Books Of My Days

Chapter 1- The Dark Gift

Chapter 1

It's a wonderful evening in Chicago. The sun is close to setting with its incredible light. The streets are populated and noisy. The only place where I could find peace of mind is Lake Michigan. The water waves are in motion, the seagulls are circling in the air around the lake. Everything is beautiful. It's all perfect to spend my summer days here.

I'm sitting by the lake and enjoying the view, the nature's giving me. I love spending time here. In these recent years, it has become my usual activity. I often come to this place and get myself involved in it.

I couldn't stop myself from coming here. This place is really close to my heart. It makes me recall the memories of my childhood. It reminds me of someone, so dear to me. Juliane. It has been years, since she left. I miss her.

I miss you, Mom. I really do.

Juliane Carter, my mother.

I regret the day when she was dying and I had a chance to save her, but didn't do anything. I feel disgusted at the thought of this.

A voice whispers inside me.

Past is the past. No one can change what has happened.

That's right. I shouldn't overthink about this.

I take a deep breath, deciding to not think about it.

As I see the sunset, I started walking. To a place, everyone would call home.

I reach for the door to my house, but stop as I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Ashlyn," says the man with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Martin, nice to see you."

He's a good family friend and neighbour.

"How was your family vacation?" I ask.

"It was fairly good."

"Anything wrong?" I asked, as he looked so downcast and not like his usual self.

"Well, the time we spent in Hawaii was fascinating. But we messed up while returning," he answers.

"What happened?" I ask as I look around for his wife. She isn't visible. "Where's Delilah?"

"Ash, I left her back in Hawaii." He says gulping.

"What?!"

"That's right, Ashlyn. You heard me."

Mr. Martin tells me the story that he left his wife at the airport, to meet his client before coming back to Chicago, assuming that she would board the flight. But things went wrong and Mr. Martin alone boarded the plane and Delilah missed it.

It sounds funny, but I just couldn't laugh right now, neither control it.

But, he has always been this way. Easy-going. Optimistic. Fun-loving.

"She's going to kill you!" I joke.

"Yeah, only when she gets here. Until then, I'm good," he smirks.

And we both started laughing.

"Haven't seen you for some time now. It's good to know that you're here, Ash. You should often come to this place."

"I will, if it's possible. But, since I don't stay here any more, I come only for vacations."

"Weren't you suppose to be staying at your place?"

"Yes. I will, soon enough. I'm waiting for Melina to be here. Once she's here, I won't be at his place. Besides, I want to see if he's changed or still the same."

"He's never gonna change. I wish, he could see how well his daughter is grown up to be," He says. I can see the sorrow in eyes.

"Alright. Take care of yourself. And remember, we're always here, you can visit us anytime."

"Thank you," I say.

We say our good bye and I go for the door. I take out the key from my left pocket and unlock it. I go to my room and quickly get dressed in my pajamas. I brew coffee to help me stay awake to finish my column.

After a few minutes, my eyes are hinting to shut down. I feel heaviness over them. Eventually, sleep takes over me. I doze off on my desk.

It was so peaceful that it had to be disturbed. About ten minutes later, I hear a loud noise which wakes me up.

A strong gush of wind threw open the door. I certainly forgot to lock it. I squeeze my eyes wide open and go to the doorstep.

I see a man heading my way. He was walking in a strange way. Probably, unconscious of his state of mind.

An alcoholic man.

Dad.

Ted Carter.

He walks inside the house without uttering a word and ignoring me. That is when I decide to break the silence.

"Welcome home, Dad," I say, pretending to be cheerful.

With his fierce angry face, he looks at me, and says, "Get the hell out of here. I have no wish to see you. Go away."

That was all he said. He will never change. He has always been this way. This was the reason why Mom had to end their marriage.

I go to my bed, and Dad goes to his room. I hope that I get a peaceful sleep again. It has been a long time since I got one.

Nightmares.

Those creepy dreams trouble me, and I wake up to see if it's a reality.

My vision becomes blur. Everything was white. I saw a small girl on a swing and a lady. The girl was me. When I turned around to see, there was no one. I got down from the swing and looked around. I started to freak out, as the place was becoming darker. I stood there all alone by myself in this dark place. Fear took over me.

I started walking along the path. I walked for what seemed like hours. Sensing something strange, I froze. After walking for such a long time, I managed to reach from where I'd started.

I looked around for clues. This leads to nowhere. I saw someone's shadow. I followed it. There was a woman lying on the ground. At first, I hesitated, but then took a step closer to her. I got on my knees to take a look at her. "Mom!" I screamed.

"Mom, open your eyes."

No response.

"Mom, what happened to you?"

She was bleeding. Tears rolled down my cheek. Mom was in pain.

At this point of time, I realized someone was towering me. A tall man, whose face was not clearly seen.

He pulled me away from Mom. I tried to shove him, but it didn't work. He went near her and dragged her body leaving the trails of blood. I screamed and tried to stop him. Nothing seemed to change his mind. Seconds later, he was out of my sight. He disappeared in the dark. Blood was everywhere. Red. Red. And Red.

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Author's Note :

Hey Guys!! Thanks for reading! How was it?? Hope you all liked it! I'm writing for the first time, so I'm sure I've made mistakes. Please do tell me about it.

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