A.L.E.N (Chapter 1)

Act 10

Middy was sitting outside, at the stairs, with her guitar as it became dark, and she was trying to perform some new music, but she was having problems with the dim lights.

However, her father follows her outside and asks, "Trouble with your new creation...?" Middy looks at him and says, "Sorry, I'm merely attempting to recover what time has erased."

Her father smiled and said, "Do you remember the song that your mother sang to you when you were a little girl? He asks her. Middy grinned as she remembered it: "My guardian angel. Of course, Mom's lullaby."

Her father looked up and said, "When you had trouble with something, for example, she always calmed you with her song." Middy agreed and tries to play it, and sing: "My dear, my dear./Whipper in your ear./Singing./A little song" her father was so quiet. Listen to his daughter singing "My dear, my dear./Can you hear?/Talking./All day long./(I'm here, my dear...)" he almost got emotional, "My dear, my dear./Don't drop a tear./Learning./The right or wrong." Middy was so into the song, "My dear, my dear./It's been a year./Staying./For so long.../But I will be always near./ Protecting you.../All my lifelong." her father teared up, "Because I am, here for you./ My dear... Angel..." and Middy's mother's last words were, "Goodnight, my dear little angel..."

After seeing her say such emotionally charged things, Middy's father gave her a hug and said, "I know it's hard, but I know that Mom is extremely proud of you, Middy."

Middy supports it. "I know. I'm grateful, Dad. You are the top."

Her father laughed and remarked, "Well, not the best, but I try."

Middy smiles and says, "Sure, dad." A tiny girl suddenly cries out for him, "Daddy!"

Robert stands up and asks jokingly, "How are you? Duty is calling me."

Middy laughs, "Okay, dad," as her father bids her good night. "Good night, sweet angel."

Middy answered with a smile, "Goodnight. Also, say good night to Ju."

Julie shouted out, "Daddy?" once more as he walked away from her. and the father says, "I'm coming; I'm coming, Julie." and shut the door.

Middy paused for a moment. Looking up, seeing the stars twinkling in her eyes, she lit up the dark night quietly, then stood up and entered.

While Robert went inside, "Hey, my little princess, what's going on?" He asks as he enters her younger sister's bedroom to investigate the situation, and Julie looks a bit upset. "My friend didn't come," the young child says as she turns to face him.

The father asks, "Who? Do you mean your imagination, friend?" She answered, "Yes... I was just wondering if you saw 'he'..."

Although he was unaware, her father tried to persuade her to think that her imaginary friend had arrived. "Hmm. No, I didn't see 'him'... But maybe he will come to you if you close your eyes; he might appear." Julie closes her eyes as she believes what Robert said and smiles, "I'll try. Okay, c'mon. Belief."and a few minutes later she almost falls asleep. He just smiles to see his daughter sleep and whispers, "You are young right now. But eventually, you'll mature and grasp reality. But you will always be my little girl, Julie," he says as he kisses her on the forehead.

She grins gently, and her father joins her, but the smile soon disappears because he heard something outside, far away amid the trees, that sounded like fans blowing leaves or something similar.

As expected, he carefully stands up and moves to the window to look outside.

It was impossible to detect a dark, unidentified figure standing there among the trees.

For a very long period, the figure awaited the ideal moment.

When Julie's bedroom window was shut and the lights were off, Robert entered the house. Middy was putting the guitar away in her room with the window slightly open as the person observed her gazing at something.

Middy was admiring a photo her mother had taken of her as a little child wearing a firefighter helmet with her father and herself.

Putting the image on her nightstand, Middy grinned and queried, "What if something changed...?" Suddenly, Middy hears something move and tread on a dry branch. She peeks out the window and asks, "Who's out there?" She looks around and says, "Hello? Is anybody there?"

But there is no answer as Middy simply scans the area. "Is everything alright, Middy?" Robert heard as he walked upstairs and checked on Middy what was going on.

When Middy responds, "Aye, dad! It's nothing," her dad remarked. "Okay. Goodnight Middy," and Middy responded quietly, "I guess it was an animal," as she turned around and attempted to ignore the fact that she was suspicious despite it, so she went to bed after closing the window, and among the pitch-black trees, the stranger vanished.