The Darkness

“Wake up, Wake up Mummy please. You need to wake up”

The cries of 9-year-old Julia wailed through the empty house with not a person to respond for miles. The lifeless body of the Childs mother lay there slightly curled up on the once crisp white leather lounge before the darkness had come. Only the sounds of what sounded like whispers from beyond the darkness could be heard, but never did they come into the darkness.

Julia was alone in the darkness with only her lifeless mother's body. Julia was scared, her heart was beating fast against her chest and like she had done many times before when she was scared, she sought refuge with her mother.

The fearful child maneuvered herself slowly to entwine with her mother on the lounge. Julia positioned herself to have her mother's arms around her and laid her head upon her mother's left side breast.

Julia whispered softly “I love you Mummy,” exhausted from the heavy lifting of her mother's arms, she twirled her fingers around her mother's long blonde curly hair falling asleep against what little warmth was left of her lifeless mother.

Julia woke startled by hearing the voice of her mother “Julia Jane my sweetheart, my only child I was blessed, you must protect that gold heart locket for eternity. When you need to escape, imagine somewhere you feel safe”

“Mummy your awake, I'm so happy now Mummy, you scared me. Mummy. Mummy. You're so cold and stiff, you're hurting me, I can't move mummy.”

Julia inadvertently becomes a prisoner in the arms of her lifeless mother, with no way to escape for the moment, Julias hand had fallen out of her mother's hair and upon the gold heart-shaped locket that sat on her mother's chest.

Julias mother had told her a bedtime story every night since the darkness came. The story was about a little girl who would hold the gold heart locket around her neck for eternity for light to shine on the world but must sacrifice love when she became a woman. If the woman did not fulfil her prophecy, she would lose her life and those of who she loved would die tragically. However, the little heart shape locket is full of love and is growing in power because true love will only change its course.

Julia surrendered from trying to move from her position and turned her attention to the heart shape locket that was just smaller than the palm of her hand. Was this the locket in the story. Julia slowly used her only free hand to twist and turn the gold chain to remove the locket from her mother's neck.

Looking closely at the gold heart locket Julia recalled the words she thought her mother had just spoken from her lifeless body. Julia imagined herself standing by the waterhole deep in the rainforest with a waterfall running over the rocks, a memory so strongly imprinted in her brain.

Julias memory recalled a special day with her mother. Her once full of life mother had taken her deep into the rainforest to relish in the beauty of nature, to find love in all the elements of the world, appreciate the land the water and the wildlife. That was the day before the darkness had come.

The memory became so lifelike, Julia felt warmth on her face, droplets of water on her skin, she could hear birds chirping.

Julia could feel the stiffness of her lifeless mothers' arms loosen from her, she closed her fingers around the heart shape locket, holding it tightly as she took her eyes from the locket and looked up into her beautiful lifeless mothers' face fading from her vision.

-----------------------------------------

Julia felt the hardness of the rock beneath her, the coolness of the water on her toes as her memory of the waterfall was now her reality.

The waterfall was only falling a few meters away from the very rock she was sitting on.

Julia stood up to stretch her body and felt the gold shape locket still in the palm of her hand. Releasing her fingers, she looked again closely at the locket. The size of the heart shaped locket had grown slightly larger than her palm.

“Jessica Jane, Julia Jane are you here, Jessica, Julia, Hello are you here?” Julia could hear a familiar voice calling her name, and they were calling her mother's name.

Julia held the locket tightly, she could feel this person was safe, but she was scared, so bravely called back “I'm here”

Julia looked towards the distance of where the familiar voice was coming, and it was then she knew who it was. A voice she missed so much from before the darkness, DAD!

“Dad, Dad, It's me Julia”

Her father's physique had aged dramatically, he no longer was the tall dark strong man she now remembered. He was frail with grey hair. Time had not been kind to him.

"Your mother is not with you?" Julia's father hung his head low as he ushered her to follow him home immediately.

“No” replied Julia, tears forming in her eyes as she recalled her last moments with her mother.

“You must not speak of this to anyone then my Julia, the darkness has passed for now, but it will try to return, so you must protect what you have of your mothers, keep it always around your neck for eternity, she will be with you forever.”

Arriving home after being reunited with her father at the waterfall, Julia’s mind filled with a lot of questions.

Julia hesitating to sit down, asked her father “Dad, how could this be? the darkness came, and I lived here with mother alone.”

You were never alone; I was always here whispering how I would never give up loving my Jessica and Julia Jane.

“It was always you dad, the whispers from beyond the darkness ?” Julia asked as she watched her fathers head nod to agree.