Dream Child

Chapter Two

       

Amanda coughed and tried to catch her breath while climbing to her hands and knees towards Jenny. She grabbed her daughter, who was suddenly so still.

Turning Jenny over, she saw blood streaking down her forehead and her eyes were open, staring up, but unseeing.

"Jenny!" she screamed.

Amanda turned her daughter's head to the side and began to press down on her sternum to pump water out of her.

Nothing happened.

She began to do CPR on her, crying and saying her name over and over again.

She kept giving CPR to her daughter, wiling her to breath, but Jenny's eyes remained open and looked through her. Beautiful green eyes that should be bright with intelligence and wonder as they took in the world around her were now vacant. Amanda willed her baby to blink, to sit up and say "Gotcha!" and shriek in laughter.

She finally scooped her daughter up against her body and began to run back home.

All that ran through her mind was her daughter's blank eyes looking through her. Beautiful green eyes rimmed with a dark blue hue around the pupil; gold flecks dotting the pale green, each colors blending together to produce bright and intriguing eyes that had always seemed far older than her 5 years.

As she ran, terror and grief curled up through her stomach, weaving through her ribs, blanketing itself up into her chest and constricting her heart. Her throat seized up and it felt like her ribs were being squeezed together, her heart trying to push itself through her chest. The filtering light through the tree's were now like laser's shooting through the branches and blinding her. Her lungs ached, her legs felt wobbly and the sound of nature was muted; the only thing she could hear was her ragged breathing and the thundering of her heartbeat.

Her daughter's legs and arms were arching up and down with every step she took, her head lolling about in the crook of her arm. Amanda gripped her tighter, hating the way that her daughters limbs were so uncontrolled and limp.

She finally arrived at the gate to her yard, and began screaming out for someone to help; she collapsed halfway across the yard, lungs screaming for air, arms and legs numb.

Gently laid she laid her daughter down on the ground and stared down into her daughter's face. Jenny's pupils were dilated and so still, seeing her like this terrified her.

Jenny always moved with every part of her being, her limbs always in motion, facial expressions mirroring her emotions, fidgeting even while asleep. Amanda cradled her head with one hand and picked up her baby's hand, so cold and so pale, and placed it against her wet cheek.

She whispered apologies, her love, and told her all the things she loved about her. She tried to coax her daughter into breathing, and once again began CPR, screaming for help every other breath. Though the day was bright and humid, icy coldness seeped into her world, it felt like the sun had forever disappeared.

Accepting the futility of trying to resuscitate her daughter, Amanda laid beside her on the ground and gathered her against her.

She buried her face in her daughter's wet hair, searching for the familiar scent of her and cried. The wind blew Jenny's hair against her face and she cried harder at the stillness of the rest of her and promised her daughter that she would join her in the afterlife for all eternity.

In one hour, her life was ripped apart; her heart and mind cracked in a way that would never heal.

Soon she heard sounds coming from the direction of the house, but she didn't know who and didn't have the energy to see. She held her still daughter against her and willed her spirit to join her daughters, she didn't want to be left alone without her.

Someone loomed over them and then voices rose in alarm and she felt hands on her, trying to pull her away from her daughter.

She screamed and hugged her tighter to her, but the hands won and her daughter was taken from her arms.

She couldn't see who it was, everything was a white blur of motions, she was so exhausted and overcome with grief and that she couldn't move. She wrapped her arms around herself and screamed out her daughter's name and fought against the arms that surrounded her.

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