Fan Fiction ❯ Mommy... ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I own EVERYTHING in this story. ^-^ Its an original fic, after all.

 

 

 

 

The wind gently whispered through the slowly reviving trees, softly kissing the wingtips of a flight of geese as they began the long flight back north. Above and below them, the world was a dreary grey, the clouds embracing the earth in their cool, wet grasp. Shadows danced amongst the mist, cast about by the ever-changing, ever-swirling patterns of the wind. Though this realm of grey and shadow, a single, solid made its way steadily forwards, the ground slowly rising and the mist thinning even slower.

 

After a short while of walking, the moon burst through a rent in the clouds high above, allowing a small amount of silvery moonlight to illuminate the scene below. The figure hidden in the mist was but a little girl. Her pale yellow hair was trimmed short, barely reaching down to her shoulders, and was topped with a small straw hat. A blue ribbon hung down from the hat, braided into the wide brim carefully. Her eyes were a bright shining blue, eyes embedded with the deepest and purest innocence, that which only a child could have. She wore a sky blue dress, unmarred by any hint of dirt or tear, which reached down past her knees and covered the tops of her stockings. In her hands was a small pink umbrella, covered with bright yellow ducky patterns. It was unfurled in an attempt to keep the mist out of her face.

 

And then the light was gone, once more bathing the landscape in a dreary grey. And the girl, once more hidden in the cool, watery veil, continued on her way.

 

Soon, the mist cleared away to become nothing more than little wisps of vapor drifting and swirling close to the ground. Seeing this, the young girl closed her umbrella and continued walking steadily uphill. As she got closer and closer to the top, the ground beneath her feel started to level off, making the hike just that much easier. Then, she was there…

 

At the top of the hill was an extravagant grave, the tombstone adorned beautifully with two stone angels and an intricately carved cross between them. All about it grew flowers of every sort, freshly planted. Elegant red roses, beautiful purple violets, and pale yellow lilies all thrived in the moist, nutrient-filled dirt. It seemed the whole hilltop was alive with the jewelry of the earth. Yet, with the mist and shadow and the dim yellow light of the moon, the sight was saddening, the cold stone grave looming darkly over head.

 

Solemnly, the little girl walked towards the grave, her expression that of grief and melancholy far beyond that which one of her youth should experience. Dropping the umbrella on the ground, she kneeled down on the freshly grown dew-sprinkled grass and clasped her tiny hands in silent prayer. For those few moments, all was silent. Naught existed but the insignificant, forlorn hilltop rising above a surreal realm of mist. High up above, the clouds hid it all from the heavenly bodies high above the mortal world. All was still, quiet, hidden…

 

Then, it wasn't. A sob tore itself from the small child's throat and tears poured down her cheek, tickling faintly the edges of her lips. “M-M-Mommy!” Reaching up, she dashed her tears away with the back of her hand, “I-I miss you so much, Mommy!” Sniffling, she clenched her fists around small patches of grass. “D-Daddy does, too, Mommy. He's s-so sad now. W-Why won't you come back? We need you, Mommy…” Choking out the last words, the miserable girl cried even harder, burying her face into hands that were still muddy. The cool spring air wrapped itself around her in a silently soothing embrace as she poured forth her tears of grief.

 

Slowly she subsided, and wiped her face clear of tears with the hem of her dress. Hiccups shook her miniature frame in tiny tremors as he willed herself to continue talking. “Hic! A-and Big Brother… he thinks its all this fault for being m-mean and hic! not acting good while you were sick.” She sniffed, and just barely kept from crying again, though her eyes swam with tears. “He won't come out of his room… And Daddy just lets him stay there… Please, Mommy, come home! Everybody's so s-sad and th-they don't do a-anything anymore.” Hiccuping harder, she couldn't say anything more and merely sat there in the grass, lonely and heartbroken. Dew soaked through her dress and cooled her skin, and she started to get sleepy, her eyes heavy from all of the crying she had been doing… Still hiccuping, the small blonde-haired child curled up in front of the grace, amongst the flowers, and closed her eyes. A white wisp of mist, hardly anything at all, brushed against her cheek, caressing it like a mother's soft, tender touch. The girl's chest gently rose and fell with the smooth rhythms of sleep.

 

Some time later, the girl woke up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hands, getting rid of the sleepy sand her Mommy had said was the Sandman's special way of getting kids to sleep. Yawning, she stood back up and looked around her. The mist had gotten worse, becoming a thick, ashen fog that completely surrounded her. The tombstone, which had seemed so concrete before, was now hidden in a veil of vapor, becoming a large, looming shadow. She shivered. The cold dew, which had seemed so soothing before, now was chilling, cutting clear through her flesh and freezing her bones. The sky seemed darker now than it had before, and shadows seemed to have grown bigger, more solid. Tensing, the little girl shivered again, this time in fear. Every part of her body told her to run home, back to the safety of her house, but she was scared stiff and couldn't move.

 

As the girl watched he fog in front of her, her hands clenched tight and her face pale with fright, the shadows behind her began to swirl and meld together. The tall, solid shadow of the gravestone, with its two silent angelic sentinels, was the only witness to the phenomenon as the shadow came closer. Out of the grey fog came an ancient old lady, so old she was bent nearly double from her own weight. An ashen white, her ratty hair hung down from her head, nearly touching the ground. Her face was wrinkled, and her eyes sunken into her skull. Torn and ragged were her clothes, a long robe that might have once been green, but was now reduced to an indistinguishable, lifeless color. She approached the small child, in her now-muddy blue dress, and placed a thin claw-like hand on the girl's shoulder.

