Part 4: The Storm

The rain was pouring in the darkness outside Amina’s home.

Inside, the reporter smiled in her sleep as she reveled in the warmth of her bed. Amina had always found comfort in the sound of a storm and this one couldn’t have come at a better time. She hadn't had a good night’s sleep in ages.

The thunder rolled and Amina’s eyes flickered open just for a moment. She pulled her comforter higher and nestled her head deeper into her pillows. As she began to fade back into her slumber, a different, more unsettling sound, jolted her awake again.

It was unmistakable. Footsteps.

Someone else was in her room.

The hairs on Amina's neck stood on end as she tried to be as still as she could. She stared wide-eyed into the inky black, but she couldn’t see anyone there. Regardless, she knew someone was watching her. She could almost feel the intensity of their stare. The springs of her mattress creaked as the intruder carefully climbed into the bed behind her. Driven by reflex, Amina grabbed the lamp from her nightstand and quickly rolled over to attack. Lightning flashed and a scream involuntarily escaped her lips as she came face to face with two large glowing eyes. Four let out a surprised shriek as well and fell backward off the bed. She quickly scrambled to her avian feet and ran for the bedroom door. Amina watched, frozen, still holding her improvised weapon above her head. In her half-asleep state, the thought that the presence she felt was just her new house guest hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“What the Hell, dude…?” Amina finally said indignantly, her breathing still heavy as she slowly regained control of herself. “Why aren't you in bed?! You scared the shit out of me…! I almost clocked you…!”

Four slowly peaked back in through the doorway, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Amina exhaled slowly as she set her lamp back on the nightstand and plugged it in. She went to turn it on, only to find the power had been knocked out by the storm.

“Damn it…” Amina muttered while she fruitlessly turned the clicking knob. She squinted in the dark, turning her attention back toward Four. “So what’s the matter, huh? Can't sleep?"

Four sniffled and slowly shook her head. “No. It’s… too loud,” she said shyly. “I don’t like… loud noises.”

The thunder roared and the walls of Amina’s house shuddered. With a yelp, Four collapsed to her knees, her hands tightly pressed against her ears. Amina quickly tossed back her comforter and hurried over to her terrified friend. “You could have just woken me up…” she said as she stooped down. “The normal way, I mean.”

“I… wanted to…” Four replied, between her sniffles and whimpers. “...but you looked… so tired. So I thought… maybe I could just… be nearby…”

Amina rubbed Four’s shoulder. “Well, I'm fully awake now and if you want to stay in here, that's fine. At least it won't be a surprise this time.”

“After… scaring you… maybe I… I shouldn’t,” Four replied. “I don't… want to keep you up. And if… if I get really scared again… I might…” Four’s voice trailed off.

“Might what?” Amina asked, worried. Four whined and sadly pointed to the bandage on Amina’s palm from the bath incident.

“Oh, right…” the reporter replied. Four does tend to flail when she's startled and her claws were sharper than they looked. Amina sat for a moment and tried to think of a solution. There had to be something that would work for them both.

Four groaned as the lightning flashed again followed by a low rumble. She backed up and crumpled into a corner. “I’ll just… stay here…” she said. “I’ll… be ok…”

“No way. I'm not going to make you sit crammed in a corner all night,” Amina said as she stood up. “Just hold on, I’ll be right back.”

The reporter used her phone as a flashlight and made her way to the kitchen. She walked past Four, still in the corner, slowly rocking herself. Amina could hear the chimera muttering as she stepped into the hallway. With the loud pattering of the rain, she couldn't quite make out what Four was saying, but the sad tone was still evident.

“Erving probably had a point,” Amina thought to herself as she went to the kitchen and began to rummage through one of her cupboards. He had said the chimera needed help that she couldn't provide, after all, mental wellness definitely wasn't Amina's strong suit. She removed a couple things from the cupboard, closed the doors, and sighed “It’s not like we have a lot of options," she thought. "We'll have to improvise and hope for the best.”

Four let out another small whine as Amina walked back into the bedroom with two thick red oven mitts. “Here, let's put these on,” Amina said as she helped Four slowly slide them over her clawed hands. “Keep these on and we shouldn't have to worry about scratching me in your sleep.”

Four looked at her covered hands. She moved her fingers inside the mitts as a small smile creeped across her face. “They’re… really soft… and warm… thank you,” the chimera said, content with the temporary solution.

“Good, then come on,” Amina replied as she helped Four up. “Time to get some rest. Hopefully you don’t kick in your sleep.”

As the reporter climbed back under her thick comforter, the chimera went to the other side of the bed and simply sat down on the edge. Her knee nervously bobbed and fidgeted as she awaited another boom of thunder. “Don't go worrying about personal space now,” Amina said unenthusiastically as she rolled over to face her friend. She lifted the covers and patted the spot next to her. “I know you’re cold. You're always cold.”

Four nodded silently and cautiously slipped under the comforter. She sank deep into the plush blanket, pulling it over her face until just her eyes barely peeked out. She laid staring at the ceiling as Amina watched over her. Each flash of lightning caused Four’s eyes to shine with reflected light and with each rumble, she would disappear under the comforter. After a few moments she would slowly reappear as the sound dissipated.

