Short Story

Here's one of my stories, a cross genre and dark fiction, it's short and rather simple

All comments are welcome

Time to Go

By Nigel Elfleda (all rights reserved)

Daphne was standing at the bus station on a gloomy and rainy afternoon. There was no one else on the foggy street, save her. Shivering from the cold, she wrapped her light jacket tighter around her slender body; there was no time to find something warmer before coming out, she had to run away while she had the chance.

             Alex was dead drunk that day, drunker than usual; he couldn’t even stand on his feet to beat her or shout out names like everyday. So, gathering her courage but still frightened, she had taken his keys from his pocket and run for the door before he could do anything. And there she was, waiting for the bus that would take her to her wealthy, estranged father’s house. She wasn’t sure if he would admit her, but she tried not to lose hope, after all he was the only family she had left, and she was the only family he had left. She looked at her watch; the bus would be there in less than ten minutes.

            Suddenly, she felt dizzy and felt the palms of her hands burning, she could hear things now like a thousand voices whispering at the same time, her back bent under the mental pressure and she held her head in her hands, kneeling on the ground. What was it? Her latent “gift” again? It manifested itself in times of great stress, fear and sadness. It showed itself for the first time after her mother died years ago. How old was she back then, seven, six? Daphne remembered the images that flashed in her mind, of the future, of the past. She always believed that her “gift” was the reason why her father kept himself at a distance from her, and after she involuntarily read his mind at the age of twelve, he even began to fear her. But still he loved her, of that she was sure. The main thing that alienated him was that she fell in love with Alex, and seeing that her father strongly disagreed with her relationship with someone much older than herself, she stupidly ran away with him.

            She had paid soon enough however; enduring three years of abuse and imprisonment in Alex’s house, during which he became aware of her mysterious power and the fact that she had no control over it. Every outburst of supernatural activity- which were occurring more often in his presence- like spontaneous fires starting in the house or objects flying around by themselves, made him even  meaner. Therefore she had tried her best to suppress her unwanted gift … and had succeeded. But now it seemed that it was about to manifest itself once more. It made sense, because at the moment she was all worked up, but the dizziness was gradually fading. She took a deep breath, pulled herself together and stood up; fortunately there was nobody around to witness her embarrassing condition, but maybe she was not as alone as she thought.

            Daphne heard a sound; somebody was weeping, a woman. She looked around, and there, across the street, she glimpsed the dark elegant figure of a woman through the fog. Daphne couldn’t see her face, but noticed that she was in mourning dress, complete with black lace, embroidery and a thin vale over her face.

            “Excuse me, are you alright?” Daphne asked, squinting. The woman didn’t answer, but wept harder. “Is something wrong?” Daphne asked again, and again received no answer. The woman was completely motionless, standing under the rain like a statue.

            “My daughter is coming to me,” she said at last, her voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing in Daphne’s mind. “I’m here lest she will feel lost. She won’t be alone anymore.”

            “Shouldn’t you be happy?” Daphne asked, surprised. “Or maybe these are the tears of joy?!”

            “Maybe,” said the woman. “And yet I didn’t want her to come so soon. I wanted her to stay, to achieve more. She has suffered a lot, but I always had faith in her, I believed that she was strong. Everyone makes mistakes. She deserved a better fate … she deserved a future.”

            The voice had an indescribable effect on Daphne, she remembered her own past. A deep curiosity overwhelmed her about the woman. Slowly she went to her, like her feet were acting by themselves.

            “Her father will soon follow,” said the woman as she removed her veil. Her face made Daphne freeze halfway across the slippery street and gaze at her with shaking lips.

            “Mo … mother?!” was all that came out of her mouth, and a second later, she heard the sharp screech of the brakes and saw the bus coming fast towards her …