Beast by Tiffini Hunt Read Free Book Online Page A

hardest to not look to my left, at the door of my parents’ room, but I could not help it. Still crying hysterically, I ran over to their door. I started banging my fists on it as hard as I could.
    “Why? Why? Why?” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I hit the door.
    I thought my banging would make Mother open the door, and it would all be a bad dream.
    Then it occurred to me: my dream was real. I had realized it after they told me what happened, but I had not really understood it until now.
    How did I see all of that? It was just like my vision of the moon a few nights before. It had seemed so real at the time, and now I knew that it was indeed real. How can this be? I was so confused amidst of all my tears.
    After I gave up banging on the door, I pressed myself against it and slowly fell to the floor. Once on the ground, I wrapped my arms around my knees and wept into them. While I did this, I heard footsteps running up the stairs. When I tried to see who it was, I could not see through my tears.
    Whoever it was wrapped her arms around me and held me close. When she grabbed me, I let go of my legs to cling to her, placing my arms around her neck and holding on as tightly as I could.
    She lifted me up and carried me off in the other direction. A hand was rubbing my back, trying to console me. My face was buried in her shoulder, tears still coming out as if I were a hose.
    While being carried, I pressed my head against her chest. When I did this, I could hear her heart beating. I was able to calm down a little. I wiped my nose with my sleeve and then rubbed my eye.
    Once my eyes were able to focus, I saw golden hair; I thought it might have been Mother, so I stroked the hair with my hand. But there was no way that it was her. When I looked up at the face, I saw that Leala was carrying me. She looked down at me and smiled. Leala reminded me a lot of my mother. Not only were they similar in appearance, but their personalities were both nurturing and loving.
    After I stopped sobbing, she set me down on the ground and held on to my hands.
    “How are you doing, sweetheart?” she asked as she brought one of her hands to my cheek.
    “I do not know, Leala. Why did this have to happen?”
    “I wish I knew.”
    I looked down at the floor and then turned my head to look up the stairs.
    “I need to get something from my room.”
    “Okay, go ahead.”
    As I walked up the stairs, I did not hold on to the railing this time. My eyes were still filled with tears, which caused me to I sway as I walked. At the top of the stairs, I was not paying attention, so I tripped and fell onto the floor. I lay there for a little bit, not wanting to move. Finally, I stood up so that I could make my way into my room.
    I opened the door, breathing in the roses’ aroma. At that moment, all the feelings of anger, frustration, and sadness went away. As I passed my desk, I grabbed the chair and brought it over to my nightstand. I slowly sat on the chair.
    When I shut my eyes, I was in a forest again. This time, it was daytime, about three o’clock. Birds were chirping, and there was a nice breeze. I heard the crackling of twigs behind me. I turned around to face the sound. I saw shadows but could not make out what they were. From what I could see, though, there was more than just one shadow; there were about eight that I could make out.
    A while later, after I tried to move closer to the shadows in my vision, the chair fell backward and hit the floor with me still on it. I opened my eyes and lifted my chin; I was looking at the bathroom, but upside down. I began to laugh. The thought of being hurt from the fall did not even occur to me. Finally, I rolled off of the chair onto to the wood flooring in my room.
    After rolling, I stood up but left the chair the way it was, on its back. I slowly moved to my bed. I placed my hands on the bed, and then I jumped and spun myself to be able to sit on it, the way I used to when climbing onto Mother and