The Mute

11

VALERIE

I was scared. Terrified. I could feel my heart pounding as my whole body shook. My head and nose hurt from crying so much.

Don't look, mom said as I buried my face in her chest with my eyes tightly shut.

"Don't open your eyes booboo. Everything's going to be alright. Do you believe me?"

I didn't but I nodded anyway. She was trying to comfort me but who was going to comfort her?

Tears escaped from my closed eyelids as I fought a sob back down my throat. He said if I made a sound he was going to kill mommy. I won't. Mommy would be fine.

"I love you." Mom whispered to me as she caressed my hair and before I could say it back to her, I heard the gunshot followed by the green-eyed man's horrible laughter that sent shivers down my spine. Mommy's hand had noticeably stilled.

No. Please not my mommy. Mommy's fine. She always was.

I heard the men shuffle out of the room then everything was silent as they left. I didn't know how long I sat on the floor with my face buried in mommy's chest with my eyes shut.

But I knew that nothing was going to be alright. All I knew was if I opened my eyes, my mommy would be gone.

Suddenly hurried footsteps approached but I didn't raise my head. I didn't care if those men were back again to finish me off. At least I'd join mommy in heaven. We'd be together. Forever.

"Valerie."

Daddy? I raised my head to look in the doorway. Daddy was standing there with horror as tears gushed out of his eyes. My eyes travelled to the uniformed men next to him wearing pity faces. I hated it.

One of the uniformed men approached me, kneeling down on the floor in front of me.

"Come on kid. Go to daddy." He said.

I shook my head. I won't leave mommy. I looked to where my mom lay and I felt my heart tighten in pain as a stray tear escaped my eye.

The bullet hole in her forehead was noticeably horrifying and her eyes were opened.

Her eyes. They no longer held the usual brightness they did. They looked dead.

She was dead. My mommy was gone.

I felt something inside of me die with her.

**********************************

I sat in the kitchen with Abuelita. She was drinking one of her famous concoctions as she complained about Skye and Acio's cold war.

"I don't know what happened between the two this time but it's serious. They barely talk to each other. It's like the other doesn't exist!" She said, shaking her head in disapproval.

I wonder what went wrong. Abuelita said it began after Acio had gone to pick up Skye a week ago at Tatia's apartment. She wasn't wrong but I'd noticed the awkward atmosphere between the two after the kitchen scene. I just hoped they cleared whatever misunderstanding there was because it affected our friendship.