Sphiel's Song
Page 18
Natalie was cut off when her sister wrapped her in a deep hug. They embraced for over a minute before Mandy released it. “Okay, let’s go.”
Mandy made her way down the hall with Natalie. She could feel the weight of her steps as they walked. Each one seemed heavier than the last. The trepidation inside her intensified, invading every corner of her being, but she kept walking. She watched her sister’s easy progress toward their inevitable goal.
Mandy envied how easily she was able to move her limbs. She wished she could walk nonchalantly. Maybe one day, but there was no point in thinking about one day. She was only in one moment and had to keep going if she wanted to reach the next.
Their father was waiting for them by the door. A gentle smile contrasted with his thickly whiskered chin. Mandy’s eyes turned to the front door. Her entire body was numb. Every instinct told her to run back into her room and hide under her blankets in the dark. Sheer force of will kept her rooted.
She tried to think of the door as just a portal into another room, or even a VR world, but she knew that wouldn’t work. It was the real world, the one that she was afraid of, filled with incoherent insanity and people that would be out to get her. Mandy took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. She stared at the door, as if trying to see through it, to catch a glimpse of the horrors beyond.
“You ready?” she heard her father ask.
“As I’ll ever be,” Mandy said.
He opened the door and a warm wind smashed into Mandy’s face. She squinted when she was subjected to the light. Looking outside through the tinted glass of her bedroom window, she forgot how bright it could be outdoors.
Mandy’s father and sister stepped outside and beckoned her to follow. Her steps were heavier than ever as she slowly made it to the doorway. When she reached it, she leaned against the frame.
“You don’t have to do this,” Natalie said, reaching toward her sister.
Mandy put a hand on her shoulder and looked up. “No, I don’t have to, but I need to.”
Natalie retracted her hand and Mandy summoned a monumental amount of strength and stepped outside. She closed her eyes and took another step, and another. She stepped off the porch and out into the front lawn.
Warm air rushed across Mandy’s skin. She looked out at the sidewalk and smiled at a young man out for a morning jog. He waved and she waved back. She stretched her arms, smiled, and looked east toward the morning sun.
The End
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