Whatever-Luna Fictions

It happened then and there, Malin could feel the heat and vapour from the ground she was standing on. Right across, she could see two figures facing each other-one of whom she is much familiar of and another not.

On count of three a hysterical shriek shrunk her heart. Everything around her burned and turned into charcoal-coloured crumples, fast enough it turned into ashes that flew into her eyes and stung her nose, a fume of burning lead. Malin pinched her arm hard, and as it redden, her face turned crimson too. And she found it impossible to believe that she was there. Again came the voice, this time as if the owner of the voice meant to tug the beating flesh out of her throat.

"Malin!!!!!"

The girl sprawled in shock, shaking way beyond control, sweating.

"Ma..."

"Leave me alone!" She screamed to herself and the tiny frame rose and tumbled again and again in desperate attempts.

She threw her foot to the farthest end of her bed, forcing herself up. Falling on her knees, she finally got herself off the bed and sprang to the door at once. The figure she saw in her dream seemed to come out and was then chasing her from behind, somewhere she could not see. But all she knew was that, she needed to run.

Then the shriek vanished and what's left was only her mother calling out to her from down the great mahogany stairs.

"I'm coming!" She choked the words.

"What's with you?!"

The was no answer. Marlia stood an air of total power, as if she was Athena and the little girl in front her was Medusa about to be cursed to the doom of her life. Malin stopped just before her, suffocating and pretending not to be.

"I, I think I had the worst nightmare..Mum,can I.."

Marlia looked down at her. Upon seeing, something stabbed whatever bad impressions she had for the child, dead.

"Oh dear," She heard herself hushed as the child wrung her waist and shed warm tears on her gown. Words failed her and a simultaneous weird feelings took control of her mind. She fought it for hours only to realise that she was fighting with the voice within her. Soon after, the feelings resolved and she found herself sending the child upstairs to bed and kissing her on the forehead.

"Mum..?"

"Yes,"

"I remember you have something to say to me,"

"I do? Did I say so?" The woman looked away to the tiny table beside her and reached for the switch. Click. She intended to forget it.

"Yes you said so,"

"Well now I say I don't. Nothing. I want you to sleep." She smiled. Malin replied with a stare.

"Mum wait-I'm sorry for everything,"

"For what?"

"I had a really bad dream. I'm scared. I must have wronged you, can you forgive me?"

"What did you dream of Malin?"

"I saw...I saw a terrible place. I don't know what it is or how I should describe it but it's really scary. I must have wronged you that I had such a dream," the child begged.

Marlia laid her gaze across the room. She knew at once. And left the child murmuring into wonderland. Or worse, somewhere else where she shouldn't be.

The next day greeted everyone on Earth with a beautiful eye of heaven shimmering high up upon the skies, and everyone buzzed off-office,school and yes of course-school for Malin too. Classes went on with usual teachers stepping in and out the classroom door, the boys sitting behind her jerking and throwing paper planes at one another, a young relief teacher coming in replacing her favourite Maths teacher (which she liked least) and the bell rang at noon.

She marched out of the school gate towards her usual waiting spot-the bus stop, and found herself sitting up straight against the air to lean on. She waited. And waited. First ten minutes passed not embraced, then another five minutes added to the bore. Only then did she realise how different life would turn out to be without her bestest pal around. But why isn't he around anyway? She asked a white kitty by her feet. It's fur wasn't really white the way it's supposed to be. The ashes and all, being on its own laying it's pad on the road everyday for a journey none knows when and just where it would end.

Finally a red BMW stopped in front of her. She was too busy counting the number of blue cars that cruised the road-she thought of beating Alex again on the challenge should he turn up at any second-that her mother had to honk.

Her little steps were quick ones towards the ride. Beautiful, she was. Her mother saw, and whispered a silent wish. Her most important wish. What does the child know,she said to herself in dying words. She regretted treating the child the way she had. But it often occurred that she had this anonymous fighting within her with words as sharp as razors. Even sharper, playing with the fact that should be long forgotten. The sins, unforgiven ones that chased her with every pace she made. Thud.

"Hi mum,"

"Hey,how's school?" She forced a smile.

"We had a pop quiz during Maths period 'cause the teacher's absent,"

"Flu, I guess?"

And they both laughed.

"Well..was it fun?"

"The quiz was, but today's not as always,"

"Why?"

" 'cause usually Alex will be waiting for me after school to play games or ask me riddles but today he's not around too. Just like the teacher. Is it that he caught flu too, mum?"

Marlia fell silent. Then she remembered of something she had been pondering about lately. That struck her with insomnia for nights.

"Who's this Alex?"

Malin seemed not to hear her. She had definitely forgotten the plead she had with the poor friend. She couldn't even notice that she had forgotten, way off she was, too excited to tell her mother about her bore of the day-hoping that her mother would have at least an offer for a treat.

"Mum, can you take me to the park? She dared herself to ask. "I can't remember the last time we went to the park together. We can play around and jump together and-"

For a second Marlia became deaf, or it was the world that was mute. The earth stopped moving for her,the way the tyres of the car were.

"No." Went her stern reply. "How can you forget the day. I can't. Still." She said as she turned to the child beside her who had now returned to reality from a long skip of it.

Hands placed carefully on laps, Malin looked up towards her mother. "Why can't we..?"

"Because that was the last time we went to the park with your father."