Cast & Fall by Janice Hadden Read Free Book Online Page B

hollow as the
feeling of emptiness inside me resurfaced—overwhelming and
consuming me with grief all over again. Steve kissed the side of my
head. When we finally walked away, we left nothing behind, except the
repeated echo of silence.
    As
I got in my car and Steve in his, the sheeting rain poured, sliding
down my windshield like a waterfall. I sat still for a moment as the
feeling of emptiness began to slowly numb me. I had felt this feeling
many times before, and like always, I gladly welcomed it. I wanted
her to know that she was very much missed. I slowly turned the
ignition on and my windshield wiper, thrashing the water out. The
road had turned quickly muddy, caking the tires. The tires spun,
trying to get traction and finally it slowly rolled. Driving through
the convoluted twists and turns of the road, I could hardly see my
way out of the cemetery as if it had suddenly turned into a maze.
    The
lightning and thunder blinked and roared, making my heart heavy and
my mind anxious. It became difficult to see the labyrinth-like path,
but I had been familiar with every turn that I didn’t need to
see my way out.
    As
I drove passing the familiar lights, the day suddenly turned to night
as the dark cloud covered the sun. The dreariness of the sky lingered
as well as the eclipse of darkness in my heart.
    I
curled in bed that night, my thoughts entangled in the memories of my
past yet again—or of what little memory was left and what Steve
had told me. I propped my chunky, orange pillow and rested my back
against the cushioned headboard. I grabbed my copy of Wind Shear and flapped the page open to eighty. Forcing my consciousness into
the story line, I began to drift into the realities of the book.
Sometimes it felt nice to be in a different world—a world where
there are no gaps in between—where there was a beginning and an
ending to the story. Where there are struggles, but then a happy
ending—my life wasn’t like that. It was page 300 when my
alarm clock ticked to 2:00 a.m. With a deep sigh, I bookmarked the
page and gently placed it on my nightstand.
    I
got up and slid the bedroom window, letting the cool breeze in. The
coolness of the night filled the whole room, making me shiver. The
chill in the air quickly engulfed me. As I stared out into the
darkness, my restless eyes, caught two houses down a light blinking
bright in one of them. It felt a bit reassuring that someone else was
still up and I wasn’t the only one awake at that exact moment.
I wondered briefly what would have been the reason that had kept
someone awake at that hour. Would it be as dim as
my reason? Would it be as mysterious as my thoughts?
    I
slid the glass window shut. As I sat in bed once again, restless from
my thoughts, I flipped my book and started reading to where I had
left my bookmark. It was around the last chapter when I finally lost
my consciousness into a dream—that turned quickly into
a—nightmare.
    Spinning
bright lights blinded me and I couldn’t fix my eyes on anything
stable. Everything was moving. My hands were free and felt light,
like I was flying. Unrecognizable, pleasant echoes of laughter
surrounded me, ringing gently in my ears, like soft whispers. The
cool breeze, kissing and stroking my face while playing with my hair.
I felt the exhilaration of every movement of my body. I was laughing.
I was glad to be there.
    Then
it happened—In a blink of an eye, lightning flashed and I was
falling into the darkness, gravity pulling me under, deeper. The
air—thick—humid—suffocating me. I couldn’t
breathe. My scream was trapped in my throat. It was an endless pit; I
kept falling deeper and deeper and deeper. Fear choking me again. I
heard the familiar sounds of colliding metals. This time it was
louder, closer. I stretched my lids open, but there was nothing
except the darkness that was pulling me. I heard voices whispering
but I could not make the murmurs behind the wisp of air. Then, there
was nothing .
There was