Free Muse Unexpected by V. C. Birlidis Page A

knew was complete nonsense.

    Do not mourn for me, my love. For I am not here.

    She recognized her father’s handwriting and her mind spun.
    This isn’t funny. Her hands shook. Her heart pounded, as she attempted to understand the meaning of the note. She crumbled the paper and was about to throw away what she was sure was a stupid joke, but stopped as a fresh crop of tears swelled in her eyes. She gripped the note in her fist, the paper feeling cold to her touch. Feverish and sick to her stomach, she accepted the last shred of hope she had been searching for.
    My father is alive. I knew it. That’s what the note meant. He’s alive. He’s alive, in hiding. Maybe he was a spy of some sort and had to go into hiding or a witness in a major trial and had to go into the witness protection program. They had to fake his death. That had to be it. He’s alive. My father is alive.
    The note slipped through her fingers and her eyes followed it, as it drifted to the ground. It landed with a loud thud and exploded into a million points of light that shot in all directions.
    Everything appeared to melt away and she collapsed, unable to fill her lungs with air. She recognized she was having a panic attack and closed her eyes, concentrating on breathing in a slow, controlled pattern. After a few panic-filled minutes of wheezing gasps it had passed, and she lifted her head and looked around. She was alone.
    Even though the wind whooshed past her, sending her hair and clothes rustling wildly about her, she didn’t feel the cold of the Ohio spring anymore. Everything around her that had been so lush and vibrant now appeared to be muted and fuzzy. She walked forward, not seeing where she was going, but growing angrier as she wondered how her mother and grandmother could have left without her. She paused a moment as a distant spark of light caught her eye. It came from the far edge of the cemetery, which was bordered by a huge, dense wood on three of its four sides. Not sure why she was doing it, she changed direction and began walking towards the bright object, which she realized was a figure of a man motioning for her to come to him. She knew the man, she was sure of it, but couldn’t make him out because he was too far away.
    She wondered if it was Stephanie’s husband or the creepy monk.
    Who would want to be a stupid monk? Why not become a priest? Isn’t that like being a paralegal versus a lawyer?
    The clouds parted, sending some unexpected rays of late day sunshine into the clearing and as the man became bathed in the warm light, she gasped.
    “Daddy? God! Daddy!” She broke into a blind run. The figure waved for her to follow as he walked into the woods.
    “Daddy.” She started panicking she would lose him. “Don’t leave, Daddy. Take me with you. Please wait.” She yelped the words as she stumbled over a low, broken tombstone, but jumped to her feet in a heartbeat, not wanting to lose sight of her father.
    Sophie began to run again, getting closer and closer to the spot where her father had appeared, and the moment she reached it the clouds closed up and the light was gone. She was desperate, deciding whether or not to face the darkness of the woods and shivered a bit.
    Don’t go in there .
    She took a few steps backward; convincing herself venturing into the dark woods was not an option her mother would approve of. Almost appearing to sense her hesitation, she watched the clouds part again, shedding light on a far off clearing. Like before, her father stood in the warm light, except this time he called to her.
    “Sophie. We haven’t much time. Come on, honey.”
    She strained to see him. He sounded a million miles away, his voice crackling like he was on a cell phone with a bad connection.
    “Sophie.” He called again and for a brief second she could make him out, as if he was a few yards away from her. Without even thinking, she silenced her voice of reason and rushed into the woods.
    Her eyes adjusted to her