Pinnacle Of Power

Chapter 11: The nightmares

Mona's POV

I can't quite tell how old I was exactly, but I saw a version of me as a child. I was held by the hand and led to the back of a waiting SUV. My hair was tied up in two ponytails, adorned by pink ribbons that bounced with each step I took. I sat down to play with my stuffed toy, and soon, a woman joined me in the back seat, kissing me on my forehead, which made me smile.

Seated at the driver's seat was a man dressed in a formal uniform. He reared the engine to life and he pulled out of the mansion where I had stepped out of. We were headed to the train station. I must have insisted on coming here-I wanted to experience a train ride.

We got to the train station, and we alighted from the SUV.

When we boarded the train, the time on it read 11:22 am—the same time again.

Outside, it showered lightly with rain and it made me giddy with childlike excitement. I looked outside, pressing my forehead and little hands at the window as I watched the view outside from inside the train.

A little boy caught my eye. He was dressed in a pinafore, sitting on one of the long benches meant for passengers. His hair was neatly laid down and parted to the side. In his hands was what seemed to be a video game he was engrossed with.

I don't know why, but I kept staring at him, and soon enough, he balled his fist in what seemed like victory, like he'd won something. He placed what he held in his hands aside and raised his head.

Our eyes locked on each other and I instinctively smiled at him and gave him a small wave.

But he remained unfazed. Not upset or anything. Just neutral. We kept staring at each other in silence until the movement of the train pulled us out of each other's view.

The movement started well and smoothly. But after some time into the journey, the train crew began moving frantically back and forth like something was amiss.

The carriage rocked slightly, then more violently.

I clutched my stuffed toy to my chest as I sat wrapped in the protective embrace of the woman. I still couldn't quite make out what her face exactly looked like, but her hair was similar to mine, with a silver streak.

I instinctively wrapped my little hands around her tightly and whispered. "I'm scared, Mama".

The train had gone off the rails and the other passengers in the train had begun screaming.

She held me close to herself. "It's going to be alright, baby. Don't worry, Mama will protect you".

Suddenly, something violent shook the core of the train and everything became chaotic. Luggage, tables, cutleries including people were flung in all directions.

The upheaval of the train yanked me from her arms and I screamed, "Mama!"

We desperately struggled to reach each other.

She opened her mouth as if trying to call out my name, but I couldn't make out the words she was trying to form.

The screams of the people were frantic. Each scream, more piercing than the last. Louder. Sharper.

It was the scream of death.

The train gradually became engulfed in thick smoke enveloping everything in its path-making it nearly impossible to see.

Then came the fire. The flames of which devoured the other compartments of the train. It consumed everything in its path-chairs, bags...people.

Amid the chaos, I felt a hand pull me back—her hands. She cradled my small frame and used her body as a shield to protect me from the flames that drew closer.

She screamed as the fire ate away at her flesh, but instead of letting me go, she gripped me tighter, ensuring the flames did not touch me.

Then, the train tumbled violently again and came to a halting screech at a nearby creek. The impact of which yanked me from her embrace. I tumbled over and struck my head on a fire extinguisher.

Darkness.

It looked like I was passed out for a reasonable amount of time. I woke up—barely, to somebody shaking me.

A yellow tag was put around my neck. I didn't know what it meant.

Then quickly, I was lifted onto a stretcher and an oxygen mask was placed over my face as the medics wheeled me to the back of an ambulance.

Not so far off, I saw her from the corner of my eyes—her hair and body were severely burnt and she wasn't moving-not even for a bit. She had a black tag around her neck that wasn't on her before. It was similar to what was on me but the colours were different.

I reached for her with trembling fingers, as if by doing so I could pull her back.

The medics put my hand back in my chest and tucked the partially burnt toy in with me, to pacify me.

Light rain showered, pelting my face, as sirens blared in the distance.

What seemed to be human bodies were put in black body bags and stockpiled in one corner.

The air smelled of burnt flesh.

I tried again—reaching for her as tears welled up in my eyes, falling freely like a waterfall. I cried uncontrollably, gasping in between sobs.

The medic tried to soothe me, but I wouldn't stop. Couldn't stop. It only made me sob more, and I kept calling out to her.

"Mama!"

I sobbed and choked and felt something l*****g my face.

I opened my eyes and saw it was Mia.

I looked down at my blanket and saw it was already soaked in my tears. I had cried from the dream world into the real one.

I pulled Mia into my arms and hugged her close, crying even harder and choking in between my tears.

Why did I keep having this nightmare of fire, of death-of a woman I called Mama? It felt more like a memory than just a dream.

As an orphan who had been moved between foster homes while growing up, I wondered what my life was like and who my real parents were. Who were they? Were they looking for me? Did they ever? My chest became heavy from all the weight of these unanswered questions.

I looked down at the necklace resting on my chest. On the back of the small pendant, bore the inscription:

A.W.

It had been on me on the day of the accident... and the woman I called Mama, had the same necklace around her neck too.

What did it mean? Could she be my real mother? Was she dead or alive somewhere?

And why, after all these years of being disturbed by this same nightmare I had no answers?