12. Cloud of Sadness

343 25 5
                                    

| Henry Taylor |

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

| Henry Taylor |

From the minuet that we had left the living room, Elsie was in tears. I had sat her down at the dining table, giving her to Jack to hold for a minuet, hoping that would calm her down, but that did nothing. If anything, it made it worse. I wasn't sure how it could have gotten worse, but I just put it down to her being hungry. 

I whipped up some pancakes, and that still did not do anything, to soothe her. I even made her a warm bottle of milk, and for a moment, while she was drinking, the room had gone dead silent. I had had a moment to think, but then, when she was finished, it started all over again, coming to the conclusion that she was full, meaning that this could go on for even longer. 

I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to deal with my baby sister, crying her heart out. "I need to head out soon" and with that, Jack dashed out of the kitchen, handing the crying 8 year old to me, as I tried to shush her like a small child. To think that she was 8, maybe almost 9, made me really worried for the small child in my arms. She looked more like she was 6, not 8. 

"Come on baby, shhh" this was nothing like last night, and that worried me. Last night had been bad enough, when she was crying, but now, it was almost like she wasn't breathing, and the only thing she could do was wail and let the tears fall down her cheeks. I wasn't sure if she was going to exhaust herself, or just continue to cry. There was no way that she could cry any more than she already had, but it just seemed to continue to run down her cheeks. 

I was pulling at strings here, with this sweet girl. "El, you need to stop crying" I was almost about to start begging her. It was like my words had hit and wall and were coming back straight at me. Nothing was working. Jack couldn't get her to stop and now I couldn't get her to stop. Her favorite person, Oliver, was at school, so he was no help, and Milo was at work. 

That left me two people that were potentially still home. So, I decided that if she wouldn't stop crying for me, then maybe someone else could help. Walking out of the kitchen, the tears slowed a little, but I didn't take this as my chance to find out the source of the issue. I wouldn't get far, as it would all start over again. 

Storming up the stairs, I knocked on one of the first doors, hoping and praying for this person to be here. All I got was a groan in response, as I barged into the room, not caring about the stench or that the curtains were drawn shut. I wasn't sure how all the cups and bowls had made it here, but what I did do, was drop Elsie gently down on the bed. 

Stepping back, I watched her cries silence, as she looked between me and the person that was still wrapped in the sheets. She had gone silent. That was all I knew, allowing me to think over the decision I had done, which had been to just get her to stop crying. "Elsie?" the figure moved, and I watched Elsie jump, making me almost take a step towards her, but the arm that gently wrapped around her waist and the small voice that was speaking to her, made me stop. 

Attached By StringWhere stories live. Discover now