The Past That Followed (take #two):

Come away with me, in the night...

Sarah took her father’s hand.

"It’s ok, Sarah," he reassured her, grasping her hand tightly.

He felt her shiver in the dampness of the night.

"It’s not long to go now," he said. "Just a little more walking."

Sarah continued without a sound, sensing her father’s anticipation.

Moments later, a fallen branch, and Sarah fell.

She bit her lip, determined not to cry.

"Sarah, sweetie, don't cry," he said softly.

Her father's rough voice calmed her.

He softly sang the familiar tune, the notes filling in the dark silence.

"When the world seems dark and grey
And there's nowhere left to hide.
My baby girl, please don't cry
Daddy's always here, by your side.

When the night closes in around you
And you can't see past the fears.
My baby girl, please don't cry
Daddy's always here, drying your tears."

Sarah didn't know where they were going, but she looked up at her dad's eyes, filling up with tears, and knew what she had to say.

"I love you Daddy."

Sarah looked down at her sleeping daughter.

She heard a silent tune fill the room, and she sang softly to it.

"When the world seems dark and grey..."

The song brought tears to her eyes, remembering all the times that she had heard it.

Her daughter wriggled sleepily in her cot, hands clenched into tiny fists.

Sarah kept singing.

"My baby girl, please don't cry
Mummy's always here, drying your tears."

Sarah brushed a fine strand of hair away from Madeline's angelic face. She was the most perfect thing in Sarah's life, past and present.

"If you don't, you are not a part of this family."

Madeline had been given an ultimatum. She knew what she was going to choose. She knew what she had to choose.

She couldn't understand how her own mother could make her choose, after her whole life, after everything that she had been through.

"Goodbye Mother," Madeline said curtly, a hand on her stomach.

Driving away, Madeline heard the words of a familiar song echo through her mind.

She sang the song to her unborn child.

"When the world seems dark and grey
And there's nowhere left to hide.
My baby boy, please don't cry
Mummy's always here, by your side.

When the night closes in around you
And you can't see past the fears.
My baby boy, please don't cry
Mummy's always here, drying your tears."

A feeling of maternal love swept over her.

"James," she whispered to her stomach, "I'll always be here for you."

James looked at his wife, his fingers entwined with hers, the storm building outside their warm, fire-lit home.

James rocked her in his arms, humming an oddly familiar tune. He sang it to her, and to Jewel, their most precious possession.

"When the world seems dark and grey
And there's nowhere left to hide.
My baby girl, please don't cry
Daddy's always here, by your side.

When the night closes in around you
And you can't see past the fears.
My baby girl, please don't cry
Daddy's always here, drying your tears."

"What song is that?" his wife murmured.

James shrugged slightly. "I don't know," he replied.

Sarah watched, her face like a stone, as the casket was lowered into the ground.

At least he had been given a proper burial. It was more than the others had been given.

Then Sarah rose to sing.

She only needed the song.

"When the world seems dark and grey
And there's nowhere left to hide..."

Sarah could hear people crying. She had never been much of a singer. Neither had he. But it was his song. Her song.

Their family's song.

"My daddy, please don't cry
Your baby girl's always here, by your side."

It was all she needed, the song he had sung to her on their escape.

He watched from the clouds as his daughter sang his song.

He watched from the clouds as his daughter's daughter sang his song.

He watched from the clouds as his daughter's grandson sang his song.

He watched from the clouds as he sang his song.

"When the world seems dark and grey
And there's nowhere left to hide.
My baby girl, please don't cry
Daddy's always here, by your side.

When the night closes in around you
And you can't see past the fears.
My baby girl, please don't cry
Daddy's always here, drying your tears."

Well, this is the story that I submitted for my creative writing assessment. I got 19 out of 20! Squee. Hehe.

Exams are finally over, and it's holidays, which are looking to be very busy. But I'm sure all you LTOMM readers will be pleased to know that it is currently open and I am trying to figure out a way to get all your items woven into the story. Hehe. Don't think I've forgotten it, I haven't... I've just been procrastinating "a little". Lol.

Alrighty... now that I'm done. Click that little button. Hehe.

Oh right, and the lyrics there, the ones in bold and italics are from the song Come Away With Me by Norah Jones.

OBK