Courageous Spirits Of Love

As if sensing a presence near her, Maxima turned her head slightly, feeling a tingling up her neck. Her eyes widened in shock as she seen who was standing there. Her face turned white as if she'd seen a ghost, and crumpled to the grass unconscious.

Darnell raced over to Maxima, cradled her body into his. Moments later, her big cobalt blue eyes opened in a flutter of long black lashes.

"Darnell? You're a ghost" Maxima said in a whisper.

"No Maxima, I am here beloved." he spoke as a tear ran down his rugged cheek.

Reaching up gently, Maxima gently wiped the crystal tear from his tanned cheek with her finger. Bringing it to her lips to taste , she realized he was no ghost. "I was told bye your mother that you died, and they didn’t want me there" Maxima spilled out, as tears ran down her cheeks as well.

"Ron Brady paid a woman to call you and tell you that I had died, just as he called me and told me you were killed in a car accident, and that your parents didnt want me there for the funeral. It was all a lie, Max, so he could have you for himself." Swallowing hard, Darnell went on. "He....even killed Heather's father. I went to his house last week and confronted him, that's when I recognized his voice when he started to speak, he was drunk, and spilled his guts on what he did..as if he was proud". Darnell spat out in disgust.

The door to Maxima's house opened suddenly, and her parents came running out, upon hearing the commotion. Maxima's mother Sarina gasped in shock.

Leaning down slowly, Darnell picked up Maxima's body with the utmost care, cradling her head on his broad shoulder, and carried her to her house. Behind them, Maxima's father places his arm around his wife, leading her back in. Once inside, Darnell placed Maxima upon the plush blue sofa, staying near her.

Ten minutes later, Maxima came to, whimpering softly and whispered "Darnell"

Kneeling in front of the sofa, Darnell took Maxima's smooth hand. " I am here sweetheart, and I will never leave you again...ever".

Darnell and Maxima told her parents exactly what happened, and how they thought each other were dead. After the story was finally told, there was a stillness in the home, as if each person contemplated the enormity of what had just transpired; One man singlehandedly nearly destroyed six lives.

The next morning came early, as the warm sun rays filtered through the living room where Darnell slept. He felt the warmth of the rays caress his face like a lover's touch. As he opened his bright green eyes, he looked into the cobalt blue eyes of Maxima, as she smiled down upon him as she knelt before him on the floor.

"I didn’t feel you were dead...somehow I still felt your presence in my life. If there were no words, no way to speak...I would still hear you in my heart." Maxima expressed to him, as she ran a smooth hand down Darnell's rugged cheek. Their eyes locked together, as she leaned down and captured his lips. The sun seemed to approve of this long-awaited kiss, for as soon as their lips touched, the sun splashed more of its rays in the living room, illuminating it.

"I felt you too, Maxima, but my heart broke into a million pieces at the thought of your brilliant spirit leaving me. Even if the sun refused to shine, and all seemed lost, you would still have my heart until the end of time. You're all I need, and want. I have a son now, his name is Adam. After I thought you were dead, a time later, I met someone and we had a child, but she died of a brain tumor when Adam was two years old." Darnell kept his eyes locked to Maxima as he told her everything.

As if on cue, two sets of little feet were heard coming down the spiral staircase. Standing at the entrance of the living room, stood Adam and Heather, holding hands.

Mother and daughter stood looking at each other, then Maxima opened her arms for her daughter. Heather came running into them, as Maxima picked her up and held her close. "I Love you mommy" Heather whispered.

"I love you too Heather" Maxima looked at her daughter and reassured her. " Mommy is not going away on trips anymore. I am opening up a shop on the outskirts of the city, so mommy will be home everyday. I am so sorry I left you with Ron, mommy didn’t know he was hurting you. But I promise, he will never touch you again, he is going to jail".

"It's ok mommy, you didn’t know, and I didn’t want to be any trouble for you. I know you were always busy with work" She hugged her mother more, then looked at Darnell. Heather opened her arms to him, as he held Adam in his arms. In the next instant, they all held each other.

"Adam, this is Heather's mommy Maxima."

Adam's bright green eyes held Maxima's blue ones. She melted right away, upon seeing the beautiful little boy, and held out her arms for him. Adam hugged her tightly. " You look just like your daddy, Adam. So handsome and vibrant"

"Heather looks like you too, Maxima, except that she has a freckle on her nose and you don’t" Adam stated with a giggle, then ran when Heather began chasing him.

Darnell and Maxima chuckled at the children, then stood looking at each other, and knew that they would always be together. No one will ever stand between the two again. They both decided to make their homes outside of NY, away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. None of them realized that their future was about to yet again, come into jeopardy. They did not see the dark car parked outside Maxima's home, as Ron Brady waited with anger in his evil light blue eyes.

* * *

A month later, Heather and Adam were playing in the backyard, when they heard a car pull up in the driveway. Heather hid behind Adam as she recognized Ron Brady's car. Brady walked up to the door, and demanded to know where Maxima was. Heather noticed a gun placed behind Ron's back in his belt, and decided to face him, so she could protect her mommy.

"Mommy is not here, and she doesn’t want to see you anymore." Heather lifted her chin defiantly, her cobalt blue eyes flashing with rage, her little fists balled up.

"Well, well. The little witch has a spine after all. You certainly do take after your mother. I am here to take your mother, and nothing you can say will make a difference, so get lost brat" Ron Brady spat back.

" You will not hurt my mommy ever again!" with that, Heather kicked Ron hard in the shin, causing him to yelp in anger.

Ron retaliated by back handing her in the face, sending the little girl flying backwards to the ground."Little bitch, you'll pay for that" he began to walk towards her, as he heard a voice rang out.

