Trapped (15 page)

As I sat there in the old empty house,
I played all the s
ongs I could remember. My
fingers ached when
I stopped.
Not only did I remember receiving th
e pi
ano, I remembered the day it had been
taken away from me
. It happened to be
the same day
I
had to say
good-bye to Cheveyo
. We were moving again. I
said
my goodbyes to Jim and Emily
earlier in the day
. I
still remember
he
r telling
me to always believe in myself, that things really do happen for a
reason that the next place I move to
will
offer me new possibilities. Emily
told me my future held many great adventures waiting
for me. Of course I didn’t believe anyth
ing she said. I cried
s
ilently as I listened to her tell me such nice things
for the last time. I hugged her hard
and left without looking back.

Once I finished packing everything in my room
, which didn’t take long, I turned
to look for Cheveyo. He
wasn’t
t
here
, which upset me that day. I called him but
he didn’t answer. I
had
started to panic
, afraid that I wouldn’t have the chance to see him again
. I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I ran around the house, insid
e and out calling his name. I heard my mother
shout,
“We only have a few more minutes. Everythin
g is almost loaded in the van.”

My heart started to race as I ran
outside, towards the trail between
the field
s
. That’s when I felt the warm breeze that always accompanied him
, surround me
.
I stopped
abruptly
.

“Cheveyo, please talk to me, I
have to go now. Please Cheveyo,
” I cried. He appeared
before me
with a woman beside him.
I remember her looking so beautiful. She smiled
at me. Her long black hair blew in the breeze as she walked slowly towards me. She knelt in fr
ont of me and grabbed my hands
, holding them in hers
.

“Be strong little one. Do not falter. Cheveyo will always be watching over you, but now he must come with me and y
ou must travel on a new journey,” s
he said as she released me.

“I will
see you again one day my friend,
” Cheveyo said as he hugged me then walked back
into the field with his mother.

“Good bye Cheveyo,
” I whispered as I slowly turned back to
wards the empty house and
the moving van that would take me away. I ran inside to grab my book and to have one last look around, as I always did, to s
ay goodbye to the house that I had called home
for a while. When I reac
hed the living room I screamed.

“NO, NO, NO!
” I shrieked, the pain in my throat interfering with my breathing. My parents rushed in to the room behind m
e.

“What’s wrong? S
top screaming?” my father
shouted
, shaking my shoulders
.

“Why isn’t the piano in the van?” I asked as I started to feel my hands quiver and my face redden. My parents looked
at each other then back to me.

“I’m sorry Natalie
, but it doesn’t fit in the van,” m
y father said blankly
as he stepped back from me
. There was no point in trying to fight
him on it.

”No, mom please, you can take my bed out, I’ll sleep on the floor
,
” I begged.

“Let’s go now,
into the van, come on,” m
y mother ordered, not wanting to cause a bigger fuss,
she was
already exhausted.

“I’l
l try and come back for it okay,” m
y father said meekly. I knew he probably wouldn’t, but at least it was something. I grabbed the stool with the claws holding the marbles and walked out
.

As I shook off that upsetting
memory,
I felt someone’s presence behind me.
How silly of me to think I would be alone. I am never alone.
I turned slowly, scanning the
empty
room.
The lights were dim, shadows were everywhere. I stood up and walked aro
und, hoping to
find who
has joined me here
.

“Hello,
” I said, not sure to whom.
I didn’t feel like all my
senses
were
available to me.
I noticed a shadow moving t
owards the kitchen so
I
walked t
owards it. The shadow
fade
d
before my eyes and as it did
all
the lights in the house came on. I heard the voices of my family. I looked down a
nd realized I’d
shrunk down
to the
size of the
little girl I used to be when
I lived here. I tensed in fear
now.

“Am I dreaming?” I whispered as my hand
s
shook.

“Leave me
alone,” m
y mother shouted at my father. He was drunk
again
. I could tell by the look on his face. His mouth didn’t close and he drooled a bit. His eyes were partly closed and
it looked like he strained
to see
her
.

“Natalie, sit on that couch,” h
e demanded when he saw me. I quickly ran to the couch and sat beside my brothers who were already there. I held Luke close
to me. He was crying silently.

“Just let the children go upstairs. We can talk about
this without them here. Please,” m
y mother begged.

