Of Lights and Shadows (Book 4)

1) While My Baby Silently Sleeps

Monday June 3rd, 2013, New York City

Night drips slowly into being, such as water might drip from a tap, but its effort is wasted, who sleeps in the city that never sleeps? Besides the children of course... While men and women run around with their busy lives, in whatever part of town fits their fancy, the children are at home sleeping peacefully. No thought is given to them; they are safe, after all, because the door is locked and they know the number for 911. If they do not, well then, it is easy to work out.

The exact number of children sleeping at night in New York City is unknown, the same for the exact number of children in New York State full stop. New ones are born every day while old ones are sometimes, tragically, thrown away. Maybe because they die, or because they are simply no longer wanted. It is hard to be sure about why things happen.

People, not just children, go missing all the time in big cities. It is hard to keep track of them. Everybody is constantly on the move, quickly, quickly, time is so important they do not like to waste a single second. They are so busy they hardly notice what is going on around them. Then, in the time it takes for them to blink and look again, their travelling companion is gone. Hearts will weep of course, it is the natural reaction, and then they will forget. Forget that poor person, that child, as if they were never born...

The window of the apartment slid quietly upwards, the catch already unlocked from within and the slide greased so as not to make a sound. A dark figure wiggled quickly through the window before jumping lightly on top of the bed situated underneath it into the large, empty, master bedroom, the parents' room. There was no fear that the parents were home. Of course they were gone, who would stay inside on a glorious New York evening and look after the kids?

The dark figure slipped across the room, treading as near to the walls as possible to escape any creaks, to the door. It was unlocked; there had not been any reason for the parents to lock it. Gripping the handle, the figure gave it a slow twist. Just enough that it would turn and enough that no one would actually see it turn did they happen to be on the other side. The lights were off in the whole apartment, but you could not be too careful.

The door opened, and the figure stole through the small crack created. Then, still with its hand on the knob, it closed the door. She stood listening for a couple of seconds for any sounds at all in the apartment, but all was quiet. For a moment, the figure thought that maybe the parents had arrived home early, but it did not seem to be that. Maybe the child she had come for had just rolled over. Whatever it was, she still had to be careful.

Creeping quietly along the hall, she counted the rooms and the steps it took to walk from the window, down the hall, to the bedroom just on the left before it opened out to the wide, spacious living room. It was a tricky spot; from where the figure stood, she had a clear view of the front door, which meant also that anyone entering would have a clear view of her. Not good. If they decided to come home early before the job was complete then it might have to be cancelled. The figure frowned underneath her black mask; she hated to leave a job empty handed. She would either leave with her prey or stay with nothing.

Gripping the handle of the door, she repeated the process of carefully turning it. The room on the other side was a light pink, girl's bedroom. Pictures of teddy bears were painted on the walls, and a nice, soft, red carpet covered the floor. In the middle of the far wall rested a cot, inside lay the whole reason for the visit. Striding purposely across the room, not worrying to walk the long way along the walls because the carpet hid the sound of its footsteps and prevented any creaking, she reached the cot and stared down at the baby within. She was tucked up in a green fluffy blanket and hugging a teddy bear, fast asleep.

The girl was only eight months old, and was a true miracle. The mother and father had been trying for a child for a year but nothing had happened, and then suddenly she had arrived. The parents were so excited they could barely contain it. In fact, they didn't want to.