Three quiet knocks on the old wooden door. "mama? You ok?"
Munching on a cookie, she thought about the small seed of a baby that was growing in her mama's belly. It might not have been bigger than one of the chocolate chips smearing her little chubby hand.
"Don't be eatin' no cookies before dinner, Persephone" her mama yelled from inside the small bathroom. It was hotter than Hades, and Bella Jean wasn't sure if it was the baby or the heat that was making her feel so bad. She had been laying down on the cool kitchen floor when the cramping began. The waves of pain increased and forced her into the bathroom. She had a feeling that last nights tumble down the stairs would cause this small child to bear the brunt of it's violent instigator.
Blood poured from her in an amount that seemed implausible. She focused on the sounds of Persephone's small hands drumming on the other side of the door.
"Perse, I need you to run and get Gigi"
"But I'm hungry, mama"
"Perse, I need you to run to Gigi's right now. very quickly. Before your daddy gets home. Tell her I need her right quick"
"Mama, why you been in there so long?"
Persephone pushed her ear against the door.
"Mama?"
Silence. Without a thought in her head, motivated by the purest form of fear, Persephone shoved herself out the front door of their tiny shack on the hill and took off running for her grandmother's house, a mile down the old dirt road. The trees watched as her little six year old legs worked harder than they ever had before. The neighbor's dog, an old Siberian husky, had felt the girl coming and was waiting by the road. He quickly joined her crusade and gallantly took the lead, every so often turning his head to check that she was keeping her pace.
Persephone felt herself being pulled down. Her little legs were growing heavy from the slapping of her bare feet against the thick earth. All she could think about was her mama sitting in that little bathroom all by herself. The sight of Gigi walking towards her seemed a mirage. Burying the tears into Gigi's legs, she felt her grandmother's strong arms pull the girl up and place her on her back. Connected once again, Persephone closed her eyes and prepared herself for the long way up.
