Chapter 3: Asleep Forever

After having no success with catching the butterfly, Ferral looked back to see that his mother was no longer around. “Oops, I went too far.” He chuckled, going to find her. Her scent was still in the air, so it was easy for him to track her down. However, as he was walking, Ferral felt something hit his head. He looked up, confused about what was hitting him. Then, he was hit again on the face. Then again and again. Once Ferral realized what it was, he became excited. “It is rain!” He shouted as it kept coming down, “I heard about rain! Amazing!” As much as he wanted to enjoy it, Ferral remembered he had to find his mother so they could go home. So, he continued walking, following her scent. “Mother!” Ferral called out. “Moooother!” As he continued through the rain, her scent was becoming fainter…it must be getting rid of it. Interesting. He walked faster so as not to lose it completely lose it. Soon, her scent became stronger as Ferral got closer to the two buildings. The rain was pouring at this point. He walked toward the buildings until stopping in the middle of the two. It was a long alley. This is where her scent was the strongest.

Ferral walked into the alley, getting closer and closer to the scent. The rain is coming down more and more. Once he had finally reached the end of the alley, he found Dr. Amber… lying on the ground. Was she sleeping? Ferral moved closer, “Mother? What are you doing?” He asked, but got no response, “You cannot sleep out here. We have to go home.” Still nothing. He knelt beside her and began to shake her lightly, as she would with him. “Mother. Come on…wake up.” He shook her harder now. He flipped her over, then saw that Dr. Amber’s stomach had red marks on it. Blood was on those marks. “Oh, you are hurt? I see why you sleep,” She would often tell him to take a nap whenever he was hurt with blood. But…something felt wrong about this. Her eyes were open, looking almost glassy, and underneath her was a small red puddle.

He didn’t understand, but seeing her just lying there made him feel weird. His heart began to hurt. Ferral’s throat became tight, and his eyes were blurry. He didn’t know what was going on, but his body began to pace back and forth. Ferral ran his hands through his hair; his breathing came rapid and shaky. The rain continued coming down, and a loud boom of thunder rumbled through the sky. He placed his back against one of the walls, looking back at his mother, and his eyes got more blurry. So, he rubbed them, but they just became blurry again. Was it the rain? Why did he have these weird feelings? He rubbed his eyes again. Over and over again, each time they filled with more tears. The world around him started to lean; his breathing grew even faster. He clenched his shirt; his heart was it ached and beat rapidly. It hurt even more.

Ferral fell to his knees, hunching over his mother's face. Their faces met, his distraught and twisted with this unknown pain, while hers was still and lifeless. Tears fell from his eyes and onto her face. He tried to bury these feelings, desperately wanting them gone. Slowly fixing his breathing, wiping his eyes once more, and this time, no more tears built up. He went to lie down next to her. “I will rest with you, Ferral whispered, “That way we can both go home together.” He turned her back over, draping her left arm over him to mimic what she would often do when they slept together. She felt cold. As the rain continued, the two slept in the alley. Every hour or so, he would get up to see if she was awake, but she was still asleep. He moved closer to her and closed his eyes tightly. “I will never leave you,” He told his mother, “No matter how long you’re asleep for. I will always be by your side.” Still no response. For the rest of the night, He slept with his mother, waiting for the moment she would wake up, but it never happened.

By morning, Ferral’s body wanted to wake up, but he refused. He wouldn't wake until he felt Mother shake him up. He waited and waited…and waited. She will wake up. He just knew it. Eventually, Ferral felt something shake him. His head shot up and turned to see that Dr. Amber hadn’t moved. She must still be sleeping. So, he looked up to see another woman standing over him. Her sandy brown eyes locked with his. The woman stared at him, confused and concerned. “H-Hello.” Ferral greeted meekly. She did not respond, only continuing to look at him with the same expression. When he got up, the woman took a step back. Her eyes moved up and down, examining his animal features. It was similar to what his mother did at times, and that’s when he remembered. “Mother!” He turned around to see if she had woken up, but still nothing.

“Uhhh…” The woman stared, “What happened here?” She asked, her voice sounded soft and sweet. But concerned. Ferral pointed, “My mother is asleep, but won’t wake up.” The woman could hear the confusion in Ferral’s voice. “I do not know why…d-do you?” She cautiously walked closer and knelt to look at Amber. First, the woman looked at the mark on Mother’s stomach, then put two fingers on top of her neck. After a little bit, the woman stood up and looked at Ferral, her face saddened. “Umm, I don’t know how to tell you this,” She started, “But…your mother is dead.”