"Come away from that window child, you'll catch your death of cold!"
My mother screamed at me from the kitchen, yet I did not move from the window, only pushed it open further and breathed in the cold night air. I gazed up at the stars...waiting...waiting for something...
It had been only three days since I had received word that my love had died in battle. He had gone oversees to fight for the land he held so dear. It felt to me like ages since I last saw his face, and tears began to roll down my cheek as I thought of his smile, his laugh, and his last words to me...
Your mother loves you... he had said
I did not know if I could believe him this time. My mother never acted as if she cared about me. My father died long ago, when I was small, and since his death my mother has always acted as if she resented me.
The sounds of her voice came to me in my dream, and I awoke from the vision.
"I said come away from that window!" she screamed at me and then slammed the glass against the pane.
"Oh mamma, must you shout so?"
I ran to my room and locked the door behind me. I lay on my bed and began to sob.
~~~~~
When I awoke, it was morning. The window was open and I stared out, thinking of the other night. I saw the pale stars shining in the darkened sky. I could hear my mother's distant shouts.
"Come away from that window!"
This time I obeyed the voice, and shut the pane gently. I drew the drapes tight. Never again would I look out the window, for I could no longer abide seeing twilight at dawn...