Unrest

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Unrest~0~



         Her palms sweat as she gripped the wheel. Past the grocery and convenience store was the park she saw. A playground with the brightly colored equipment, benches hosting mothers who watched the squealing kids as they twirled and swung and climbed. ~1~

She arrived. It was as she saw it the night before. Kids, mothers, benches. She stepped on the brakes and threw the car in park. She flung herself across the road and into the perimeter of the neatly trimmed grass. She saw it from the tree line before. It would happen that way again, she was sure.~2~

She stopped and twirled frantically, seeking the source of the horrid noise that hadn’t yet broken the day. She listened between irregular breaths and turned with wide eyes to the north. The trees.~3~

Mothers and nannies watched with concern. But their concern was spent on their own children, not this strange girl that inhabited their safe place. ~4~

Nothing. There was nothing. She waited and the time had passed. The pivotal moment that would be written in newspapers and spread across the local news. The boom that would make these recreational areas a place to be avoided, like the famous great white shark had done to beaches. But this was no movie. And…the time had passed.~5~

Her senses shifted from the terrible premonition to her present surroundings. The sun shone, and the breeze rustled the leaves in the nearby trees. Children giggled and screamed and a bird sang. It was a beautiful day, for everyone now. Eyes stared at her, and she appeared to be the crazy one standing in the park.~6~

“That’s not how it’s supposed to happen…” she said. She understood this outcome no more than the nightmares that started it.~7~

“Miss?” the nearest young woman asked. ~8~

She straightened and started walking to her car. The door still hung open and the keys dangled in the ignition. She sat in the driver seat and focused on calming herself. This must be good, she thought. The interference was enough. She would go home now…~9~

In the corner of her room she kept her book. The scraps of newspapers illustrating her nightmares. TWO HOMICIDE VICTIMS IDENTIFIED. FAMILY KILLED IN HOUSE FIRE, CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION. She thumbed through more. Similar clippings were glued to the thick pages. ~10~

This is the first time she’s been able to intervene. She knew the park, so she was able to find it before it happened. If she had insight as to what would come to pass, she hoped she had the influence to alter it. It appeared to be so.~11~

Oh god, it was not hopeless.~12~

She slid into bed and rested her muscles, worn out as the adrenaline faded. She tugged her pillow under her head and slept.~13~

She didn’t dream of horrors that night. It was restful. She woke with renewed hope and calmness. A gargantuan task was completed and it broke the cycle. ~14~

She smelled coffee brewing in her automatic coffee pot. She walked to the kitchen, scratching the sleep lines on her skin from yesterday’s clothes. It was like any other day before the nightmares began. Her thoughts were on her own concerns, her own aspirations for her day. She poured the coffee and enjoyed the aroma before she sipped the hot wonderful liquid.~15~

She pressed the button on her remote and the television clicked to life. The weather man finished the extended forecast and cut to the anchorwoman.~16~

“In other local news, a startling shooting occurred overnight on 6th and Hope Street. A 31 year old mother and her nine year old daughter were shot near their home. They were rushed to Community Faith Hospital but later died from their injuries. The gunman is still at large. Police are searching for suspects.”~17~

The blood froze in her veins. The nightmares didn’t stop. They just needed more time.~18~