One month writing challenge!

Lonely (Day 14)

(Okay this isn't finished at all but I haven't started day nine or the extra story I have to write yet and I don't need more to do. Thankfully I guess there's a loophole in my rules where I have to write at least 200 words and I can edit it afterwards as long as it doesn't go under 200, so I promise I'll finish this later.)

Edit: Still not done but way more than it was before

 I shelved the boxes full of memories. I debated keeping them in the same place, so when she comes back home, they'd be just where they were left. That just made me feel like I was stuck in the past though, my daughter didn't seem to care what happened to all her stuff. She's in college, meeting new friends, partying, and studying, not thinking of her old toys and books she used to read.

I looked at the boxes, they were going to be collecting dust for months, probably even more. The idea of keeping some of her special items out tugged at my my but I shook them away. What would I even do with them? Play dress up? I sighed to myself, climbed down the ladder and closed the attic. Packing up all of her things really stole a lot of time, last time I checked it was bright, the sun high in the sky, now the house was dark and I needed to sleep. Maybe catching some Z's would help clear my mind, or better give me an answer on what to do with this stuff. I can't throw them away! Maybe some of the neighbor's kids would like them.

I walked to my room and got on my bed, tossing a turning like Alexa did back when she was younger. I guess I'm not used to sleeping alone just yet. It didn't feel this lonely when I lived alone back in college. Daryl, my husband flew to campus with Alexa, coincidently he also had business there and he'd be there for a week, maybe even longer. I glanced over at the clock, it was really late and Daryl is probably going to need to be awake for his meetings. I thought about reaching over to my phone to call him, just a short chat about what Alexa's campus looks like or how his first few meetings went, but I didn't. Instead I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. I need to sleep anyway, I have work tomorrow too.

Then I heard a noise. It was small and distant, a laugh? No, It was sobbing, high pitched like a child. Then there was another, and another, and then they screamed.

"Who is that!" I yelled jolting up, but the noise was gone. Just my imagination, that noise was just a figment of my imagination, I repeated to myself, loneliness did affect the mind in weird ways, but it's only been two days. I'm not that desperate, am I? Then I heard the noise again. It was coming from the basement, people were in my house.

I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight and headed towards the noise. The noises got louder, fear and loneliness spilling out. When I reached below the attic door I hesitated until I heard whispering, quiet and scared.

"Alex... Where did you go? I-It's so dark in here. I'm cold." It whimpered. Immediately I busted it open and climbed up, shining the light at the person that just said my daughter's name. Except it wasn't a person at all, I didn't know what it was. They looked like doodles, somehow two dimensional, scribbles of what looked like crayons or markers. The things were all different, some were humanlike with scribbled on hair and clothes, while some were monsterish, not scary in any way, they were children doodles with tentacles and sharp teeth. All of them are more cute than creepy. And all of them were crying, until I popped in shining the light, then they all scurried back into a corner. All of them but the whispering one, the doodle that said Alexa's name.

"Alexa... Come back... I'm scared." It was neither a monster or human, but some kind of original creation. A light on her forehead, stick legs and a small tail, almost pixie like. She was green and light blue, the most well made of the doodles. Then I noticed the box I shelved was open, on the ground with a sketchbook opened on top. I stepped near it, causing all the doodle's in the corner to step farther back, shaking. The sketch book was almost empty, except for one character, the pixie. She was on almost all the newer pages, smiling, laughing, sitting, flying, dancing.

The whole thing creeped me out. My mind was still racing, my heart thumping loudly in my chest and cold sweat dripping down my forehead. Despite all this, I pitied the creatures, the date on the sketch book was more than a decade ago, Alex must've never touched it since. I wasn't going to get any sleep if they stayed up here, whispering and crying, so without even thinking, I kneeled down and held out my hands to them.

"Hello, I heard all of you crying up here, are you okay? I'm Ella, Alexa mom. Are you her drawings?" I said, trying my best to muster a smile. All of them stilled, fear still evident on their scribbled faces. Then I realized I still had my phone's light flashing at them, so I quickly put it away and searched for the light switch, flicking it on and turning my phone off. "Is that better," I asked and then went back to them and sat down.

They seemed to be a bit calmer, though still on edge. Then one of the doodles pushed through the small crowd. It looked like a dinosaur, bright red with pointed yellow eyes. It had sharp teeth and even sharper tail spikes, each on a different color of the rainbow. Its voice rough yet boyish as he yelled, "Where's Alex, what did you do to her? She's never been gone for so long before!" He waved his stick arms around and I had to stop myself from laughing. All the fear I used to have seemed to flow away.

"Alex has grown up and she's gone somewhere far away. I'm sorry, don't worry she's safe," I told them, and some of them burst into tears. The dinosaur frowned and started shaking. The weeping pixie didn't seem to hear anything, still whispering to herself like she was before. I started to panic, I didn't know how I thought they would react but it wasn't like this. They were even louder than before.

"SHE ABANDONED US!"

"I THOUGHT SHE WOULD COME BACK!"

"WE WAITED SO LONG!"

They yelled. It was horrible. I don't know how they're alive or how they even got out of the book. But right now they felt like real people, with real emotions. I needed to cheer them up.

"No no no, she didn't abandon you guys. She loved all of you. It's just that– Well, humans grow up, and the sketchbook ran out of space, she couldn't draw in it forever. I know how being lonely feels like, but don't worry, you all have each other.

A few of them stopped crying, sniffling quietly. Then some ran up and hugged my arms, then more did. Soon all but the dinosaur were hugging some part of me, some crying or laughing into my arm, hand or leg. I couldn't help but smile widely.

"You're nice, just like Alex was. I guess that means you're worthy of knowing my name. I'm Fang, the ruler of all dragons!" He hollered, though it was still high pitched, and forcefully raspy. He paused and mumbled something, his head down. Way less confident than just a second ago.

"Sorry what did you say? I couldn't hear you, your majesty," I giggled.

"I want a hug too!" He yelled, his face now a deep shade of pink. Apparently doodles could blush.

"What are you waiting for Fang?" I said, opening my arms wider. He jumped into me and I squeezed them all tightly. I never thought I'd be in my attic, in the middle of the night, hugging what used to be just crayons on a page. Yet somehow it's just what I needed and what everyone else seemed to need too. Fang squirmed out and cleared is throat..

"We should go back home now. Alex's mom can't hug you guys forever!" He said. I let go of them, and they let go of me. Well most, some held on, whining, until Fang pulled them off me. They began to say goodbye and jumped into the sketchbook. Some of them took more hugs and more convincing than others. Finally it was just fang left.

He stared into the almost full sketchbook and hesitated. Then he turned back to look at me. He jumped off the box, and towards me. He hugged, or at least tried to hug my face. I laughed, and slowly took him off and cupped him in my hand.

"You'll visit us again right? I mean, you have to, this is a royal order!" He commanded, I laughed and set him aback on the box.

"Don't worry, I will" I said gently and he smiled at me and jumped back into the sketchbook. Everyone was back in the sketch book. Then I heard a girl weeping. I had almost forgotten. The pixie was the only one left.

(1528 words)