Terrified

Author: Higgins
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: At ten years old, Lisa was having her favorite dream: Six-year-old Lisa and her dad spent a happy day at the beach in Spring Lake, New Jersey. They stood in the water, holding hands, jumping together every time a wave came. Then, a bigger wave crashed over them, landing on their heads. At that moment, Dad would always grab her and shout, "Hold on tight, Lisa!" The next second, they were swept away by the wave and tumbled in the water. Lisa was terrified. She could still remember the feeling of her forehead hitting the sand hard as the wave washed her ashore. She choked on water, coughing nonstop, her eyes stinging, and she started crying uncontrollably. At that moment, Dad lifted her onto his lap. "That's the wave!" he said, brushing the sand off her face. "But we got through it together, didn't we, Lisa?" This was the happiest moment in her dream—the embrace of her dad made her feel incredibly safe. The following spring, Dad passed away. From then on, she never truly felt safe again. Now, she was always afraid because Mom had kicked her stepfather, Ted, out. Ted didn't want a divorce and kept bothering Mom, hoping she would let him come back. Lisa knew that besides herself, Mom was also very scared. Lisa tried not to listen. She wanted to return to her dream, to Dad's embrace, but she was always woken up by cries and screams. She seemed to hear Mom calling Dad's name. What was she saying? Lisa sat up and quietly got out of bed. Mom always left a crack in Lisa's bedroom door so she could see the light in the hallway. Until she married Ted last year, Mom always told Lisa that if she woke up or felt sad, she could come to her room and sleep with her. But ever since Ted moved in, she had never slept with Mom again. Now, she heard Ted's voice. He was shouting at Mom, and Mom screamed, "Let me go!" Lisa knew Mom was afraid of Ted. Since Ted left, she even kept Dad's gun in the drawer of her bedside table. Lisa quietly walked down the stairs, stepping on the carpet. The living room door was open, and Ted was pushing Mom against the wall, shaking her. Lisa ran through the living room and straight into Mom's bedroom, quickly,,,. Standing on the porch, she raised the gun and pointed it at Ted, shouting, "Let my mom go!" Ted turned around, still holding Mom tightly, his eyes wide with anger, the veins on his forehead bulging. Lisa saw Mom's face covered in tears. "Of course," he said. Suddenly, he forcefully pushed Mom toward Lisa. The moment she collided with Lisa, the gun went off. Lisa heard a faint, strange gurgling sound, and Mom fell to the ground. Lisa looked at Mom, then at Ted, aimed the gun at Ted charging at her, and pulled the trigger. One, two—Ted fell to the ground, crawling toward her, trying to take the gun from her. The ammunition was gone, Lisa dropped the gun and sat down on the floor, hugging Mom. Silently, she knew Mom was dead. What happened after that, Lisa couldn't remember clearly, only vaguely recalling Ted making a phone call, the police arriving, and someone pulling her away from Mom. She was taken away and never saw Mom again. P1-P2