They Ran

They ran.  The warm night breeze was engulfed in heaving breaths.  Each footstep carried them farther down the dark alley.  Large buildings and cascading clouds stole the natural light that could have guided their way.  No time to look back.  His small hand was in hers.  Oh how she wished to move as fast as her pounding heart.  Though her own face only showed determination, he sobbed quietly as his small legs tried desperately to keep up with his mother.  She was squeezing his hand so tightly, but he knew that it was not a time to complain.  They had to keep moving.  They had to stay safe.

 

Their footsteps took life against the old brick walls stretching toward the sky.  It was only days ago that they had travelled down alleys similar to that one.  Their hands together, swinging merrily.  His mother loved to explore the city, trying to find new ways to get places.  He wished he could remember that alley, where it led.

 

A puddle in the middle of their path sent a splash of muddy water onto his mother's sari.  That was her favorite one.  He was so tired.  Suddenly he couldn't tell if the added echo of sound was his heart or more footsteps behind them.  Her urgency crawled down her body into his.  No time to stop.  They had to keep moving.  The alley seemed never ending, the buildings growing longer at each racing step.

 

But as they reached another puddle, the brick wall in front of them reflected off of the filthy water.  A dead end.  Finally, the little boy's mother had stopped running.  Once the echo of their footsteps calmed, it did not take long before new ones replaced them.  The shouting of the men grew louder and louder.  They had been running for so long.  But after they had stopped, the woman knelt down beside the small boy.  She let her soft hands fall on the red cold cheeks of her son.  With a caring stroke, he wiped a tear from her lip.  There she knelt, silently crying in front of her beautiful Indian son.  The footsteps became louder and the yelling more aggressive, but there they stayed. Time did not seem to matter anymore.  He did not like this.  The moon broke through the sheet of clouds for only a second, revealing the woman’s beauty in a ghostly light.  Her startling blue eyes carried a burden of sorrow that her son could feel through his mother’s gentle touch.  “Amma?”

 

Time began to move once more.  The men stood only yards away, shouting insults and threats.  One of the stalkers pulled something from his side, and in one stroke, the mother had swept her son into her lap and now faced, still kneeling, toward the brick wall that stopped them from escaping.  One single tear fell onto his rosy cheek.  “Amma?” the small boy said, confusion and fear lacing his voice.  Her hair had fallen around her face. He struggled to move it… to look at her.  “Mai tumse pyar karta hoo,” she whispered, “Mai tumse pyar karta hoo.” …. I love you.

 

A popping sound echoed through the dark alley.  His mother’s body shuttered, her grasp on her son loosened, and he watched as life left those blue eyes.  “Amma?”

 

Her body fell forward now, and the little boy struggled under the dead weight.  “Amma?” he said more loudly this time.  There was no response, only the warm liquid he felt flowing over his stomach.

 

Silence engulfed the alley once more, and the moon snuck back behind the clouds.  He remembered this alley now.  His mother had told him that dead ends were just another way to find the right way. 

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Reviews

[Jenn]

Where do you get your inspiration to write? You are always very good at what you do. Keep it up and do not let anyone stop you.

[Kelley]

WOW that was very sad. One thing that confused me??? What was the story about? Why did the men shoot her?
What happened to the boy? Questions,questions,questions.......lol
Great write Alexa! Thanks for sharing.

Kelley