Julie's Melancholy
"Julie sweety come get this for me, would you honey?" The sound of her mother's voice echoed in her ear as she pulled her clothes out of the box labeled Julie's Clothes. The girl hopped up and ran into the Kitchen/Living room where her mother stood.
Her mother was currently unpacking the silverware in hopes that they'd get everything done before her father came home so they could have a nice family meal. Her Dad was a police officer who work down at the County Department. He took her there once to meet his partner and his follow officers. He showed her other things as well.
For instance, he showed her where they kept the criminals at, or people who were very bad. It was a small cell that reeked of dirt and an oder she could not describe by smell. All she knew was that if she was in there then that meant she did something wrong.
His fellow comrades seemed to make fun of him when she asked for a hug because she was so tired after the long day. He only replied with harsh comments about the men doing the same if their daughters showed up. Then he took her home without so much as a second thought.
She could practically fell the disappointment that rolled off of him as they got out of the car. She wasn't the harden little girl that loved fights and gun that her father wanted her to be. She could tell that day that he wanted a boy and would always want a boy. Julie could live with that.
One thing she couldn't live with was the boy clothes her father made her wear. They were always too big and the girls in her school would call her gender confused girl. It upset her quite a lot but she did it for her father. He also would sign her up for sports at school that bored her completely and left her with bruises.
Another thing she couldn't live with is her father taking her to bits stadiums where people paid to watch other people play. What was the fun in that if you weren't playing the games yourself. Often she expressed this to her father who just shrugged his shoulders.
Her mother although was a little more understanding. Julies could tell that her parents weren't expecting a girl by the things her Aunts and Uncles told her. They had bought a whole bunch of boy clothes, toys and other things. Apparently some Doctor mistook the umbilical cord for a boy's atom.
While her mother was more understanding it didn't help that she still wanted a boy. Sometimes her mother just stares out into space as if looking for the son she never had well because Julie was supposed to be the son she never had. Her Uncle said that Julie was going to have an older brother but he died in her mother's stomach when she was eight months pregnant.
When she got pregnant, Julie was supposed to be a boy. It was meant to be a new start for her parents except they got her. Now she tries to be at her best whenever she can. It often helped her when her mother got frustrated or angry with her.
Her mother was a stay at home mom but wouldn't be for long. She said she had a job interview coming up and that Julie had to have a babysitter watch over for her until her father got home. It would mean that she'd be home alone with a stranger. She didn't like strangers.
"Yes Mommy," the girl said nice and loud just for her mother to hear her. She was often told by her teachers that she didn't speak loud enough for others to hear her.
"I need you to help me unpack the boxes in the kitchen then we need to move onto the living room. Then you can finish your room." Julie watched as her mother handed her a box labeled Plates, Cups and Bowls. Her mother then pulled down a stepping stool for the girl to stand on.
When Julie made no move to do anything her mother ushered her on to the stool. "Come on Julie, hop to it."
"Why can't I finish my room first and then come help you in the kitchen?" She asked.
Her mother placed her hands on her hips. "Well I want this to be done before your father gets home so we can have a nice dinner when he gets home. If this is not done before that then I'll have to microwave something you grandfather made for us before we left."
That made the small child crunch up her face. Her grandfather wasn't the best cook in the world. He made a peach and cream soup once and gave the girl food poisoning. She had to get her stomach pumped and didn't feel like eating for weeks.
Quietly she moved the box onto the counter and started putting them away. "Be carful with the plates their heavy and don't stack them all at once just to get the job done faster. Your father does that every time and breaks a plate every time he does it." Her mother warned.
The girl just nodded. She looked over to where her room door was opened and sighs. She had a night light tucked away in one of the boxes that she really liked to get out before nightfall. Hopefully she would have enough time to dig around in a couple of boxes and find it.
~ • ~
Julie did not have enough time to find it. It was already eight thirty at night when they finished the living room. Her father had called and was coming home from work. Her mother had started dinner up an hour ago and was just waiting on the mash potatoes to get done cooking.
The girl was frightened. She had that nightlight ever since she was six and hoped to have it for many more years to come. Why? Well it was because she was frightened of the dark, well more like what was in the dark. The light kept bad things away because it was bright and bad things hated the light.
At least that's what her mother told her. Soon the she would want Julie to set the table and get ready but the girl had to find that night light. She tried to sneak passed her mother when the woman called her name. "Julie! Can you set up the table for me, please?"
A small groan escaped her lips. She backtracked into the living room/dining room and gathered the three plates, silverware and napkins that her mother set out for her earlier. She gently placed them at each seat and then sped into the hallway of the apartment when the sound of keys in the lock alerted her mother.
As soon as the door opened Mrs. Fury greeted her husband with a loving smile. He gave a tired yet adoring one back. "Hey honey, how was work?" She said as she took his jacket off and placed it in the closet.
Her father walked tow inches into the house and placed his shoes by the door. "Long and nnerve racking. It is amazing how much so much crime can happen in a twenty four hour day." He used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
"Stupid sons of bi-," he looked over at Julie who just stared back at him. With a small smile he signaled her to come and sit on his lap. She rushed over towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn't mind the musk and sweat because he was her Dad. "How's my little girl doing today?"
"Fine." It was a short but justified answer. Not too crazy happened today. All itwas filled with was moving furniture and unpacking boxes so she was fine. "I'm fine, but do you know which box I put the night light in."
