All credits for the song go to Billy Joel's wonderful song, "Lullaby".
Lullaby
“Mommy?” the little girl lisps, padding along the icy hallway in bare feet. Shivering, she clutches a ragged teddy bear in both arms, protecting it from the hungry monsters that lurk in the shadows. The moonlight throws everything into stark relief; sharply outlining the branches of the tall trees on the hallway’s wood floor.
The little girl shrinks from the shadows; to her they are the long, bent fingers of a witch, reaching out to grab her.
“Mommy?” she calls again. Her breath puffs out in a wisp of cold air. In the eerie stillness of the night a woman’s stifled sobs are barely audible.
The little girl runs across the freezing floorboards, cold and smooth as ice, reaching one small, slim hand to push open the door. It swings inward at her soft touch.
A woman sits in a chair at the kitchen table, head resting on the rough hewn wood. Her hair, silver in the icy moonlight, covers a tear-stained face.
“Mommy?” the little girl whispers. The woman lifts her head and forces a smile that does not reach her eyes. “Ava, darling,” she calls softly, holding thin, white arm out to her daughter. “You’re so cold. Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I heard you and daddy fighting. Did he hurt you?”
“No, sweetheart, I’m fine,” the woman says softly. The little girl lifts her head to look at her mother with smoky grey eyes that seem too old for her thin, pale face. “Then why are you crying?”
The woman shakes her head, and the hot tears she has been holding back spill down her cheeks and onto her daughters face like rain.
“Let’s get you back to bed.”
Ava snuggles down among her covers and says softly. “Sing me a song, mommy.”
“It’s getting late, sweetheart, I don’t think-“
“Please, mommy?”
“All right. Just one song.” Ava’s mother gently smoothes the wrinkled blankets. “But you have to promise to go to sleep right after.”
“Promise.”
The woman’s voice is low, clear and sweet as a nightingale’s. Softly, she sings
“Good night my angel now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
“And like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me
I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me
“Goodnight my angel now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child will cry and if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child will cry and if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me
“Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on
They never die that's how you and I will be.”
But lullabies go on and on
They never die that's how you and I will be.”
By the time the song has ended Ava is nearly asleep. Smiling, her mother brushes the girls soft, dark curls from her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“‘Night, mommy,” mumbles Ava sleepily. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Sincerely,
A Writer
No comments:
Post a Comment