“I guess you’re not gonna get much sleep tonight,” Amina said with a frown while she adjusted her pillows. “Sorry, I can’t really relate. I'll probably pass out pretty quick. I sleep like a baby during thunderstorms.”

“How?” Four asked, annoyed. “They’re scary… and dangerous.”

The reporter shrugged under the blanket, her face illuminated by another flash of lightning. “I guess that’s true,” she said, “but I think there’s something beautiful about them too. I dunno.”

“That… doesn't make any sense,” Four replied, curtly.

Amina scratched her neck as she tried to figure out how to explain it. “Uh… well, I guess it's like this. We… I mean, people in general… We really abuse nature, you know? We cut down forests and build crappy shopping centers, we dam up rivers and redirect them just because we don't like where they are… but the weather? We can't do anything to stop a storm. They're a force we can try to predict and prepare for, but that’s as good as it gets. It's humbling and thrilling at the same time.”

Amina rolled over to turn her gaze to the rain dripping down her bedroom window. Four sat up and looked at the reporter. Amina’s answer had left her even more puzzled than she had been at the start.

“But… it’s bad weather…” Four said, still confused.

“Sure, storms can be dangerous and even deadly," Amina replied, “but it's not like there's maliciousness or whatever behind it. Either way, I still think they're kind of beautiful. Maybe I'm just weird.”

The chimera sat in silence and stared at Amina before turning her gaze to the mitts on her hands. “Dangerous… and scary… but also beautiful?” she whispered to herself. The very idea that all three of those things could exist together still seemed so foreign to her. As much as she tried, she couldn't wrap her head around it.

When the thunder shook the house again, Four flinched, but she tried her best not to cower. Instead, she forced herself to look out the window. Perhaps, if she looked hard enough, she would be able to see whatever beauty that Amina could see in the downpour. The occasional flashes of light in the clouds, at least the ones not followed by thunder, weren't so bad. As for the rain, the rhythm of the water droplets did sort of put her at ease.

“I suppose… I understand what you mean… a little,” Four finally admitted. “The rain is nice… but when I was down… in the basement... I only heard… thunder. It was… so scary. I didn't know… it was just… a storm.”

The reporter sat up, adjusting her pillows so she could lean back against them, “Oh… right. The basement. I guess you wouldn't have known what was going on outside.”

“No… and I was always alone… at night,” Four confessed, tears welling up again. “When I heard the loud noises… I just… I just hid. In a corner. Down there… the echoes… it sounded like… like the world was coming apart.”

Four trembled again, letting the pain and fear pass through her. She then took a deep breath and continued, “I… I remember… hoping the world was ending. If… it did… at least…” The chimera closed her eyes tight as her voice trailed off again.

“At least it was just a storm. Storms pass,” Amina said, trying to bring Four out of those thoughts. The chimera didn’t respond, instead choosing to simply turn away.

The light rapping of the rain on the window and the wind through the trees sung a constant refrain while the two sat quietly. Amina began to feel more unsure of what she could actually do to help. Words could only give so much comfort. That was something she knew all too well. She'd known her own form of hopelessness. Even if she had grown strong from her own hardships, it didn’t mean she wasn’t still burdened by them. Sometimes it would feel like a completely different lifetime and others it would hurt like a fresh wound. As Amina watched Four, she knew what she had to do. Even though they were lying side by side, the chimera still felt alone. It was up to Amina to convince her that she wasn't. Not anymore.

“I… I get… why you felt like that,” Amina finally said, hesitation in her voice. “I… uh… I... haven't really talked with a lot of people about this sort of stuff."

Four turned her head to listen as Amina felt her mouth go dry. She hadn't anticipated this confession would be so hard after so long. She knew couldn't stop now, though. She had to see it through.

"It's not easy, " Amina said, "and I'm not looking for anyone's pity... but things… things weren’t great for me… growing up.”

Amina stopped again to gather her thoughts. Worry spread across Four's face as she witnessed her friend’s anguish. The reporter wasn't aware the chimera had no problems seeing even in the darkness. The emotions Amina usually kept hidden under her stern expression were now on the surface. Four could easily see how much Amina's retelling of her childhood hurt.

“I never… really fit in with my family,” Amina continued. “My mom and dad divorced when I was really little so I never really knew my dad. Mom remarried pretty quick after that. I get along with my half-sister just fine… but my stepdad…” The reporter stopped short and her face contorted as if the word left a sour taste in her mouth.

“Omar,” she said with disdain, “I hated that prick from the start. I was never good enough for him. He'd complain about my attitude or that I didn’t get good enough grades… or... he'd make fun of my weight… He was always saying something to tear me down. As I got older, it just got worse and worse.”

“That is… terrible…” Four said. The chimera's own family was a memory of a memory. Even if their faces were blurred by time, she remembered they had loved her. That was one of the few things about them she still remembered. Hearing how Amina's step-father treated her made Four sad, but anger began to well up inside as well. "No one... should treat a child... like that," the chimera said, even though she wanted to say so much more.

