• Leaves rustling in the night breeze.

    The crunching of the grass and leaves underfoot.

    My hand being squeezed and pulled forward through the daze of sleep by one much bigger and bonier than my own.

    She ran with me stumbling through the yard to keep up. When we stopped, the creaking of a wooden door came from in front of me and I was pushed into the darkness where only a strip of moonlight shown through the dilapidated roof. Another creak, this time from below, and I was carefully walking down into total darkness. A narrow flight of stairs later and my feet hit dirt, the cold air in the hidden room smacked against my face, waking me up. My nightgown was suddenly too thin and my feet too bare.

    She sat me down on the cold ground and laid a bundle in my lap. Her lyrical voice sounded through the pitch black, "You protect your sister."

    "But mama I'm cold."

    "Shhh sweet one, you must be brave," she laid her hand against my cheek, "no matter what happens you must not fear evil for it's darkness will be your greatest weapon."

    Her cold, reassuring hand was gone and I was alone with my baby sister. The wooden trap door closed and her feet padded off into the darkness.