Minder

Chapter 3

OLALLIE

My mother’s funeral reminded me of a fading rainbow. Her older sisters painted on streaks of tears as they acted like doting aunts. Some cry hysterically; the chair next to me creaks under the weight of her despair.

I let out a giggle at their dramatics. Silently wondered if the sisters were mourning Luna’s demise or the remainder of their parents who had fallen.

They seemed strange, unfamiliar, hugging close to one another. Clung to a sadness where I felt the only thing Luna’s siblings missed out on was a few hours of their time. Maybe they were trying to make up for the shunning they gave, especially after I was born.

This is where the darkness becomes a part of me. It must be that way when tragedy hits too close to the spectator. I wanted to climb into her soft velvet-lined coffin. Cuddle next to her, hoping the box would keep us both warm forever.

There wasn’t comfort out here. I was looking around, trying to see the one person I could find comfort with, easing my pain.

He would know what to do.

But Asher wasn’t anywhere. Not in the waves of people who made a noise I was grateful not to acknowledge. Covering my ears, hoping the visions of strangers would be erased. One aunt pulled my hand away, and I shoved her away, lost in the background.

No way of knowing how I got there; panic starts to spark. Who do I belong to now? Was it the hypocrites of relatives or a father who shoved me in the back seat, welcoming me home?

“I thought you got rid of her.” Those are the first words Lennox Krause, my father, said to me at age 7. Of course, my ears don’t hear it, but he pronounces the words like he is surprised about my soul being in my body.

2 ½ years after our encounter, my mother dies. All relatives that were associated with her were drowned out by wasted patience.

Lennox has been gifted the child he didn’t want. A golden token of a child he took advantage of while she opened him up to heal. Held me at arm’s length and pushed me to undergo scans and tests to see if I could be a candidate for the cochlear implant. He said it would help him. But what he didn’t say was how it would enable me. Put my mind through an additional flex of someone else’s control and power. I agreed. At 10, I laid flat as I counted back from 100 on my fingertips.

The surgery took roughly four hours. When I awoke, my skull ached. I put my hand to the side of my head. A bandage covers behind my ears. I focus my eyes and see it’s him. The first real noise I can associate with a body is his, and not my mother’s; not even the avenging angel Asher’s.

He comes forward, asking me how I feel. I look down at the side of my bed and hate myself for doing it, but I attempt to nod. I didn’t know if I expected to hear miracles when I awoke, but the silence still surrounds me, and they remind me it’ll be a couple weeks before the sounds start to intensify.

I tap a W to my chin, and my Lennox nearly trips, getting to the side table to pour me some water. I see his excitement as the doctor says everything went as planned, and we will be back in a couple days to put on the outer layer of the device.

He overlooks a vacant place where a smile should be on my face. The doctor continues to talk to me, and I stare out the window, trying to find the colored sunset. Two taps on my leg, the middle-aged man, signs to me what a great gift I have received.

I didn’t want it. I try to flick my hands, but I stop. Because the only one that had my best interest died for Luna’s loyalty. My fingers touch my chin, and I open my palm toward him, thanking him.

I was greeted with initial-crested suitcases with a map printed off in faded printer ink two months later. Lennox appeared with sunglasses and a tan. His blond hair was almost white to the unholiness he was providing.

It’s the first time I have seen him smile.