Chapter 1

• HEAVEN.
• Age Eight
• I ran as fast as my frail legs could carry me, my heart pounding against my ribcage like it would burst open. I was frightened and my legs were getting weaker and sorer from running such a long distance, but I couldn't stop.
• I know if I did, I would be killed.
• Those bad men would catch me and they would do to me what they did to Mama and my unborn sister.
• Papa said to run to the stable and hide there, so those bad men wouldn't find me.
• He said I should stay there and not make any sound, unless, I would be found and killed. Papa left with his big gun and he promised he was going to come back to get me.
• From behind, the gunshots were louder and more frequent. I blinked away the tears that have blurred my sight and they fell on my face, as I continued to run.
• When I got to the stable, it was locked with a big padlock.
• No! I have to go inside and hide.
• How can I go inside now, since the door was locked with the big lock?
• I didn't want to make any sound, fearing one of those bad men might be near and would hear me and shoot me with their big guns.
• I needed to go inside and hide. I didn't want to die.
• I tried pulling the lock, hoping it would magically open, but it was stuck and my hands weren't strong enough like Papa's or Uncle Lincoln, or any of the other coworkers. I needed the keys or something bigger, I could break the lock with.
• Looking around, I hoped to see a thick wood, or some rock I could hit the lock with, but there was nothing nothing. Absolutely nothing.
• I rushed to the backyard, to see if the windows were left open, so I could climb through from there, but the windows were closed too.
• In desperation, I pulled the empty barrel lying carelessly on the floor and pushed it against the wooden shed, then I climbed on it.
• Luckily, I was able to pull the window open and I jumped through, landing inside, on the hay sacks that were stacked on the floor.
• It was very dark and scary inside the stable, but this time, I didn't mind the darkness.
• Papa had taught me how to overcome my fear of the dark.
• I always hate the dark and Papa said I'm nyctophobic. He said to always count sheep and keep my back against the wall whenever I found myself in a dark place. In the darkness, I glided into one of the stable partitions and placed my back against the wooden wall, coiling myself like a ball.
• One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep, five sheep......twenty sheep.....thirty sheep...
• I shut my eyes and rocked myself like mama used to rock me whenever I'd had a terrible nightmare and I continued to count sheep while waiting for Papa to come to get me.
• I didn't know for how long I'd stayed in the stable before I started hearing the indistinct voices outside. I pulled my knees closer until they begin to hurt, but I didn't dare make any sound.
• The door burst open and I shuddered with fear. The voices outside were becoming clearer and I hear one of the men say,
• "Burn everything double-checked. The boss was specific about having no survivors left."
• In my childish brain, I deduce immediately, they were no other survivors left, except me.
• They've killed Papa too.
• I wanted to cry, but I didn't want to make any sound.
• I bit out the material of my pajamas, so I don't emit any sound.
• Soon, our horses began to neigh uncontrollably like they were being threatened and I sprung my eyes open immediately.
• It was very dark, darker than night and the air was getting thicker. I perceived something else in the atmosphere and I panicked.
• Smoke! There was smoke everywhere and the smell of burning wood filled my nostrils like oxygen.
• Papa used to say I have an incredible sense of smell, because of how quick I'm to deduce any odd smell around me.
• I sprung up from the concrete floor and I hurried out of the stable partition, trying to find my way to the door, but the thick smoke seized my lungs and I began to cough uncontrollably.
• I tried to ward off the smoke, but I couldn't breathe anymore. I coughed, wheezed and I choked. The smoke filled my eyes and every other opening in my body.
• I heard the door slam shut and the sound that followed, were from the wailing horses and the sound of my shallow breaths.
• My legs couldn't hold me up any longer, because of how weak they have become.
• I fell to the hard ground, holding my chest as I continued to cough and choke.
• I saw life slowly seeping from my body, but I did not attempt to catch it.
• Why should I?
• Papa was gone, and so was Mama and my unborn sister.
• Why should I try to catch back my life, when everyone else was dead?
• Of what use was my living?
• I closed my eyes and tears drop from both my eyes, then, I gave in to the darkness calling unto me from afar.
• I regained my consciousness in a start, but I couldn't open my eyes.
• My eyelids were heavy like someone has glued them together and they were inseparable.
• I tried to move my body, but I couldn't even feel any part of it except my head, because of its heaviness as I tried to lift it from the soft landing I was laid on.
• I also noticed there were layers of some soft materials around my face and my head too.
• What happened to me?
• I could barely recall anything. Not my name, not who I was or how I came to be. There were no memories inside my head, nothing at all.
• Everything was blank and black, like a fathomless black hole.
• I began to hear voices, indistinct voices and I struggled to free my eyelids from themselves, so I could see where I was and ask questions about how I got there.
• "I tell you, doctor, I saw her finger twitch." A deep voice said as several footsteps approached me in a hurry.
• I couldn't recognize any the voices nor place them to anyone familiar.
• I couldn't even tell what I looked like or what I don't.
• "You sure Mr. Casteel?" Another voice, still unrecognizable, questioned the first voice, and before the first voice could reply to him, I heard another voice announce hysterically,
• "Doctor Baird, I just saw her thumb twitch!"
• This third voice wasn't deep and gruff like the first two were, it was softer.
• I felt someone move towards me and their hand raised mine. That was the first time I felt another part of my body, other than my head. Whoever it was, pressed my elbow and I winced softly, creasing my forehead.
• It hurts!
• I wanted to tell the person to stop, but I could neither open my mouth nor my eyes.
• "Heaven, if you can hear me, wiggle your fingers." One of the deep and gruff voices said to me.
• Heaven....was my name Heaven?
• How come I don't remember that too?
• What happened to me?
• "You see, I told you she's finally regained her consciousness." The second deep and gruff voice said. I could sense the excitement in his voice.
• Who was he and why was he so concerned about my revival?
• "Thank goodness, my daughter is finally coming back to me.' The first voice added and my brows creased in confusion.
• Daughter? Was he my papa?
• "Isn't it yet time to remove it?"
• I fought desperately to open my eyes and see his face, but my glued eyelids still couldn't separate themselves.
• Wait...was he?
• "We aren't certain yet, Mr. Casteel. She might be semiconscious, in the sense that, her brain is awake and responding, but her physical body isn't." The first voice explained to the second,
• "When the patient's anatomy is in a vegetative state, their neurological systems and brain cells are awake, transmitting signals to other parts of the body. A few may respond to the stimulus, causing reflex, but most of them don't."
• I don't even understand a word of what the voice had said, but I was eager to open my eyes and see my papa.
• "What about the bandage?" The second voice asked,
• "Not yet, Mr. Casteel. We've to wait until she's fully conscious, then we can take off the bandage."
• I'm awake. I just have to open my eyes and let them know that.
• The more I tried to separate my eyelids and make a sound, the more difficult it proved, so I decided to give it a rest and force myself to sleep.
• Maybe, when I wake up, this would all be a nightmare.