He looked around the room as if he had x-ray vision and could see the items inside the boxes. "Ugh, no I don't remember which one it is in. Don't you thing your getting a little old for a night light?" He placed her onto the ground and gave her a serious expression.
"No, I need it to light up the apartment so it can scare all of the monsters away." She frowned. He knew this. That was the whole point of getting the thing. She was nine not thirteen, she was still qualified the night light until she reached twelve.
"Yeah but your a little bit too old to still believe in monsters Julie and to be afraid of the dark." She frowned even more. Kids her older than her age were still afraid of monsters and the dark so age had nothing to do with it. This was more about her toughing up and being the boy he always wanted.
"Come on you two, dinner's read!" Her mother called last she placed the food on the table, currently interrupting their one sided argument. She placed any resentment she may have for not being able to find the night light down and walked over to the dinning table.
From where she was sitting she could see her mother in the kitchen poring her a glass of red wine. She always did it when she was frustrated or tired that's when she always yells at Julie for things the girl didn't even know was bad. It made the girl uncomfortable and she hoped that she fell asleep before the woman could barely tell what was tight and wrong anymore.
Her father and mother joined her shortly after with her mother making her plate as her father took his seat. Afterwards she sat next to Julie and smiled. The child realised that her parents may have something to do with her night light missing and she was gonna find out why.
For most of dinner the girl stayed quiet and listened to her parents babble away with nonsense about their work. If it was the other way around Julie could presume that they would consider what she was talking about, nonsense. In a way she could understand it but she decided that eating was more important.
As she finished off her mash potatoes, the girl idly started at the few unpacked boxes and sighed. It was now or never. "Mom," her voice was hushed as if she was barely talking. "Do you know where I packed my nightlight?"
Her mother slowed down on drink her half filled wine cup and frowned. "Sweetheart, I thought you packed it into your toy box. It should be there." It wasn't. Julie had checked, twice. The girl shook her head.
She had even dumped all of her toys out on the floor and placed them back inside. No her nightlight was to be elsewhere. "No I checked it. It wasn't even in the accessories box. Julie would've put it in there so her parents wouldn't lose it at all. They kept all of there most important or expensive items in there. There was no way it would get lost.
"Well maybe you misplaced it darling and a lot of thinks get lost when moving to another place. Besides your a big girl now; you don't need a nightlight." Again Julie shook her head. No the girl had remembered her mother saying that she'd put it somewhere special then she remembered her handing it to her father and that was the last time she saw it.
"I remember handing it to you Mommy and then you gave it to Daddy so, do you have it?" She turned to her father who look little to the least be interested. He was just silently chewing on his steak and reading an old book he found before they moved.
"Daddy. Do you know where my nightlight is?"
He didn't provide her with an answer. Just a shrug and a half hearted sigh. She'd have to press on if she wanted more answers. "But you where the last one to have-." That seem to anger him as he turned towards her.
"No I haven't. It probably got lost during the move like your mother said end of discussion. Your too old for one of those things anyway." He was stern and cold and just plain unfeeling. She could handle that but what she couldn't handle was the fact that she'd have to sleep alone in her room without a light source to protect her.
She would ask her parents if she could sleep in their room but she felt that left little discussion after dinners events. So she stayed quiet, ate the rest of her food, washed up and prepared for bed. It was gonna be a long night.
Her father received his nightly hug and kiss goodnight while her mother tucked her into bed. "Goodnight my darling, sweet dreams my little birdie." Gently Julie felt the soft creased her cheek with her thumb before standing up and turning off the light.
"Goodnight, Mommy..." She softly mumbled to the darkness around her. The blanket covered her her chest exposing the upper half of her body. She felt as if she didn't have it covered a monster would be able to get her.
The idea didn't sooth over well with her as she tried jot to image that the shadows didn't hide eyes watching her in the dark. That under her bed lay nothing but specks of dust and not a creature of the night. That in her closet the Boogie man only got bad kids and not the good ones.
She tired not to imagine that and more as she lay completely still in her bed. It was a relatively peaceful night but that didn't calm the girl as she tossed and turned in her sleep. Her eye we're closed as she did each time. She was afraid that if she turned and opened her eyes that a monster would be there and grab her.
She wanted her flash light, she needed it. It was the only way she was ever able to sleep at night. It lite up the corners of her room where the darkness hids the monsters. It shined pictures of animals that liked on her ceiling, leaving Julie to dream their stories. It was safe, it kept her safe.
~ • ~
A soft whisper echoed in her ear as she darted up from her restless sleep. Her body trembled in fear as she looked around her room. Everything was in it's rightful place. The door was still cracked letting in a slimmer of light in her room.
Julie rubbed her eyes tiredly. The little clock next to her stand read 3:45 am. She hadn't been asleep for a while and the only reason she did go to sleep was because she closed her eyes tightly and sung. Without the nightlight on she had no clear scenery of her room.
Everything was dark and she could barley see. The girl could've sworn she heard a voice calling out to her. She frowned as she tried to lay back down. Quickly closing her eyes so she would get paranoid, she thought of little jumping sheep she could count.
One.
Two.
Three...
By the time she got to four it happened again. A voice strained to make a sound calling out to her. It called her name as if in pain or hurt. She could hear the echo of the voice in the uncomfortable silence.
She could hear the voice moving around her room whispering softly in her ear. There was a shadow in the corner of her room that bounced off the wall and extending towards her bedside. "Julie... Julie, come here little birdie." Her eyes flashed open in fear and she jetted up in her bed. "MOMMY!" She shouted in fear.