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Lost and Found

July 14, 2014 by askdelta8 Leave a Comment

(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.

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About askdelta8

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Comments

  1. Michelle McGill-Vargas says

    July 14, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    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
    Like us on Facebook, too!

    Reply
  2. Kayla I. Shown-Dean says

    July 14, 2014 at 11:37 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Michelle McGill-Vargas says

      July 15, 2014 at 9:59 am

      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?

      Reply
  3. Mirel Abeles says

    July 15, 2014 at 10:15 am

    Beautiful, Michelle. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Bob Moulesong says

    July 15, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    Enjoyed your first foray into the SFB world, Michelle. Much like a babe in the world. Coincidence?

    Reply
    • Michelle McGill-Vargas says

      July 15, 2014 at 2:47 pm

      Wow, didn’t see it that way 🙂 leave it to a writer to find the connection. Lol

      Reply
  5. Renee R says

    July 29, 2014 at 12:42 am

    Lovely story Michelle!

    Reply
    • Michelle McGill-Vargas says

      July 29, 2014 at 7:38 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  6. jollymoments says

    August 25, 2014 at 6:08 am

    Interesting way to tell the story. I loved reading the perspective of an infant. Great job!

    Reply
    • Michelle McGill-Vargas says

      August 25, 2014 at 7:15 am

      Thank you! I was inspired by the pic of my nephew that accompanied the story.

      Reply

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