50. Flashback: I won't let you fall

Flashback #3

JEREMIAH

I stepped into her room without a sound, the room was cloaked in darkness, the heavy curtains drawn shut, but a sliver of moonlight spilled through the gaps, casting silvery bars across the carpet.

She didn’t look up at first. Just sat there- small and still, like she was trying to disappear. She was lost in her pain, not caring about the world around her. But she proved me wrong when I took a step in her direction and her head jerked up, her shoulders stiffened.

“Who is it?” she asked, voice hollow, frayed at the edges.

When I didn’t answer, she pushed herself up on her unsteady legs. “Is that you?”

Not who are you?

Not what do you want?

Just… is that you?

Like she already knew. Like she was waiting for me.

I almost smiled.

She pushed forward, almost staggering toward the window, where I stood half shrouded in shadow. When she saw me, she didn’t flinch. She didn’t scream or back away like a scared little girl, oppressed by her father and the world she lived in