Edited by: thirtxn
Amazing promotion by: -Vellichor
Ending banners by: shadowsleek

I sat in the meadow, letting the lush grass tickle my toes and feel the wind whip my long, chocolate brown hair around. Though the breeze was cold, I loved the outside - always had, always would. I still thought the day was beautiful, yet I always wondered of how beautiful the night might be. I had a feeling that maybe this would be the time I could see the night. All my life I had been hidden away at night, not allowed to even look out the window.

I stared off into the slowly sinking sun, becoming more excited and nervous. I didn't want to look behind and see my mother. I didn't want to hear her voice saying it was time to retreat into the house. But I did. I looked behind myself and my smile faded, running from our cottage was my mother shouting, "Skyler! The sun is about to set! Come on! Let's get inside before dark." Her strawberry blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun, slowly falling out as she sprinted up the hill.

"But why? I'm going to be sixteen tomorrow. I don't need your supervision anymore," I whined out.

She came up to me, out of breath, face red. She wasn't much of a runner. "Because. Dangerous things could be out there and they could do - do something bad." She stuttered, still panting slightly.

"That's not the reason you won't let me stay out here, mom," I confronted her. "Tell me the real reason." I placed my hands on my hips, acting the most brave I had ever been towards her. I saw her raise an eyebrow, my unexpected confidence surprising her.

"That is none of your business. I have my reasons and you will respect them." She answered, her voice much stronger than it was before. It knocked my confidence a little. "Now let's go." I dropped my head and started heading back towards our cottage. She could be impossible sometimes - not sometimes, all the time.

I kicked at the bits of clumped grass, walking as slowly as I could. The sun was sinking faster. My mother started to walk quicker, digging her fingers into the material of my shirt. "Mom, that's hurts." I whined, gritting my teeth as her nails dug further in.

"Come on - hurry," she spoke nervously, dismissing what I had said. By then she was dragging me behind her.

"Mom!" I shouted, digging my heels into the ground, stopping.

"Skylar!" She exclaimed. I took a step back, surprised by her outburst. "You are not safe out here! It's almost dark out and we're still out here!"

"But why?!" I cried out, frustrated with not knowing why. "Why won't you let me stay out here? All my life I've wanted this, but you just shut it away from me!" I could feel the sting of tears, but forced them not to come. I wasn't going to cry. I refused to cry.

"I've already told you," she said, lowering her voice to an angry whisper, as if she couldn't bring herself to stay angry at me. "It's not safe for you out here."

"But why is it not safe?" My own voice was slightly quieter now, almost defeated. When she didn't answer, I could do little more than nod. "It's nice to know you trust me enough to tell me."

-

Stirring my soup around in my bowl, I stared glumly into it. Hand on my cheek, I sighed - a dramatic one to get my point across to my mother who was happily chirping away about her flower garden. I stood up abruptly, hands on the table. "Skylar? What's the matter?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Nothing," I angrily muttered. Even if I told her she wouldn't care. She would say the same thing she always did, and I was sick of the same thing - always the same routine everyday. Wake up, get dressed, go outside, try to see the night, get ushered back in, eat soup, go to bed. I was sick of it.

I stalked away, ignoring my mothers protest to come back. I placed my hand over the hidden necklace I was wearing. I had never told my mother about it. I found it hidden in a cracked board in our house. It was a beautiful pendant, on it hung a crescent moon and with a star sitting atop it. I had always loved it. It was the closest thing I had to the night, and it was probably the closest I was ever going to get.

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I sat on my bed as my mother sprayed my windows black, so I couldn't see out of them. Once they were all covered she came over to my bed, placing her fingers beneath my dropped chin to lift it so I could look at her. "Hey, I know you hate this but it's for your own good," she insisted softly, the worried look never leaving her stare. It made me angry, she was the one who did this to me, not something 'bad' in the night.

"Yeah, sure," I said, shaking my head away so her fingers could drop from my chin.

"Hey," she snapped, all softness gone from her voice. "Don't do that. There are things out there that could hurt you." Yet you're the only one that is hurting me.

"Good excuse," I whispered. I could see the flare of anger in her eyes, but instead of going off on me, she sighed.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. Tomorrow I'll give you the day off, so we can celebrate your birthday."

Since we lived in the countryside I was home schooled. My mother was a teacher, until she got fired for pranking the principal on April Fool's day. She took me to live in this cottage when I was young. The cottage was bigger than a townhouse and it cost a lot of money that my mother didn't have. To pay for it she took the money from my dad's bank account that she gained possession of when he died.

I never met my dad, so I had no memories of him. Sometimes I believed I didn't even have a dad. I mean, I know I did, but we didn't have pictures anywhere of him, and my mother has never mentioned him. Ever. He probably would have allowed me to see the night. Ever since I was old enough to talk I had always argued to stay outside at night and not have my windows spray painted black, but my mother always won the fight. I sat back in my bed and sighed. Until I was eighteen, I was never going to see the stars, and even then my mother would probably still find a way to stop me. She was so stubborn. I felt like Rapunzel trapped in a tower all day. Sometimes I would think about sneaking out, but always decided against it. I would lose the trust my mother has placed in me, and even if it was only a little, she was still my mother. I couldn't just leave her alone in the countryside.

Finally, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with the same dream on my mind.