Cry for the Moon

“Ana!” My face lit up hearing the familiar voice and I dropped to my knees, holding out my arms as Thomas’ daughter ran towards me. I pulled the little girl into my arms, into a tight hug. When Annelise let go, I got up, turning to Mari, Thomas’ wife. She sent a brilliant smile my way.

“I thought you weren’t coming until next week,” I spoke, walking out into the kitchen.

“There’s supposed to be a lot of snow between now and the concert later on, so Thomas asked us to come early,” Mari explained, sitting down across from me.

“Well, there’s that,” Thomas spoke, appearing from the hallway. I watched him as he came up behind Mari, wrapping his arms around her waist. Mari’s bright smile only grew.

“And there’s also the fact that I missed my girls too much to wait that long,” Thomas finished, kissing Mari on the cheek, Mari let out a light laugh, smiling. I couldn’t help but smile watching them. Thomas and Mari were perfect for each other, that much was obvious.

“Okay you two get a room,” Isaac teased, grabbing his food. Thomas and Mari simply ignored him. Isaac groaned covering his eyes as Mari turned, kissing her husband. This time, Thomas grabbed the thing closest to him, which was an orange, and threw it at Isaac. He ducked as it flew towards his head, nearly spilling his drink in the process.

"Oh, come on, Isaac, leave them be. I'm sure you'll be the same way the next time you see your girlfriend," I chimed, smirking at him. Isaac's eyes widened slightly, and then he glared at me.

"Can it, Ana, or I'll get Casey after you," Isaac retorted. I let out a laugh.

"What good will that do you?" I questioned. "Casey loves me."

"She has a point," Thomas interjected. Isaac sent a pointed glance at Thomas who grinned at him.

"Wait," Mari spoke. "Since when does he have a girlfriend?"

"Why don't you ask him," I answered. Mari arched an eyebrow at Isaac in question.

"Who is she?" Isaac's eyes darted around the room for a moment before he gave a short, quick reply.

"Her name is Koda and I think Arien is calling for me." At that, Isaac turned sharply, his shoes grinding against the stone flooring as he did so, leaving the kitchen as fast as he could manage.

.X.

I stood near the front door, looking out the window at the snow buried driveway. The snow was at least seven or eight inches deep and more continued to fall, coming down in huge flakes.

"Uhm, Thomas," I called.

"Yeah, Analii?"

"I don't think we'll be leaving anytime soon. Come look," I replied. Thomas got up from his seat, making his way over to me. Turning on the porch light so he could see better, he moved the curtain back, looking through the glass at the cold darkness outside.

"Shit," he cursed quietly, keeping his voice low.

"I was hoping the snow would come a bit later," he added, glancing at the clock. It was only eight thirty.

"Well, it's here now and it seems to me like it's gonna stick around for a while, so you might as well get comfy," Mark chimed, smiling.

"I guess we'll just have to stay for the night," I replied.

"Better to do that than risking the roads," Thomas spoke, turning the light off. Closing the curtain, I made my way over to the couch, trying to hide the fact that I was thoroughly pleased with staying the night. It was an excuse for me to spend more time with Mark, so I wasn't about to complain. As I took my seat in between Mark and Yves, I watched as Thomas sat down, pulling his daughter into his lap. Annelise looked up at her father, smiling brightly and Thomas looked back at his precious little girl with a love in his eyes that was unmatched. I smiled as an old memory came to my mind, one that was far more pleasant than others.

I smirked to myself as I snuck through the tall grass towards my brother, Joroen. Just when I was sure he wasn't paying any attention, I pounced, jumping on Joroen's back. My startled older brother collapsed to the ground under my weight.

"Analii!" he yelled, pulling me off of him. We wrestled for a moment, laughing. Our father's laugh sounded above us both, a low rumbling noise that reminded me of the calm thunderstorms of spring and summer, the ones that Joroen and I would always play in.

That had been years ago when Joroen and I were just little. Now that I thought about it, that memory was the only one I had of my mother before she'd gotten sick. Any others that I might have had of her had probably been blacked out, replaced by memories crowded with fear and pain. During the year between when our mother died and when our father had us leave the Netherlands, Joroen and I had been inseparable. In that time and the months that'd followed once we'd come to the U.S., Joroen was the all I'd had; he was the only one who'd been able to stay our father's sudden temper, which meant that he'd usually taken it upon himself in order to help me. Yes, Joroen had meant the world to me... and then I'd met Thomas. After that, everything changed and a few weeks later, thanks to Thomas, I left it all behind. At the time, I was just a thirteen year old kid but pain was a normal thing, it was my reality, and I always thought it'd still be there when I returned... but it wasn't.

