Airel - Aaron Patterson [67]
All at once, the whole night overwhelmed me. I ran to the king-sized bed, fell face down, and cried. I wept so hard that my body ached. I was just trying to crawl through to the bottom of it, heaving in spasms of wretchedness until I was completely dry. My head felt bloated and achy.
I was a captive. I kept going over in my head all the possible meanings of the word, taking it in, trying to deal. When my outburst of emotion was all over, I felt as if I had just run twenty miles. No sound came from the hall or the room where he had said Michael was. I wondered if he was really there, or if he was lying and Michael was somewhere else—or were the rooms soundproof? So many questions. And so few answers.
My heart ached and bled for the comfort of my friends and family; especially my mom and dad.
There was a glass of water on the nightstand. I took a long drink to quench my thirst. It had been a long night and between fighting, crying and everything else, I was parched.
She whispered something but I couldn’t make it out. My vision clouded and the room began to spin. Oh, no. He drugged me, how could I have been so stupid? I fought the feeling but in the end the drug was stronger than my resolve.
I dreamed.
This time I was in the beautiful valley I had seen through the windows by the waterfall. I ran in the meadow of summertime wildflowers laughing like a little girl. The beautifully scented mountain air swept through me. The fragrance of honeysuckle was overwhelming. All of it—the meadow, the rushing waterfall behind me, the bluest skies I had ever seen—made me want to dance with joy. I twirled in a sun dress, ribbons in my hair, feeling as if my daddy was nearby admiring me.
But Daddy wasn’t there. It was someone else—my mysterious stalker was watching me. His eyes were different, ice blue this time. Deep within, I saw a spark of light. It told me that he knew who I was, and what I was becoming.
I heard pages turning again, like a book was being leafed through, fanned out. She stirred and sat up in the back of my mind as if She knew this man. I didn’t run, but looked at him as he walked toward me through the wildflowers. It was as if they sensed his coming, and parted to let him pass without crushing them. I stood on tiptoes to try to measure up and meet his gaze.
She said, “Do not be afraid. He will not hurt you. He has something you need. Look for it, and when the time is right, you will know.”
“Who are you, and what do you want?”
She answered, “I am a friend.”
The killer moved like a predator, scanning subtly, aware of the wind. He stopped and stood a few feet from me and held out his hand. I took it. He led me to the edge of the clearing, where I looked up at the waterfall that hid part of his house underneath its beautiful cascading mantle.
“High up on the side of the cliff you will see it—if you look closely.” He pointed toward the top, where the water began its fall over the edge, over a thousand feet up. I scanned the rocks and ferns that clung to the side, but didn’t see anything.
I was about to give up when I saw a large nest made of twigs and branches, built in a very thin tree. He smiled when he saw that I did indeed see what he wanted me to see. “Now watch.”
I rubbed my eyes and took another look. This time I saw a skinny baby bald eagle scramble up the side and sit perched on the edge looking out at the valley—perhaps at us. He fluffed his baby feathers and opened up his new wings, testing them. This little bird was making me nervous. I hoped he wouldn’t fall over the edge—it was a long way to the bottom. I was sure from the way he moved that he had not yet learned to fly.
The mother eagle swooped by the nest in a tuck and clipped the baby in the back, pushing him over the side. My hand flew to my mouth as I watched the baby eagle tumble in the air, flapping wildly, trying to recover, and not making much progress.