Paradise Amerred

 

 

Something woke her. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew that something wasn’t right. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Then she saw him, a man standing by the bedroom door! Don’t breathe, don’t move, pretend you’re asleep, She thought. Maybe he’s a burglar, he’ll take what he wants and leave. Then she thought of the kids, oh my god What if he hurt them? Without another thought Amy jumped out of bed to confront the man, but there was no one there. She ran to check on the twins. They were both in their beds, she listened for a moment to make sure they were breathing then she went to find a weapon. What am I thinking? Forget the weapon Call the cops! Then doubts began to creep in. What if she hadn’t actually seen anyone… what if it had been a dream? Amy wasn’t sure what to do. Then she thought of her husband and that settled it for her. If she called the cops and it was just a dream he’d be pissed as hell at her for being stupid. She searched the house, checked every window and door and nothing. Everything was locked up tight. It must have been a dream. Amy checked on the girls again and went back to bed. Amy had no idea as she lay down to sleep that she had just taken the first step on a wonderful and magical journey.

 

Amy cared about her girls more than anything in this world. She would give her life for either of them in an instant. No one had ever felt that way about Amy. Her real parents had abandoned her in an alley to die when she was just hours old. An old homeless man found her and left her outside a hospital where someone brought her in. That pretty much set the stage for the rest of Amy’s life. One of her first memories was of one of her foster fathers beating her because she had taken some cheese from the fridge. Amy went from one foster home to the next. She never understood why no one wanted to keep her; not that she wanted to stay in any of those places. Amy had her books. They were her friends and her family, they kept her company when she was lonely they cheered her when she was sad. Books were everything to Amy… they were all she had. Amy met her husband mike when she was eighteen. Love wasn’t what Amy expected nor what she had read about and dreamed about her whole life. But mike was good to her and she finally had her own home so she was content if not happy.

Amy tried as hard as she could to be a good wife to Mike but it seemed she could never make him happy no matter what she did. He didn’t love her, he told her so. He said she was fat and stupid. It’s true she’d gained about twenty pounds after having the twins and no matter what she did she couldn’t seem to lose it. Amy kept hoping Mike’s feelings would change. Maybe he would grow to love her…

 

After hitting snooze twice Monday morning Amy finally got up. After that stupid dream last night she hadn’t been able to get back to sleep for hours. Amy dragged herself out of bed to get the girls up. " Rise and shine sleepy heads," Amy said to the twins. The girls didn’t move. "Come on guys, time to get up." Still no response. "All right… looks like I’ll have to wake up the tickle monster." The girls both jumped up together screaming "were up! Were up!" I thought so said Amy, and just in the nick of time. Ok guys, go brush your teeth and I’ll get breakfast ready. Amy sat with Michelle and Chrissy while they ate their cereal. Sometimes when she looked at them she just couldn’t believe how beautiful they were. She loved them so much.

Mike should be getting home any minute; he worked nights as a security guard for a local trucking company. They hardly saw each other at all. He seemed to prefer it that way. Amy got the girls ready for school and saw them onto the school bus. Mike came in while she was getting ready for work. "Hi honey," she said. No answer. " How was work?" no answer. "Ok" she thought "I tried, if he doesn’t want to talk to me I can’t force it."On her way out the door he said "Look if you’re gonna make me a lousy ham sandwich for lunch can you at least make sure the damn bread isn’t stale?" "I’m sorry honey" she replied. "I didn’t notice." " You never do! That’s the damn problem." He yelled and went into the bedroom. Amy headed out to work, Not to upset about the exchange. She was used to it.

