. We can't stay here anymore."

The girl's grey eyes flash with determination, then she nods. If her mother won't be brave, then she'll have to be. "Okay," she announces, sliding off her mother's lap. "I'll hold your hand and Alex."

"Yes, hold on really tight to Alex, okay?" her mother tells her softly, grabbing the bags before gripping her daughter's hand, struggling to quell the fear in her. "Don't let go of Alex, no matter what. We're going to be okay." And she whispers it again to herself. "We're going to be okay."