𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝚏 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚗𝚍
...
I ran along the dirt road as Phoenix chased me. The blazing sun tanned my skin in the beautiful small town here in Italy. I loved how the sun pricked my skin as I ran in front of our wonderful white house which my parents spent every cent they had just to build. I felt my shirt get pulled back and turned to see the cute puppy eyes of the adorable husky with her tail wagging and teeth clenching my sweater.
"Curse you phoenix for being so fast" I pout down at her as she barks loudly and wags her tail. I feel a smile creep its way on my face as I can't stay mad at the cute fur ball I adore.
"Zarita, Time for Breakfast!" I heard my mother yelling from the kitchen window. I grabbed onto Phoenix's leash and we both sprinted to the front door where my father was tending to my mother's porch flowers. My father turned his emerald green eyes to me and smiled. "Ciao mia Bella, how are you doing?" My father said in his thick accent.
I gave him a huge hug and replied " I'm well Papa, just going to eat breakfast, are you coming?" I smiled up at him as he gave me his signature 'Of Course' smile. "Si Bella I will be right there, I just need to finish tending to your mother's Roses." He said and I kissed him on the cheek before walking through the mahogany door, not forgetting to take my running shoes off and clean Phoenix's feet.
I walk down the corridor towards the kitchen with the husky hot on my tail. I enter the kitchen to see my mother gracefully moving about in the kitchen as I smell the familiar wonderful aroma of her cooking. My mother's golden brown wavy hair was pulled into a low ponytail and she was wearing her favorite velvet apron.
I felt Phoenix rub her head against my leg, I looked down to see she was hungry since her dog bowl was in her jaw. As I grab the bowl, I walk over to the walk-in pantry grabbing my mother's attention. "What are you up to Mia Piccolo Fiore?" she says, calling me her little flower as always. " Just feeding Phoenix mama, she is hungry too" I giggle as I grab a can and a prepped bag of food for the husky. I finish setting out Phoenix's food and go to wash my hands.
I sit in my favorite spot at the dining hall table, at the head of the table between my mother and father. I turned on the screening television that sat on the wall at the end of the table. Mama and Papa agreed to have a television set in the dining hall because it helped with my mental health.
The cute little cartoons helped me from thinking of all of the PTSD I suffered almost 4 years ago...but when I turned on the screen all of the channels were showing government messages. "Stay calm, this is not a drill, stay inside away from doors and windows. Do not panic." As the man continued to tell the watchers to stay calm, my mother ran in. She looked like she had seen a ghost as she looked at the TV.
"Antonio! Tesoro sta succedendo! Vieni veloce!" She shouted for my father in Italian, 'Antonio, Darling it's happening, come fast'. My father in barely a minute rushed into the dining hall and looked at me, my mother, and then the television screen. I saw my father's eyes go wide but then quickly subsided and I saw him go very serious. I knew that look. My father was a very strategic man, he planned everything and wasted no time in making sure that my mother and I were safe.
I stood up out of fear because I didn't know what was happening.
"Tesoro, get Rita and go down to the basement, quickly!" My father directed my mother.
My father left the room and my mother grabbed a box and a few other things that looked important. She ran to me grabbing my hand.
"Stay calm honey, I promise everything-"Before she could finish her sentence a bang came from the far window across the dining room.
My mom didn't give a second glance and quickly pulled me out of the dining room towards the door under the stairs that led to a hatch in the floor my father had built in the house when it was in construction years ago.
The house we lived in was my parent's dream house, built by their own hands, sweat, and blood. I was only four years old when I asked him about the hatch in the floor, he only told me "The world is a dangerous place passerota, and one day we will need to be prepared for the worst". I never understood what he meant but I think today is the day I will.
My mom opened the hatch and led me down the steel ladder into a pitch-black room. She opened the box and pulled out a flashlight, turning it on. From what I could see, we were in a storage room. I looked up at the hatch from where the little beam of sunlight was and saw Phoenix.
