(Photograph courtesy of Carmelle Tennison)
My eyes strain to make out the pair of shadows hovering above me. Irritated, I squirm in the softness swaddled about my body—a vain attempt to recreate the warmth of a watery world I inhabited just a few months prior. I give up trying to make sense of the blur. So I close my eyes and reminisce about a face breathing life into my soul. My cheeks start to twitch.
“Aw, look,” coos the one who calls herself I’m-Your-Mommy. “The baby’s dreaming!”
A deep voice chimes in. “Of what? The back of eyelids? It’s probably just gas.”
I want to tell them what I see in my sleep, wishing my mouth could do more than produce misinterpreted smiles. Explosions of gurgles and shrieks are all I can manage at the moment. But even with a vocabulary, how does one describe omnipotence composed entirely of light appearing in newborn dreams? Addicted to the sight, I find myself slumbering—a lot.
As weeks pass the face dims until only a fleeting glimmer remains. I cry when I sleep now. My unconscious smiles cease. I try to summon that face again…but nothing is there! Where did it go? My eyes and fists clench as I grope the darkness, searching for the lost image. I don’t know what’s worse: the void in my mind’s eye or the unfocused blobs of my waking hours.
Big hands lift me in the air as my nocturnal screams intensify. The familiar cadence of a heart beats in my ear and a wiry tuft brushes against my forehead. My eyes peel open and the sudden clarity of a moonlit face shocks me silent. This new image whispers, “Daddy’s got you,” as he presses my fist against his smiling lips.
Then once again, my cheeks start to twitch.
Reblogged this on Michelle McGill-Vargas and commented:
Here is my first short story from Short Fiction Break as a regular contributing author. You can read more short stories at https://www.shortfictionbreak.com
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simply beautiful. I’m not sure if this is what you were going for here, but I think of the scripture of the creator knowing us in the womb. This “omnipotence composed entirely of light” I assume to be him. I’ve never read anything from an infant’s perspective.
I’m glad you enjoyed the story. And yes, while that was what I was going for, surprisingly, some beta readers found something else. I guess that’s the point to literature, right?
Beautiful, Michelle. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed your first foray into the SFB world, Michelle. Much like a babe in the world. Coincidence?
Wow, didn’t see it that way 🙂 leave it to a writer to find the connection. Lol
Lovely story Michelle!
Thank you!
Interesting way to tell the story. I loved reading the perspective of an infant. Great job!
Thank you! I was inspired by the pic of my nephew that accompanied the story.