 

Screaming, the girl jumped and whirled around, taking a few hasty steps backwards and away from the woman. As she did, she tripped over her umbrella and fell on her butt. Already frightened by her own imagination in the Her heart was beating a hundred miles an hour as she asked, “W-Who are you?”

 

Smiling, revealing her toothless old maw, the old woman took a few steps closer. “Oh, just an old, withered lady here to collect what belongs to her.” Reaching down, she pulled the girl to her feet with a surprisingly strong grasp for one of such age. “Now, now, run along dear. I have some business to do here.” Stooping just a bit more to grab the umbrella, the ancient hag handed the little girl the small pink object. A pat on the girl's shoulder, then she turned away, towards the grave.

 

Blinking, the little girl stood there, not leaving. She had been frightened, but the old lady in front of her reminded her of her great-grandma, who had passed away a long time ago. It was comforting, and she didn't want to go into the dark, scary fog. So, stepping closer, she asked, “What're you doing?”

 

An irritated look crossed the old one's face for a moment, before she turned around and gave her toothless smile once more. “I'm here to meet someone. Don't mind me. Go home, child.” Turning around once more, the old lady ignored the little girl and instead laid her hands on each of the stone angels of the tombstone.

 

Busy watching the old lady, the little blonde-haired girl didn't notice the sudden swirling of the mist around them. Instead, she watched as the old woman in front of her gripped her mother's tombstone with her old, claw-like hands. The mist swirled around them faster and faster, until tendrils of it drifted away from the main body and collected above the grave, right in front of the aged hag's wizened form. This, the kid did notice, and it brought a quick, startled gasp from her. Immersed in what she was doing, the old woman took no notice. Collecting bits at a time, the fog before her started to form a shape floating in the air, humanoid in appearance. More definite parts, like fingers and toes, began to shape out of the mass of mist, and the figure's chest grew outwards, indicating I was a woman. Her hair trailed down behind her and the entire figure floated above the gravestone. Facial feature became clear, as did clothes…

 

Gasping, the little girl yelled out, “MOMMY!”

 

Whirling around to face the little girl, the old hag's face was horrible. Now that her hair wasn't covering her face, the hag's eye showed. They were beautiful, green gems set in a decaying face. But, inside of them, flits of green and grey and every color visible to the human eye showed. In that moment, from just looking into the deep, emerald eyes, the little girl knew what was in those eyes; souls. And she knew what was going to happen to her mother.

 

“Get away from my Mommy!” Running forwards, the little girl started battering away at the old lady with her pink animal-decorated umbrella. It was display of courage for the soul of her beloved mother, which the old lady seemed to have come for.

 

Shreiking, the old hag knocked her away with a swing of her thin arms. “Begone, child! Your mother is here for a reason, and that is to restore this land to its proper self after the cold trials of Winter!” Standing up straight, the woman became taller, much taller than she had appeared. “Your mother is to become a servant of Spring!” Coldly looking down on the child, she continued, “Perhaps you wish to join her?”

 

Gasping, the little girl was scared to stillness once more, and she couldn't speak a word. “Yes, your youth would make it much easier to restore Spring…” Bending down, the old hag stroked the blonde girl's cheek with her finger. “Yess… Much easier…” The little girl shivered at the touch. It made her think of all the bad things that had happened lately, and she hated it for that. She tried to speak, but found she couldn't. She waited in fear…

 

And then, the hag stood up straight again, and looked over at the floating figure of the child's mother. “You… you would resist me, if I took her soul?” Slowly, the spirit of the mother nodded, her corporeal form fading slightly as she did so. “Very well… I cannot take the souls of the living, anyway, unless they are willing.”

 

The fog thickened, quickly, so that the tiny girl couldn't see in front of her face. She was scared- scared for her mother, and scared for herself, as well. She was thinking of standing up, of running away in the darkness… Then, a face, horrifyingly disfigured, appeared out of the fog with green eyes that burned with the fury of all living things. “GO!”

 

_-_-_

 

Gasping, Adrianna Morganna woke up in bed, sitting up quickly. Her body shook from fright, and her heart pounded furiously. Beside her, her husband, John Morganna, yawned, and sat up as well. “Something wrong, honey?”

 

Brushing her blonde hair away from her face, Adrianna said, “Yes… I-I think so. It was just a nightmare, I think.”

 

Leaning forwards to kiss her cheek, her husband said, “It's alright, hon. Just go back to sleep, okay? We have to get up early tomorrow to go visit your father.”

 

Shivering slightly, she nodded. “Yeah. I shouldn't get worked up over a dream.” She smiled at her husband. “I love you.”

 

Nodding sleepily, he said, “I love you too. Now… bed.” Grabbed a hold of her arm, he pulled her back down onto the bed and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

_-_-_

 

Heh. Thirteen here, with the author's notes! This story was written simply to be an entry into the Evil Spring Fanfiction Contest. It popped into my head while I was in the shower one day, and I decided to write it. The end should seem a bit rushed, probably because I finished writing it seconds before the entry was due. ^-^;