Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 33

Sakura sat quietly in her room within the Special Forces military base. She was seven and a half months pregnant with a son. She cradled her overly swollen belly as she sang to her unborn son. Tomas Vrbada's son.

The LATE Tomas Vrbada.

She could still hear his voice in her dreams, whispering sweet endearments in his mother tongue. How she loved that accented voice. It brought her such comfort. She could still hear it in her memories. There were times she thought she could smell smoke upon the air, signaling his presence.

At night, as she slept, she thought she felt feather-light kisses upon her lips, neck and stomach. Ghostly hands would grope her breasts and her hips. Sakura sighed. Perhaps it was simply longing for her dead lover. He had always been gentle in their lovemaking...except for that last, fateful night.

"Sakura," a voice called out. "Time for a checkup for you and baby."

The young mother sighed as she got up, hauling her changing body up. Little Vrbada, as Johnny would call him, was definitely going to be as large as his father no doubt. Tomas had stood well over six feet tall. His son was definitely taking after him.

As she made her way to the med Bay, Sakura allowed her imagination to fly. She saw a younger version of Tomas in her vision. Her son would share some of her features, but he would definitely have most of his father's traits. He would have his silver hair and smoky gray eyes. He would definitely be as handsome. Her little boy was going to be a heartbreaker someday. Ah, she was blessed to have a piece of her Tomas with her.

For now, Sakura needed to take it one day at a time.

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It was late at night when Sakura had retired to bed. All was silent and eerily still. Her checkup had been fine, and her baby was growing well. She had since slipped into a dreamless sleep, devoid of her happy memories with Tomas. As she slept, smoke started to seep into her room. It rolled over to her bed before it started to take shape. Ghostly hands formed and vague outline of a hooded figure developed.

"Smoke..."

The figure halted for a moment before realizing that Sakura was merely sleep talking. Not that it mattered. Smoke was dead and would remain dead. Transparent hands grasped and admired her changing body. Invisible lips kissed and nipped at her glowing skin. Such a lovely human. She was so soft and so round with child that the Enenra vibrated with anticipation. That child would one day be his new vessel. For now, it would wait patiently.