In Your Embrace

Ayumi's Perspective

I don’t like lightning and thunder. Not one bit. Sudden roars in the air come with no warning. I hate them. I hate them.

My dad used to play peek-a-boo with me and my brother when he was still drunk. On nights like these, he would walk around the house, hitting walls and knocking things over as he did, trying to ‘search’ for us.

I seemed to always be better at the game cause he had never found me before. Only once. That one time I was curled up in the closet with furry coats hung around me for protection and shade. I could hear my father stumbling closer and closer to where I was.

My heart pounded with every step he took mumbling, "Daddy’s going to find you." repeatedly. When he opened the closet doors with a creak, he peered in and slowly scanned the area, as if he knew I was there. It was only when he spotted me, an evil sneer grew on his face.

His arm swayed back, ready to hit me as I raise my hands up as my only defense. Tears filled my eyes as I waited for the impact. But I then heard a sudden high yell of someone yelling no. I peeped my eyes open to see that my father was gone. No trace of evidence that he was even there.

I wondered where he had gone. I found my answer as I heard my younger brother crying out loud as the sounds of hits were repeated over and over. It was my younger brother who had saved me.

To this night, everything there is a thunderstorm, my mind flashes back to that one event. That one event where I wasn’t the older sibling. He lured him away for me. Because I was scared and helpless, my younger brother was hurt the most by our father.

I can’t think straight. The thunder roars in my ears. Even covering them seems to only make the sound echo. Make it stop, make it stop.

It’s not until I hear his voice call that I remember where I am and look up with my past childish eyes. My friend. The boy who saved me.

"It’s just thunder." I hear him say as I lay buried in his chest crying. I feel him lay me down on the soft sleeping bag as I continue to tremble not from the cold.

As he pulls his blanket on me, I want to tell him, “I’m alright. You don’t need to do this.” But no words can come out. All I can do is nod to whatever he’s telling me.

I try to focus on his smile. His handsome face that’s only inches away from mine.

"It’s alright." His sentence repeats in my head as I grasp onto it. My mind comes clear as the memories fade away and are soon replaced by fatigue. My eyes seem to close as I continue to stare at his face. I feel better. I’m glad he’s here.

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Haruki's Perspective:

I slowly open my eyes. It’s still dark outside and I can hear the continuous sound of rain falling. The thunder and lightning are gone now. It sounds more peaceful without all the sudden explosions in the air. Just the rhythm of the rain beating on the tent.

A light sneeze fills my ears as I glance at Ayumi to see that she’s shivering. Her face is scrunched up as her body tries to retain heat. She looks like a baby all wrapped up and all I want to do is to just defend her. Give her all I can.

I pull off the blanket that is laying on me and get on my knees. I crawl over a bit and drape a second blanket on Ayumi. The thick blanket slowly falls on her as it makes a light fluff sound when it touched the ground. I lay back down and stare at Ayumi.

Slowly, she seems to stop shivering and is at rest once again. Her calm face returns as she unconsciously snuggles the blankets even closer to her. She seems happy. Her cute face shines out to me like a child out in the summer. I wonder what she’s dreaming about in her innocent mind. She really does look like a child.

Suddenly, her arms seem to strike out towards me as she lets out a small groan and grabs my shirt, pulling me towards her.

"W-warm." She whispers in her sleep as her head leans closer to my face. I blush lightly seeing how close we are to each other. Our faces are only an inch apart. As I stare at her pretty face, I admire her sleeping eyes and pursed lips. Such a defenseless girl. She never deserved to be picked on.

I glance down to see that one of her hands is open. Slowly, I reach out and touch hers as I gently clasp it. Her hand is warm and soft. I smile and look back at her face. I never want her to lose that smile of hers. I don’t want to see her suffer. She’s perfect.

I let out a light breath as I close my eyes and allow myself to fall into sleep’s soothing feeling while still having my hand intertwined with Ayumi's. The Sandman seems to whisk me away to a faraway land.

I’m standing in a grassy field filled with all sorts of flowers. The sky is shining brightly and I can feel the warmth of the sun’s rays. My eyes stare at the land as it tries to take in all the pretty colors and patterns it sees. A light breeze that flows through me. And in the distance not too far away, I see Ayumi standing there in a red t-shirt and pink skirt, her back turned toward me.

Slowly, I make my way over to her. The grass brushes my legs as the smell of flowers fills my nose. I stop when I’m a foot away from her. She slowly turns to face me, a pretty smile on her face as she brushes her hair back with one hand. She suddenly laughs while standing there and runs to me with open arms. As she crashes into me, I smile and laugh myself as I hug her and she hugs back. We both stand there in each other’s arms laughing, enjoying each other’s presence.