Decalcomania

Pt4

            Flashback

      - 10 years ago -

"How can we tell her? she is only ten years old!" the officers argued until one of them threw his hard fist on the desk, bringing the rest into a deadly silence. He walked closer and sat next to me "listen to me, dear!" he started but soon stopped when a melodious voice lighted up the entire place...

"Elyse!"

"Mother!" I ran to her arms, craving her touch and her warmth, my tiny body needed her at that very moment. I jumped on her lap and she gracefully caught me and kissed my forehead, "are you alright?" she worriedly whispered, her eyes full of fear and sadness. She anxiously looked at her left and right, repeatedly as a single sound passed by, checking for signs of danger that will not come.

"Mrs. Wilson!" the officer began and suddenly her arms started shaking, I could feel her heart racing inside of her chest, "we are still investigating about what happened to your husband but we need your help to know what exactly happened!" I glared at them with my big eyes, processing what they meant by investigating. Mum, in the other hand, had her eyes glittering with tears and sorrow, her lips were trembling and seems like talking suddenly became a hard task to do, "Mrs. Wilson, we understand how hard it must be for you, but we need to catch the criminal before he goes beyond our reach!" the officer calmly informed and she nodded.

"Elyse, can you stay here!" she put me on the chair where I previously was, "I need to talk to uncle officer and then we will go back home!"

I nodded and watched her getting inside the room with two other officers following her. the door was little open and I could hear their voices, I could hear everything they said and I wish I didn't. my mother's cries were so loud that they broke every inch in my heart.

"we were together in the play yard when suddenly he appeared with a gun and shot my husband on his shoulder, I didn't know what to do, I was afraid. My husband tried to protect me by standing like a shield in front of me and that man shot him again and again." she sobbed louder and louder with every word "I had to ran away and look for someone to help and I found a lady who..." she coughed

"She offered you a phone to call us!" the officer continued, "Do you remember his features?"

"I don't, but he knew our names" she cried, "he was targeting us and killed my husband"

I stood helplessly next to the door, and listened to the painful truth she was saying, her husband! My father, I wondered at that moment what killing meant! was it the type of killing I read about in fairytales, where someone dies and come back to life again? or some other type of killing that I didn't want to know at all. "you child needs to know!"

Mother wiped her tears with the back of her hand and walked out of the door, smiling at me, I hated that smile so much, it was too fake and painful. She didn't have to fake a smile, I wanted her to trust me and let me see her sorrow. She shouldn't pretend to be strong for so long. But, says who!, says the one who is as weak as her mother. I smiled back, too shallow and fake. "Can we go home?" I whined

"Honey, your father can't come home today, he..." before she could finish her words, I chuckled, "he is busy, I know!" I replied. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks like rivers that were locked for ages, she held her hand out for me to hold and we left the police station. I sat on the back seat of the car and watched my mother driving carefully through the dark road. I know she wanted to scream and cry but couldn't, this is how strong she was, and I hated it so much. He used to embrace her in his arms whenever she felt weak, he was her umbrella, shadow and even to his last breathe he was her shield.

"let me take you to bed!" she smiled, behind the masked smile she wore on her face, there was sadness and shock.

"can I borrow my father's side of the bed tonight?" I pleaded, and her lips formed in awe, her eyes shifted to the side and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As she blinked, they dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. she bit her lip and tried to prevent her tears from falling. "yes, you can!" she pushed me to her chest, hiding her face on the crook of my neck. I patted her back gently and let her sob on my shoulder, I was too young and the pain was too old for me to take, I had faith to see my father again, I knew how much he hated to see her crying, and I prayed he would enter the house with bouquet of flowers and chocolates to make her happy like he used to do. As we were hugging we heard weird sounds coming from the upper part of the house, she clenched tight on me and looked around, I do not blame her for being afraid. I could see how terrified she would be as the memory will come back and play on her mind over and over again like a broken record. It would only repeat.

"Maybe it's the cat, let's go to bed!" she wiped her tears and grabbed my hand, but then, and again, we heard the noise, it was louder than before. Heavy footsteps coming near the front door. My mother reacted immediately and she dragged me to the dining room, she pushed me under the table and gave me one last warm glance "stay here, and don't ever come out!"

"I love you!" that was the last thing I heard from my mother before I could no more see her face but her feet walking far from me, I should have stopped her, I should have hid her with me under the table but I didn't. I only watched her walking away towards the door. And the next thing I saw was her body on the floor ...

End of flashback