One stormy night

One Stormy Night.

The dark winter's sky opened up to release a hulking roll of thunder.
The lashes of rain pelted against the delicate branches of the trees
that clung together to form frightening and mysterious shadows.
Down deep in the middle of the forest Dawn gripped with all her
strength to an old oak tree. The harsh rain hit her face like bricks.
Her drenched hair clung to her face in locks. Nobody heard her screams
for help. As her wet hands slipped away from the tree her feet were
pulled closer to the banks of the flooded river.
Her last desperate cry for help was ignored as thunder rung through
her ear. Her tiny hands slowly slipped away from the tree and her feet
inched closer to the river. She remembered thinking to herself as the
cold water leaked through the rips on her shoes that she should have
taken the swimming lessons when her father gave her the money.
Her small body fell into the icy cold river and was taken away by the
vicious wave. Her small head bobbed under the water. She managed to
pull her body above the water for one last desperate gasp of air. She
opened her eyes, the dirty water splashed into her face. Just before
her body was pulled under by the current she caught a glimpse of a slim
figure standing on the river bank. She pulled herself up with the last
ounce of energy left in her and clung to a branch that hung over the
river.
The lady was dressed in white, this she remembered. She did not seem
to move at first. Dawn screamed out to her for help. The ice water
splashed in her face once again when she reopened her eyes the woman
stood before her. Her arm was stretched out to Dawn. A great rush of
water swept over dawn. Her tired hands finally let go of the slippery
branch. She felt herself being pulled into the river once again by the
water. She closed her eyes as she was pulled under.

She managed to pull open her heavy eyes as the loud dogs bark woke her
up. She looked around, the trees looked a lot smaller in the daylight.
Her hair was still wet and there was a small puddle of water where she
lay. She heard footsteps coming towards her, then the dog ran away. Her
eyes seemed to close by themselves.

Warm water dripped down her face. She looked up at the middle-aged
woman sitting by the bed. She smiled back down at her. The chubby woman
sat holding a bowl of water and rocked back and forth in her chair.
Dawn looked around the room, where was she? There was a big window on
the other side of the room. Dawn tried to move to look through it but
her whole body cried out in protest. She decided to stay still. She
went to look back at the woman but noticed a small table next to the
bed. Only a small framed picture sat on the table. A picture of a young
woman. Dawn sat looking at the picture for a few minutes.
"It's my daughter" The woman spoke for the first time. "She's not here
anymore."
Dawn had seen the woman before, maybe she had moved to her town. The
woman in the picture wore a red cotton dress, but all Dawn could
imagine her in was white. A long white robe.
"Yep, she died last year." The woman continued. Dawn turned to look at
her, she knew she had seen her before that.
"How?" Was all she could manage to say.
"She drown in that river down there." She pointed over towards the
window. "They said it was a storm. This was her room you know. She used
to love it up here. I'd just sit here and read to her. I still do
sometimes. Though I'' have to lock the door when she was a bad girl,
you know when she wanted to go out in to the forest. Well I can read to
you now, can't I?"
"I have to go home" Dawn said
The woman didn't seem to hear her. She stood up and walked to the
door.
"You get your rest now, dear"
She turned and shut the door behind her. The key turned in the lock.
The footsteps faded.