MELODY (Book 1) ✓

Chapter 14 ( Panic)

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I gasped.

The thick book dropped from my hands, hurting my knee and falling to the ground.

A sudden rush of overwhelming, unrestrained emotions flooded through me . My heartbeat was out of control. I could feel my heart struggling to pump more blood into my system. My limbs were cold. My breath quickened. My muscles tensed and I felt an urge to get up and run.

Like an alarmed wild deer sensing danger, my eyes darted everywhere, panning the area to find the source of the crying. It was the sound of a child.

The poor little baby!

" MOMMYYYY!... MOMMYYY!"

My neck bones hurt as I jerked my head violently to look to my right, my racing heart shaking my whole body and the adrenaline squeezing my guts.

The boy was standing alone a couple of trees away, no older than four years old, his eyes wide with fear and his mouth contorted in agony like... like someone had died!

The look of the scared boy sobbing and looking around hysterically made my throat tighten.

Those familiar dear eyes with showers of tears springing out. The shocked wide stare and the anguish that didn't belong to such angelic tiny face brought back hurtful memories I wanted to bury so deep in the seas of amnesia just to be able to live with myself. I just couldn't bear it.

Heedless of any possible consequences, I sprang up from the park bench. I couldn't think of anything but to hold and comfort him. It was a strong compulsion to do something that I couldn't really determine what it was. I didn't care when the book dropped to the ground. I didn't care if my purse got stolen. I didn't care that my reaction would make me look like an idiot or worse.

Unfortunately, my legs were not as steady as I wanted them to be when I dashed to reach the little boy. The ground seemed to be heaving underneath my feet and I collapsed on my knees on the grassy ground in front of the tearful angel.

"I want... mommy!... I want.. my mommy!.." He whimpered in his tiny voice, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, his innocent face a combination of tears and sweat and goo.

Huddled into a heap on the grass, I felt as small as he was. My trembling arms wrapped around him securely and I stroked his hair with clammy fingers, frantically turning my eyes around to search every direction.

He can't be alone in here, can he? Is it possible she left him behind? Oh God! What if he got hurt? Or kidnapped? What if I died right now and some freak took him away? What if he was taken into foster homes or ran away in the streets? He could become like me! or even worse!

No! Please, No!

My breath caught with this lump in my throat and I hugged him tighter, resisting the feeling that I was about  to faint.

"It's okay, sweetie... I'm sorry... You're going to be okay... I'm sorry." I gasped , repeating my words unconsciously.

I'm sorry!  why am I sorry!

The boy fidgeted and tossed in protest and the squeals never lessened.

"Let me go!... I want mommy!" The boy shrieked.

"It's okay, sweetie... mommy is coming... It's ok." I mumbled, losing my breath. My voice choked off, starting to feel pain in my chest.

The sting of my streaming tears burned my skin and all of a sudden, I heard another shaky voice wailing and sniffling like a fire alarm. It was mine this time. My strength was melting but I couldn't just leave him alone unprotected.

God, what should I do?

My head began to whirl, afraid to let go of him. Afraid to try to get up and search for his mother. Afraid someone was lurking in the shadows to steal him. Afraid I'd lose my consciousness or that my heart would stop beating at any moment, trying to think of a better thing to do than boohooing along. My mind just stopped working.

The boy was still crying his heart out in my arms. His excruciating blubber was dissolving what was left of my strength to hold onto him.

A pair of slender feminine arms lunged into my view. I flinched, clinging to the boy protectively, but the arms were determined and mine were too weak to resist.

"Jason! Jason! There you are, my baby!"

"MOMMY! "

The mother squatted in front of us, her eyes wide and frenzied with fear over her child as she extricated the boy from my arms. She examined him anxiously, glared at my agonized face then pulled him to her and stood up swiftly. " Jason, you scared me! I told you not to run too far!" Her stare froze over my devastated reaction. I stayed kneeling on the grass like a crumbling sculpture fountain, gaping up, with water coming out of my eyes.

Her worried glare softened. "Thank you... you okay?" She was clearly talking to me, but my windpipe was off duty.

Struggling to draw in some air , I nodded my head, trying to collect myself in front of the stranger who might think I'd just escaped from a mental institution.

The woman stared suspiciously for a moment, possibly trying to determine how deranged I was,  then turned her back and left with her son.

And I was left alone like a bundle of  shattered nerves splattered  on the ground..

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A\N:

THIS PART inspired a poem called (At First Sight)
you'll find it in my poetry collection (Poetic Rants by Akram Sadiq)
The poems are the POV of my other main character AKRAM whom you're going to meet soon. Stay tuned!

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