Torment

THE CURRENT

As the sun set down the horizon Rosalie found herself standing on top of the cliff. Her hair along with her white dress was swept by the soaring wind. Her feet were also frozen on the edge. But her mind clambered like a whirlwind of fast paced images of nature. She watched with wide opened eyes how the bellowing current of the waves erode the rocks below her. How the skyline consumed the sun. How the seawater roared and cried as it devoured the shore. How the sand together with the wind gusted across her face.

For some unknown reasons, she found her lungs contracted for air. As Rosalie was just about to exhale she heard an unexpected sound. A cry. A cry of a whining child echoed louder than the sea in front of her. Her body turned rigidly cold. She tried to relax herself while wondering where the sound was coming from but her breathings became uncontrollable. Rosalie tried to turn around but she could not. Minutes passed by but the sound of the weeping child did not cease. It was getting unbearable. Later on, without her knowledge tears already gushed down her face. "No." Rosalie breathed. "I'm sorry, wait for me- hi-hintayin mo ko." She sobbed but it did not stop.

Her head ached together with her heart. Rosalie forcefully turned around but there was no one. The sun was gone. Behind her, the waves continued to roar. In front of her, the sound of the crying child went on louder and louder until it was already deafening. Rosalie did not know what to do. "Please, stop I'm sorry." It did not stop. There was more agony. More cries. More tears.

Then she fell on her knees. She wept more. She begged more. Rosalie clutched her hair and closed her eyes wishing and hoping for the pain and the sound to subside. But like the currents of the ocean it seemed endless. It was barely calm. It bellowed every depth of the world as it revolved around the sun....

"No!" Rosalie gasped out loud. Her back arched automatically from the bed the moment her pupils dilated when her eyes fluttered in the dark room of their bedroom. Trembling and now sitting upright Rosalie hastily turned her head right and left to wander her gaze all around the walls of the chamber and realised that she was not standing at all on the edge of the cliff. There were no waves. No cries. No pain. It was just a dream. A nightmare.

"Rosalie." There was a sudden flicker of light from lampshade on the side table. The dim yellow lighting immediately illuminated the room. "Okay ka lang?" Edgar worriedly asked. Her husband awoke with weariness and shock. And she sighed in relief.

"E-Ed." Rosalie croaked. Her face was masked with the blankets of unimaginable anxiety. For sure Edgar had never seen her so terrified like this. "Ed- I- I-" She suddenly sobbed while shaking her head. Gently, he pulled her closer and quickly embraced her with such tenderness. "Shh- Rosalie, nandito ako. Anong nangyari?" Edgar held her hand and filled her with comfort but the image was still too vivid in her head. Nothing could suppress what she had seen. "I- I- I've dreamt of her. Na-napanaginipan ko sya Ed." Rosalie knew Edgar was already aware of what she meant by that. It was not that unusual for Rosalie to have such dreams but so far, she knew this was far worse than the others.

"Shhh- no, it's okay I'm here." She felt his lips on her forehead. "You're fine, it's- just- a- dream." But it felt so real. Rosalie was still crumbling. "I heard her crying again Ed. She always cries. But it's louder this time. It's so loud- it's so, so, so loud." Her voice was almost as desperate as her emotions. She could even feel her husband getting really worried. Instead, he held her tighter. "Rosalie, gising ka na okay? Look at me." Edgar cupped her cheeks and stared deeply into her eyes. "You're awake. You're fine. I'm here." It took her a while to stop those tears falling on her face and nod. "Rosalie we know it's her birthday soon. Later, when we both wake up, maybe with Georgiana too we'll go to-"

"No Ed-" Rosalie was never comfortable with her husband around if he came with her. "I can do it. I'd rather do it alone."

"But-"