Prologue

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Laying down in a bed of colorful flowers as the sun beamed down onto my brownskin. The sound of the wind blowing, birds chirping and the flow of the nearby river that resided behind my grandparents house became my favorite sounds to listen to in the morning.

As I looked up towards the sky becoming blind by my bestfriend, I reached my arm up in hopes of touching the one thing that has loved me from birth and always made sure to give me kisses on my skin every summer. Looking in between my fingers as his glory shined through warming my fingers instantly, I smiled in content.

Sitting up off my back I looked around the field of flowers with a smile on my face taking in this moment of peace and quiet, with my hair in its natural state, wild and curly I picked a few flowers and stuck them in my hair before standing to my feet to start my walk through the fields.

I knew if my grandma were to see I was out here in my night gown she'd have a whole fit, especially since she just washed this for me the day before and it was now covered in grass stains and dirt.

Beginning my walk I brushed my hands through the grass and flowers with my eyes closed feeling as if I was in heaven. The tips of the grass tickled my fingers as I strolled through completely in my own little world.

Suddenly, my peace was ruined and I was swept from under my feet and thrown over a strong muscular shoulder. A roar of laughter left my throat once I heard the deep laugh from my Grandpa Al escape. As he ran with me in his arms I smiled big letting the wind run against my skin tickling the hairs on my arm.

I held onto him tightly so I wouldn't fall just as he began spinning me around in circles.

When he placed me down on my feet he took off running not being able to run too fast due to his attire of overalls and his old work boots slowing him down, but I ran as fast as I could following behind him running through the flowers causing grasshoppers and butterflies to jump and fly away to escape being stepped on.

Soon I began jumping, skipping, and twirling around causing my dress to rise and spin beautifully as I twirled in circles becoming slightly dizzy. Eventually losing my balance I fell down and just laid their on my back and stared up at the sky breathing hard as ever.

Soon my grandpa joined me and laid down beside me as we both looked up towards the sky with squinted eyes. Smiling big I calmed my breathing down and just sighed in content. "I could lay here forever and ever."

"Me too, can't wait for the day we can be together again munch." I heard my grandfather whisper causing me to frown as I sat up to look at him, but I grew shocked to see the spot where he was laying now completely empty.

Eventually the sunny sky turned dark and the clouds began to move across the sky fast just as thunder and lightening began to roar shaking the earth's ground.

I stood up quickly and began running through the fields of flowers to get home even though at this moment I wasn't sure where home even was. The strides in my run started to get faster just as the rain began to pour down on me. I tried running as fast as I could to escape the rain, but before I could even stop myself I ran right into an all black lake and when I turned around to get back on land, the shore seemed so far away.

Slightly panicking, I looked around for something to hold onto. I tried my best to stay afloat and pray, however the feeling of something grabbing my foot and taking me under caused me to sink. I could see the sky fade the lower I sunk as I tried swimming back to the top, but nothing worked. I only kept going under until eventually the air in my lungs filled with water and things went completely black.

Jumping out of my sleep in a cold sweat, I glanced over at my alarm clock hitting it with my hand to stop the sound of it going off and dragged myself out of bed. Walking into my bathroom, I placed my hands on the sides of the counter and looked up at the mirror to see the reflection of my younger self staring back at me.

Rubbing my eyes quickly I looked again to see she was now gone and grew confused. It has been twenty years since the passing of my grandfather and since the incident that changed my life forever and after all these years I still see that same little girl in my reflection reminding me of that very day I wish to forget.

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What y'all thinkin'?

Thanks for the love & support!
- Denise🤎