" Stop where you are, lousy bastard!" Maxima's father stood in the open doorway, with Adam beside him. Darnell's son had run into the house to get Maxima's father when he seen Ron Brady hit Heather.

Stopping in his tracks, Ron held up his hands. He didn’t see the little boy running up behind him before it was too late. Adam had taken a metal lid from the trash can, aimed it at Ron's head, causing him to growl in anger.

" You will not hurt Heather anymore, you big oaf!" Adam yelled as he ran to Heather and stood in front of her. As Ron Brady was about to walk towards the children, he head the clicking of a gun. "Stay where you are Ron, the police are on their way." Just as he said that, Maxima and Darnell pulled up in his pickup. Maxima ran out even before the truck stopped.

"What the hell are you doing here? Taking in what happened, Maxima ran over to the children and stood in front of them.

"I'm here to finish what I started. You're mine Maxima." Ron stated with crazed, glazed filled eyes. As he was busy yelling at Maxima, Darnell came running towards Ron Brady, but he wasn’t quick enough. Ron took out the .45 from his pocket, swung hard and caught Darnell on the temple, knocking him down.

Looking at Maxima, Ron Brady took aim her, when a shot was fired from behind him. Maxima's father aimed at Ron, shooting him in the back, but Brady wasn’t done.

Heather watched as the gun pointed at her mother. Stepping in front of her, Heather stood in front of her mother, before anyone could do anything. Ron fired a shot just as Darnell took out his Colt and shot him between the eyes. Maxima cried out as the bullet hit Heather near the side of her head.

"Heather!!" Maxima cried out.

Maxima's father ran into the house to call the ambulance, even as the police sirens arrived at the scene.

Heather had taken the shot meant for her. Her daughter had sacrificed her safety for her, when she didn’t deserve it. She practically neglected her daughter for her own career...and here was her beautiful Heather, with the purest soul, sacrificing herself for her mother.

Kneeling down beside her daughter, Maxima's eyes filled with tears, holding her. The ambulance could be heard approaching the house. A few moment later, the paramedics gently pulled her off the bleeding and prone body of her daughter, as they worked to try and revive her. One paramedic looked back at Maxima and shook his head with sadness in his eyes.

Heather watches her mother weeping in the rain from above the scene..watching as the paramedics try to revive her body...turning slightly..Heather watches as a soft white glow beckons her to follow....Heather's heart feels heavy as she thinks how much easier it would be for her mother if she were just to go to Heaven where they will love her, and not be in the way. Images of her short life flash before her eyes, watching each scene as if it were a movie....Her mother yelling at her pretend father...him slapping her mother....Watching a scene where she asks her mother to come play Barbie with her..but her mother tells her she has no time for her..she needs to get to work. Heather watches another scene, as her pretend father backhands her, after spilling some milk on the table, her big blue eyes filling with tears, as he storms out of the house, leaving her behind her, holding her only friend....her doll...a red imprint upon her soft little cheek. Feeling angry inside that her mother always left her behind with a man that ended up not being her father, and thought of her as a burden, and that never loved her.

As the scenes end, Heather watched as her mother fainted to the pavement, her flooded tears overcast by the pouring rain running on her body....an ambulance attendant ran toward her prone body. As they lift her mother to her feet and walked her to where they worked on Heather's body, The ambulance attendant shook his head again at her mother, as she asked him where her baby was. Her mother's eyes followed to where Heather's body was being led to the ambulance truck. Heather watched from the sky above the scene, as her mother's aura darkened and her eyes glazed over....remembering how she sometimes wished she wasn’t born....and thinking her mother felt the same about her....but as she watched how her mother's spirit dimmed...and her heart shattering in millions of pieces. A new scene came to Heather from the past couple of days, when her mother held her tightly, and took her away from that bad man, Ron Brady. She also thought of what her mother told her "I am opening a new shop on the outskirts of NY, so that I could be home for you everyday, because I love you dearly. Heather realized just how much her mother really loved her. Heather changed her mind....looking towards the light, but a voice whispered to her "Heather, three special people really need you, showing her Adam, Darnel and her mother, please heal each other"...and with that..the light vanished.....

Heather floated back down to her body, missing her mother so much. Gasping for air, she opened her eyes, causing her mother to cry out "HEATHER!!!" Pushing the people away from her, Maxima ran towards her daughter, laid out on the stretcher, before they can place the white sheet to cover her body...

Ignoring the voices crying out a miracle, around her, Heather cried out "mommy...mommy...where are you" Sitting up on the stretcher, Heather opened her arms for her mother, as she ran to her..

Picking up her daughter from the stretcher, Maxima held her little daughter in her arms, mother and daughter hugging tightly, both crying out in joy. Looking into each other's eyes, blue eyes mirrored each other, both their chestnut brown hair mixing together, as their foreheads touched. "Oh Heather, thank you for coming back to me" then looking up into the heavens, Maxima mouthed the words "thank you Lord"...

Both mother and daughter were placed in the ambulance, and brought to the hospital to be tended to....physically and emotionally. Heather suffered only minor injuries, as miraculously, the bullet only grazed her head.

* * *

One year later, Maxima and Darnell were married, and he adopted Heather as his own child. Heather and Adam became best friends, and she blossomed into a vibrant child. The dark shadows that once filled her cobalt blue eyes, were now a distant memory, as was the tragedy that transpired to bring them all closer. Ron Brady was dead, and so were the days when Maxima took Heather for granted. Maxima was pregnant not long after that.

Months later, Maxima gave birth to twins; a boy and a girl then named Chance and Destiny.......

The End.

This short story is dedicated to my mother, who had the courage to leave a violent home, which almost killed her spirit. This is also dedicated to all the men, women and children who have had to endure abuse, the crushing of their spirit and those that were courageous enough to fight back.