Nightmare and cries

....Dark...

It's too dark...

Love? I never had that...

Hate? It was all I knew...

Happiness? Does that even exist?

My family has tried to kill me for as long as I can remember... I was the fox and they the hunter- with the mercenaries hired as the greyhounds...

Pain has been my constant companion from infancy, and I have yet to find out why...

**********

"I can help you find out... but there will be a price to pay..."

"Price?"

"You will sign a contract with me, where you will go through different times and spaces and carry out missions that I will assign you..."

"For how long will I work for you?"

"A millennium and a half... Can you do this?"

"...Yes... I will"

"A deal has been struck... you shall begin immediately."

"How will I...."

*******

A pair of eyes snap open, as a thin back shot off the bed with an arm stretched as alarm twists the face of the sole occupant of the room.

Beautiful yellowish-green eyes set in a slightly average face, scrutinise the room, eyeing the cheap furniture. Hazel eyes open wide and thin lips open in an unflattering state as the owner stares intently at the bedroom. They bounce once on the bed, as a thin arm joins the other on the mattress before the slim finger touches the sheets and duvet gently. The eyes look at the mirror in front of the bed, hanging on the wardrobe, and then touch the face seen in the reflection.

Hazel eyes break away from the mirror and lock onto the door when a noise is heard.

Thin, pale, long legs emerge slowly from under the duvet and small feet land on the cold carpet. The sounds get louder as the person walks to the door, before opening it to be met with the sound of pots and pans banging together, as well as a rattle of silverware clanging together, the radio is in the background playing a jazz piece.

Pale legs move to the source and discover a middle-aged woman with long brown hair and twin Hazel eyes, which light up when she turns around, with a huge grin across her lips.

"May! Hope you had a good sleep? If not, I can at least make your day better with your favourite breakfast and if so then I am going to be the best mom in the world." She said.

May's pupil constricted as her hand comes up to rub at her temple softly when she raises her head, her eyes are soft as they look at the happy woman in front of her. May's mother still waiting on a reply, loses her grin as it becomes smaller before disappearing and her eyes lose energy and her eyebrows come together.

"Honey? May?... Are you alright? You are quieter than usual today?" She said.

May starts to smile as she straightened her back before going to her mother with her arms outstretched. She is quickly folded into a hug by her mother as her eyes get misty, smile struggling to stay on her face as tears cascade down her face, while they sink to the floor.

All activities seem to stop and its just May and her mother in the kitchen, in their little world of comfort and be comforted.

The mother-daughter pair stay in the kitchen as time ticks away. They become aware of sounds from outside can be heard first with the birds chirping then the neighbours getting on with their day, yet, the two remain seated on the floor.

May began to speak and said:

"I'm sorry... I just...I had a nightmare, and, it scared me...I dreamt that you and dad no longer wanted me as you both got new kids... Then both of you started to hit me when you got frustrated and then hunted me down whenever I tried to run...Like how grandad and his friends hunted the foxes last week... Then I died after all the pain.

She continues saying:

"I know logically that you and dad love me..... but I was so afraid...It was so dark... so cold... I never want to feel like that again... At some point, I thought of killing myself... I couldn't even shout as I felt like I was being chocked....."

"May.....

Her mother grabbed her face between both hands, and continued:

"My darling Mayflower, I can't bear to smack your hand with a spoon when you are stealing bites while I cook, so how could I possibly beat you or choke you. Also, if I can't bear to hit you I sure as heck won't let other people do so, not even your dad. Not that I need to wish him, as he is worse than I am at scolding you."

May laughs, wetly and said:

"I know, love you, mom."

"I love you more, May."