The move

A flash of lightning suddenly lights up the dark and lifeless room. It’s quickly followed by the sound of thunder, which vibrates throughout the mundane walls. The solitary window seems impenetrable yet shutters at the gusts of wind which come with the brewing storm. A thin shy girl looks around the four plain walls in despair, wiping away a solitary tear as her long dark hair blows across her face. As if moving through cement she drags her feet closer to the slightly opened window and peers outside. The floor below seems thousands of feet away and she becomes mesmerized by the distance.

Suddenly as if out of nowhere a shadowy figure appears across the street below when a strong gust of wind rushes by. The girl tries to swallow her fear and run or hide but her feet seem unable to move away. The figure slowly looks up and smiles, its face lit up for just a second with the flash of lightning. The girl finally moves and in a panic she grabs the curtains and slams it down, almost shattering the window as she locks it! She rushes to her bed, lies down and shuts her eyes, trembling in fear!

She forces a happy memory to cross her mind and begins to reminisce on her home before she found herself locked in this dark place. She hadn’t wanted to leave her home and even now as she gains the bravery to open her eyes and study her new surroundings, she remembers that leaving had been the hardest thing to do. To leave her family and friends whom she had spent her entire life, and shared so much with. It had been a beautiful little house with a park nearby, a small yet exquisite lake in the distance and most importantly the safety of similarity at all times.

Her last birthday had been a day she’d always remember. Aside from the fact that the guy she had a crush on had shown up, the gathering of her family and friends was always a memorable experience. It hadn’t been about the tables packed with delicious foods, or the piles of gifts that seemed to keep growing. What mattered was that this had been her home; the place where she grew up and felt safe in! She had known that something was happening, that a change was coming but she never paid much attention to it. Maybe it was the hypnotic sounds of the music on that day, or the laughter of those around her, but whatever the reason she had brushed it off as something that would be quickly dealt with.

Then suddenly, in what seemed like an instant decision she had been dragged away! Taken from her place of peace and dragged into what seemed like a dark abyss! She knew nothing of where she was been taken, nor its people, not even where she would be locked up when she arrived. The decision had been made for her and her cries and begging had made no difference. The powers that controlled her life had initiated the move without her knowledge or without any care for the life which she had made. She felt lost, alone in a place that she didn’t know, and most importantly she felt betrayed by those whom she thought had cared for her. During her final birthday she had sensed there was something going on, she had seen the whisperings of the powers that be, but never could she have guessed that this was it.

Now she found herself awake at a time where she would normally be peacefully asleep, she took a deep sigh and realized her forced new reality. She was trapped! As she wiped away a tear she realized that her only choice was to make best of what life had presented her with. She took a deep breath, got up from her bed and looked down from the window once more to find the shadowy figure still lurking below, the streets and fences behind it having disappeared! Another bolt of lightning lit up the shadow’s crooked smile and she began to breathe heavily in fear, her pulse rising as the beats in her chest seemed almost out of control. She grabbed her phone tightly as bolts of lightning began to flash faster and faster. Each flash of lighting showing the shadows’ face; its smile wider and wider with each bolt! Her fear became almost uncontrollable and she closed her eyes, unable to move away from the window again and wishing to be returned home as if it were possible, until suddenly the door swung open!

“Katie! Didn’t you hear me? I said dinner’s arrived.” She turns suddenly to see her mother standing by her bedroom door before quickly looking back down to the street below. The fences are still in place, there’s no shadow in sight accept that of a small tree below that’s swinging wildly with the strong winds; its thin branches giving it the image of a distorted person. She takes a sigh and speaks softly

“I want to go home! I’ll never meet anyone again! And there were shadows down there!” She complains, a tear building in her eyes. Her mother sighs with a smile before replying

“It’s just your wild imagination again AND you’re 12! You’ll make new friends. You can video call your friends back home when the internet is installed. Now come on your father and brother are waiting.” Her mother smirks and shakes her head slowly as she exits the room.

Katie looks around the room again, sighing deeply at her new attic bedroom. She knew her mother was right; she was only 12 so making new friends wouldn’t be a problem. Yet she missed her old life and friends; friends who had as wild imaginations as she did. At least in this house she had her own room, one that wouldn’t be so bad with a little decoration.

“Katie hurry up!” her twin brother calls from below. She takes a deep sigh and heads to the door and as she leaves the room, she takes one last look around; picturing what it will look like once it was setup. After a few moments of imagination, a slight smile grows upon her face as she closes the door.