Lylia

Empty Space

"Mommy, why are you always in bed?" A little
girl asked as she peered over her the blankets. A woman laid there with no life in her eyes. She seemed almost gone. An empty pill bottle
sat on the night stand next to the bed. "Mommy's just really tired. Why don't you just go in the other room and play?" Her voice weak and muffled by the sheets.

You could her the little girl's footsteps patter away, along with the woman's life. Her eyes glanced once on a picture of a man and a baby across the room as she whispered,"Soon, baby. Soon." And with that her eyes closed eyes to a permeant sleep.

Red lights flashing, and a little girl screaming for her mama....

"Lylia, wake up. You're okay." A voice roused me from the nightmare. The grievance of loss consumed me, and the sudden rush of nausea hit me.

Luis looked concerned as I threw back the covers and ran to the bathroom. I just made it to the toilet as I started to vomit. A black slimey liquid kept coming up. Not now!

Luis must have followed me, because suddenly someone was holding my hair back and rubbing my back.

Finally it stopped, but the tears overwhelmed me. I sunk completely on the ground, my entire body racked with sobs.

"Lylia, what's going on? Please shhh shhh. You're okay." He whispered pulling me into his arms, trying to add some form of comfort. Tears still pouring down my cheeks, I tried focusing on the warmth of his arms around me,
the sound of his breathing. Anything to ground me to my surroundings.

Finally my body calmed down, and we just sat there, Luis basically cradling me. He kept stroking my hair in a form of comfort, scared I would go back to being hysterical. "What the hell is happening?" He whispered. My entire body just hurt as I finally took control of myself.

"It was a vision. T-there was this woman and a l-little g-girl." I stumbled through my words, being hit by the depression again.

Burying my face into his chest, trying to suppress the emotions that threatened to swallow me whole.

Gasping for air, I just sat there for a few minutes, in complete silence. These attacks come often enough, but normally last a lot longer.

"That was an empathic attack." I spoke, my voice seemed to be no more whisper and hoarse. Luis just rubbed my back, waiting for me to go on with my explanation. "When something bad happens that just connects with me, it's like the universe is cleansing that moment through me. It happens quite often, but sometimes it can happen when I feel someone's emotions nearby." I breathed into his chest.

His body went rigid and stiff when those last few words fell out of my mouth. "Can you read my emotions or thoughts?" He asked, staring down at me.

"I can only feel your anxiety, which is taking a like spike at this moment." I looked at him shocked. He separated himself me and stood up and started pacing. "You can't feel or hear anything else from me?" He asked.

"N-no why? Is there something I should know?" I asked, suspicious of his sudden change of mood. His body just stiffened and his face went blank as he just stared at me. "I think it's time we went back to bed." Luis stated, ushering me back to the other room.

As I pulled the covers over me, reality washed over me. Yesterday I was just under the radar with a drunken crazy Mom. It seemed all to unreal is suddenly I'm on the run with this attractive stranger claiming he can save me. My mother gave me up, and I'm now in a crappy motel that's wallpapers are peeling. My life took a crazy turn.

Eyelids finally growing heavy, I let myself fall into that emotionless darkness that was the perfect escape.

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