Behind the Clouds ✔️

028

Violet woke up, screaming from her nightmare. She looked everywhere, not recognizing where she was at. Her breathing rate was unusually high and her palms were sweaty, when Jane entered her line of vision.

"Violet? Honey, are you okay?" Jane put her hand on Violet's forehead, feeling it to be rather warm, "Can we get someone over here? She's burning up!" Violet closed her eyes, wanting everything to go away. The terror she had re-witnessed was overbearing. Someone gently touched her shoulder, making her jump.

She reopened her eyes to see It standing in front her. She tucked her legs in and closed her eyes again, refusing to open them again.

"What's her name?" Someone asked, receiving a response from Jane, who looked extremely worried. "Okay, Violet. I need you to open your eyes. Can you do that?" Violet shook her head, tears beginning to fall. The person held Violet's hands, hoping to coax her out of it.

"Violet, can you squeeze my hands as hard as you can?" Violet tried to do so, only gripping the person's hands as tight as a five year old holding their parents hand while crossing the street.

"Okay, Violet, I need you to trust me. Please open your eyes for me." Violet's eyes fluttered open, meeting a set of brown eyes. The man in front of her pulled out a flashlight. He shone it in both of her eyes, instantly reminding her of the deadlights.

The man stood up, gently pulling Jane away to talk, requesting Violet have a glass of water and for someone to put her feet up on the seat next to her. Jane's hands shook, still not getting used to what just happened.

"Are you the parent of this child?" The man asked, taking his hat off.

"No, sir. I'm taking her to her only family left. She's had some terrible losses in the past month," Jane sighed, "Can you tell me what happened just then? She's never done that in the last week I've known her."

"Ma'am, I assure you that this is a serious matter," he began, "Firstly, I'm Robert Pierce, a recent graduate of NYU. I just received my first job as a psychologist in Lansing, Michigan. Secondly, without further testing I can at least concur that Violet had some sort of PTSD, which is post traumatic stress disorder. I don't know what from, but I do know that she will need to see someone as soon as possible about this."

Jane's head whirled with this news. She nodded and thanked Robert, before heading back to her seat. Violet was now reading one of the books she had brought along. She read the title before smiling at the girl. At least her book was a happy story.

"The Secret Garden, hmm?" Jane asked, receiving Violet's attention, "That was my sister's favorite as a child." Violet was curious now.

"You have a sister?" Violet asked, feeling closer to Jane. As silly as it might have been, she instantly felt much closer to those people that also had siblings.

"Of course, I actually have one younger sister and two younger brothers. They have their moments, but I love them just the same," Violet put her book down, basically requesting with her eyes for Jane to talk about them, "Her name's Alana and my brothers' names are Kory and Elias."

"Where are they now?" Violet asked, shocking Jane. This was the most she'd heard from the girl since they met. She was pleasantly surprised that Violet wanted to learn about her family of all things.

"Um, Elias is a junior at Bates College, Kory is currently a middle school teacher in New York, and Alana just moved to Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend. She writes books for a living. That was where she got her love of books." Jane nodded toward Violet's book, in front of her. "She just published her first book about a year ago. I think you'd like it. It's called The Crown in the Stars. Would you like it if I got you a copy?"

Violet nodded, imagining what the book could be about with knowing just the title. She loved books. Of course, they were the only friends she was able to bring along. She picked up The Secret Garden and continued reading, hoping the book could keep her mind from straying back to her nightmare.

With Jane next to her and her new family in mind, Violet prepared herself for the next big moment of her life. And maybe, just maybe, she could finally put this past summer behind her.