Strive

Chapter 2 - Day 354

Day 354

JUSTIN’S POV

            “Mom.”

            “Mom. Tall, but not too tall, curly light brown hair, and dark hazel eyes. She likes reading and watching cartoon with me on Saturday mornings.” Sarah responded quietly just as we’d done for so long.

            “Good.” I responded calmly. “Dad.”

            She cleared her throat and continued. “Dad. Tall, very tall actually, short dark brown hair and green eyes. He’s strong enough to pick me up with one arm, but he still gives the best hugs. He likes football and big dogs.” She finished, taking a big breath.

            “Did you own any pets?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed.

            “What?”

            “Did you own any pets? You heard me.”

            She sat up from her laying down position and rubbed her eyes.  “I know. I just… why does it matter?” She asked looking over to me.

            I sighed and sat up, cracking my stiff back. “You know why.”  I hummed, scooting in front of her. A few months after Sarah arrived we began doing that sort of thing whenever we got the chance. We would ask each other questions about the life we’d had, which usually consisted of the same ones. Our parents’ names, birthdays, favorite color, favorite food, pets, friends’ names. I refused to allow us to forget who we once were and all the things we’d loved. I couldn’t let Daddy win in that. Just because we were there then, it didn’t mean that we had to forget our past lives. Besides, we were going back to those lives someday, so we couldn’t just forget it.

            “But what if we never leave?” She asked sadly, yet so innocently. Even after a year in that horrid darkness, she still held onto her innocence. I really envied her for that. I’d lost mine too soon after my arrival and I missed it every day.

            “Don’t say that.” I begged, taking her hand in mine. I could feel the wet tears that she’d whipped away on her hands, but didn’t say anything. There was nothing I could say to make her feel batter, because honestly I felt the same way. All I could do was repeat the words I’d said so many times. “We will get out of here on day. “ I promised. “I know we will.” Sarah just shook her head and looked down. “Hey. Look at me.” I pled, lifting her chin, so I could look into her tear glazed eyes. “We’ll get out of here okay? Don’t ever forget that. I don’t care what he says. He can’t keep us forever.” I held out my hand and raised my pinky finger. “Promise me you wont give up.” A small smile formed and faded on Sarah’s lips, as she raised her hand and pinky promised.

After that we both went back on our backs and closed our eyes. But as we lay, out pinkies remained interlaced.  “Mom.” Sarah began calmly.

I took a deep breath and felt the sides of my mouth curve up, as I remembered my mom. “Mom. Normal height and kinds pudgy, long blonde hair a-“

We both froze, when we heard the familiar creaking. The door was opening. My eyes shot open and I rolled over onto my stomach, to see what was happening. As the door opened more and more, light poured in the room and brightened the darkness. At first we’d seen the door as a gateway to heaven. Ya’know, bright light, freedom, a way out? To a child that would be a simple misconception. But that was soon replaced by our new, and far more accurate, depiction of the door, which was the gateway to hell. After all, why would the devil live in heaven?

The boards of the stairs creaked unevenly, as Daddy made his way down the stairs. As he grew closer and closer, Sarah and I scooted away as far as we could go. Eventually we were backed up against the cold wall, huddling in a small ball. It was a hopeless attempt to be hidden, which failed every time. “Sarah?” He called once he’d reached the bottom. “Where are you? Daddy wants to talk to you.” I took Sarah’s shaking hand in mine and began to tap her palm with my thumb. Long ago we’d begun to create our own form of Morse code. That way we could communicate with each other without the need for words. The only people who understood what we were saying were us. We didn’t need to fear Daddy hearing us or listening in. We hadn’t perfected it, but we knew enough to get by. We had nothing but time to work it out.