“Anne
, y
ou will not say another word to me. Do you understand? I want these children to know who is in charge around here and what happens if they disobey. You sho
uld not have disobeyed me woman,” m
y father was
slurring
his words
as he spoke
. M
y mother smiled
at us
but I could see the fear in her eyes
. She
knew how this was
going to end
and yet she seemed
more concerned about us tha
n herself.
I tried to smile back when John jumped up
and suddenly
started throw
ing punches at my father. He knew it was
a
useless
attempt
though
. My father felt no pain
under his current influence
. He laughed as he held John back. He picked him up
and threw him back ont
o the couch.

“Leave him alone!”
I screamed at him,
I felt so useless
too
.

“Shut up or you’l
l be next,
”
h
e threatened me. John didn’t move from w
h
ere he
fell.

My mother was crying as she tried
to get out of his grip
. He
reached his arm up and formed a fist.
Within seconds my mother laid
on the floor motionless. My father picked her up and carried her into
t
h
ei
r room and shut the door. John
finally
stood up and told us to go ups
tairs. I carried Luke up to my
room and we jus
t curled up and tried to sleep.

I
must have dose
d off because I awoke alone in the
field
again
. Thankfully I’m back to my normal size again
, I thought
. It i
s
so dark
now.
I c
an barely see more than
a few feet
in front of me
. I began to walk slowly when I heard my father
’
s voice shouting at me,
in the distance. I didn’t understand how he could
pos
s
ibly
know I’m
h
ere. As I walked closer I saw an image of myself
at age ten. I stood
by the back door with my dog
, my beautiful white Muffy,
sitting b
eside me. My long brown hair had been
tied
back with a red ribbon. I held t
ears in my eyes but
I wasn’t crying. My father sat
in a chair on the porch.

“Natalie, you will never succeed in life with that quivering lip of yours. You have to get tougher
, because if you don’t al
l you’ll end up being is a single mother waitressing in a bar. I’m just telling you this for your own good. Your filthy dirty too. Get out of my sight.” I turned, not letting my tears fall unt
il I was safely out of his view
. I tried to walk over to my younger self but she
disappeared
and I was left standing alone, with my ow
n tears rolling down my cheeks.

“Hayden,
” I called. “I need you.”
I walked back towards the field, hoping to find a way out of this nightmare. How did I get here? Maybe I hit my head when I was running. Maybe I am passed out somewhere in the woods, unconscious. Where did Beth go?
Maybe she will come back for me.
As I walked
I tried to rationalize what is going on. I’m
just having h
orrible, repressed memories rise
to the surface. There must be a reason for
all
this.
I’m sure I will wake up soon
. I’ll just stay away from that house an
d I should be okay.

The wind felt
warm as it swirled around me. I closed my eyes and lifted my face towards the blue sky. I smiled with the sheer joy the breeze gave me. It reminded me of being a little girl, when my spirit f
riends would come and visit me.

I twirled in circles and laughed
as I fell to the ground. I laid there with my hands on my chest, feeling my heart beat. I slowly opened my eyes and as I tried t
o scream, no sound left my lips
and then
the sky went black.

When I awoke again
I wasn’t i
n the field anymore and s
omeone el
se i
s here
with me
.
I could hear their breath
ing
and I
could feel their war
mth. I wanted to speak but fear took my voice from me. I didn’t know who was
here or why. I sl
owly sat up and looked towards the
door. Light seeped
through the side
s and underneath. I thought
of running for it. I didn’t know
if the door would be locked
or not
.
‘
What did
I have to lose?’
I thought as
I quickly glanced around
the room
.
I
still
coul
dn’t tell if anyone is
here
with me or not.
Whoever it was
must be hiding in the shad
ows. Just as I considered making a
run
for the door I heard someone
sigh.

“Don’t even think of leaving
here
Natalie. You don’t control anything here. You should
have
realize
d
that
by
now, the sooner the better
actually
. You have to learn to accept that and maybe you will eventually find your way back
home
. I am here to help you. I hope you can believe me. I can’t stay long. I am not welcome by your
current captor
.
I will
try and
find you from time to time
. I kno
w you are
feeling very much
alone. I will
offer
my
assistance
,
as much as I can
.
I wish I could do more. For now, just try and accept what is shown to you as the past
and only that
. Remember who you are and who you have become. Remember
that
you are love
d.” The voice in the shadows sounded
vaguely
fam
iliar, but I couldn’t place it.