 

Amy worked as a receptionist for a small law firm. The kind you see the cheesy commercials for. You know the ones "We don't get paid unless you do!" The job wasn’t bad. She got along all right with her coworkers, but the office manager was a scrooge, oh man she was terrible. You would think the office supplies were coming out of her own pocket. She constantly nagged about every little thing she thought was being wasted. And god forbid you use more than four scoops for a pot of coffee, you’ll never hear the end of it. But other than the nagging Kay was ok. Amy’s duties were pretty light. She was sitting at the front desk chatting with a coworker when she spotted a very good-looking man standing in the waiting area. She certainly hadn’t checked him in. She would have remembered. There was something about him… other than being absolutely gorgeous. He seemed strange, different somehow…. She couldn’t put her finger on it. She was about to ask her coworker who he was when she realized he was no longer there. She forgot about the man and went back to work. Sometimes these eight hours seem to go on forever and ever. Mondays just aren’t busy enough. Five o clock finally.

Amy picked up the kids from daycare and headed home. "Now remember," she told the girls. "Daddy’s sleeping so we all have to be quiet." "We know mom" they replied. They were used to the routine. Mike didn’t get up until nine or ten and we all had to be quiet until then. If he didn’t get his sleep he was ten times worse than normal. The girls did their homework while Amy started dinner. " Mommy, American Idol is on tonight can we watch it? Asked chrissie. And they both chimed in with "please! Please! Please! "As long as your homework is done, dinner is eaten, and the mess cleaned up then sure we can watch it," Replied Amy. Amy loved cooking. She tried to feed the girls as healthy as possible but mike was always complaining about the grocery bill. "Ok, but after Idol is bath time and last time you guys were way to loud and woke daddy up, your going to really need to keep it down this time, ok? Promise?" " We promise mommy" The girls finished their show and their bath and Amy read them a bedtime story. After they were both sound asleep

Amy went out into the back garden and sat on the swing that hung from the big old oak tree. "It’s so peaceful out here. It’s so dark and the stars are shining so bright. I think I could swing out here all night." Amy thought. It’s quiet moments like this when Amy got sad. If only her husband loved her, maybe then everything would be ok. It had never entered her mind for a moment to leave her husband or have an affair. That’s just something she would never even consider. Her life is what it is and she accepted it as she always had. "I should go in and make mike’s lunch," She thought. As she was crossing the yard she noticed a shadow that looked strange off in the corner under a tree. She just stood there staring at it trying to figure out what was strange about it. She walked toward it and the shadow changed. It no longer looked strange. It looked like every other shadow in the yard. She continued to think about it as she went back into the house and she realized what the shadow looked like to her. It looked like a man sitting on the ground with his back against the tree with his knees drawn up before him and his arms wrapped around his legs. Of course it was only a shadow but it’s a little spooky none the less.

Time to take a nice hot bath and go to bed and stop worrying about shadow men.

 

Amy slept fitfully that night. She was having bad dreams and she was tossing and turning. Amy dreamt that a comforting hand took hers and held it tightly and someone whispered comforting words into her ear.

She remembers no more after that. She slept soundly till the alarm woke her. The rest of that week went by pretty much as usual. Amy took care of the kids, the house, her husband and her job. Week after week always the same. Today was Saturday. Mike was taking the girls to go visit his sister, which meant Amy had the day to herself. Since she wasn’t invited.

She decided to relax in the tub and do some reading. Steven King was her favorite, but she settled for a romance .Amy was getting pretty far into the book when it got cold, she reached over to turn the hot water on and she saw a message written in the steam. " Hi Amy I hope you’re enjoying your bath" OMG! She thought. There is a ghost in this house. You can probably tell from Amy’s earlier experience that she’s not prone to panic and again her cool head prevailed. She didn’t run out of the house naked screaming "ghost" at the top of her lungs. Instead she sat back and decided to give it some thought. Ok lets see, seems like a nice ghost. Wants me to enjoy my bath, maybe a perv ghost? "I’m gonna try to talk to him she thought." She also thought she must be nuts. Umm, can you tell me your name please? She waited, kind of hoping something would happen but also scared to death that it would. Then the word "Eli" appeared in the steam. Oh s**t! What have I started here, omg I’m freaking scared to death? Then "Please don’t be afraid Amy" appeared. Ok, calm down she thought. If it’s a ghost he doesn’t have a body. How is he gonna hurt me? Amy decided to ask some questions. "Are you a ghost Eli? "No" replied Eli. "Are you dead?" "No" replied Eli. "Then who and what are you asked Amy?" "Tonight is not the night Amy. I promise you will have your answers soon. "I must leave you now goodnight sweet Amy." He spoke these words. The sound of his voice jolted her. She felt like she had been hearing it her whole life. She tried again after that but didn’t get an answer. Wow, she thought. That is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me. I cannot believe I actually spoke to a ghost, well no, wait he said he isn’t a ghost. In any case it was damn weird. I think I need to go to sleep.

