Demon Hunterz: Annihilation (Book 3)

Chapter 48: My Guardian Angel

My mom was always by my side. Through even the haziest of memories, her radiant face will always burn fresh in my mind. Her bright blue eyes that seemed to ripple with joy every time she looks down on me. The way her hair shimmers down her shoulders in strings of curly gold. The way her skin glowed under the warmth of the sun. How her slender frame and beaming eyes made envious women turn and frown in her presence. Even after two kids, her appearance never really changed too much from that of a woman in her early twenties.

She was always smiling. Always happy. Forever loving.

My earliest memory. Of me being carried in her arms to bed. My face sobbing wet from crying and screaming. Mom was singing a quiet lullaby to stop my tears from falling. She would place me in my cradle, lean over, and give me a peck on the cheek.

"Sleep tight my lil prince. May the stars watch over you and bless you with their divine light."

She said that faithfully. Every night. For the past ten years of my existence. Through my tiny, beady eyes and through the haze of my infant mind, all I saw was beauty and warmth in the form of the most loving person in my young life.

She was my protector. A guardian angel who never stopped smiling. A shoulder to cry on. Someone to hug when I was having a bad day. To tickle my feet when I least expected, while sharing my blanket with her on warm and fuzzy winter nights. To guide me by the hand through new places whenever I felt lost. To eat, laugh, sleep, and play with.

She was my everything. She was...

...my whole world.

"No, I give! I give!" The five year old me cries out in a squeaky voice. Wearing my favorite, purple dinosaur pajamas. My mom on top of me. Reaching in with tickling fingers. Attacking my armpits and stomach. Even through the thick fur of my suit, her fingers sent ticklish quivers through my body that made my mouth erupt in feverish rounds of uncontrollable laughter.

"This is what naughty boys get when they don't finish they food!" Mom says with a fake sneer. Her eyes squinty. But she was laughing too. So I knew she wasn't serious.

She goes in for my belly. Her fingers dance madly. I curl up. Laughing even harder. Cheeks red. Tears rolling down my cheeks. I was at her mercy!

Grumpy Samantha stops at the bottom step. Her face twists once she sees us on the living room floor. Food crumbs all over my face. Mom cheesing and acting like the biggest kid in the house. Pulling me by my dinosaur feet every time I slip my tiny body away from her.

But then mom lifts her head up and her eyes land on my sister. Her eyes light up. Samantha gulps. Slowly backing away with hands raised.

"Mom," she says, lips breaking into a nervous giggle. "Whatever it is you're thinking, I-"

She couldn't get the words out fast enough. Mom pounces on my sister. Bringing her to the floor with her hands and fingers going wild. My sister tried her best to keep from laughing. She covers both hands around her mouth. But it didn't take long for even moody Samantha to burst into laughter.

"That's right Lil missy! Submit before the tickle monster!" Mom giggles devishly. She was having too much fun. So I was. Because instead of escaping, I was busy cackling like a hyena while pointing and watching my sister suffer.

Next thing I know, I'm being pulled in. She has us each wrapped around one arm. Pressing us up against her sides. Tickling our exposed stomaches with no mercy. Until we were both too weak to even stand.

For a moment, no one moved. We were all panting. Three ruffed out people in the middle of the living room floor. When she gives us both a slight squeeze. By the time me and Samantha look up, she had tears rolling down her blue eyes. Now tinged in red.