While I was Waiting

Reason's for Everything

Today Kate walked home from school. Just like yesterday and the day before that and the day before that and the day before that. It's not that she didn't have a car to drive, she had one. Her parents went and bought so she could help carpool the kids, yet she still was prohibited by her parents from driving. It's not that she didn't have a license, she had one.

"What if you crash?" they'd say.

"What if you get lost?" Getting lost wouldn't be a problem if she had a phone. But her parents also prohibited a phone for two reasons. One, it cost too much. Two, it had data. Her parents hated the idea of her on the internet for any reason but to do homework. So why didn't they get an old flip phone? Because apparently it's too old and no phone company will allow it.

These were not only two things that Kate was prohibited to do. There were plenty.

She was prohibited from getting a job because her mom claimed that she needed help with Kate's seven younger siblings. Even though she hardly did anything but homework. On top of that, her parents expected her to pay for her own lunch, school, clothes and anything else you can think of. That was impossible, so any day she couldn't find a free lunch she'd go without one.

She was prohibited from playing. Not only did her parents dislike her doing things with the internet, but they also didn't like her doing anything aside from homework. If they ever saw her doing something other than homework, they would tell her to go do it. Regardless if she was done or not. From the moment she got home from school to the moment she laid down in bed they were nagging her. She was twice as far as everyone else in all of her classes. She wasn't sure what she'd do once she was done with all the work for every class.

She was also prohibited from going anywhere by herself. She couldn't even walk into the library alone without her parents throwing a fit. So why was she walking home by herself? Honestly, just because she needed to breathe. Her parents thought she rode with her older brother every day. Her brother thought she rode with her parents every day. They didn't talk much. It worked out.

If she tried to argue her way out of anything ever said by her parents they would ignore her arguing. They would pretend like she wasn't talking. So...

No phone.

No car.

No job.

No fun.

No being alone.

No arguing.

All of these things together added one more restriction to the list.

No friends.

Even if someone wanted to be her friend they couldn't. Her parents would pretend like Kate had no time for friends. Forget about a boyfriend.

She stepped onto the porch and searched her pockets for the keys. Her anger made it take longer than it needed to. It also extended the time it took to open the door. She slammed the door shut with her furry. She leaned against the door hoping that no one heard it. They would tell her mom if they did.

No one came.

That was strange. She didn't hear anyone either. The usual screaming of toddlers wasn't there neither was the sound of video games from downstairs. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen the van in the driveway.

They must have gone somewhere. Which meant she was home alone. Nice.

She put her bag on the entry bench making a note to get it later. She went into the kitchen and started cooking herself a meal. It had been a long time since she hadn't had to make food for eight other siblings.

Once she was done making herself broccoli, chicken, and potatoes, she settled into a chair at the table. Just before taking a bite she noticed something by the kitchen window. She went closer for a better look.

The sun was shining brightly through the glass giving her an amazing view at the smoke hovering by it. Where did it come from? She hadn't burned anything and the window was closed. She took a sniff to try and determine what it was but it didn't smell like anything. She looked around the room. Every other window had the same thing hovering beside it.

It was fascinating, she never saw any smoke like this. She waved her hand through it, it didn't feel like anything. Wasn't hot or cold. After a second longer, she decided to leave it alone, her dad would take care of it.

Kate turned around to walk back to her seat but stopped after seeing the entire floor halfway up her shins covered in the smoke. She kicked it around, it hardly moved. She made her way back to the table and stared down at her food. She had lost her appetite.

She could hardly do anything but wait at this point. Wait for it to disappear or for her family to come home. Whatever came first.

She waited for so long that the sun was nearly set. She had to turn the lights on as the house slowly got darker. Nothing happened while she waited except the smoke had gotten higher. If she was still sitting down the smoke would be covering her face.

Once the smoke rose above her head she gave up and sat down. She couldn't see anything through the smoke, not even her own hand. After a minute she started getting dizzy. Her head started aching. Her eyes started burning. Her throat started swelling. She closed her eyes and laid on the floor trying to ease the pain. She began to hear white noise like her ears were failing. Breathing started getting harder so she stopped trying to do it.

As she lost her consciousness she felt something tug on her leg. Sharp nails were digging into her calf. She couldn't care less. It was the least painful thing as she lay helplessly curled up on the floor.

She was dragged across the floor and to the front door. She was outside now. She opened her eyes one last time before losing all consciousness. Upon opening them she caught a glimpse of an unrecognizable man wearing all black, towering over her helpless body. Words were said. Words that echoed in a deep voice, "Unlike your parents, I'll give you everything."