Alone

Oma finds himself trap and tricked by a being from another world after the death of his mother.

What can I say about my life besides that is quite finish.  Well, I should probably start with the beginning of the problem and then continue has it goes. When I was five years old, my father left my mom and me without any money or a reason of why he left in the first place. Soon after that, my mom got seriously depress and started to cave down day by day until life just had no more meaning to her. Even though my mom was sad most of the time, I went to school on my own account and began to learn by myself, since I needed to survive in a careless environment. Has the years went by, somehow slowly; I became the man of the house and the caretaker of my mother. I couldn’t even remember the last time she spoke to me or anyone that came to visit her.

It was just weird. How can a person stay quiet for so long? In school I’d learned that one part of the human nature is to speak and socialize with others, but my mother was just the opposite. It was like having an old fish that would do nothing but to stare at nothing and by seeing her doing nothing I became afraid that one day I would become like her… empty.

On day, in school though, I learned about the word hope, which was this magical abstract verb that humans possess within them. This word kept me thinking all day, so I asked my teacher about what the word meant exactly and so she told me that hope is a powerful feeling that gives us strength in the most difficult times. So I wondered once more… did mother knew about hope. Maybe that was the solution to all our problems. It really struck me like lightning that afternoon while rushing home from school that just maybe I needed to teach mother about the word hope so she could gain her strength.

For the first time in many years I felt overjoyed to come home early. I was actually feeling this hope that the teacher was talking about and when I entered my home to see my mother so I could talk to her the most horrible thing happened. She was gone… she was completely gone leaving her empty shell behind so I could grief before it. In matter of minutes, the word hope crashed down at the end. I couldn’t even move from where I was standing. I wanted to walk away from it, but my legs wouldn’t move. Like if someone had turn on the gravity in the room, I became heavy with grief and anger. After a few minutes of complete silence, my neighbor Mr. Anderson came inside and placed his hand over my shoulder almost instantly waking me up from my trance.

He himself turned me around and kneeled down so he could see my eyes evenly, and said:

“You must be strong now, boy.”  I nodded with my head and then I lowered my head finally reacting to my mother’s death.  I wanted to cry, but most importantly I wanted to scream. I was so angry at myself for not being there for her that I just wanted to take my own life instead.

“Is he alright, dear?” Mrs. Anderson entered the room with her phone on hand.

“He’s in shock.” Mr. Anderson responded.

“Poor Felicia, she was such a happy woman once...” Mrs. Anderson said with sorrow in her eyes.

“Do you have any relatives, boy?” He asked me still with his hand over my shoulder. I nodded no… strangely I didn’t know anyone else beside my dead mother. At the background outside people began to gather and the sirens of the ambulance and the police were coming closer to my home. Little by little other neighbors came inside my house and started to see my mother’s body just to learn what had happened to her. Still the only one that didn’t want to learn the truth was me. I just wanted to leave the kitchen as soon as possible.

“So she drugged herself?” A man asked to Mr. Anderson.

“That seems to be the case.” He replied.

“I knew this day would come, she was nothing more than a sad woman after her lousy husband left her.” A woman said. 

“Look at this place… this woman didn’t even care about how she was living.” Another person said while covering her mouth and nose.

“What surprise me is that this house is still standing.” Another man said. There was now too many people in the room and each of them were annoying and just rude. Then the cops came inside and the paramedics and placed a white blanket on my mother’s body. The cop was actually asking the people around about what had happened while I was in school, but all that they could say that she screamed once and then there was silence. Mrs. Anderson also said that the scream sounded high pitched which scared her completely. After that Mrs. Anderson came to check, like she always did in the pass when I was at school, and found her breathless on the kitchen floor.

“She was always taking depression drugs officer.” Mrs. Anderson mentioned.

                “I guess she took too much of those.” A man mocked, but nobody seemed to care except for an old woman who came last.

