Floating Stars

Chapter 11: Dreams and Paintings

"Amber... Amber?" A familiar low voice called out in the near distance. But Amber was not going to be tricked into replying. She knew that he was supposed to come and find her- that's how hide and seek worked! She giggled quietly at the man's silly mistake and waited behind the barrel that she found on the street corner.

"Amber, come on now, out you come!" The desperation in the man's speech dragged her to her feet.

"Daddy?" she said in a tiny voice. The atmosphere surrounding Amber's small frame grew darker and darker. Panic spiked at her chest and prickled at her cheeks. "Daddy, where are you?"

"I'm here, my darling, I'm here."

But as she scanned her environment for her father's caring face, all she could see were shadows of people whom she did not know. These shadows began to crowd around her, taking slow, menacing steps.

"Daddy, they're coming." Amber's fear shook her words and tears began to fall down her infantile face. She squeezed her eyes shut, no longer wanting to see the monsters coming to get her.

Within the pitch-blackness, she felt two strong arms grab around her and take her carefully from that place of danger, into a place of safety and warmth. That same low voice cooed over her, "I've got you, I'll always keep you safe, my baby."

However, the cosiness of her father's embrace could not keep her head from worrying about the shadows.
"Daddy, where's Mummy? We need to get Mummy!"

"Let's go and find her, shall we?" The playful tones that her father spoke in helped soothe her panic and she allowed herself to relax. She closed her eyes once again, but this time in a feeling of hopeful bliss.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in a cold room- walls of stone, a hard, dirty, slate floor and heavy wooden doors that banged loudly as they closed behind her. Her father was now standing beside her, tightly holding her hand, his sad, caring eyes looking straight ahead. There, crouched on the ground, was a woman catching her breath and moaning in pain.

"Mummy?"

"Please, keep her away! Keep her away!" The woman cried through bitter tears.

These words struck Amber in the heart causing a pain that shook her to utter despair.

"Mummy!" she cried and reached out her free hand towards the dark blue mound that was hiding its face within an oversized hood and long dark hair.

"Please! Take her!"

"No, Mummy, please! Don't go!"

Suddenly Amber managed to escape from her father's grasp and she ran towards her mother's side. She ignored her father's voice from behind her, and the panicked pleads from her mother's cowering form. She grabbed her mother's dark cloak and looked into her distraught face. It was then she was met with two black eyes. Her mother's cheeks were stained with a thick, inky substance that made Amber tremble with dread.

"Take her! I'm going, I'm..." Her mother's words were suddenly cut short as an unexplainable pulling grabbed at every inch of Amber's body, which made her feel dizzy and uncomfortably light.

When she managed to open her eyes again she found herself amongst tall, dark trees. A crisp wind stung her face and seeped through her clothes, making her shiver.

"Mummy? Daddy?" she called out into the bitter air. But nobody answered her. She was alone. Alone in the dark with strange shadows surrounding her. A terrified scream ripped from her throat.

That high-pitched sound echoed in Amber's ears as she suddenly jerked up and found herself sitting in her bed; safe inside her enchanted forest themed bedroom.

Her breath came in short gasps as she tried to pull herself together. "Just a dream. That dream, again," she whispered to herself in the dead of night.

She looked around her murky room and listened out for any movement within the rest of the flat. She really hoped that she didn't call out in her sleep, she had been told that she does sometimes by children whom she had shared a room with at the home.

The flat was still and calm, she could hear no footsteps or voices and this caused a wave of relief to crash over her. She let out a deep sigh and turned onto her side, cuddled her duvet tightly around her neck and closed her eyes. Hoping that she could drift off again.

The dark, lonely forest entered her mind again and this caused her eyes to open. She rubbed her face against the pillow in a vain attempt to wipe that dream away and tried closing her eyes again. However, this time a pair of leaking, black eyes stared back at her, so again her eyes flew open.

"Okay, I won't be sleeping then!" she admitted to herself, annoyed. She sat up, reached over and turned on the fairy lights that hung over her mosquito net clad, single bed. She looked at the clock that stood on her bedside table.

"2.30 AM," she groaned to herself, "What am I supposed to do now?"

She looked around the dimly lit room and searched the dark corners for inspiration. Her eyes then landed on the box that Astrid had given to her on the day they had a portrait painting session. She hadn't found the time to look through it before now, she always found other things to do, but now she had plenty of time to spare.

She got out of her bed and tip-toed across the cold, wooden floor in her bare feet. She picked up the box and took it back to the safety and warmth of her cosy fortress. She prised the lid off and started taking out page after page of various paintings that Astrid had stored away from her college years.

There were paintings of houses, of running deer and still life. There were also many paintings of faces. Now, the paintings of faces had a lot more character to them. Not just because they were people with character, but it seemed as though Astrid painted these certain paintings with more passion and attention to detail.

Amber studied each painting carefully and traced the various lines that she encountered with her finger. She looked in awe at her foster mother's skill and hoped that one day she could paint as well as her.

Her heart sank as she noticed the pile of paintings was quickly coming to an end, for there were only two paintings left. She took the top page out of the box and held it steadily in her hands. Her eyes grew with wonder and her eyebrows pulled together in a scowl of bewilderment. For there staring back at her was the man from her dream; from the nightmare that she was trying to forget all over again. She recognised every small detail. His shoulder length red hair, his light blue eyes, his caring smile.

She slammed the painting face down on her bed. Shook her head and laughed at herself.

"No, that's just stupid!" she said out loud, but she could feel the painting pulling at her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head again. "No! Stop it!" she hissed at her overactive imagination, then with a sigh, she turned back to the box and grabbed the last painting. She looked at it and saw another pair of blue eyes. A pair of eyes that were so familiar it sent a shiver down her spine.

She couldn't stop herself, she rushed towards her closet and found a small shoebox; a special box where she kept her most important possessions. She rummaged through its contents until she had in her hand a photograph of a girl with those same blue eyes. A photograph that was taken of her, on the day that she was found- eight years ago.

She put the box back in its place and took the photo back to her bed. With the painting in one hand and the photograph in the other, she studied and compared them. There was indeed no mistake - it was the same little girl in both pictures!