Hold On

Chapter 45

I hummed in contentment as a warm hand caressed my hair, the soft breeze caused the grass to brush gently against my skin, the corners of my mouth pulled up and a huge smile rested on my face. Then I heard it, her laugh, the laugh that made each of my days bright," wake up bee", her voice whispered. I opened my eyes and was immediately blinded by the sun, but a hand hovered over my eyes to create a shadow. Once my eyes adjusted to the bright environment, I saw Ali smiling down at me," Hi", I whispered.

"Hi", the sun behind her made her glow like an angel, her skin was beautiful and her face was remarkably refined as if it has never been tainted by dirty hands. She leaned down and kissed my cheek," Come on sleepy head! We're here to have fun, not sleep!" she got up and pulled me softly to my feet," we are?"

"Mhm", she smiled as she ran into the field of flowers, wearing the blue dress that she had on her birthday. I giggled and followed right behind her, feeling happy and free for the first time. We both ran around with huge smiles on our faces, she picked me up and twirled us around. I felt at peace, and safe in her arms, we both fell on the soft ground laughing as the petals floated in the air. The soft chirps of birds made everything complete, we layed there on our backs, looking up at the clear blue sky. "I never want to leave", I sighed.

"You can't stay here forever", Ali replied as she turned to look at me.

A frown formed on my face," Why? It's so much better here, it's quiet and peaceful and the best part is that I'm here with you".

Ali gave me a small smile," it is peaceful but it's not possible to stay here".

"So we have to go back?" she nodded, her hand lifted and caressed my cheek, there was an expression on her face that I couldn't understand. It seemed as if she was memorizing every inch of my face, making sure not to miss any detail. "Ali?"

"Hmm?" her eyes never looked away from my face," We are going home right?"

"Yes", she smiled, finally meeting my eyes. "My beautiful little moon", my eyes widened when those words left her lips.

"You haven't called me that since the night we escaped from him".

I stared into her eyes, "I never understood why you called me that".

She sighed, pulling me closer into her chest," you were my little moon because no matter how dark the world was, no matter how difficult it was for me to keep fighting, you never stopped shining. You were my light and helped me out of the dark abyss I was in. I watched how happy you became, the second you found your father and brothers. Darkness no longer surrounded you, instead, you were a small bee flying around a beautiful garden filled with bright flowers under the sun"

For some reason, I could feel tears well up in my eyes, and without realizing I was already up and wrapping my arms around her neck. "I love you, mama!" I sobbed as I buried my face deeper into her neck, allowing myself to be engulfed by her scent.

I could feel her freeze under my touch,' is she mad?' My thoughts began to cloud my mind, as I remember the times she told me to never call her that. Slowly I lifted my head to face her but instead I was met with a different kind of pain when I saw tears flowing down her face.

"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you to call me that?" she smiled, while wiping away her tears.

" What?" I sniffled.

"My cute and beautiful daughter", she laughed sadly," I wish I could have done more".

"What are you talking about? You still can, we will go home to Dad and you will be there by my side". Her brown eyes never faltered, she leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose," I'll always be by your side".