When Amy woke up the next morning she began to wonder if that had all been a dream. I mean for heaven’s sake stuff like that doesn’t happen outside of movie theaters. Mike still had the girls at his sisters so Amy decided to get some laundry done. She hung the sheets out on a line in the back yard then settled down in a lawnchair with her book. And sitting right next to her was the handsome man she had seen at her work." So, you’re my ghost then" she said to him. " I told you Amy I’m no ghost" he replied. "Well your not a real man, your not a ghost, I’m running out of guesses" said Amy. "It’s nice to finally talk to you Amy," said Eli "Finally?" said Amy. "Since the day you were born I’ve never been very far from you. It wasn’t meant to be that way, it just happened." Said Eli. " I’m sorry but I don’t understand. I have no idea what your talking about" Amy replied. "The day you were born I watched your mother leave you in that alley. I heard your cries. I felt your pain. It is not our job to interfere with human life but I could not leave you there to die, I could not. I disguised my self as the old man and took you to the hospital. Ever since I have been watching you. I feel a responsibility for your life. Once again I hear your cries and feel your pain. You hide it well but I see it and I have come to help if that is possible. Amy was completely shocked; she was really starting to think she might be losing her mind. "You look the same age as me," Amy said. How can that be?" "We don’t age at the same rate as your people" Eli answered "We" Who is we?" asked Amy. "Ah, now that’s a long story. This might be hard for you to believe Amy but my people come from another planet" said Eli. "Honestly Eli after seeing you appear out of thin air the alien thing is actually not such a shocker." Amy replied. "Wow this is incredible. There are so many questions I want to ask. Where do I start? Well, I guess the obvious, What planet are you from?"Asked Amy. It’s called Amerred, Its very much like your planet. That’s why we came here. We’ve been here a very, very long time. Eli replied. "Why did you come?" asked Amy. "I’m sorry Amy I must go now. I promise we will speak again. Goodnight, He said and disappeared.

Amy walked around in shock for the next few days. I mean this is just absolutely freaking nuts, she thought. Aliens that look like Brad Pitt don’t appear out of thin air everyday. She wondered when he would come back; she had so much to ask him.

Amy didn’t have long to wait. That night when the kids were in bed and Mike was at work, Amy went out into the garden and once again Eli appeared. Hi Amy, how have you been? Eli asked. I’m not sure, This is just so crazy, Amy replied. I’m sorry if I’ve caused you to be upset he said, that is the last thing in the world I wanted. I don’t know if this is right or not. I debated with myself for a long time before making the decision that I had to speak to you. I care for you very much Amy. You might think I don’t know you but I do, I always have. It hurts me to see you in pain. Please forgive me if I upset you. Amy was speechless. This man, this alien! Was speaking to her as though he really cared about her. No one, other than her children had ever really cared about her. Now Amy was suspicious, She found it very hard to believe that anyone would care about her. What do you want from me? She asked him. Want? I want nothing Amy. I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to and I wanted to let you know that I’m here for you. He said. Amy just stared suspiciously at him. Ok Amy, he said. I know this is a lot for anyone to take in and I know it’s not easy for you to trust anyone after all you’ve gone through in your life. I won’t bother you again but if you need me you have just to call my name and I will be there. And he was gone.

 

Amy decided to give the situation with Eli a lot more thought before deciding what to do. Until then she would continue to live her life as she always had. Tonight was a big night for the girls. They had speaking roles in their first play. Amy was probably more nervous than they were. Mike was off work tonight so he said he would be there. The girls were really excited about that. They loved their daddy very much and didn’t get to spend much time with him. He usually spent his days off with his buddies, fishing and getting drunk or bowling and getting drunk or playing poker and getting drunk. Amy was glad he was going to be there for them tonight.

