Whispers of Death (3 page)

    “Hi Abby,” she whispered.

    “My mommy brought you a gift.  It’s from me,” Abby said delightedly.

    Mindy looked at me shyly.

    “Hi sweetheart, I’m Abby’s mom, Ms. Amelia, and this is Abby’s Aunt Olive,” I said, kneeling down to be at eye level.

    Mindy’s eyes were a deep shade of blue with a little white streak down one pupil.  Her hair was a beautiful shade of brown that fell long and straight down her back.  I handed her the little package.

    “Open it!” Abby urged happily.

    Mindy looked at the package, her eyes lighting up slightly. “It’s not my birthday.”

    “I know honey, Abby just wanted to get you something special because you’re new here,” I explained.

    As soon as she saw the doll, her face beamed.  The smile matched Abby’s.  They both squealed in delight.

    “She’s so pretty!” Mindy said.

    “Make sure your daddy gets this card, okay?  That way he knows where you got it,” I said, handing her the little card.  I had put my name and number in there and explained that Mindy was welcome to come over anytime.

    “Thank you,” she said shyly, giving me a hug.

    That was it. I immediately got teary-eyed. “You are welcome.  You better hurry though, your teacher is waiting to take you to the bus.” I pointed down the hall where Ms. Tattle waited.  She had a Kleenex out and was dabbing her eyes.

    Mindy smiled at me and, hugging her new doll, ran down the hall.

    Olive and I were both crying when we left the school. Abby just smiled her sweet smile.  Hunter looked at us strangely and just shook his head.  He had grown accustomed to his crazy blubbering mother.  He chose to walk as far ahead of us as he could, ignoring the fact that he had not only his mother that was crying, but also his Aunt, and his sister’s teacher, who had come up to us as we were leaving and given me a big hug, with tears streaming down her face.  The drive home was very short; we only lived a quarter of a mile away.  As soon as I opened the garage and turned the car off, Hunter ran into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.  I shook my head, not sure what had gotten into him.  Maybe three crying women at his school was enough to send him over the edge.  I quickly gave Abigail a snack and set up her homework on the kitchen table.

    I found Hunter lying on his bed with his sketchbook and pencils.  He had become quite the little artist, and many of his drawings were tucked safely away in a drawer.

    “Are you okay?” I asked, sitting next to him.

    He sat quietly, drawing what looked like a large bird.

    “Hunter, did something happen at school today?”

    “No.”

    By the tone in his voice I knew that he wasn’t being honest with me.

    “Honey, you can tell me anything. You don’t have to be afraid to talk to me.”

    “It’s nothing.”

    “Okay.  Would you like a snack?” I asked, trying to get his mind away from whatever it was that was bothering him.

    “Mom, a kid at school stole my money,” he said quietly, placing his face into the bed to hide.

    I froze.  “What do you mean a kid stole your money?”

   “I went to buy a survival bracelet, and when I took my money out of my pocket, he shoved me to the ground and took it from me.”

    The blood boiled inside of me.  I didn’t handle bullies very well.  This wasn’t the first time Hunter had been taunted at school.  I took a deep breath, knowing that I needed to remain calm.

    “Did you tell the teacher?” I asked, hiding the anger that was building up inside of me.

    “No.”

    “Sweetie, you should have told the teacher.  They can’t fix it if they don’t know,” I explained.

    “If I would have told the teacher, it would have just made things worse.  People would have known that it was me that told.”

    I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

    “Sweetie, you can’t let anyone push you around.  The only way to stop a bully is to make sure he can’t do it to anyone else.”

    “Mom, I can’t tell the teacher; it was her son.”

    Hunter must have seen the complete shock on my face, because he looked horrified that he’d just told me who it was.

    “The teacher’s son is bullying you?” I couldn’t hide my anger anymore; it slipped through the tone of my voice like poison.

    “Mom, promise me you won’t do anything!  It will just make things worse!” he said horror-struck.

    I looked at my son; his face was so innocent.  My blood still boiled, but I knew this was not a way to handle it.

    “Hunter, listen, if you don’t do something about it, he will just keep bullying you and maybe even others.  What if he starts to do things to the younger kids, like Abby?”

