My secret

Chapter 1

It was a man. Not just any man, but a crazed one. His face was contorted as if in pain, and the sounds coming from him were not human, but more like the cries of a bird of prey. The tattered, single piece of clothing he wore looked like it had been burned, just like his hair. But suddenly the sounds stopped, and so did his writhing around in the mud. He sat up still, perfectly straight. He looked directly at me, and held out his hand. A single silent tear fell down his face. I watched it go around his nose, his mouth, and then his chin and onto the ground. I met his gaze. No words were spoken but somehow I knew that if I wanted to end this man's silent torment, I was to take his hand.  Once I did, I immedietly knew that this was the worst mistake I will have ever made. The man knew it too. I looked at him, and saw his smile. It was a mix of pity and relief. 

"I'm sorry", He murmured through his tears of joy. 

===============================================================================

I woke with a start, drenched in sweat. The man's words still echoing in my brain.  'I'm sorry'. Instantly, a stabbing pain emerged in my shoulder, It felt like I had been shot. I screamed, and writhed in agony. But no matter what I did the pain was an ever present constant. I heard the muffled sound of the door bursting open. My parents shouts drowned in my own.  I felt a plummeting  sensation, and one final throb of pain, and then it was all gone. I sat up, and looked into my mom's concerned face. 

"What was that, what happened?" My father's voice sounded angry, but I knew that he was just frightened.  I couldn't answer him. I had no idea where in the world that pain had come from. We all jumped when we heard my brother, Ben come down the stairs. He saw us. He saw my tear streaked face and my mother on the verge of tears. He turned around right away and headed back up the stairs.  

"Are you ok Evelen?" Was one question I could answer. I shook my head no, to afraid to speak.  

"Do you feel any pain right now honey?" Mom asked. Again I shook my head no.  My parents exchanged looks. How strange this must all be to them. But it was perfectly clear to me. That pain would come back, I was sure of it.  I clutched my mother's hand in a desperate grip. 

"Help me," I whisper, "Please."

My mother gaped at me, probably overcome with concern and confusion. Wondering how she would help me, or why this was happening. 

"Just," My dad said, "Just go back to sleep, and we can go to the doctor's office in the morning." I nod yes, and lay back down. My parents leave the room, but I can hear their hushed conversation outside my door. 

"What's going on Bert?"

"I don't know, Ellen, maybe its just in the head."

"But what would make her scream like that if it wasn't real?"

"Probably just a nightmare. It's not like...."

I strained to hear them, but they had gone too far away. I gave up and tried to sleep. Sleep did not come. I was stuck relieving my "nightmare" until I heard a knock on my door and saw that light was coming from behind my curtains. 

"Yea?" I called.

My dad poked his head through the door, "Get dressed, we're leaving in 20."

Authors note:  I am always looking for new ideas for my stories, so please, if you have any advice you want me to know, don't be afraid to leave it in the comments. Thank you for reading!