KeLani Pov
I kept looking at the clock on the wall, watching the little hand move past the number six. Mama promised she'd be back before dinner, but the food she left me in the refrigerator was already gone, and it was getting dark outside.
Something was wrong. Mama always keeps her promises to me.
I tried calling her phone—the special one Uncle Jackson gave me for emergencies—but it just rang and rang. Then I tried closing my eyes real tight and calling to her darkness like she taught me, but nothing happened. The darkness wolves still patrolled around the house, but they couldn't hear me either.
"Mama, where are you?" I whispered, hugging my stuffed rabbit to my chest.
My tummy felt all twisty and sick with worry. What if the bad people got her? What if she went to see her family and they hurt her? The book said that's what would happen—that Mama would go to S City and never come back.
I was about to try calling Uncle Jackson when I heard something—a sound like the wind rushing through a tunnel, and then a thump in the hallway. Then came a noise that made my blood turn cold: Mama's voice, desperate and broken, crying out my name.
"Lani! LANI!"
I dropped my rabbit and ran as fast as my little legs could carry me, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. The sight that met me in the hallway made me freeze in terror.
Mama was on the floor, her body shaking all over like she was freezing cold. Her face was wet with tears, and she was making awful gagging sounds like she might throw up. Her pretty feet were bleeding, leaving red smears on the white floor. But worst of all was her eyes—wide and unseeing, like she was still looking at something terrible that I couldn't see.
"MAMA!" I screamed, confusion and fear making my voice sound strange even to my own ears.
I ran to her, my feet pattering against the floor. All I could hear was Mama sobbing and the sound of my own rushed breathing. My mind was racing, trying to understand what could have happened to make my strong, brave mama look so broken.
"Mama, are you okay? What's the matter? Did someone hurt you? Mama, please talk to me!" The questions tumbled out of me, one after another, but it was like she couldn't hear me at all.
Then, in less than a heartbeat, Mama's arms shot out and pulled me against her in a hug so tight I could barely breathe. But I didn't mind. I hugged her back just as hard, trying to be brave for her like she's always brave for me.
"My treasure," she cried, her voice muffled in my hair. "My light."
Her whole body was shaking and trembling against mine, but as we held each other, it seemed to slow down a little bit. Mama was too weak to stand, so she leaned against the wall in the hallway, still clutching me to her chest. I could hear her heart beating super fast, like when we have to run away from the bad people.
She started rocking us side to side, very slowly, while her fingers played with my hair. It was something she often did to comfort me when I had bad dreams, but this time it felt like she was the one needing comfort. The way she stared at nothing while rocking and stroking my hair told me her mind was far away, maybe back in whatever scary place she had just escaped from.
We stayed like that for almost an hour—Mama rocking, me holding still and quiet, afraid that if I moved or spoke, she might break into pieces like a dropped glass. Finally, the rocking stopped, and she pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
"I love you, Lani," she said in a raspy voice that didn't sound like hers at all. Then, so quietly I almost didn't hear: "More than anything in this world."
I lifted my head from her chest to look at her face. Only then did I realize I had tears in my eyes too, tears I hadn't even known I was holding back.
"I love you too, Mama," I whispered, reaching up to pat her wet cheeks with my small hands. "Don't cry anymore. I'm here."
Her eyes finally seemed to focus on me then, really seeing me for the first time since she'd come home. A small, sad smile touched her lips as she wiped away a tear that had escaped down my cheek.
"You're so brave, my little warrior," she murmured. "So much braver than Mama."
She struggled to her feet, keeping me cradled in her arms even though I'm getting too big to be carried like a baby. I didn't mind, though. I wrapped my arms around her neck and held on tight as she walked shakily toward her bedroom.
Instead of going inside, though, Mama called to her darkness. It rose around us like a living thing, responding to her need even though she seemed too tired to speak the commands aloud. We stepped into the swirling shadows, into that special place that was neither here nor there—Mama's darkness dimension that she only shared with me.
Inside, she created a bed from the darkness itself—soft and yielding like a cloud. She laid us down together, still holding me close, as if afraid I might disappear if she loosened her grip even a little.
"Go to sleep, treasure," she whispered, stroking my hair. "Everything will be better in the morning."
But I could tell from her face that she didn't believe her own words. Her eyes were wide and alert despite how tired she must have been. She was scared to close them, scared of what she might see in her dreams.
"You need sleep too, Mama," I said, touching her cheek again. "I'll protect you from the bad dreams."
A sad smile flickered across her face. "That's my job, little one. Not yours."
"We can protect each other," I insisted. "That's what you always say—we're a team."
She didn't argue, just pulled me closer until my head rested under her chin. I felt her take a deep, shuddering breath.
"I can't do this anymore," she whispered, so quietly I don't think she meant for me to hear. "This is too much."
Her arms tightened around me even more, and I felt a spike of fear. What did she mean? Was she going to give up? Was she going to leave me? The thought made me want to cry again, but I held it in. Mama needed me to be strong right now.
As my eyes grew heavy despite my worry, I made a silent promise to myself. I wouldn't let Mama give up. I wouldn't let her face whatever scared her so much all alone. Even if I had to do something really brave or really dangerous, I would protect her.
Because that's what we do me and mama are team, she always says. We protect the people we love, no matter what.
With that thought, I finally drifted off to sleep in my mama's arms, the steady rhythm of her heartbeat like a lullaby in my ears.