Jeopardised

Chapter One

Chapter One

There is always that certain memory that haunts your dreams and weighs you down until you feel that you’ve lost a part of yourself.

I hated that memory; it reminded me of how vulnerable I was as a kid. I knew that I couldn’t change the past and it’s either you choose to accept it or continue living by denying it every single time.

And fate. Do you believe in fate?

Well, I don’t.

Because fate does not just take away your loved ones and have you surviving in this world alone.

Neither do I believe that my parents are fated to die while protecting me.

I, Valora Patterson, had been forced to grow up faster than average kids out there. And that’s how reality works.

Death is inevitable.

We will die eventually. There is no way that anyone could live forever in this world. One day we would all die; be it from an illness or old age or maybe an accident. It would all come to the day where we die and leave this world.

Some don’t even see it coming like the sudden weather change that we would experience. Some have already seen it coming, and planned out their remaining days. All we could do is to live every single day like it’s the last.

However, when a person is dead, it’s often the others who are still living were left to pick up the pieces they leave behind. When I lost both my parents, I had to learn how to do things alone and live independently in seclusion. That was me trying to pick up the fragile pieces of my broken heart and life after my parents’ death. Me attempting to put everything back together like humpty dumpty because that’s what my father would want me to do, before he decided to sacrifice his life to protect mine.

There was a loud crash outside our house as my mother pulled me closer to her. There was growling and shouting outside and my father tensed up at the noises. I was shivering in the arms of my mother. I don’t know what was happening and my mother was sobbing next to me like she knew what was going to happen.

“Honey, bring her away with you. I will stall some time for you.” My dad whispered to my mother as he pressed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

“No! You can’t just go out there alone! We cannot live without you!” My mother clung onto my father like it was her last lifeline.

“It’s either me or all of us! You know I couldn’t just let that happen! Valora is just 8! Please Sophia.” Father held onto my mother’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Mummy, Daddy…  What is happening?” I whispered.

“Honey, nothing bad is going to happen to you. Daddy will protect you.” His huge hand gently patted my hair.

The growls are getting louder and my father walked towards the door. He gave us a weak smile and motioned us to leave through the back door. Hastily grabbing onto my hand, my mother pulled me along with her. Tears were falling freely down her face as she pulled me to the back door.

“We need to wait for Daddy! Mummy! Don’t leave Daddy behind!” I shouted as I forcefully pulled on my mother’s hand.

She stopped suddenly and crouched down to my level, “Darling. Mummy is going to come back real quick. I’m going to get Daddy alright? Stay hidden in the bushes there. I’ll be back. Don’t come out unless it’s me or Daddy okay?” she placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and pushed me into hiding. The view of her back faded as she walked further and further away from me.

I sat there waiting, waiting for them to come get me. I still don’t get why are there growling outside our house. Or why we have to run away from them. It seemed like eternity before I heard footsteps coming towards me. I crouched down lower into the bushes as it got nearer to me. The footsteps sounded rushed like it was running away from something. I walked out the bushes when I saw my father’s face looking flustered. “Daddy?”

“Valora!” He whispered yelled as he rushed towards me, engulfing me into a hug.

“Thank god you’re fine. You’re not hurt right?” His eyes looked over my body hastily, checking for any form of injury.

I shook my head and realised that my father was covered with cuts and wounds. “Daddy, what happened to you? You are hurt!” I gently touched his wounds on his chest.

“Honey, I’m fine. Now Daddy wants you to run towards that direction and never look back. Do you understand me?” He pointed towards the deep woods.

“What about you and Mummy? You coming with me?” I asked immediately.

Pain flashed in his eyes as a lone tear escaped his eye, “Darling, I have to look for Mummy. So you go ahead and run. Run as fast as you can. Don’t get caught okay?”

Hugging me one last time and he pushed me towards the woods, “Now go! Don’t look back. Daddy and Mummy loves you.”

I jogged away from my father and looked back to see my father standing there with a sad smile on his face as he sent me off. He gave me a small wave, before running back towards our house. I don’t know how I ran, or how far away I am from my parents.

All I know was I waited for them for so long.

 

Deep down in my heart, I knew my father died that day when he ran back to our house. My mother probably died too when she went back to look for my father. My father didn’t come back for me. He didn’t promise me that he would, like any father would. Because in his heart, that was the last time he would hug me tight.

You must be wondering what happened after that. I waited for my parents like any child would, believing that your parents would actually come back and take you away.  I got tired of waiting and ran back in the direction I came from, back to our house. I ran back to find an empty house with a wrecked front door, some wrecked furniture and blood everywhere. No one was there, not even a single soul. My parents are nowhere to be found, the attackers are not there too. That night I slept in my parents’ bed, engulfed in their scents. As a child, I was wishing for their return and tell me that everything will be fine.

However, I lost that hope the moment I found the amethyst teardrop necklace that my mother always wore in her vanity box. There was a short scribbled message with it, Always wear it. I love you honey.

I learnt how to take care of myself at the age of 8 without my parents. It was definitely tough for anyone to start living alone, but I managed. However, I strongly believed that there’s a reason for protecting me and sacrificing their lives. This is the life that they strongly protected, and I want to cherish this life that they sacrificed for. Even if it meant being alone.

Bad things do happen, and they are inevitable. I can choose to wallow in pity and sadness, immobilised by my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and embrace reality. I chose living my life where I’ll end up at a point where I have no regrets. This is the best I could do for my parents who sacrificed their lives.

Everyday for me was the same old routine. I would pick up my gardening tools and tend to my small vegetable patch. Some days I will sneak out to town, and get my daily necessities. My existence is a secret, because many believed that I died along with my parents that day. I lived in seclusion, keeping my existence a secret because I believed that the attackers that day wanted to wipe off our family. Teaching myself new things when I go into town. Growing vegetables for my daily meals. Living my life to the fullest for my parents.

 And that’s how I survived the past 10 years alone. Independently.

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Hi lovelies! This is my new story! I do hope that you will support it! I'm entering this into Pencil Prize! Enjoy the read!

-Sam x