If You Resonate

Iced

Shocking wheezing rumbles in my throat. Quaking fingers slowly rise to my face...

It hurts...

Chest. Lungs. Spine. Head.

It hurts so much...

Skin meets skin. Slick with sweat, skin.

Fingertips meet spheres, sucked safely behind uncertain lids.

I'm okay.

I could almost cry, but it's too quiet around me. No wailing woman or Kimberly. No Dad. No Robin.

"Who are you?"

I open my eyes to meet those of a young boy. Probing bottle green eyes search me for an explanation. My mouth opens, but the words falter under the gaze of his doll-like eyes.

A tv echoes from a nearby room, and I can hear Teen Titans playing on the screen.

"I'm just a visiting friend..." The words form themselves and slip from my lips.

"Then why does it look like you're hiding?" This young boy is maybe five or six, but is quite perceptive.

Thanks to his unwavering gaze and penetrating questions, I've realized I'm sitting in a corner.

Behind the boy, the curtains are open and through the window, it appears to be dusk. An electric fireplace sits to the left beneatha mantle decorated with various pictures and certificates. Directly across is a black glass coffee table, situated in front of a deep red sofa.

And me? I am indeed in a position that looks like hiding. In a corner between two black crushed velvet armchairs, which sit adjacent to the red sofa, I sit. The room is coolly lit with a few table lamps.

This must be the boy's home, but it's typically the dead who can...

My breath stops in my chest and I hope that this is simply the sight of a young child.

"I'm not hiding, it's just more comfortable for my back if I sit on the floor. Old people problems." I feign a smile.

He frowns and dips his head closer to mine, "You don't look that old. You look like my sister."

There's someone else here?

"You wanna meet'er?" He smiles wide, halving his big green eyes.

"Um-"

"Nahele, who are you talking to?" Icy eyes, I've only ever seen on huskies come into view.

It's you...

"Your friend." Nahele points in my direction and the cold blue eyes follow.

"I-"

"There's no one there sweetie. Do you want to have a snack with me?" She says. She squats down, to Nahele's eyes level and places a hand gently on his shoulder.

Her royal blue blouse cascades lightly around her torso and is tucked snugly in the front of her jeans. The capped sleeves highlight her brown skin and the waves in her chestnut hair.

"You can tell me about my friend over some fresh brownies, yea?" Nahele nods, watching me as he takes her hand and follows her out of the den.

A chill comes over me, as I swear she glances at me before turning the corner.

Get out.

The only exit looks to be the same way Nahele and the woman have gone. I stand and follow, peaking around the wall before creeping through, what appears to be the living room. The credits are rolling on the flat screen to the show Nahele wasn't watching. I can hear Nahele and the woman laughing distantly in the kitchen. My heart breaks for them.