“That’s not even half of it,” Amina replied as she furrowed her brow. “He’d talk to all of us like we were dirt, not just me.”

Amina winced and then did something the chimera deeply understood. Four watched as the reporter’s knees rose slowly under the blanket as she drew her legs close, as if to protect herself from the painful memory she was about to share.

“He'd hit us, sometimes, when he got mad," Amina said, barely above a whisper. "There was this one night... one night when... he came home drunk. We all knew, when he was like that, there was no telling what he'd do. The only thing you could do was stay out of his way. I'd always lock my door... stay in my room... but that time... it was so late. I’d already gone to bed... and I didn't lock the door.”

Amina closed her eyes tight, her fingers digging into the comforter. The reporter took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself. Opening her mouth to speak felt like it was taking all of her energy but she continued anyway. What she was trying to do was too important to leave unfinished.

“I heard him…" she said, meekly, "when he came into my room. When he got in my bed. I can… even remember the smell of his breath. I told him to leave… but he wouldn’t. When I tried to leave... he grabbed my arm. He squeezed it so tight… I… I was sure it was going to snap.”

Amina gave an angry glance to her nightstand. She reached over and ran her hand across the base of her lamp, her fingers dipping in and out of a small dent. “He should've known I wasn’t going to just let it happen,” she said while Four just stared, speechless. “I went straight to my mom, crying my eyes out," she continued. "I tried to tell her what happened, but then that pile of human garbage came stumbling in... a big gash over his eye... acting all innocent. He said he was just trying to tell me goodnight and I’d attacked him for no reason.”

Amina furrowed her brow and with a low grumble she admitted something she'd never told another soul. “Part of me…” she said, the emotion draining completely from her voice, “...a big part of me… still wishes I’d killed him. I know it's bad. Maybe that part of me IS bad… but I… I regret not doing it.”

“You're not…" Four said, trying to hold back her own emotions, "What he tried to do... What about your mom? Did she… make him leave?”

Amina closed her eyes slowly and then shook her head, her dark wavy hair falling across her face. “She said it must have been some misunderstanding and that I should apologize,” Amina replied, as her eyes began to well up with tears. She looked back at Four, rage overtaking her. “Can you believe that?! Can you believe she had the fucking nerve to say that to me?! Apologize to him?! She knew I was telling the truth! I know she did!” Breathless, the reporter turned to her window again, ashamed of her own tears. She quickly wiped them away with her thumb.

“After that,” she said while still turned away, “I made sure I locked my door every night until I was old enough to finally move out. My mom divorced Omar years ago. Zoya cut ties with dad too even though she still talks to our mom. That's her choice, so whatever. I told her I don't want mom trying to contact me. I don't want anything to do with her.”

Silence overtook the room again. Even the storm outside seemed to take pause as the clouds moved and a small amount of moonlight trickled in through the window. Four hesitantly reached out her gloved hand and took Amina’s. The reporter turned as a sad smile spread across her lips. “Look, uh, all of that... I just… I know I'll never truly understand all the pain you’ve had to go through... but I… I wanted you to know that I..." Amina paused, as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to escape once again. "I know... what it feels like, to feel like there's only one way out... to be that afraid.”

The thunder rumbled one last time that night, but the chimera didn’t flinch. She barely even noticed. Even if their experiences weren't exactly the same, they were the same. For the chimera, having someone in her life who understood her on any level was more than she could have ever expected.

“We both made it out," Amina said, sniffling as she wiped her nose on her arm. "In our own ways we escaped and we’re still here. We fought back and we survived. It’s good we’re still here too. Why should we have to give up our lives? It's not like we did anything wrong. We should get to share our truths.”

“Our… truths?” Four asked, tilting her head again.

“Well, yea,” Amina replied with a determined expression. “We can’t change what’s happened to us, but we bring the bastards that hurt us down. We can expose them and make damn sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. It's what we were made to do.”

“What we… were made to do..." Four whispered as her own grip tightened around Amina's hand. For years, she felt like she had been without a purpose, a pawn in someone else's game. A game that, to her, seemed to have no point other than misery. However, Amina’s suggestion... the idea that Four existed to make sure no one else had to suffer the way she had sparked new feelings in her. The reporter had fought back and in her own way she'd never stopped fighting she was still trying to get justice for people who deserved it.

Suddenly, the lamp on the nightstand flickered and the two women rubbed their eyes as light flooded the room. “Oops, I guess I left the lamp on,” Amina said as she reached over to turn the lamp off. “At least we know the power’s back. We really should try to get some sleep for real now. I only have one more vacation day.” Four nodded with a smile and settled under the covers as Amina rolled over and faced away from her to do the same.

“Ami…?” Four whispered, quietly.

“Hmm…?” the reporter replied, exhaustion evident in her grumbling response.

“You’re… the bravest person…” Four said, her voice laced with respect and admiration. “The bravest one… I’ve ever met.”

“Back at ya,” Amina replied with a chuckle, “Now go to sleep and try not to wake me up again, alright?”

The two settled into a calm slumber just as the sun began to rise outside. The storm, and the night, had passed.