Slumber (Finale)

It was almost 11. I had just finished the longest post in Twisted Tales history, was showering, when...suddenly! Inspiration struck.

And I simply couldn't stop writing. Wouldja believe it, the humble tale of Slumber now gets a nod as one of my finest ever. =)

Slumber (Part 10 of 10)

Little Jenny. Was she still trapped in the dream?

"In today's local news," the radio continued. "Police have arrested Lenny Williams for the suspected abduction of his daughter Jenny, who was reported missing yesterday. Williams, who is currently separated from his wife, calmly surrendered to police officers as they raided his residence following a tipoff. Jenny, who had been kept for thirty-six hours in Williams' residence, has been returned safely to her mother. Investigators are still uncertain of the motive of the abduction."

Huh? Two consecutive reports on the same item?

"In today's local news. Lenny Williams has been sentenced to seven years in jail for abduction of his daughter Jenny. The verdict, widely seen as-"

Mom turned it off. She continued driving, never once taking her eyes off the road.

Oh. I forgot. It was the cassette Mom played all the time. Recordings of the broadcasts when Dad and Jenny was in the news. I never could understand why she listened to them over and over so joylessly, as if hoping to hear something she'd missed the past hundred times.

Things never had been the same since that strange day. I came home from school to find police cars surrounding our house. Mom crying her eyes out. The twins unusually mopey. And Jenny wasn't there. As well as that yellow dragon she carried with her everywhere.

It hit Mom the hardest, I think. Especially so soon after the quarrels, the divorce, the custody battles. I hated how she went from being a cheerful soul to such a...witch. Honestly, I never once saw her smile since Dad left.

******

That afternoon, I ended up in the lawn playing with Jenny. It felt like it had been such a long time.

"But you're always King." Jenny pouted. "It's my turn."

"You gotta get the crown." I stuck out my tongue at her, holding the paper crown Dad folded just out of her reach.

She made a face like she was about to cry, but at eight years of age crying didn't come as naturally as it once did.

She's becoming a big girl, I smiled to smyself.

Sighing softly as the April breeze, I sat ourselves down on the velvety grass, curling and tickling our bare feet. The scent of freshly-cut grass wafted in the air, what Dad would call "the smell of grass growing".

Jenny's eyes danced as I placed the crown on her head.

"Tell me a story. Please."

"Hmm...there was this weird dream I had last night..."

THE END