Never Again

6

~Enjoy ❤️ (don't own this drawing- incredible job whoever did this ⬆️ this is what Lynlee is drawing)
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"Sweetheart? Could you come here?" Lynlee's mother croaked from the living room. The girl jumped from her spot on the kitchen counter, grasping her mothers medicine in one hand.

"Yes, mom?"

Her mother coughed and grasped her daughters hand. Lynlee flinched at how weak her grip was, but gave a small smile. It was more of a way to comfort herself than her mother, who lay half dead from cancer beneath layers and layers of blankets.

"Have I ever told you the story about the Rocky Hills?"

Well, this is random, Lynlee thought to herself. She forced herself to shake her head. The two stared at each other for a short time before Mrs. King tried to push herself up.

"Mom, lay down- you'll hurt yourself."

"There is no possible way I can make myself worse." Lynlee's mother made a tiny laugh. Growling in frustration, Lynlee tried one last time to get her to lay down, but she refused.

"Have you given up?" She teased.

Lynlee smiled slightly at the humor in her mother's voice and nodded slightly. After adjusting herself against the pillows, Mrs. King continued, taking a deep, ragged breath.

"I won't be with you much longer, Lynlee. As much as I wish to see you grow up and continue with our relationship, it's just foolish to think we can be together forever."

Lynlee bit her lip, trying to hold in tears that were beginning to blurry her vision. "You can't talk like that, mom-"

"I am going to die, Lynlee, but I am quite happy with you, and the times we have spent together. You have grown up to become a strong young women, no matter what the circumstances." A fierce fire lay behind those green eyes, and Lynlee could feel the spark that ignited in her hands.

"So," she continued, "I believe it is for the best if you take this."

Her mother reached under her shirt and pulled out a necklace. After struggling to pull it over her head, she finally rested it inside of Lynlee's palm. It was a strange, light green crystal no longer than the tip of her finger, wrapped in a tight leather string. A knot at the end of the two strings adjusted to fit just right to whoever was wearing the necklace.

"What is this?" Lynlee didn't touch the crystal but instead lifted the leather, holding it up closer to her face to admire its beauty.

"When I was a little girl, Lynlee, I found that just past the Rocky Hills."

The rocky hills were nothing special, or an amazing attraction- simply a few high hills that Lynlee and her mother often climbed for fun during the summers, holding picnics and exploring the few caves that were sitting in silence at the bottom.

"During the summer once, at night, I decided to go exploring. Father would have killed me if he'd ever found out, but that's the risk for a little fun, isn't it? I found a little cave at the base of one of the hills and decided to explore."

She snorted, relishing the memory while Lynlee wondered where the heck she was going with the story. "I got lost. Fun turned to terror, and I cried like a baby. I was eleven years old without a single brave bone in my body. But that, is where this comes in."

Mrs.King points to the necklace and nods. "It was like something was calling me- pulling me against my will deeper into the darkness. Wandering aimlessly and hoping to find a way out. This stone I found among the rocks, glowing brighter than anything I'd ever seen. Now this is where it gets wired. Supernatural junk and all of that-"

She pauses, letting got of Lynlee's hand and grasping the bed sheets. "I reached towards it, and it began to glow brighter and brighter. Until finally, I touched it. Next thing I know, I'm in bed, with my dad shaking me and telling me it was time for school."

Lynlee glanced wearily at the necklace. "Are you sure it wasn't just a dream, mom?"

The woman frowned. "I woke up with that wrapped around my neck like some kind of voodoo trinket! Scared the living daylights out of me, but something told me to keep it. Since having it, it has given me the best of luck, and I truly believe that receiving it- however it happened- was possibly the best that that ever happened to me."

As if she was holding something back, she bites her lip before sighing and pointing to it. "I want you to wear it at all times. I've been having strange dreams lately, and I'm worried about what might happen In your future, Lynlee... when I'm not around to protect you and care for you, that necklace will."

Lynlee glanced at the necklace in her hand for the thousandth time that day, wondering what was so important about it. Ever since her mother had given it to her earlier that week, she had yet to find anything visibly significant about it, other than its beauty.

With a huff, Lynlee dropped the necklace back onto her neck and continued with her drawing. She sat on a swing just outside of her house, staring at the meadow behind her house and thinking about the giant robot she had seen just the night before.

As always, it had been tucked under her shirt. Lynlee did as her mother requested and never took it off. Until now, she hadn't thought it had brought much luck. But after that previous night...

That was extraordinary. Whatever that... thing was... it was incredible. Lynlee wondered if she was crazy. She sees a giant robot and doesn't even consider the fact that she was seeing things. Maybe even dreaming. But it had felt so real.

It definitely looked real. Lynlee has felt intimidated by the giants towering size, but somehow knew it wouldn't hurt her. She would probably never see it again. I

Without a word, she continued to draw, imagining what it would have been like to somehow communicate or even talk to it.

It was a crazy thought, but Lynlee was positive she would never see that giant being again for the rest of her life.