The Last Unicorn Warrior

II

Late that night, I was getting ready for sleep. I sit between my mother's legs as she braids my hair. "Can you read me a story?" I ask.

"Not tonight, sweetie." My mother says. She taps my shoulder, indicating she's done. I turn in my chair to look at her.

"Why? You always read me a story." I say. My mother cups my face in her hands.

"Mommy is tired." She says. "You understand, right?" She says. I slowly nod. "Brush your teeth and then off to bed." I get up and hug my mother.

"I love you, mommy," I say. She hugs me back.

"I love you more." She kisses my forehead and lightly pushed me towards the bathroom. I giggle and enter the bathroom. Standing on a chair, I grab my pink toothbrush and place some toothpaste on the brush and start to brush my teeth. My Aunt enters the room in her white silk nightgown and smiles at me. She brushes her short blonde hair.

"I heard your mommy is too tired to read you a story." She says. I wash away the toothpaste from my mouth, and the brush, and look at my Aunt from the mirror.

"You heard correctly," I state. I jump down and look up at my aunt. "Will you read me a story?" I ask. She puts her silver brush down and shakes her head.

"I can't. I have to work on something for the firm." She says. I nod once again, feeling rejected. "But your daddy will gladly do it." She says. I smile wide and rush to find my father. He sits on the edge of his white bed. I can tell he's lost in thoughts. I sit next to him.

"Daddy?" I softly say. He turns to look at me.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He says.

"Will you read me a bedtime story?" I ask. He hums and looks into the distance, thinking about it. I stand on the bed and grab his arm and jump up and down. "Please, Daddy." I plead. Suddenly he's carrying me in his arms.

"Of course." He replies. We enter my pastel blue and white themed room. I rapidly get into my bed. The soft baby blue blankets warm me up. I lay my head on my white pillows. I watch as my father picks up a white book with blue cursive writing on it. He shows me the book title, The Beautiful Unicorn. I nod my head agreeing with that book. He opens the book and starts by saying, "Once upon a time..." My eyes close after those words.

-------------------------------------------------------

An alarm goes off, waking me up. In the darkness of my room, the sirens scare me. Tears prick my eyes. Suddenly gunshots ring through the night. Before I could comprehend what's going on, my mother turns on my room lights and opens my drawer in a hurry. "Get up quickly." My mother says. I jump out of my bed as fear rushes through my body. My mother shoves a dress into my arms. "Dress quickly." Putting on my white dress in a rush, I didn't understand why I had to change.

I looked at my mother standing in the door frame. Her slim figure is hunched over, fingers shaking, and her eyes wide. "Mommy?" I call out to her. She doesn't react to me calling her. Her focus was on what was happening out there. Gunshots, screams, and growls from the animals were loud. Seeing my mother like that scared me, so I start to cry. Through my blurred vision, I can see my father grab my mother's arm.

"Get the girl and run." He said.

"What about you?" She asked him.