Breaking Her Silence

Chapter One

- Chapter 1 -

- 13 years earlier -

"Mummy! Push me!" Cried the six year old excitedly as she swung her legs in anticipation. Her mother smiled gently and proceeded to push the playful child on the playground swings. The smile which had been etched onto the child's lips suddenly faded.

"What's wrong honey? You don't want to play on the swings anymore?" The mother asked crouching in front of the now silent child staring behind her shoulder intently. "Layla?" She asked worriedly following her child's gaze finding nothing. "Layla? What's wrong? What are you looking at?" She asked apprehensively.

"Who's that man mummy?" Layla finally asked, tilting her head to the side a little to try and peek over her mother's shoulder. Again the woman glanced over her shoulder, standing up in the process and scanning the small playground.

The woman let out a relieved breath and turned back to her daughter who was still gazing at apparently nothing. "Come on Layla. You're tired, let's go home." Layla nodded as she was lifted up out of the child's swing and set gently on her feet.

The pair started walking but soon the six year old grew weary and stopped in her tracks. The mother knowing full well of her daughter's tiredness turned and heaved her into her arms and started walking with Layla's head on her shoulder and her arms around her mother’s neck.

"Mummy who is that man?" Layla asked drowsily. The woman whipped her head around to see no one following them and started walking slightly faster back to their home. "Mummy?"

"What is it Layla?" Her mother asked breathlessly caused from her fast paced walking and the child who was wrapped around her.

"The man. Who is he?" Her mother, instead of slowing down, quickened her pace. For the rest of the journey back to their small home, once inside her mother slammed the door and locked it, sighing and walking into the family room to lay her daughter on the sofa.

As Layla watched her mother walk into the other room, with hooded eyes a dark face came into her line of vision. Her eyes widened and she giggled a little, stretching her arms back to grab the hooded figure. The figure pulled back a little but Layla could clearly see the grin on the figure's shadowed face curl up into a sinister smile. Now afraid, Layla quickly withdrew her arms and stared up at the shadow in silence.

Layla's mother entered the room a few seconds later with the phone to her ear as Layla quickly sat up to inform the woman of the hooded figure's presence. Layla stared mesmerised as the shadow revealed a hand, putting a finger to her lips as it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Layla blinked a few times and stayed silent waiting for her mother to hang up the phone. Once she heard the distinct sound of the ended call she turned to her mother about to spill the events which had just taken place.

"Layla? Do you need something sweetie?" The girl tried to speak but found she was silenced. Incapable of speaking. After the frustrating task of trying to form words and failing, Layla shook her head. Looking down at her intertwined fingers.

"Nothing." She gasped out finally, looking at the place where the figure previously stood.
- - - - - -

"An over active imagination Carla. Nothing you need to worry about. Your daughters fine." The doctor said sitting back his chair reading over the results.

"Are you sure? This isn't a one time thing Dr.Dalis. She talks to 'him' every night. She's always quiet unless spoken to and spends most time in her room playing with 'him'. I don't know about you, but I think this is definitely serious!" Carla cried desperately trying to get the doctor to review her daughter’s results again.