 

The show was going great; all the kids were so cute in their costumes. Chrissy had a little dance to do and she pulled it off without a hitch. Amy saw her looking out into the audience for her father. D****t! Where was he? Sometimes Amy thought she hated him for hurting her little girls, but she knew it wasn’t right to hate anyone and she always felt bad after thinking these thoughts. The play was a hit. The girls said their lines perfectly. But neither of them was happy, they wanted to know why there daddy wasn’t there. I’m sorry guys, I don’t know. But I do know he loves you both very much and I know he wanted to be here very badly. That seemed to make them feel a little better. Hopefully the girls didn’t recognize their father’s car outside the strip club on the way home.

Amy couldn’t get Eli out of her mind, he seemed so kind and caring but what interest could he have in her? She decided she would speak to him that night. After Mike went to work she went out into the garden and called out to him and instantly he was there, she was surprised at the relief she felt. "Hello Eli," she said. "I’m glad you decided to speak with me", he replied. They sat under the oak tree together to talk. "I don’t know why I find it so easy to except that you are an alien, I mean don’t you think it a bit unusual that I’ve taken it so calmly?" She asked. "Knowing you as I do Amy, I would have to say I am not surprised at all." He replied "You have always had an amazing inner tranquility and strength" "You say you’ve always been near? Then where were you when I was eight years old and I was beaten so badly that I nearly died? Where were you when I was fourteen and I was raped?" she asked. She could see she had pained him. "I’m sorry Amy, when I said I’ve always been near I didn’t mean every second, I spend time on my planet also. What I meant was that not one year has gone by where I haven’t seen you or been near you. I know the pain you have suffered" Very gently he drew her into his arms, he held her tight as she cried the tears she had held in for so long.

"I’m sorry Eli how embarrassing, that’s so unlike me." Amy said. "Please don’t be sorry. I’m so happy that for once I was able to offer some comfort. Goodbye for now sweet Amy." "Who in the hell are you talking to?" Amy swung around and there was mike, drunk as usual by the looks of him. " I wasn’t talking to anyone." Amy answered. "Don’t lie to me b***h" Mike said. "I heard you"

" I was praying" Amy said. "Whatever, I’m going to bed" he said. Amy stayed out in the garden for awhile thinking about Eli.

Amy was shocked at the way she had acted with Eli. She never let anyone see her cry, but it felt so good to have some ones arms around her .She knew it was wrong to think it but she couldn’t help it, she wished Eli was her husband. Then she had a good laugh when she remembered he was an alien. "Something funny" Eli said scaring the heck out of her. "I thought you were gone" she said, "I was, now I’m back" he replied.

He really was one good-looking man " Do all of the men on your planet look like you?" Amy asked. " Do you like the way I look Amy?" he asked. Amy blushed to the roots of her hair. He chuckled. "On my planet when you become an adult you can choose a new body if you like and look any way you want." I wish we could do that here " she said. "Why, your absolutely beautiful just as you are." He said. Amy stared at him. She could tell he meant every word he said. He was so close to her, she was staring into his eyes and he leaned in and kissed her. If that was a kiss than she had never been kissed before. Amy had never felt anything like this before in her life .Eli pulled away. " I’m sorry Amy," he said. "I shouldn’t have done that. It’s just so hard for me to be near you in the flesh. I’ve loved you and wanted you for so long; It’s very hard to keep control of myself when I’m with you. Please forgive me." Forgive you? No!" she said.

"There is nothing to forgive. I don’t know how or why but I love you to, so much. I didn’t realize it until you kissed me but now there is no doubt." Amy, I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me." They spent the night in the garden together under the old oak tree. It was the happiest either of them had ever been.

