Sorcery (Louis Tomlinson)

xiii. Sleepyhead

That night I had attempted to read a bit more of my book in bed, getting halfway through the novel before my eyes were starting to read the same sentence over and over and the words were getting blurry from fatigue. After bookmarking my page, I set the book on my nightstand and turned off my lamp, encasing the room in total darkness aside from the low hanging moon that was visible through my sliding doors.

I settled my blankets around me and got comfortable before reaching under my pillow. I pulled the photo of Louis out from where it had been since he placed it there, smiling once more before tucking it back safe and sound under my head. I yawned before I closed my eyes and felt myself start to fall asleep, my heart hoping Louis would visit me in my dreams.

I found myself in the middle of our forest, beautiful snow falling lightly and resting on everything. The ground was imprinted with some animal tracks pressed into the clean white snow, the trees and bushes blanketed by snowflakes. I smiled as I reached out for the snowflakes, catching some on my hands before they quickly melted.

A dainty white dress and blushing pink cardigan was all I was dressed in, my long hair falling down my shoulders. I wasn't cold strangely, my attention captivated by the pretty snow, my body hurrying to make snow angels and try and catch more snowflakes. The sky was clear and bright, making this the perfect time to enjoy myself. I wondered if Louis was around, he would have fun making snowmen and having a snowball fight with me.

I walked around the forest having fun as I played in the snow. I felt like I was a little girl back in New Mexico who would have fun with her father as they tried to make a snowman family and then sipped on hot chocolate afterwards in the warm house.

My eyes were trained on the sky as I walked, admiring how lovely the trees looked with their garland of snow, so I was surprised when my bare toes hit something hard. I stepped back in fright, my eyes looking down.

My mother laid motionless on her back in the snow, dressed in a white dress similar to mine. Her eyes were closed but her hair was spread around her head, long and dark like mine. The heart locket hung around her neck, no light shining from it instead of the usual green glow I knew.

I crouched down to her, hesitating slightly. Was she asleep? This didn't seem right. Mom had died in a car accident, what was she doing here? I crouched down and reached my fingers to hers, lightly tapping the back of her hand to see if she would wake up. Her hand was so cold, which I found strange. I felt fine, not the slightest bit cold, why was she cold?

Maybe she needed help. Maybe she was getting hypothermia and needed help? If that was the case, I needed to call for help.

I looked around the forest to see if anyone else was around, but instead, my eyes caught sight of another body a few feet from Mom's. I assured my mother that I would be back to help her before standing and rushing over to the other body, my heart nearly stopping when I saw who it was.

It was Dad.

He was laid almost exactly like Mom, motionless and dressed in his usual t-shirt and jeans that seemed a little cleaner than they had been before. His eyes were closed and his hand was cold just like Mom's, making me start to panic. What had happened to both of them? They needed help, I wasn't going to let them die.

Tears of fright fell down my cheeks as I hurried to stand up and yell for help.

"Help! Someone please! My parents need help!" I screamed out, only hearing my own echo that rebounded around the trees in the minutes afterwards. Someone had to come, they had to. I needed Mom and Dad in my life, I couldn't try and live by myself and without any family.