The latter of the two kept trying to calm her in hushed tones and muffled endearments, and as I exited my bedroom and headed in their direction I heard him say – beg, really, ‘You’re going to wake Denise, Margaret. Please, lower your voice!’ ‘What’s going on here?’ I demanded, wiping sleep from my eyes and instantly registering their concerned facial expressions. ‘It’s nothing, dear, go back to bed.’ ‘No,’ Mom protested, ‘she has the right to know, Richard.’ ‘Margaret, leave her out of this!’ ‘No, Richard, don’t tell me what to do!’ Mom faced me with tears in her eyes. She had just opened her mouth to say something, when my ears detected a soft buzz and instead of uttering words, she gasped in surprise and released a heavy sigh before dropping dead to the ground. ‘Mom?’ I barely had the time to voice, when the buzz sounded again and my father divide right at me, carrying us both to the floor just in time to avoid a tiny black arrow from lodging right in my chest.
