The Unknown Darkness

Home Again

Spasms. That what it felt like. Uncontrollable shaking awakes her. Unicorn blankets pushed at the end of the bad. Pillows on the floor. Clammy hands. Something seems off. There's actually air conditioning. A lava lamp lit up in a corner bubbling green ooze.

"Home again?"

It all seemed so real. The pain, betrayal, love. "Dad!" The words just came undetected. She gets up stumbling over the bumper of the princess bed. Tiny feet pat the carpet floor softly. Passing the vanity, a little girl with brunette hair stands in a Hello Kitty nightgown. Freckles and all. It's Rowan except in her eight year old self. That couldn't have been a dream. Just a dream? She must've had too much apple juice last night maybe. No. She brushes her hand along the place where the syringe injected her. Rowan stars at that very spot. Green veins jolty throb.

"Rowan?" she calls out her own name. "Daddy!!" She runs out of the room tripping over her own feet on the way. Running through the living room, past the foyer, and into the kitchen. There sitting at the table was a man. He had very bad stubble beard. He seems half awake, sipping coffee straight black.

"Daddy, I had this funny dream!" She scoots out the nearest chair climbing it like a mountain. "Jax was there and I was a astronaut and there..."

"That's great honey, I have a lot of work to do so would so want to go over to Mrs. Jernigan's for a while." He pats her head removing himself from the table. His eyes were red and puffy. Tearstained.

"Sure," her smile fades.

"Hey, you can tell me later. I'm just worrying about mommy right now, that's all. Jax and mommy." Slowly pouring out the remains of his coffee in the caste iron sink. He sets the cup on the dirty dishes that rest inside. Work isn't even the word for what had to be done. It was basically chores. Chores and divorce papers.

The drive was short and quiet. The radio played the latest hit single Californication. 1999 was the age of music my dad use to tell me before every song reminded him of mommy. He's sad a lot. She doesn't know why. He said she was coming back so there shouldn't be a reason to be sad. Jax would come back with mommy too. She misses Jax a lot. She misses seeing his face when he came home from school since she decided she wanted to be homeschooled instead.

We reach the Jernigan's house. A white brick one story house. Lawn was perfectly manicured. Unlike ours. Daddy says he'll get it done but he ends up watching old reruns of Full House with a bottle of a weird smelling drink. Both were mommy's favorite.

Sophia appears at the door way smiling. Sophia was my only friend pretty much. She didn't go to the same elementary school as Rowan but that was okay. Having someone to play with every once in a while was good enough for her. She didn't like to admit it but Jax did get boring sometimes. He says Barbies are dumb and girly. Not if your Barbie is dressed in astronaut gear it wasn't, she use to tell him.

"Rowan! You made it!" She rushes to pull me out of the car. "You're not going to believe it! Gramma has the NASA program on the television and they're gonna launch a mission in a decade or so!"

"Wow! I gotta see!" Rowan allows her to pull her along. She glances back to watch her dad drive off in his beaten up Chevy truck.

Inside, there's a plate of cookies. Plain since Sophia's allergic to nuts. Rowan takes one taking a nibble. She falls next to Sophia who was laying on her stomach staring, mouth open, at the TV. Rowan tries to explain her 'dream' to her friend as detailed as she could remember.

"Time travel maybe?" Sophia suggests but she was too engaged into the broadcast to be paying any attention. Rowan shrugs surprisingly. Might be. Could be. Must be.

Onto the stage walks a woman announcing the arrival of Space Chief Henry Martinaz.

"2016 will be the next available date for a four man mission. 750 sols. Space Station 206 will be their located home until countdown." A bald headed man stands at the podium answering reporters' questions left and right. He wears a black suit with a mini American flag pinned to his collar. "That will be all. Thank You."

A boy with blonde hair flashes through her mind. A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes staring gracefully at a sunset next to a girl. A girl with rustic brown hair in a messy bun.

"Skylar," Rowan gasps.