A Thousand Words | ✓

BONUS: The First One

hi, everyone! this is a bonus chapter that was posted somewhere else but was taken down without my attention. i still wanted to share it with you, so here it is! this is out of sylvia's point of view. i hope you enjoy :)

thank you guys so much for reading "a thousand words."  at the moment, i'm working on the spin-off, memory documentation!

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I thought I was dreaming. Could it be?

It could've been my imagination, or my old ears failing me already. But the sound was too mournful, too heartbreakingly real for it to be anything else. It was the sound of a child weeping.

The cries of that child was so loud that even the heavy pour of rain couldn't mask it. It cut right through it. I laid awake in my bed, listening intently with dread building within me. The poor thing. What was that poor thing doing out there at a time like this, and in such terrible weather no less? Oh, my heart ached to go aid the child who sounded like they were in such distress. I stayed where I was, just for a few moments, lying in hope that perhaps the guardian of that child would calm the crying. The wait was left in vain, for the moment of peace never came and the child's cries remained unwavering into the night.

I hurriedly took my robe from where it lay on my desk chair and put it on as I went down the steps. The noise seemed to grow louder as I drew closer to the door. Swinging it open, I was prepared to run out into the rain with my umbrella. I wasn't, however, prepared to find the source of the crying just right outside. It was a small, young girl sitting at the bottom of the stairs in front of the doorway.

"Heavens!" I cried at the sight of the her. She couldn't have been over five or six years old! "What are you doing out here?" I crouched down beside her. If she heard me, she hardly seemed to care. The flimsy jacket she had on did a lousy job keeping her warm, as her whole body was racked with violent shivers. Her blonde hair stuck to her face and shoulders.

So many feelings jumbled together at once. Anger, concern, shock, confusion. I placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, pushing away all of what I was feeling in order to focus completely at the task in hand. She was cold to the touch. "Please, come inside. You'll catch a cold if you stay out here any longer."

Thankful for the little resistance she gave as I gently pulled her to her feet and led her inside, I closed the door and said, "Wait here. I will get you a towel."

A small puddle had formed around her by the time I came down. "Here you go," I said as I kneeled down and wrapped the towel around her trembling body. Though her loud cries died down when I brought her in, silent tears continued to stream down her face. I swiped at them with the towel.

Speaking in a soft tone as I dried her off, I asked, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Jessica," she answered after a beat of silence. Her voice was good as gone.

"Well, I'm Sylvia. And how old are you, Jessica?" She held her hand up, showing me four fingers.

My frown deepened. "And your parents? Surely there's someone looking for you. They must be worried sick, especially with the weather so terrible outside. Is there anyone I can call to come pick you up?"

Jessica stayed silent. A shake of her head was the only response I would receive if I tried to ask anymore about her parents, where she came from, or how she found herself out here. Suffice to say, by the time I had her wrapped up in nothing but a big blanket as all her clothes were in the dryer, I was left with very minimal information about who Jessica was. With nothing but negative answers to almost every question, I began to question if she knew much about herself or what had happened.