    Abby was Hunter’s pride and joy.  He bent over backwards for his sister, and I knew the mention of her name and the thought of someone being mean to her struck a nerve.

   “He would never bully Abby!” Hunter said, determined to believe his own words.

    “How can you be so sure?  Have you ever seen him be mean to anyone else?”

    “Yes, but they were always the older kids.”

    “That’s just because that’s who you see him with at recess.  We need to talk to the teacher, or he won’t learn to not do it.”

    “Can you just talk to her?” he asked.

    “Of course, your dad and I can go in on Monday morning.”

    I hated seeing Hunter so upset.  He had such a kind heart and the thought that someone would bully him was painful.  My head hurt worse than ever.  Olive had kept her word; she was in the kitchen with Abby when Hunter and I came in.

    “Everything okay?” she asked.

    “I’m feeling very sick; do you mind if I just lay down for awhile?”

    “Nope, I got this,” she said, tickling Abby and winking at Hunter, making him smile.

    I turned to walk away and screamed. A dark-cloaked figure stood in my living room, a smug look of satisfaction on his face.  Death walked forward and traced his finger down my arm.  My blood went from boiling to ice cold.  My vision went dark, and I fell to the ground, my head slamming on the floor with a loud crack.

Three

          “Lia! Amelia!”

          The screaming made my head pound uncontrollably.  I opened my eyes, and Olive was bending down over me, a look of sheer terror on her face.

          “Amelia, are you okay?” she said, frightened.

          My head ached, and I was having a hard time focusing on her face.

          “What happened?” I whispered.

          “Lia, you just gave me a heart attack!  What happened?”

          I had no idea what happened. I couldn’t remember anything.

          “How did I get here?” I asked, trying hard not to say it loudly for fear of my head exploding.

          “Amelia, you turned to go to your room, but stopped and screamed, and then you blacked out. I think you hit your head pretty hard.”

          “Did the kids see it happen?”

          Olive looked behind her. Hunter held a crying Abigail in the kitchen. “Yes, it scared them pretty bad.”

          “You need to call Mark,” I told her.

          She looked at me strangely but slipped her phone out of her pants’ pocket and dialed the number.  She quickly explained what happened and, after a few more words, hung up.

          “Mark’s on his way home,” she said.

          “Can you help me get to bed?” I asked.

          Livie stuck her arm under mine and helped me get to my feet.  The room spun as I tried to walk, and Olive had to keep me from falling.  Once I was safely on the bed, she ran and grabbed a washcloth and a bowl.  She dabbed my forehead with the cold wet cloth, which sent shivers down my spine.

          “Amelia, what is going on?” she asked quietly.

          “Can you ask the kids to come here?” I said, avoiding her look of dissatisfaction at my changing the subject.

          “Sure.”

          Abigail ran in and jumped onto the bed.  She wrapped her arms around me and cried.

          “Mommy what happened?  Why did you fall down?” she said through sobs.

          Hunter stood at the foot of the bed, almost as if he were afraid to touch me.  He had a look of pure fear on his face.

          “I’m sorry, mommy has a really bad headache, and I guess the pain made me pass out,” I explained.

          The truth was, after Olive told me that I’d screamed, I remembered seeing Death and watched as he grabbed my arm, turning my blood to ice.

          “Are you going to be okay?” Hunter asked. “Do you need some water or anything?”

          His concern made me smile. “I would love a glass of water.”

          He smiled as he left, glad to be able to help, I guess.  A few moments later I heard the garage door open, and Mark rushed into the bedroom.

          “Amelia are you okay?  What happened? Olive said you passed out and hit your head? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

          I touched my fingers to his lips. “I’m fine. I just have a migraine, that’s all.”

          Mark knew me too well; he knew that I wasn’t telling him everything.  He looked at Abigail in my arms and Hunter sitting on the foot of the bed.  Olive was standing by the window, watching.  He nodded, knowing that whatever had happened, I wasn’t going to tell him with everyone in the room.

