Through Hannah's Window

Hannah

Darkness. The patter of tiny feet. Help me. HELP ME. A house! "Oh god, I hope someone is home," she thought. She looked behind herself nervously as something far behind her grinned ominously. Obscured by the dark. It was long past midnight and Lilin was scared. She ran towards it; heart pounding; out of breath and weary from her long run. If a passerby were to spot her, it would be quite the poignant sight. A girl desperately running; only visible while passing beneath streetlamp after streetlamp. Running towards the large house at the end of the road. It was the only one with a light on and hopefully, it meant safety.

Up in a small bedroom, another girl heard a faint voice "Please... Help me..." Stirring and rubbing her eyes, the freckled girl waddled up to the window and looked out to the black abyss beyond. Some say that fear of darkness is not actually being afraid of the dark, simply of the unknown. A chill ran down her spine as she gazed into the emptiness. Had she really heard right? "Come on Hannah," she mumbled groggily, "You're dreaming still... go back to bed." She was trying to shake the cold feeling from her body.

Once more, Hannah heard the frightened voice. This time it was more desperate, "Please! Anyone! You in the window... He is coming! He watches me." There were sounds of movement; Of exertion, scrambling and struggling. She heard the pattering sounds of feet on roof tiles.

The smaller figure clambered up onto the roof. The roof was cold beneath her tiny feet. The gentle drizzle made progress hard for Lilin. Her bare feet slipped on the damp slanted roof. "I... I am coming up to the window. Don't be alar-! " Lilin's feet slid out from under her. A panicked cry echoed through the night, as small hands grab desperately at the tiles, only to slip right off... or maybe thrown off by inky blackness.

As Lilin fell, her mind raced with whirling thoughts. The grins. That smile. The monsters. They dwell inside us all. Lilin used one final burst of energy. She threw herself forward. Her scrawny fingers latched onto an exposed edge of a single broken roof tile... or was it the maw of some creature? She screamed as the sharp edge bit deep into her fingers... Yet it stopped her. It stopped her from falling off the edge onto the hard ground below. Falling for him. Letting him in.

His whispers crept through her ears, "Come on little one... Love me... Love me... I won't need to break you anymore. Just love me... Love me." The words in her mind intermittently switched from seductive whispers to deafening screams. It bruised and dazed her as if a physical force was impacting and assaulting her. Lilin's blood dripped down her fingers and continued to seep down her arm. Suddenly a new Voice was added to the mix, "What in the world?!" A hand reached out to Lilin and pulled her up. "Come on friend," it called. She saw a smiling face of a girl about her age. The red-haired girl beckoned to the open bedroom window nearby. "We should get inside," she urged.

It was quiet... Warm... Safe...? The only sound she could hear now was the muffled rain. It thundered down in the cold black outside. The pair felt protected by the seemingly impenetrable barrier, that was the solid glass window. Perhaps it was the only thing between them and madness.

She was jerked back to reality by the voice of her newfound friend, "I'm Hannah, are you ok? "

"He... he is chasing me. He... he will come for us!" Lilin exclaimed

"Shhh... Take a deep breath. In and out... we will be safe," Hannah said giving a genuine smile. She quickly stood up and placed her kerosene lamp on the nearby chair, before pulling the blanket off her bed and wrapping it around the pair. Hannah's body warmth gave a glimmer of hope to the child; the hope she so desperately needed. She had been so close. So close to falling. She could go on. She could do this.

The pitter-patter of rain. Darkness was kept at bay by Hannah's light. Hannah's warmth gave her new hope. They talked for what seemed like forever. About life, about hopes, and about the future. For why talk about the past...? It is only painful to remember. Caught up in their own little world, they played together. Singing and dancing. Reading stories to each other.... before eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.... under the watchful gaze that stared through the window. Unblinking. Smiling. Loving.