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The night was still, cool, and silent as the crickets outside played their soft melodies. The inside of the ranch house was almost the same as it was outside, except the cracks and pops of burning wood in a fireplace was the melody playing.
At least Alice has gone back to sleep, Abraham thought with a soft smile while he stared down at the small girl in his arms, who had been struggling for the past few nights with the blessing of sleep. It was expected though, as her home had been burnt down the day her nightly screams began. Nightmares of the burning, and quite possibly the monsters who killed her family and nearly her, was the most likely cause. And Abraham hated it. Here in his arms laid in a girl whom he had saved from the fires physically, but not psychologically, and he was helpless to save her from the fires within her mind.
Almost suddenly, his eyelids began to feel unbearably heavy, as if they had forty invisible pounds attached to them. The temptation to sleep sounded wonderful, almost beautiful, even if he would be sleeping in an upright chair (which always resulted in back pain for him in the next morning). Just as he began to drift off into the blackness of sleep, soft whimpering came from his arms, immediately opening his eyes and awaking his mind.
Abraham looked down at Alice sadly as her face distorted with fear, the nightmares returning to her tortured mind. An overwhelming sense of helplessness took over Abraham as he watched his newly adopted daughter be haunted by her violent past yet again. Nothing could come to his mind to comfort the child and stop the nightmares dead in their tracks. He was afraid she'd have to suffer through her nightly cycle of whimpering, then screaming, before being shaken awake by Abraham and then soothed off into sleep to repeat the cycle.
“No, not again.” Abraham growled, his grip tightening around his daughter as he glared down at her angrily, his eyes piercing right through her as if he were trying to stare down the demons that possessed her dreams. But no matter how strong or bold he tried to be, Alice only continued to whimper and was beginning to shake in Abraham's arm, causing his glare to melt away like butter thrown into a fire. Moments after the glare disappeared, tears began to quietly stream out of the corners of Alice's eyes and down the sides of her face onto Abraham's thighs.
Looking for answers, Abraham began to search through the dark and crime ridden past of his life trying to find an answer to his question – How do you comfort a child? He went back to the beginning, of when he was a child, but no memories came. His mother had died when he was but a boy, and his father was too busy working in the fields to tend to a child. So Abraham began to think of the men and women who he had terrorized during his nearly life long crime spree, trying to recollect what they do to ease their fear and pain while he robbed them blind, or even killed them.
The answer hit Abraham so hard it was if he had been standing on the railways in the way of a locomotive going as fast as it's steam engine could push.
Abraham cleared his throat, making a rough and loud noise which made Alice flinch in his arms. He paid no attention to her as he readjusted himself in his seat, and Alice in his arms so she was laying more snuggly between his left arm and chest.
Softly, he began to sing.
“Come, stop your crying,
It'll be alright.
Just take my hand,
Hold it tight.
I will protect you,
From all around you.
I will be here,
Don't you cry.”
His voice was deep, rough, yet (thank the Lord above) soothing to Alice, as she began to settle back down, her tears running dry, but the soft whimpers still escaped her throat. Abraham smiled in relief to see his singing had been working, better than it did for the mothers trying to comfort their children as he stood over them coldly, and armed.
“For one so small,
You seem strong.
My arms will hold you,
Keep you safe and warm.
This bond between us,
Can't be broken.
I will be here,
Don't you cry.
'Cause you'll be in my heart,
Yes, you'll be in my heart,
From this day on,
Now and forever more.
You'll be in my heart,
No matter what they say.
You'll be here in my heart, always.”
As Abraham sung to lullaby as beautifully and softly as his rough voice could, Alice's whimpers slowly stopped and her face clear out to a relaxed expression. Once more, she was sleepy peacefully in Abraham's arms, and the man let out a relieved sigh to see this once again.
Perhaps now, he could catch a few nods himself...
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