Adrift in Silence

Chapter 1 Part 2

After helping the movers move everything into the house, Charles and Lucina went off to their new church with their new family. The town was small a quaint and so too was their church but the people inside were chatty and happy to be there. But Lucina was still distraught, unable to stop thinking about her friend and how her life may change for the worse. Just then she looked up at the crucifix of her god, sacrificing himself for sins against laws he himself made. She could feel his pain, depicted in his face, full of torment. She looked down at his ribs, hallucinating blood pouring from his open wounds. She closed her eyes as the anxiety washed over her like the pain and agony washed over her savior. Her breath grew frantic and everything around her grew louder and louder, like glass falling and shattering, colliding against itself, overwhelming her senses. She stood and quickly yet quietly rushed out of the church.

Lucina took a deep breath and stared off into the fields. The gentle wind brushing against the tips of the grass plains put her at ease. "Lucina?" asked Charles, slowly closing the door to the church, "you, okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling back at her father, "I just needed to catch my breath."

"You sure? Do you need to talk about it?" he asked, following their regular routine. She took a deep breath of fresh country air, calming herself down and assuring her father that everything was going to be alright. "Okay, take your time, see you in a bit," said Charles, heading back into the church.

Lucina was so tired from a long day of moving, and distraught from her friend's confessions, and overwhelmed by her new church, that the rest of the night felt like a blur until she went to her new home and crashed her head, face first, on her pillow on her raised bed. What am I going to do? she thought. This SUCKS!

"You comfy?" asked Charles, standing by her door. Lucina's heart skipped a beat, startled by her father's intrusion.

Lucina flipped over and stared at the ceiling as she replied to her father, "No, I'm just tired... and I don't really feel all that great, either." She immediately regretted signing that, basically inviting him to ask what was wrong.

"You'll get used to it, Lucina," he replied. Lucina was relieved he didn't pry any further, assuming she's just home sick. "Together with Sarah and Brandon, we'll make all new memories that we treasure for the rest of our lives, trust me," Charles assured her before kissing her on the forehead.

Quit lying to yourself, Lucina thought, rolling over on her side away from her father. Charles gently stroked her hair, weaving it through his fingers like fine silk and parting it over her ear. In a fit of angst, she tussled her hair, covering her face back up.

"Good night," wished Charles. Instead of any repose, Lucina simply placed an earbud in her ear and played music from her phone, something soothing and quiet to ease herself into sleep. Charles walked away, disappointed in himself.

Another night passed and another fully thought-out day was just beginning. "Get up, Luci, you've slept in long enough," Sarah hollered upstairs. Lucina refused to get up and curled into a ball, tucking her blanket under her freezing toes, and wrapping her face in her hair. Just as she was getting comfortable in the silence, her blanket was ripped from her like a band aid from a wound, exposing her to the cold air and bright morning light.

Lucina rose from bed, fists clenched, and shoulders hiked in frustration, even her bed head seemed to flare up like a raging flame, reflecting her inner frustrations. "What are you doing in my room?" she signed with stiff expressive hands.

"Your room?" asked Sarah, "Don't get snippy with me, young lady, this might be your room, but this is your father's house and mine." Lucina rarely ever seen Sarah raise her voice and was taken back. She crossed her arms defensively and pouted, like a frightened pup with its ears back, knowing she had done wrong.