1.
Trepidation in the eyes of a six-year-old was quite hard to put to words.
While Thato, Chuma and Lesanda slept, Aphiwe just lay there. Unable to define the sensation.
Her arms were numb from pulling and straining. What exactly was she supposed to say? Or do, the closest thing to royalty was in her mother's bed, just... 'expecting things' from her.
They'd made her go over so many details, words flying out of her head and pouring into the mind of that Cold Stepper. Was it convenient? She couldn't tell, it had to be, right? They'd heard all they could hear. But if that were the case. Why were they still there? Did she even want them gone? It was amazing, wasn't it? They were calling her... a hero. Was she allowed to think that way? No...
The searing pain spreading over every part of her body told her no. They were like spikes, running through her, past her thumping heart, which ached in its own way. She couldn't help but wonder, if her mother had not taught her what a heart was, would it have hurt as much? It felt like it. So much had been said. Her mother had been contained, which wasn't new.
Her mother was like staring at a door where a person would burst through at any moment. The last few hours were like expecting a fight to burst through. One that would swallow them whole.
Aphiwe could taste the purple filling her from head to toe, breaking her down like coal in a fire.
Crackling.
Her heart started racing, her mother was up against giants, just like her.
They had weapons, she...a broken child.
Tears streamed from her eyes, pooling on her nose and wetting the bed. The tap tap of Chuma's tail snaked its way over her, rubbing her tears away. She hugged it, suffering through the pain, a fair trade off.
Her eyes closed.
YOU ARE READING
The Open Book
FantasyThe Biography of a Biography. Aphiwe is sick and stuck in bed having just fought for her life. All she got out of it was a stupid book. But the book says: "Do not read this if being alive is the most important thing to you. If greatness is the more...
