Chapter 1- Elnora

Chapter 1- Elnora POV

The surrounding darkness comforts me in ways that the sun and my daily life could never compare. I feel alive and free as I look upon the old oak tree in such a beautiful forest full of wonders. Slowly I turn around to find I am not alone in the dark. The man standing before me gives me a sense of peace and security mixed with an emotion I have not felt in many years, love. His steps are agonizingly slow as he approaches me. I find myself speaking to him, "You and me forever." My words filled with love and compassion for this mystery man. "Forever," he confirms. As his words conclude, I feel a sharp electrifying pain on the side of my neck—fear not rearing its ugly head, only satisfaction of the event that has taken place. Total and utter bliss has taken over my soul as my blood seeps into his mouth.

Rolling over in bed, I acknowledge the early morning sun peeking through my window. "Already?" I question myself as I slowly sit up and stretch. Rubbing my face, I try and clear the dream from my mind.

The sun is my alarm clock these days: that or one of my numerous children. I feel like I am in a revolving door most days as a stay-at-home mom. I love and cherish every moment of being home with my boys, but I feel like my days are on repeat. My days suffuse with the kids' daily schoolwork, sports, appointments, and the numerous house chores left for me daily.

          Walking to the bathroom, I notice small angry red spots all over my body. We had a small fire last night and stayed up to look at the moon. We were not the only ones; the mosquitos were out, and they decided they wanted to feast on us as much as we ate on smores'. My body is giving away the itchy evidence. Stretching and rubbed my face, I walk to the kitchen to find my morning coffee that I will undoubtedly misplace a minimum of three times before I finally finish it.

          "How did you sleep?" My husband, Brogan, asks as he collects his belongings for the day of work. "I feel like I didn't sleep at all. I am exhausted.” "Take it easy today then; maybe you are overdoing it during the day. Try to go to bed a little earlier tonight." I nod and smile as he kisses me goodbye and walks out of the door. "Yeah, who is going to put the kids to bed and clean up the house tonight if I go to bed early?" I mumble to myself. Our kids have been putting themselves to bed for years, but I still find it vital to kiss them goodnight and make sure they have what they need before they fall asleep for the night. I know it is a kind gesture, but the reality is, he will be too exhausted to handle all my nighttime duties when he gets home. It is all on me, like always. I will try and get into bed by 11 tonight for sure, though, even if I must leave the dishes in the sink tonight.

          The day crawls by, and sure enough, Brogan is exhausted from work when he enters the door after dinner. He is always too tired to help me with the kids but never too tired to play video games for all-night hours or go to the bar to drink with his friends. I sigh in irritation as I slowly move through all the nighttime duties. By 11 pm, most of my painful mosquito bites have calmed down and are nowhere near as angry as they were this morning, all except for two prominent ones on my neck. I put some medicine on them and a band-aid and head to bed for some much-needed sleep.

          "Hey, the kids are up, and I have to head into work," Brogan announces as he gives me a soft shake. "I am so sorry I overslept," I mumble, sitting up on the side of my bed, looking out the window at the new sun-filled day. "Are you feeling, ok? Would you like me to take the day off work and stay home?” "No, I am fine.” "I will call and check-in with you in a few hours.” "That sounds good. Have a good day." Wishing him farewell from my position on the side of the bed, I listen for his car to leave the driveway. "Here we go again. Another day with the same routine." I announce to myself with distaste. I need a hobby, a friend, maybe a side job just for me, something that will pull me from my funk. After all, my happiness is not the responsibility of others; it is my responsibility. I must find something that brings me happiness and a sense of self-worth. I want more. I need more. I just need to find it.

          I stand up to start my day, and my head begins to spin from the quickened movement. Immediately I feel myself falling back onto the bed. Slowly I work my way to sitting on the side of the bed and begin assessing my body. My body feels weak and tired, I am dizzy, and my neck is killing me. I reach for my neck and realize the band-aid is missing from last night. "Oh man, I snuggled with a band-aid last night," I giggle to myself, trying to find humor as I search my bed for it, coming up short. The pain where the bumps reside is feeling worse today. I stumble to the bathroom and peer into the mirror. "That has to be infected," I announce with complete content in my findings and decide a Dr visit is what I need today before it gets out of hand.

