Beautiful Bodies

Goodnight Evangelia

The cold black nothingness that is the shadows enveloped my pale skin as the darkness surrounded me. "Angie?" I heard the sweet familiar voice ring behind me. The same voice that sang me to sleep for so many years - the voice that I'd never hear again, my mother's.

The soothing purr called from over my shoulder. I spun my body around to see my mom standing far into the darkness, away from my reach. she was glowing like an angle. Her long thick caramel hair curled around her rosy freckled cheeks and bright smile.

"Angie baby, come here." her honey colored eyes stared into mine as she hummed the words. "Mom?" I paced closer to her, "is that really you?" I asked in disbelief and desperation. She held her strong arms out to me beckoning me to come closer.

"Mom!" my words cracked as they ripped through the air. In an instant my feet flew from under me, rushing to her embrace and away from the frozen empty darkness I stood in alone. I ran with every ounce of strength I had in my being, but the distance only seemed to grow. "Mom!" I shrieked, tears welling in my eyes. The darkness held me from her, pulling me away.

I watched her golden eyes beg for me. Her healthy body began to deteriorate as I pushed my self forward sprinting out of the cold grip of the shadows. Her once radiantly peachy skin faded to a sick grey as her body shriveled to skin and bone. The thick soft curls that framed her delicate face withered and thinned into a sickly brown and disintegrated into the dark leaving only a wispy pixie on her frail head. The lips she once kissed me with cracked and bled with soars growing at the corners where they used to curl with a smirk.

My heart raced as I pushed harder and harder to reach her. I held out my arm, straining it, stretching it as close to her fragile cold fingers as I could. I stared as her warm pink cheeks fell grey and her full face thinned into a skeleton.

Her light began to grow, slowly blinding me. "Mom please." I cried breathless. "Evangelia." her fading whisper entered my ear just as the space between our fingers almost closed. In that very second the white glow that radiated from her blinded me as its deafening ring pierced my ears and created a new nothing.

My suffocating lungs gasped for air as my golden eyes flashed open. My sweaty body popped up from my mattress as I woke up from yet another nightmare. Panting viciously, I attempted to calm my breathing. A rush of shock caused me to jump as my door swung open.

"Angie? Are you okay?" I heard the smooth, but worried voice of my brother, Ilias. He paced to my side perching on the edge of my bed. "yes. I'm fine..." I whispered pulling myself together. He moved his warm hand onto my temple pushing the oily black strands of hair away from my face, running his fingers behind my ear.

"Were you dreaming about mom?" his warm light eyes gazed into mine. "no..." I replied quickly, my tone defensive and unconvincing. "Liar. You talk, well more like yell, in your sleep." he smirked that cocky smirk at me. The lamp that shined in the corner of my room covered him in a golden glow making his already prominent blue eyes glow just like our dads did. I used to resent them. It was only until recently I no longer envied the sapphire color of his pupils.

"okay yes, I was. But I'm fine." I assured him. my voice reeked of defensiveness. "Ang-" "don't call me that." I snapped in annoyance. "don't call you what? Angie?" Ilias questioned, confused. "Yes, Angie. Don't call me that." I barked. "W-why?" he asked discouraged. His sky eyes dimming. "just... don't okay?" I whispered as I stared into my lap.
Silent tears welled in my large golden eyes and began to trickle down my rosey cheeks. I let out a suppressed sniffle before quickly wiping away the tears that had escaped my grasp.

"Hey, hey." He muttered, placing his finger under my chin lifting my face up to stare at him. "its going to be okay." he assured me. Our eyes met as his filled with the same salted tears that invaded my own. His thick lip pursed and shivered. "I miss her too." his voice broke as one full tear wet his long dark lashes and raced down his cheek.

He quickly wiped it away with a sniffle. His back straightened as he laid the mask he was always so good at using to hide his emotions back over his face. He lifted his chin to me, staring at me with glossy eyes. It always pained me to see him hurt. It was like a part of me was in pain and I could only watch from the outside.

"What do you want me to call you then?" His tone was blank and emotionless. I froze not knowing an answer. I didn't know what I wanted him to call me but I couldn't bare to hear that name anymore. Not unless it was leaving my mothers lips; so never.  "Call me Ana." I shrugged replying with the first name that came to mind.

He chuckled under his breath, "Ana? Like from frozen?" He smiled, mocking me. "Yeah I guess? I don't know. It was the first name that came to mind." I spoke defensively. "Okay Ah-nah." He laughed. I rolled my eyes as a smirk grew on my lips. "I kinda like it. It's fitting." He admitted while wearing a crooked smile. "Thanks." I grinned rolling my eyes.

"Okay well I'm going to bed. Goodnight. Please try to get some sleep, I don't wanna deal with your cranky ass in the morning." He chuckled stepping off of my bed his feet tapping the wooden floor. "Oh shut up. I'm a pleasure." I scoffed. He let out a thin groan. "Goodnight." His voice was annoyed but in the playful brotherly sense.

The thought of laying in bed alone made me uneasy. Like somehow the nightmares would see that I was on my own and take it as an opportunity to attack my mind once again. I wanted nothing more but to have someone - anyone - lay by me to keep them at bay. And who better than my own brother to comfort me?

"Wait Ilias!" My desperate voice rose. "Yes?" He turned swiftly back to me. His large dewy iris' stared into my honey glazed ones. I paused, frozen. "Goodnight." The words left my mouth in a small panic. His worrisome expression lifted to an unamused smile as he let his eyes roll to the back of his skull. "Goodnight Evangelia."
"Goodnight Ilias."
He turned, walking back to my door closing it behind him leaving me alone in the solitude of bedroom.

I lowered my body down into the white pillows on my bed and covered my cold body with the comforter up to my neck. Nestling into the sheets my heavy lids fell closed as I slipped back into the darkness.