          “Okay kiddos, your mom needs lots and lots of rest.  What do you say I send you all out with your Aunt Olive for dinner tonight?  And maybe if you are good, she might let you have a sleepover?”

          Abigail squealed in delight at the thought of staying with her aunt.  It was one of her favorite things to do.  She always let them stay up late and have popcorn while they watched movies together.  Then she would take them out for breakfast to Krispy Kreme.

          “Is that okay, Olive?” I asked.

          “Of course.  I wouldn’t miss a night with my niece and nephew!” she said, ruffling Hunter’s long brown hair.

          I smiled; she really was the best sister ever. “Thanks Liv.”

          “You’re going to eventually tell me what’s going on, right?” she whispered in my ear as she hugged me.

          “I’m just not feeling well, that’s all,” I said.

          She looked at me, knowing full well I wasn’t telling the truth. “Uh-huh, right.  Let’s go kiddos!  How about Chuck e Cheese for dinner?”

          Hunter gave me a big hug. “I hope you feel better soon,” he whispered.

          “I’m sure I will sweetie.  Have fun at your aunt’s house, okay?  We will fix everything on Monday for you.”

          He smiled. “Thanks mom.”

          “What was that about?” Mark asked as Olive quickly packed the kids for a night away.

         I explained what happened at school with Hunter.  Mark took it surprisingly well, but I could tell he was just as mad as I was.

          “I told him you and I would go in on Monday to talk to the teacher,” I said.

          “I might not wait until Monday. Her son owes me five bucks!”

          I laughed. “Yeah…that’s the problem.” I teased.

          “Bye Mommy!” Abby yelled from down the hall.

          “Don’t yell! Mom has a headache!” Hunter yelled back.

          “I forgot!” Abby retaliated.

          Mark and I smiled as Abby came running into our bedroom.  She jumped up onto the bed and gave her daddy a big hug, then came and lay down next to me.  She wrapped her arms around my belly, sighing.

          “Mommy, I hope you feel better tomorrow,” she said in her sweet little angel voice.

          “I’m sure I’ll be fine soon,” I told her, returning her giant bear hug.

          “I love you mommy,” she whispered.

          My eyes began to well up, and I made a mental note that I really needed to work on my emotional imbalance. “I love you too honey.”

          “Bye mom,” Hunter said, “I hope you get better soon.”

          I returned his hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Look after your sister and make sure you do what Aunt Livie tells you to.”

          “I will mom.”

          “Don’t worry about them; it’s me I’m worried about.  Have you seen how big they have gotten since Tuesday?” Olive laughed. “Hunter might eat me out of house and home.”

          Hunter laughed. “Yeah right, you can out eat us both.” He teased.

          “Hey now, you better watch it. I might have to tickle you to death.”

          Abby and Hunter laughed even harder.

          “We better get going now.  Let’s leave your mom to get some rest,” Liv said as she kissed my forehead. “I expect you to tell me what’s really going on soon,” she whispered in my ear before she walked away.

          I watched as my two sweet babies walked away with the world’s best sister.  I was so lucky that Mark was able to get her husband a job here.

          “Okay, so tell me what happened,” Mark said as soon as the front door shut.

          I looked at him, my emotions running at an all time high from everything that had happened today.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to share what really happened.  He already thought I was going crazy.  If I told him that Death came after me in the middle of the day, he would take me straight to the loony bin.

          “Amelia…”

          “I saw him…” I whispered, turning away so he couldn’t see my face.

          “Who?”

          “Death.”

          “Olive said you were walking to the bedroom.  She didn’t say you were already in bed and had a nightmare.”

          “He was here, in the house.  I wasn’t asleep.”

          “You saw Death in the house?” He stared at me. “Amelia, did you call the doctor today?”

          “Mark, I am not going crazy.  When I turned to leave the kitchen, he blocked my way.  I blacked out when he grabbed my arm.”

          Mark’s face was full of concern and something else, something that I had never seen before.  Fear.

          “Amelia, I really think you need to see a doctor.  This is getting really serious.  It’s starting to affect your health.  First you start throwing up, then a bad headache, and now blacking out.  What if you had been driving?  What if you were home alone?”