                “You should be ashamed of yourselves.” She scolded. The old lady had long grey hair and a black robe. She also seemed to have a hunchback that made her bend over. As soon as she entered the kitchen, most of the people backed away with a nervous expression on their faces.

                “Agatha! Why are you gibbering about this time?” A man asked.

                “You are all selfish inconsiderate fools. Don’t speak like that in front of this boy. He has lost everything and all you can think about is the negative side of this poor family.” She screamed. Everyone stood quiet for a moment and directed their eyes over me and without saying anything else everyone left slowly and let the police and the paramedics take care of the rest. I left the house too after I gain movement. Once outside, the people continued to stare down at me with lamented faces. I just simply hated it and wanted them all to leave at once, but they just wouldn’t stop or leave. So I ran from everything and head to the woods that were near my house. It was actually mid autumn so, there were almost no leaves on the trees. Everything looked so dead and depressing that I even thought that I was becoming like my mother.

                I kept running feeling angry, sad, abandon, alone, depress and overwhelmed until I just lost track of my pace and felt into the dry brown floor. That’s when I started to cry. I wanted to stop, but cold tears kept coming down without mercy. I cried so much that evening that I actually fell asleep without knowing it and when I woke up I was inside a small zinc house cover with leather sheets. Not knowing where I was, I sat down rapidly and look at my surroundings. The small house that I was in was in fact a small house with only a kitchen, a small two person table and a bed which I was in. There was no bathroom or living room so I assumed that the place was for just one person to live in.

                “Oh good you’re up.” The old voice said. I look through the only exit of the house and see that the voice came from Agatha the old lady that screamed at everyone inside my house.

                “I bet you’re hungry, so I prepare you a nice meal.” She said while bringing me a bowl of soup. The soup had vegetables and chunks of chicken inside. It was pretty hot, but I ignored that and ate it as fast as I could. When I finished I looked at the empty place and sobbed a little since it was actually the first time that someone had made me a meal like this.

                “What! No gratitude. Can you even talk?” She asked. I nodded my head and said to her,

                “Yes… thank you.” And that seemed to make her day.

                “You are quite the fellow. You are strong, tall, innocent, a hard worker, smart and hansom I might add.” She said with a cocky smile. My face was probably red after that compliment, because I could feel the blood in my face rise.

                “So let’s hear your name. I can’t continue calling you boy you know.” She asked. She sat down on her small coffee table and drank something for her cup. This conversation was so weird to me since I wasn’t that much of a talker, but the nice lady did wanted to know my name and so I presented myself with my shy voice.

                “… Oma, It’s Oma.” I almost whispered. She smiled at me, but in a different way that I couldn’t explain. She puts down her cup and comes closer to where I was sitting and grabs my left hand gently. I could feel her shaky wrinkled skin on my hands, but what really surprised me was the coldness of her hand.

                “Oma, you say. That name is quite a rarity.” She whispered. All of the sudden I felt this strange feeling around me. The ambience seems heavier for some reason.  I wanted my hand back because I felt slightly scared, but she wouldn’t give it back from her cold hand. It was just a strange sensation telling me to run from that place before it was too late and still I couldn’t get up.

                “Please… let go Miss Agatha.” I pleaded. She smile again changing her attitude to a sweeter one and frees me. While she backed away I regained some of my strength and stood up. I went outside and discover that I was still in the woods. From where I was standing I couldn’t see my town or the near houses from the forest. It was like she had dragged me all the way to the center of the forest.

                “Where…” I whispered now starting to panic.

                “My dear Oma… I’ll ask you something that I know you’ll want.” She said sneaking up on me from the back. I stood back and let her alone on her tiny porch just in case she meant something bad.

                “Which is?” I dare to ask. She gave me the other strange smile once more and approached me slowly.

                “Would you like to see your mother again?” She asked. I opened my eyes almost feeling shock about the question. Of course I knew that this was impossible, but I was so intrigued to know that there was a good chance to see her again that I nodded my head leaning to yes. While I was actually trying to figure out what she had meant, she got closer to me. She looked so different from that old lady back at my house that I just thought for a second that this was just a dream. However, it was quite real.