"It's your time to suffer."

My body froze as that voice, those words resonated through my mind. Even though it'd been almost two years since that night, I could still see him standing there, bathed in moonlight. Even though he was mostly silhouetted the moon had been particularly bright and I'd had enough light to see his dark eyes, eyes that matched my own.

Sighing quietly, I leaned back against the couch, tuning out the conversation as another memory came to me.

All I could see was bright light from all directions, light that was as searing as the pain that plagued my body, though I had at this point gone numb. A long, dark shadow crept toward me, stretching, reaching as though it came from the darkness of hell, inching closer and closer. Though I could see the person walking towards me, I knew exactly who it was. A sharp kick to my body - I couldn't tell where - ignited new and old aches, ones that never fully went away, just like the scars adorning my skin. The light around me began to dim, growing black and as it did so, everything came into focus and I could see now where I had scrambled to in my haze of panicking and fear. A voice sounded, one that was not much older than my own. I could hear loud shuffling and another much sharper voice that seemed to pierce every inch of me all at once-

"-Analii?" Hearing my name, the old memory faded, going back to the dark, well hidden parts of my mind.

"What," I asked. "I zoned out. I didn't hear a word you just said." Roy, who had been the one to catch my attention, smiled.

"We were talking about how Casey needs a girlfriend," Arien chimed, laughing. Casey sent a glare in Arien's direction as everyone laughed.

"No, we were trying to pick a movie to watch," Casey clarified. "We're stuck between Gladiator and The Crow," he added.

"My vote goes to The Crow tonight. I'm sorry Mark, but I've seen Gladiator way too many times," I replied.

"Fair enough," Mark smiled.

"I think if she watches Gladiator too many more times she'll be able to quote every line of dialogue from start to end," Thomas laughed, grinning. Mark let out a quiet laugh as well.

"She can do that anyway," Mark chimed, sending me a bright grin. I smiled back, ignoring the feeling of my stomach doing backflips. As the movie started, Mark and I turned to face the screen again, but I couldn't help but noticed the knowing smile on Simone's face. I ignored it, focusing on the movie.

Before long, my thoughts started drifting once again. My mind slipped into a not so far reach of consciousness and I found myself thinking back to something I'd written in my notebook.

Death is forever, eternal, but there are always small things that remind us of the ones we've lost. We live our lives in an ignorant bliss, not seeing the bigger picture: Everything is connected and all of our actions have consequences. Some are wonderful, but some will drive us absolutely mad....

Letting out a quiet sigh, I turned my attention back to the movie.

"People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest..."

I closed my eyes, drowning out the sound of the movie as another thought occurred to me.

Just how terrible of a thing has to happen, I asked myself, leaning back against the couch. The more I sat there thinking, the more I felt my body's fatigue getting to me. I couldn't bring myself to lift my limbs. It was as if my hands were weighted down in my lap and my vision grew darker with each passing second. I sighed again, closing my eyes as I absentmindedly leaned over, resting my head on the thing nearest to me. Suddenly, my pillow moved and an arm fell over my shoulders, pulling me towards a calming warmth. I peeled open an eye, looking up to see Mark smiling down at me. Realizing it was him that had pulled me into his arms, I smiled, unable to keep it back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Simone beaming at me from her seat next to Oliver. I sent a subtle glare her way and she turned to Oliver, whispering something, and then Oliver looked over at me. I closed my eyes quickly, feeling my face heat up. I kept my eyes closed too, and before long, all sound and light faded and I was asleep.

My eyes were shut tight and my body was trembling and with each shake, my pain intensified. I jumped feeling a hand rest on my shoulder. My eyes flew open and I looked up, fear rushing through me. Relief followed that fear thought, when I realized it was on my brother. I let out a deep breath, managing a weak smile.

"You okay," he asked. I nodded stiffly, pushing myself up from the floor. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my mind. We looked to the doorway, hearing crashing from the living room.

"Joroen!" I jumped at the sharp voice. Joroen placed his hand on my shoulder again.

"It's alright," he spoke, walking out into the hallway, leaving me alone to myself. Letting out a shaky breath, I walked over to the sink, leaning against it. The white glass was cold against my hands as I looked down into the black depths of the drain. Rubbing my eyes, I looked up into the mirror.

"It all becomes clear that no one will hear my testimony..."