          I send Brogan a picture of my neck and let him know I will be running to the Dr this afternoon to make sure everything is ok when he gets home from work. I watch my phone for a reply from him, hoping that he does not have a meeting this afternoon and I can get my neck checked. I notice the words next to my text change from delivered to Read. I eagerly await the message I can see him typing. The bubbles pop up, then stop, and pop up again. When no reply comes, I put my phone down and head off for coffee.

The boys sit on the couch deep into a documentary and discussing what they think will happen next. "Morning, boys," I call as I hug them all; good morning. "Morning, mom," they each mumble. Until I reach my middle child, Talvin, he notices my neck immediately. "Mom, what happened? That looks really bad!" His fear in his voice from the red swells in my neck is written all over his face. "I am fairly sure that these are infected mosquito bites. I am going to get them looked at this afternoon when your dad gets off work.” "We should go now. The sooner, the better." He insists as the three of them gather around me, gawking at my swollen neck. They conclude that I need to call the Dr now, and we need to go as soon as possible. They promise to be on their best behavior when we go into the office.   They usually are horrible and ask a million uncomfortable questions to all involved. They disagree with modern medicine and want nothing to do with modern doctors. I feel my feelings for modern medicine were the cause of what changed their minds only to want holistic medicine, but today they insist on me going in.

Agreeing to my tiny darling's demands, I call the Dr. The wonderful nurse on the other end gives me the option to do a virtual visit with the Doctor, so I do not have to bring my children into the office. Something I am entirely grateful for, as is she. The last time we were there, all nurses and Doctors were peppered with questions that made everyone feel uncomfortable, and they do not want us back in the office. She has given me 10 minutes to get ready for my video visit and get the children squared away. That is one of the many perks of living in such a small town, everyone knows everyone, and they know my hands are full. The boys are more than happy to watch TV and stay neutral for a little while.

When the Doctor comes onto the screen, she asks me to tell her everything from what happened to how I am currently feeling. She immediately agrees with my suspicion. "That is infected for sure. I will call in a prescription for you. Make sure you use it." She scolds. She knows I hate taking any form of medication that is not from nature. "I will this time." I agree without hesitation. "If you start feeling any worse, I want to see you in the office. Give the medication a few days to kick in, though," Her eyes never leaving my neck. "I will," I promise her.

I look in to find that the kids haven't left their location on the couch. "I am done with the Doctor. I am going to grab some coffee and sit outside if anyone wants to go outside." I call from the kitchen as I pour a cup of coffee. I can hear the thundering down the hallway as they run to find what they want to play within the yard, and I smile.

I have only sat down on the porch swing when the boys fly out the front door with skateboards in their hands. "You good, Mom?" Merrick asks, "All good. It is an infection, like I thought. We will go get my medication later for it.” "Let me know if you need anything.” "I need you to be careful out there. Don't get hurt, please." I ask of him as he laughs. "Yeah yeah." He mumbles as he heads off to meet up with his brothers. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I look for a message from Brogan that isn't there. "What a jerk," I tell my phone as I pocket it again. I snuggle down with my coffee on my swing and watch the kids play.

          A torrential downpour comes out of nowhere, bringing the kids up the driveway. "Could you grab us some towels?" They ask politely as they stand on the porch sopping wet. "I sure can. Give me a moment."

          As I pick up my cup from the table, I notice something on the side of the handrail. I lean down to investigate it and instantly realize that it is my band-aid from last night. "How on earth did this get out here?" Plucking it from the handrail, I frown as I notice the blood-soaked pad. "What is that, Mom?" Fulton asks from his spot on the porch. "The band-aid I put on my neck last night.” "How did it get out here?" He counters. "Maybe it was on my robe when I came out, and I didn't notice it?" It is possible. Weirder things have happened to me before. "Not likely, but I will let that pass." He snickers at himself. "If you have any better ideas, I am all ears." I rub his hair in another direction as I walk past him to find some towels.