Take My Hand

Six

Published: January 21, 2017

"It's hard to forget a nightmare, if you weren't even asleep." -J.S. (modified a bit)

"Chloe, look at this one." Carter's mother, Janet, called to me from farther down the row of clothes. I look to see what she found and see she has another dress.

"Do you like it?" She asks. I nod and walk over.

"Here. Go try it on." She says handing it to me and pointing to a bunch of stalls.

"Ok." I whisper with a smile and go over to the stalls. I slip into one and look at the dress. I pull off my shirt and jeans so I can replace them with the beautiful dress. I struggle with the zipper in the back and leave it when it starts to hurt my wounds.

"Chloe. You done?" She asks.

"Yes. But I can't get the zipper." I call back softly.

"Can I come in?" She asks.

"Uh... yes." I say softly and the door slightly opens while Janet slips in. She smiles at me and motions me to turn around. I obey and she gently zips the dress, being careful of the bandages.

"What color is this?" I question flattening the material against my side.

"Blue." She responds. That half a second word brings back memories. A little girl in a car asking. The man in the heart what his favorite color is.

"My favorite color?  Probably blue."

"Oh honey. What's wrong?" Janet asks using her thumbs to swipe under my eyes.

"His favorite color is blue." I whisper, my hand instantly going to the heart around my neck. Her eyes follow my hand and a look of realization crosses her face.

"What else do you remember?" She asks.

"My birthday" I say giving a very soft laugh while I swipe the tears away.

"He...he made a big party...they all stayed the night." I smile at her.

"I....remember someone named....Clara?" I question myself.

"I asked her to be my mommy." I whisper at the small memory.

"Oh honey. That's amazing." She giggles and pulls me into a hug. I slowly hug her back and we stand like that for a while. I'm the one to pull away and she smiles at me.

"You'll be home soon Chloe." She says softly.

"But what about Carter?" I ask.

"He makes me feel weird. Chases my sleep memories away....He makes me feel happy." I say softly and her face breaks into the biggest smile I've ever seen. Her eyes are almost closed. I look at her confused and almost take a step back. My eyes shift from her to anywhere in the small stall, only to return and flick away again.

"Hmm?" I hum my question.

"Get changed." She smiles and helps me unzip the dress before slipping out. That was...new.

I slip out of the dress and put my clothes back on. I walk out of the stall with the dress on my arm and Janet smiles when she sees me.

"Come on. I'm done for today. I'm old and my feet are killing me." She says and I giggle softly.

"Mine are too." I say looking at my feet.