What A Mother Knows....

A thud. Her eyes flung open, so swift, so cognizant of. There was just an acquaintanceship with it, a lack of reserve, really. Definitely, saying she was familiar with a sound made her sound unhinged, but this was different; a reason that was beyond validation. She was so used to the thud that she knew what followed, a shriek of barely conceivable frequency. It often poked at her brain, she wasn't able to put her finger on it. If she couldn't possibly perceive the details of it, why even exist? She spent hours wondering about the contents within the shriek, if it was a faint calling out to her, or a cry for help. Some nights she would dream she were a whale. Not because she was particularly fascinated by aquatic fauna, but because whales can perceive infrasonic waves. She would smile in her sleep, thoroughly pleased for having conquered her long lasting mystery, and wake up with exceeding chagrin. Her thoughts were shortly interrupted when she realized the shriek was coming from a different angle, about 60 degrees North-West from the vertical plane, as opposed to the usual North-East. A demented laughter bubbled up inside of her. It was a feeling like non other before; she felt anguish, curiosity and the usual dose of fright, but today was not the usual. A wave of happiness rushed down her spine for no apparent reason. Perhaps it was because after what seemed like an eternity, she was being challenged. For years in captivity, her only solace lied in memorizing the regular thuds and shrieks made accessible to her, apart from aligning her body according to the thin ray of light that crept into the tiny crevice on the stone wall. A few minutes of being able to bask in the photons was a luxury, it didn't last for long. The relatively chilly cave that she was held captive in was her fortress of solitude, cold and flavorless. Her mere existence was slipping away from her hands with every miserable passing day..

Another thud. What was this mind play? Could it perhaps be her birthday present? Would that mean she'd been there for a year now?
Uncertainty flooded in, and she felt her head spin. The thuds were consistent; almost like a pattern. Was it morse code? Or something that was beyond my knowledge? Every passing thud got louder and louder. Her heartbeat rose steadily, as she anticipated what was approaching. Slowly, she reached out for the darkness that engulfed her, hoping to find answers. Vaccum. More chagrin, but she wasn't expecting any miracles. Then, the thuds stopped. She threw her hands up in the air, and screamed, "URGH!" This was sheer torture. She plopped right back onto the floor, and sighed heavily, shaking her head in disapproval, when she felt a faint pat on the back. Every muscle in her body froze, her pupils dilated, her mouth ran excessively dry and hands trembled, but she inhaled sharply before she turned around to find nothing but darkness. Infinite darkness that had consumed her as a whole, so much that she felt it was the only element that liked her. A sinister chill ran up her spine as she felt another pat, only this time it was firmer. A squeeze on my shoulder, and then again. Somehow lulled by the effect, she felt her eyelids get heavy, and began to shut them before a bony palm came crashing
onto her shoulder, so rigid that she felt her bones crack. She winced in pain, and jumped onto her feet, tears streaming down her face. She walked around aimlessly, supporting her injured shoulder, predicting another painful blow sometime soon, when she heard another thud. Only this time, darkness wasn't alone. A weak beam of light appeared, which helped her make out a rough silhouette of a beastly creature, tall and broad, ruffled hair, walking on its hind legs. At the sight of her, it roared, and scurried towards her, before darkness engulfed them again. By now, she was mortified, but couldn't seem to move her body. She tried, with all her might, but her weight pulled her down. A minute of fumbling about, trying to get accustomed to her new surroundings as she had moved around. Painfully, she crashed onto the floor, trying to collect herself and make sense of what was happening. Another thud, after which the stream of light flooded back in, and she lifted her head up to find the beast in her face. With all her might, she screamed, not even sure why. Without hesitation, the beast grabbed her and cut open her body along the waistline with it's razor sharp claws, and took away with it what it had wanted.
Indeed, it knew what it had come for, and knew how to get it. Lying in a pool of her own blood, she panted for breath, as she felt a part of her die. Even so, she felt no physical pain, except for the traumatic experience she had been put through. Her vision started to blur and once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream.
All she knew was that a part of her was dead, and she would never recover from that. Ever again.
...
"Dr. Kenny, may I come in?" "Certainly, Rosanne. What's wrong?" Dr. Kenny looked up from his book, and rubbed his eyes before looking at the clock. 2:15 AM. "Dr. Kenny, it's Eva again. It's worse tonight. She won't stop crying. Also, she seems to be in pain, she is kicking herself and biting her tongue. Surely we could do something?"
Kenny inhaled sharply and rubbed his jawline before dropping his book onto the table and followed Rosanne to Eva's cubicle. The room had an eerie atmosphere wrapped around it. "Why do these patients like being in such depths of darkness. I just don't..." he was cut off by Eva's shrill howl, that ran up and down the corridor, scaring other patients.
Dr. Kenny grabbed her wrist and smothered her with his other hand. "She screamed the same way earlier, when I tried to turn on the light," Rosanne said, concerned. "Why is she howling this way, did you take her teddy?" Dr. Kenny yelled. "Dr, it was dirty and needed some cleaning. You asked me to take it from her in her sleep, remember?" Rosanne
looked at the floor, hanging her head in shame, feeling the responsibility for the night's blunder heavy on her shoulders.
Upon receiving her teddy, Eva stopped shrieking, and walked back to her corner of the room, where she plopped herself onto the floor, and hugged the teddy against her chest and rocked it back and forth. Dr. Kenny watched her contently before turning to Rosanne, and said,"Give her some Escitalopram, normal dosage, please." He turned around and walked
directly to his office, when he heard Rosanne call out from behind, "Is that absolutely necessary, Doc? She seems fine now!" Dr. Kenny turned around and shook his head.
"We wouldn't know the loss a mother feels when she looses her baby at child birth."