Sins Of The Mother.

Chapter Five- Spuj.

MIRA

That night I had the dream again. I stood in front of our old house, perfectly intact with the exception of the scorch marks on the front door, my bare feet cold from the gravel. The lights were on and glowing welcomingly behind the closed curtains and I could hear soft music coming from within, like someone was gently playing the piano. As always, I stepped up to the door and it swung open for me like I’d been expected, my feet carrying me inside and warming themselves up on the thick carpet as the house seemed to relax, giving me a sense of comfort. The hallway looked the same and yet felt entirely different, sucking in a shaky breath, mixed feelings and emotions unsettling my tummy, our house had never felt safe or warm. The door to my left led to the living room, straight ahead was the kitchen and to my right the stairs with its oak bannister winding its way up gleaming wooden steps with a ruby red carpet running up the centre. Making my way upstairs I trailed my fingers along the golden yellow
wallpaper, lightly touching the small paintings that hung there. 

All the doors up here were shut except the one that led to my old bedroom. Moving closer I could see the glow of my lamp, the soft pink of the walls, the daisies that covered my white bedspread and the old rocking chair that sat underneath the window. I smiled, remembering the countless hours reading in that chair with the window open so I could hear and smell the rain.
Shadowy branches tapped on the window, making me jump, my breath swirling as the temperature dropped dramatically and the room darkened eerily. Realising I could hear my heart thumping erratically in the silence, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Then I heard it, softly at first like always, the whisper pleading with me, "Come home Mira, please, it's time."The voice grew louder as its pleas became demands. The lights flickered and the chair began rocking violently, I shook at the sound of the doors banging and paintings falling off the walls, the glass shattering as the voice shrieked at me. "IT'S TIME, COME HOME MIRA!"

"MIMS!" I jolted upright, heart racing and my skin cold with sweat, my forehead colliding painfully with something hard that grunted as it fell to the floor with a thud, my own hands covering my ears as I tried to block out the shrieks ringing in my mind. Slowly it receded and I calmed down enough to realise I was in my own bed in the room I shared with Lolls. I peered over at the floor to find her sprawled out clutching her nose. "Oh goddess, I'm so sorry Lolls, are you ok?" Jumping out of bed, I helped her up, wincing at the blood streaming down from her nose, "crap, sorry, that looks nasty."

“Yeah well, I don't wear my balaclava enough, maybe I'll start a trend." Seeing the guilt on my face she pulled me in for a hug, "I'm okay, honest. It looks worse than it feels and I still look better than you right now. I know it’s the same nightmare, so cut the crap and tell me what’s going on right now.” For a second I hesitated. I hated keeping so much from my best friend, I know she knew I was hiding things from her, she's always known. The questions she would ask and the hurt in her eyes when I would change the subject or brush her off made me want to tell her everything, but old habits die hard and if she knew then I put her at risk. Before I could speak she held up a hand and cut me off, "Mims, you can tell me anything, I love you and nothing will change that but fuck you and your solo crusade, you think that you’re protecting me but you’re breaking Rule One. Tell me Mims, what’s Rule One again?”

Grudgingly I muttered, “Always know who has your back.” She flashed me a smug grin knowing I couldn’t argue against myself or my rules. I couldn't keep all this to myself anymore and she had a right to know. She sat up a bit straighter, sensing something had changed in me. "Okay Lolls, but not here, let’s go for a run up to the waterfall tomorrow. It's private and I'll tell you everything, no holes barred." My eyes flicked in the direction of our parents room before returning to meet hers, she nodded as I stared straight into her eyes I tried to express how serious I was, my words coming out as barely a whisper, "But there's no going back, you know? There are things you will wish I'd never told you, things that will hurt you and make you question my sanity." I smiled at her and decided to lighten the mood, "but there's also some extremely cool stuff I can show you, I mean, it's no balaclava but still, pretty cool."