“How?” I asked again beating my lack of understanding. She giggled.

“The only way to see your mother again is to get a Grim Seal and it so happens that I have the last one with me.” She said. On her right hand she had a black smooth stone covered in dark leather. Only one glimpse of that stone made me wonder deeply of its possibilities. Still some part of me was skeptical about it.

“What does it do?” I asked without taking my eyes from it.

“It will help you see her. You see, when people die theirs spirits don’t fade away; instead, they are brought down to the netherworld in Terra so they can unit with the world’s spirit. However, uniting with the world’s spirit takes time; therefore, lucky mortals like you have a chance to see their loves ones before they really depart to another part of the world to be reborn once more.”

“So you’re saying that this will take me to see mother, but I can’t bring her back?” I asked lamented.

“I’m sorry, honey, but once your spirits is taken to the netherworld you must stay until the unification is completed. But please don’t see this like a sad experience. You know too well that your mother was miserable in this life, so Terra is giving her another one so she can start all over again without any sorrows or laments. In fact is a joyful fate.” She mentioned and I agreed with her. Bringing her back to her old life wouldn’t change her at all. My mother was a sad woman that needed help and if dying was the best solution then it was for the best that she would be reborn as another person. Still, I did want to see her and tell her how I always felt about her. I wanted to tell her about the word hope and love and everything that I kept for so long inside me.

I was now alone in this world without anyone to care for me or comfort me after her death. At that moment, I felt hope once more and since I had nothing else to lose; I alone decided to try her method of reaching her. I lowered my head and raised my hand to reach for the black stone that was in front of me. The closer my hand go to it the more I could hear a slightly screech inside my head. Still, there was no turning back, since all I could think about was my mother and me reaching her in time. Therefore, I grabbed the stone and the second I did, I began to feel its painful effects. It was literally burning my hand and when I tried to pull it out the thing just fracture and entered my hand in lesser pieces. I could feel each and every piece going up my arm and into my chest, which also felt that was on fire. I kneeled down, while grabbing my chest, and started to endure the pain inside me.

Dying was the next thought in my mind so I panicked and began to scream thanks to the pain inside me. I had tears in my eyes and my whole body was shaking. Everything else, except my chest, was cold and before I knew it I was on the ground unable to move at all. The slow pulse on my heart was the only thing moving at this point and so I mentally prepare myself for the inevitable.  All of the sudden, I hear a laughter. It was wicket and sounded young. I barely move my head a couple of inches and saw that Miss Agatha had change in appearance and that now she was a beautiful young woman. She was smiling and laughing at me which made me feel like a fool for trusting her like that. She approaches my cold body and kneeled so I could hear her better. Her tongue kept rubbing her lips just like if she was watching something delicious before her.

“My dear Oma, so innocent and alone in this world, and of course, you have such a delicious pure soul.” She said while rubbing her cold hand around my hair.

“S…stop!” I whispered with my last breath.

“I’ll make the pain go away now and let me apologize in advance for lying to you because after this meal you’ll soul will be lost inside mine.” She said and as soon as she finished, she got even closer to me and pulled my hair with one hand while the other hand was pushing my chest hard. I wasn’t too much afraid of dying though. I was just angry and frustrated that I wasn’t going to see my mother again and tell her that a loved her even though she was always sad. I was angry because I was going to die with regret.

Seconds later, while I was making my peace with my own mind and soul I began to feel that she was draining me. I could even see my soul lifting away from my chest and my heart getting slower at the same time. My arms and legs stopped working completely and my voice just slip away from my throat. Before closing my eyes, I heard a second voice that said…

“I’ve seen enough!” and then everything just went pitch black. On my last seconds, I just gave up and let the darkness around me engulf my last inch of existence without carrying where would it end up and just like that I realized that I had end up just like mother, empty.

Author's Note

This is one of my work in progress novels.