Pushing Up Gravestones - Pushing Up Gravestones – Chapter 12

I never wanted
this moment to end. The sun
was just barely peeking over the horizon, coloring the sky in different shades
of purple and blue. In the distance, birds chirped and underlying them was the
faint sound of crickets. Dozens of flowers scattered across the field in front
of us, adding life to the scenery around us. It was absolutely the
most peaceful place I had ever been in.

I was sitting in
my mother’s lap with my eyes closed, my head pressed up against her chest as
she softly hummed the lullaby from my childhood. Her fingers combed through my
hair, gently massaging the top of my scalp with the tips of her nails. It
wasn’t until she started rocking me back and forth on the swinging patio chair
when I felt all the tension leave from my body.

It had been a
long time since we’ve last sat like these, sitting together in silence and
enjoying each other’s company. We hardly had any time to spend together as she
was constantly working, and by the time she got home she’d be too tired to try
to talk to me. I didn’t blame her for it, though that didn’t stop the ache in
my heart every time she’d pass by me without a word. And it wasn’t as if I
could talk to my father, because while I loved him with all my heart, there was
only the closeness a daughter and mother could have. And, God, how I’ve missed
her.

I smiled and
snuggled deeper into her embrace, inhaling her natural scent of lavender and
rain. Then just like the snap of my fingers everything changed.

The wind picked
up, causing the chair to rock violently from the force. Thunder rumbled in the
distance, the vibration coursing through the tip of my toes that touched the
bottom of the porch to the top of my body. My mother was no longer humming, her
fingers frozen in my hair. I tried to pull away from her embrace, but her grip
tightened.

“Mama,
what’s going on?” I mumbled, pulling away more forcefully without trying
to hurt her. My heart pounded furiously against my chest and my breaths were
starting to come out in sharp, quick gasps. I had finally managed to escape her
grasp when my eyes snapped open to a pair of milky white ones staring back. I
gasped and pushed away from her, falling onto the ground as she stood up. Her
skin was no longer that sweet caramel color it had always been, instead it was
a deadly pale color that scarily resembled that of a corpse. As for her
beautiful brown eyes, they now glowed with hunger, her pupils completely gone
underneath the haunting white they had become.

“M-mama?
I-Is that you?” I whispered, my voice breaking at the end. I blinked then
blinked again, hoping that this image would disappear and my mother would be
standing in front of me, but none of that happened. The only difference I saw
was her body coming closer as she took deliberate steps towards me. She moved
with a purpose, as a predator would with it’s prey. A low ferocious growl
rumbled in her chest and she bared her teeth at me, her canines sharper than
they had been originally.

“Mama, stop
playing around. You’re scaring me!” I screamed.

Her steps faltered
and she titled her head, her hair falling into her face as she continued to
stare at me. Something flickered in her eyes, but just as quickly as I had seen
it, it vanished. Her hands started to twitch, her head snapping in every
direction. It appeared as if she was fighting against something, and for a
second I saw a glimmer of my own mother.

“Denise…”
She groaned, falling down onto her knees. Her voice was raspy, almost as if she
had something stuck in her throat, and her nails clawed at her neck. Saliva
foamed at her mouth, dripping off of her chin and falling onto the ground.

All I could do
was stare, unsure if I should even being doing something to help her in the
first place. After all, this was my mother. The woman who raised me and tried
to give me the life she thought I deserved. And while she wasn’t always there
for me, she was there for me when I needed her the most. And as I stared at the
writhing creature in front of me, I could still see that woman inside there.
This was still my mother, regardless of what she looked like.

“Denise, my
darling…help me.” 

Without a second
thought, I pushed myself upright and ran towards her, falling down beside her
and cradling her head on my lap as her body started to convulse. The tears fell
freely now as I watched her face scrunched up in pain, small moans coming out
of her mouth as she gasped for air.

“Denise…I
need to…tell you something.” She moaned, her body shaking more
violently. With a shaky nod, I leaned closer to her mouth, tilting my ear towards
her lips. And as soon as my neck was exposed to her, she closed the distance
between us and sunk her teeth into my neck.

I gasped and
shot upright in my bed, my hand clutching my chest. I assessed my surroundings,
my eyes searching through every nook and cranny of the room. It wasn’t until I
was certain that I was safe when I let myself relax, but as soon as I did the
images started to replay in my mind. They flashed in my mind before they
stopped at the image of my mother, her teeth bared straight at me. No, this was just a nightmare that’s all. I
thought to myself as I felt tears prickle in the corners of my eyes. It meant absolutely nothing. I
nodded to myself turning over and trying to gain whatever sleep I could.

Besides, this nightmare was nothing compared to the one waiting for me outside.