The Overcomer, Stranger Things

Christmas lights

When Will and Gwen stepped into the Byer house, they were shocked to see that the house was filled with Christmas lights. 

"Wow!" Gwen let out as she put down her bag s of weapons. "You weren't kidding about the lights thing."

The young girl left Will, who was gawking at the lights, to wander into Will's room. The room, same as hers, was covered in ugly vines, and it smelled disgusting - and not just because it was a boy's room. Gwen's eyes widened slightly when she saw that basically every lamp from the Byer household was surrounding Will's bed. This must be what Will meant when he said that he talked to their mom "through the lights."

Gwen walked over to the stereo and put in her favorite mixed tape. Her oldest brother, Johnathan, helped her make it. Gosh, she missed him. The young girl collapsed onto the bed, only to leap off of it when her body met the damp, slimy covers and sheets. This place sucks. She was about to walk out of the room when she heard a faint voice calling out to her. 

"Gwen, is that you, Baby?" A familiar, feminine voice asked softly. 

"Mom?" Gwen whispered, her eyes darting around the room, trying to find where the source was coming from. 

"Sweetheart, can you hear me?" Joyce questioned desperately. In the Byers' home, the broken mother was currently sitting in Will's bedroom, surrounded by every lamp in the house. Johnathan thought that she had lost her mind. 

"Mom, where are you?" Gwen asked, walking out of the room and down the hall trying to find where the voice was coming from. 

Joyce abandoned her spot on Will's bed when she saw the Christmas lights stary blinking by themselves, leading her to the cabinet behind the TV. She opened the doors, praying that her kids are miraculously behind them, only to see a vacant space. 

Gwen walked into the upside-down world's living room, furrowing her eyebrows when she saw Will crouched in the cabinet holding a ball of Christmas lights. 

"Do I want to know?" Gwen teased, making Will roll his eyes. 

"We're gonna talk to mom," Will responds, holding up the lights. "With these!"

"This is a whole other level of crazy," the 7-year-old mutters, before crawling in next to Will. 

Joyce crouched in the space behind the TV, clutching a ball of Christmas lights to her chest. 

"Will, Gwen are you here?" she whispered. The lights blinked once. 

"Okay. Good, good. Okay. Blink once for yes, twice for no. Can you do that for me, sweeties?" The lights blinked once. 

"Okay. Good. Babies... I need to know. Are you both alive?" The lights blinked once. Joyce lifts her head letting out a silent, thank God. 

"Are you safe?" The lights blinked twice. Joyce shuttered, shaking her head, as she groaned in despair. 

"I need to know where to find you, sweets. Where, where are you? Can you... can you tell me where you are? Please, Baby, I need to find you two. Tell me what to do," Joyce begged.

Will had silent tears streaming down his face, while Gwen's bottom lip trembled. They could practically hear their mother's heart shattering as she talked to them through the lights. Gwen was snapped out of her little hole of misery when she saw that the alphabet was now painted over the wall behind the couch in the living room. There was a light over every letter. Their mom was a genius. Gwen grabbed Will and dragged him over to their newest form of communication with Joyce. The Byer kids could hear their mom faintly speaking. 

"Alright, sweeties, talk to me. Talk to me. Where are you?"

Gwen touched the light above the letter R, making it light up.