The days and weeks passed in a daze for Amy, she didn’t know it was possible to feel this way. It seemed the girls were happier since she was happier. Eli left her a dozen roses in the garden. She put them in a vase on the table. Mike seemed like he didn’t believe her when she told him she bought them. He gave her such a strange look.

She didn’t really care anymore. Eli had been staying with her every night while Mike was at work. Of course things couldn’t go on like this indefinitely. Eli had been discussing Amy and the girls with a counsel on his planet. He’s working on a way to keep them together. Eli had described his planet for Amy. It sounded a lot like earth but so much cleaner. There were many less people. Each woman was allowed to have only two children. There was no war, no hunger, no poor; everyone had a place they were needed. It was beautiful. Everyone lived in peace. They hoped that someday are planet would be the same. Slowly over time they have done little things here and there that have helped the environment enormously. Amy thought it was wonderful. As long as her, Eli and the girls could be together she would be happy on either planet.

Eli had bad news; he had to go back. In one month his mission here is ended and he had to leave. Amy was completely devastated she couldn’t imagine being without him again. There is hope he told her. The council is considering it it’s been done before, but rarely. Eli explained that human bodies couldn’t survive on his planet. Bodies of your choosing our made ready on Amerred and when we are ready we leave are human bodies and are instantly pulled into our new bodies on Amerred, We just have to wait on approval from the counsel. "So we shall wait and pray" Amy said

Two weeks later the council reached their decision .Amy and the children would be allowed to live on Amerred. Eli and Amy were so happy. They would be together forever but Any was also terrified about what she had to do. The spirit couldn’t leave the body while it was still alive. In order for their spirits to get to Amerred they must die. How could she do this? She must kill her children, she knew they would be dead only for an instant and reawaken on Amerred but the thought sickened her. She must do it. Who was she to deny them a life in paradise on Amerred because she was a coward?

Amy was ready. Eli was with her. She made the drinks for the children. They would drink them and awaken in paradise. She went into the girl’s room alone. "Time for bed guys." she said. You both know that I love you more than anything in this world and I would never do anything to hurt you, right? Amy asked " yes mommy, we love you to" they replied. She hugged them both so tight, god this was so hard. Ok babies go to sleep. I’m going to lay with you guys for awhile. Goodnight. I love you.

Amy rushed into Eli’s arms. "I can’t wait for us to be together’ she said. "Nor can I, very soon now. Amy drank her poisoned drink and they lay down together in bed. "Amy my Amy, I love you so much. I promise you we will all be so happy together." Eli said. Amy lay her head on Eli’s chest and listened to him breath as she died.

Mike got home from work the next morning and immediately knew something wasn’t right. Amy’s car was outside and the house was dark. He went into the bedroom and found her there. He knew she was dead when he touched her. " He thought of the girls. Oh please god no, please, please, no not the kids please!" He ran into their room. He picked them both up and held them in his arms. This was his fault. He knew Amy had been acting strange lately. He lay down his girls and went to call the police. He reported that his wife had killed herself and their two children. He also went on to report that his wife is schizophrenic and delusional. She had been hospitalized in the past for attempted suicides, each time she said she was trying to get to some place she made up called Amerred.

The End.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paradise Amerred

Reviews

[THERISA]

Reading this short story, i felt like you had seem my past of verbal and physical abuse. How this abuse scars a person to the core of their soul. Wonder if Eli does exist for people, like myself. Taking us away from our torturous past, whiling healing us. Thank you for sharing this short story with us.

Therisa

[Dark Daughters]

This was a good write, the twists and turns were wonderful as well.
~Darkness~

[Steffi]

Good write.
The only thing i can say is that the beginning paragraph is a little jumbled. To scrambled and random in thought that makes it hard for the reader to really get pulled in.
Also maybe dont start with the tension of seeing the man so close to the beginning. Put in a scene of peace and serenity to add more tension and suspense when she see's the man.

[Mary Balfanz]

love it

[Kitiria]

I think this interesting and exciting. I love the way the author has made you feel what Amy feels, how you become Amy. Is very intriguing the trauma of suicide has been turned into a realm of happiness for a lost soul.