Unearthed

Chapter 5 - Ominous Clouds

I sleepily opened my eyes and was surprised to see my mother by the window, staring out into the night.

"Mama?" I called, groggily sitting up in my bed.
The house was silent and dark, other than the faint flickering light offered by the candle at my bedside.

"Hush now," she whispered, smoothing away the stray curls that were matted to my forehead. The hood of her cloak was pulled forward, framing her face and dark hair.

"Where are you going?" I asked, confused.

"I will be back by morning, there's something I need to take care of." She whispered.

"Go where? What about papa and I?" I asked, unable to keep the panic from my voice.

She glanced over at my father in the next room, "Hush, we mustn't wake your father." She whispered.

"Please mama, stay with me." I whispered as I felt tears prickling at the back of my eyes. My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage as though I sensed the danger my mother was in, as though I knew I may never see her again.

"I will always stay with you."

"Promise?" I asked choking back tears.

"I promise." She said.

I stared into her eyes, searching for the truth in her words, hoping she would keep this promise, just as she had kept all the others. She reached behind her head and unclipped the necklace from round her neck, placing the necklace in my hand and curling my fingers over the pendent.

"Keep this as a token of my promise to you." She said.

"But.."

"It's yours now. I want you to keep it safe, alright?" She said pulling me into a hug. I buried my face into the crook of her neck, breathing in her familiar scent. I held back tears and only managed to nod in response.

"That's my girl." She said, gently extracting herself from the embrace. "Go to sleep now, I will be back by the sun's first rays." She said as she silently glided towards the door.

"Mama!" I blurted out.

She turned to look at me, her eyes shining brightly in the moonlight, "I love you." She said before slipping out into the dark night.

Tears slipped down my cheeks as unsaid words died on my lips. Opening my hand, I stared at the key which was no larger than my smallest finger. I rubbed my thumb over its uneven surface before tying it securely around my neck. I blew out the candle squeezing my eyes shut, hoping for morning to come and bring my mother with it.

But morning never came. The distant sound of a man's eerie laughter filled the silence, echoing in my ears as the darkness swallowed me whole.

. . . . .

I bolted upright in the bed, my face slick with a sheen of sweat. I stared wildly around me, my heart racing and my feet tangled in a mass of sheets.

It was a dream. A nightmare, I thought to myself.

I fumbled for the pendent I always kept hidden away in my gown and started to run my thumb along its surface. It had been so long since I had that dream, but it was just as vivid as the memory.

Closing my eyes, I recalled my mother's face. Her long dark hair, the gentle creases by her eyes that were a reminder of her bright smile. I thought of my father too, his deep throaty laugh, light curly mop of hair and thick mustache to match. My father was a simple mason, while my mother use to give music lessons to the few rich children that lived on the outskirts of the city. We certainly weren't among the wealthiest families but we were happy.

I tightened my hold on the key, at least we had been, before my mother went missing that night. My chest tightened at the thought. I still remembered that dreadful night, as though it had just happened.

I remembered tossing and turning well into the night, contemplating whether I should wake my father. As the first rays of dawn seeped in through the curtains, I was confident my mother would've come back. But she never did.

My father, anxious and frantic, began to search the streets, asking everyone and anyone he came across whether they had seen my mother. But he never thought to ask me - why would he? And I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth - to tell him I was the last one who saw her, the one who could have stopped her. That morning I promised myself I would do everything in my power to find her. Days, weeks and months bled together without any sign of her and my father and I were consumed with our own sorrow and guilt.

People talked, as they always do. I managed to catch snatches of whispered conversations, words that usually go unheard by unobservant ears. But I heard them, heard them among throngs of people at the market and from my seat at the back of the classroom. "Poor girl"..."deserted by her mother"..."he killed his wife." Accusations, rumors and doubts hung over our heads like ominous clouds, threatening and suffocating. When my father decided we move further away from the city, I was anything but upset. We packed up what little belongings we had, loaded the carriage and were off. I stared out from the carriage watching our town shrink away into the distance. Although we may have left our past behind, we would certainly never forget it. With that we set off to a new home and a new beginning.  

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Author's Note:                                          

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