When Pigs Fly: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

                Time heals all wounds. 

I don’t believe that.

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                “Ninety-nine…one hundred!  READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!!”  I uncovered my eyes and set off to find Katie and Leo.  If I was stuck babysitting, I was determined to make the most of it.  I snuck out of the living room as quietly as I could.  I knew they weren’t in there, seeing as it was against the hide-and-seek rules.

                Let’s see, I thought, where to start?  I decided to look in the kitchen; Katie almost always hid there.  She was tiny, for a five-year-old, and somehow always managed to squeeze herself into a cupboard. 

                As I tiptoed into the kitchen, I immediately knew I had trapped her.  “Hmm…Where on Earth could Katie be?” I wondered loudly, my eyes never leaving the toes that were sticking out from underneath of the tablecloth.  I heard a small gasp and her toes quickly disappeared under the table.  “Well,” I practically shouted, “I guess she’s not in here…”  Her quiet, gleeful giggles were almost too much for me, but there was no way I was about to lose this game to a five-year-old.

                “Gotcha!” I cried, sticking my head under the table.

                “Aww!  How did you know?” Katie asked with a pout, her bottom lip sticking out.

                “I’m magic,” I teased, wiggling my fingers at her.  “C’mon, help me find Leo!  I need your expert finding skills!”

                Katie perked right up.  With a smile, she got out from under the table and ran out of the room, giggling; I could hear her calling Leo’s name.  Laughing, I thought to myself, Good luck, kiddo.  He isn’t gonna answer.

                I decided to get myself a snack.  Katie would want to find Leo on her own. 

                As I poured some Frosted Flakes into a bowl, I heard two loud thuds coming from upstairs.  My blood turned to ice and I sprinted up the stairs. 

                “Oh my God!” I cried, looking at my little brother and sister lying motionless on the carpet of Leo’s bedroom.  “Leo?!  Katie?!”  I tried shaking them, but they didn’t move.

                “Don’t worry, Nicole.  They’re fine.”  I turned my head and looked at my mother. 

                “Mom?  I thought you and dad went to the movies.” 

                She shook her head.  “We were never gone, darling.  Don’t worry.  You’ll understand soon enough.”  My mother smiled.  “Your father and I are…changing things for the better.  Sarah was done weeks ago.  Katie and Leo just need to wake up.  Trust me, honey, you won’t feel a thing.”

                I still didn’t understand what was going on, but every part of me was screaming “RUN!”  So I did.  I ran outside and I hid in the bushes.  My game of hide-and-seek had quickly gotten much scarier than I liked.

                “Nicole!”  I could hear my mom calling me, her voice getting closer and closer.

“Nicole!”

                “Nicole!”

                “Nicole!”

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                “Nicole!”  I woke up with a jolt and a gasp.  Zeke was shaking me, a worried expression on his face.  “Hey, I’ve been trying to wake you up for a while now.  Are you okay?” 

                My cheeks felt wet and I realized the cause of his concern; I had been crying. 

                “Yeah,” I wiped the tears away.  “It was just a bad dream.  Go back to sleep.”

                Zeke had been sharing a room with me for the past few weeks.  It had been months since the death of my family, but I still felt the pain every day.  For some reason, I found that I wasn’t able to fall asleep without someone else being in the room.  I had tried, but my efforts only resulted in an irritable, sleep-deprived me the next morning.  Zeke had been good about the whole situation—I didn’t even have to ask him to stay with me; he offered. 

                Zeke’s breathing slowed as he fell asleep again and I tried to match my breathing to his; attempting to relax.  How did a dream that started off so well, go so wrong so quickly? 

                With a deep sigh, I laid back and drifted into a dreamless sleep.