"Phoenix!!" I shouted out of relief, happy she was okay. She was panting with that little dog smile she makes, but it dropped when a loud bang came from above. The next thing I knew, I heard my dad shouting. My mother dropped everything to the floor and climbed the ladder toward Phoenix.
She grabbed Phoenix and passed her to me. She continued up the ladder and turned her gaze to me, "Rita, whatever happens, do not leave this room."
She said before closing the hatch.
The room was dark though the light from the flashlight helped me see around me. I was in a reinforced room with steel walls and built-in shelves.
Before I could explore my surroundings, I heard a scream that sounded like my mother, that came from above me.
I heard gunshots and felt fear grab me by the throat. Darkness pooled my vision as I dropped the flashlight and fell against a wall. I felt a panic attack pouring in and I tried doing the breathing technique my father taught me, but it wasn't working. Phoenix rubbed her head against my neck, but I couldn't concentrate. The world was growing darker around me. I felt like I was suffocating.
I felt Phoenix crawl onto my lap, nuzzling my face. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the husky's red fur, trying to control my breathing.
The next thing I heard was my mother's scream, another gut-wrenching scream and I got worried.
Was she hurt? Was Papa hurt? Why were there gunshots? I was so confused, what was happening?
I stood up and walked over to the ladder. Phoenix pulled at my shirt but I pushed her back. "I need to see if they are okay, Phoenix," I said, petting her head.
She only whimpered and sat by the ladder as I climbed. As I reached the hatch I took another deep breath before opening it. The sound of the gunshots became louder as I stood and walked toward the door.
Slowly opening the door, I peered out and I saw my mother holding a gun in her hands, pointing it at something. I opened the door a little more and saw a figure on the ground.
I opened it even more and saw the neighbor from across the street was on top of my father except he didn't look like himself. He was growling and a dark liquid was running from his neck...
Blue veins ran across his face and a black liquid dripped from his mouth. His eyes were pale blue and his skin nearly looked bluish-gray.
He was on top of my father but from my sight, I saw my father punching and trying to kick him off. I heard a growl come from my left and the neighbor's wife whose name I came to know was Sandra, was coming down the corridor towards my mother. Her eyes and skin were the same color as her husband's and drool pooled in her mouth.
My mother was facing my father so she wasn't paying attention. I opened the door entirely so I could warn her but Sandra turned towards me. I stood there in fear, she lunged toward me. I fell to the floor and felt a sharp pain hit my back and a harsh scream left my mouth. I tried pushing her off me but she was too strong, I felt her mouth on my left arm and used my right hand to grab her neck, but before I could push her away, I felt a searing pain in my arm and saw her biting me, I screamed even louder.
My mother pulled her off me and shot her in the head. My father came behind her and helped drag me back to the hatch.
He picked me up and held me in his arms as we descended the ladder. My mother was right behind him with two large duffle bags on her shoulders.
The pain in my arm was unbearable and I cried louder as I felt the pain go higher up my arm. My father held me close and whispered calming things into my ears.
"Breathe Tesoro, inspirare e espirare il miele" He ran his hand through my hair.
My breathing leveled out and my father turned toward where I had left the flashlight. Walking over to it, he picked it up and waved it towards the far right wall and a lever came into view.
He walked over to it and pulled it down, the room then lit up like a mini bunker. The room looked like a reinforced storage room with selves containing MREs, canned food, and water.
My father walked us toward a doorway on the end right side of the room and turned the lights on.
It was a small room with wooden storage chests laid against a wall. A clean white mattress covered in plastic lay in the corner.
My father walked over and placed me down on top of it. The pain in my arm shot up again, reminding me I had been bitten. I was filled with confusion. Why did she bite me, why did she look like that, why did the Neighbor from across the street try to attack my father? So many questions I had but all went unanswered because of the searing pain shooting through my arm. I cried hard, I couldn't hear my mother's words as she tried to calm me down. The pain was too much, I screamed harder but then I felt my mother sticking a needle into my upper arm. I felt light, the pain was going away and I felt sleepy. I let sleep consume me, the last thing I saw was my mother's tear-stained face and my father's full of guilt.