In My Mind's Eye

Chapter Two

"Daddy's comin ome... Ely (Daddy's coming home... Early)?" I looked at Mommy, excitement rising up inside me. Mommy nodded, unfallen tears gathering in her eyes. "Wh-what's wong, Mommy (What's wrong, Mommy)?" I tried to say as clearly as possible.

"Nothing, Honey. Everything's okay." She gathered me up in her arms and held me close to her. "It's okay," she said, more to herself than me.

I hugged her. "Mommy. Don wowy. Daddy ill ee hewe soon nd ebewysing ill we alllll be-er (Mommy. Don't worry. Daddy will be here soon and everything will be all better!)" I declared proudly, not realizing that either way, we were pretty much hopeless. Mommy didn't even realize this.

She smoothed my hair. "Come on," she said quickly. "Let's put your hair up."

"In pwetties (In pretties... In other words, hairties, barettes, etc)?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, Addi, in pretties," she laughed a bit. I gasped excitedly and ran to the bathroom.

"Mommyyy!!! Tome oonn!! Huwy uuh! (Mommy! Come on! Hurry up!)" I said excitedly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I ran out to her, then grabbed her hand and pulled her to the bathroom. She set me on the marble bathroom counter, facing her. She pulled a brush out of one of the drawers and gently brushed my hair. "Addi, your hair is going to look beautiful. Isn't it?" She smiled. I nodded, excitement growing. Daddy was coming home early and my hair was going to be put up with pretties.

"Mommy, aw we gon so-ere spesul (Mommy, are we going somewhere special)?"

"No, Honey. We're staying home. Maybe you'll be able to go somewhere but me and Daddy will be staying here." She pulled the last half of my hair into a ponytail. "Okay, Addi. I'm done! Do you want to see?"

"Yes." Mommy picked me up off the counter and turned me around to look in the mirror. I saw my platinum blonde hair pulled into two perfectly symmetrical pigtails. I clapped excitedly. "Pitty! Mommy, yo haiw sud ee lie dis. Den we tan matt (Pretty! Mommy, your hair should be like this. Then we can match)!"

"Okay, Addilynn, I will." she quickly put her hair in matching pigtails. I looked between both of our reflections. I resembled her reflection almost perfectly except my dark purple eyes.

"Yay, Mommy! Yay!" I heard the garage door opening then. "Mommy! Is Daddy (Mommy! It's Daddy)!" Mommy nodded, lifting me off the counter. I ran into the kitchen as fast as I could, then into the entrance which was attached to the kitchen. He walked in a little while after I got there.

Daddy had brown hair that was cut short. It was only a few inches long. It was long enough to stay out of his face, but short enough to look the way most men had their hair. His eyes were dark purple, like mine. He pulled Mommy into a tight embrace. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded. He kissed her lips, then let her go.

Daddy turned to me and picked me up. "How was your day, Addilynn?" he said, smiling at me.

"Goo! Me nd Mommy ad a tea paty nd payed tase nd went outside nd red Raindow Fiss nd Mommy put uh my haiw on pwetties (Good! Me and Mommy had a tea party and played chase and went outside and read Rainbow Fish and Mommy put up my hair)."

"Have you been a good girl?"

"Yes."

Daddy's smile grew even bigger. "Good." His expression completely hid the fact that we were in serious danger. He put me down. I whined, until he told me he needed to call someone and that it was very important. Mommy handed him the phone with a serious face. He took it and nodded at her. The next thing I knew, he was talking to someone. "Yes, now... No... Because it's too late... Soon. Very soon... Yes, you can... She'll be fine... Yes, him... As soon as possible... In this case, the Highest will choose our replacement, you should know that... Yes... Alright." Daddy hung up the phone.

Mommy broke down crying. Daddy hugged her tight as she was sobbing. He spoke in a soothing voice, "Quiet down, love. It's okay. You'll upset Addi."

I looked at them, confused. I hardly ever saw Mommy cry, much less the way she did that day. Now it seemed like something upset Daddy, too. He looked old; older than he usually did. His eyes were empty, and his expression had a hint of sadness. Something was definitely wrong. I started bawling. I was bewildered and scared by the way Mommy and Daddy were acting. Mommy picked me up and hugged me close. "It's okay, Addilynn." Her voice broke. "Just remember, sweetie, that we love you very much. You'll grow up to be a big girl and you'll take good care of the people of Cymdeithas. You'll live a happy life and be a just Queen."

I looked at Mommy, confused. I had no idea what was happening or why she was telling me these things. I started to cry again. Nothing made sense. Why would she act like this?

She shushed me, rubbing my back comfortingly. Daddy took me from her arms. "You need to quiet down," he said looking into my eyes. I nodded, remotely understanding this. I hiccuped from the crying. "That's my good girl. Now when I tell you too, you need to go to your hiding spot and don't come out. Alright?" I nodded again, still hiccuping. "Good." He kissed my forehead gently.

Mommy and Daddy tried to keep me occupied for a while. They attempted to entertain me. We played with my dolls, a deadened look in their eyes. They were lifeless shells of what they had been, only doing what they used to so I wouldn't worry. They moved slowly, as if it would slow down time itself. When I looked at Mommy, she smiled faintly. It didn't seem like it was supposed to be there, but as if she forced it to show itself. I looked at Daddy and he patted my head.

"It's alright, Addi. You'll be fine."