Sylvie A to Z Blogging Challenge

Blogging from A to Z Challenge
April 2015
This month I will be participating in the “Blogging from A-Z Challenge”

What is it?

I will be Blogging everyday beginning on April First with a topic themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.   The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day.

My theme will be short fictional (well mostly fictional) stories about women.  Each woman’s name will begin with the appropriate letter of the alphabet for that day.
All of the women will have the common life experience of a loss of some type.
I invite you, Dear reader, to comment on how you interpret the loss.

Sylvie

She sat in the hard wooden chair.  Her inquisitor sat across the bare wooden table from her. 

He clicked on the recorder and the questioning began. 

My name is Sylvia Brown.

I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  So… help me, please?

The story I am about to tell you may sound unbelievable.  Trust me,though, the events happened exactly as I say they did.

On the morning of August 15, I was awakened out of a sound sleep by a loud clap of thunder.

Todd was out of town.  I was alone in the house.  Well, at that time I didn’t know I was alone because I thought Bunky was there with me.   I was still groggy so it took me a few seconds to realize that Bunky, our 3 year old German Shepherd, wasn’t at the foot of the bed.

Bunky was terrified of loud noises, particularly thunder.  I figured he must be hunkered down somewhere.

I called out to him.  Usually, he would have come running, ready to leap on the bed and lick my face.

But he didn’t .  I started to get anxious.  I was worried.  I knew something was wrong.  I got out of bed to look for him.

I looked in the other bedroom, study, and bathroom, all the while whistling and calling his name.

Then I went downstairs.  I was surprised to see that the front door was wide open.

I must not have closed the door all the way.  The wind from the fierce storm probably blew it open.  I was upset when I realized that Bunky had gotten loose.

What happened next changed the course of my life.

I sloshed barefooted through the debris and puddles of dirty water that had swept into the entranceway.  When I got to the front door I leaned out and yelled for Bunky.  But, I didn’t see any sign of him.

The rain had stopped by then.  I was about to go back into the house to throw on some clothes so I could go look for the dog when a car pulled into my driveway. 
I couldn’t see them clearly, but I could tell that a man was in the driver’s seat and a woman was beside him.  

The woman lowered her window and yelled out my name. 

“Sylvie,” she said.  I was puzzled.  I didn’t recognize the car or the couple.

I thought, Who are these people?  How do they know my name?

“We know where Bunky is,” she said.

The man leaned over the woman to get closer to the open window. 

“We can take you to him,” he said.

My first instinct was to close and lock the front door.   Of course, I now know that is exactly what I should have done. 

But, instead I held up my finger and said, “Wait one minute.”

I quickly pulled on a pair of sweat pants and tee shirt.  I grabbed my yellow slicker and purse. 

At that moment all I could think about was finding Bunky.  When I look back on it now, I realize that I should have paid attention to my “better judgment” voice.  The one that kept nagging at me, “Don’t get into that car.”

As I approached the car, I  heard the door unlock.  The woman motioned me to the back seat and said, “Quick get in!” 

“Hurry,” the man said, we don’t have much time!”

They remained facing forward.  All I was able to see were their profiles.

He had gray hair.  Her hair was short and black. She was tiny, her head barely reached the top of the dashboard. 

The man didn’t wait for me to sit down.  He put the car into reverse, quickly backed up, roughly pushed the gear shift into drive and screeched the tires as he sped off. 

I had a million questions.

“How do you know my name?” 

“How do you know where Bunky is?”

“Where are we going?”

They remained silent.  

By then I was suspicious.

“I changed my mind,” I said.  “I want to go home,” I pleaded.

There was still no response from either of them.

When he stopped at the first red light, I frantically tried to open the door.  It was locked.

I screamed and banged on the window, hoping the women in the car next to us would hear me.

She turned, looked at me and smiled just a little, almost a smirk, I would say.

I reached up and grabbed the black haired woman around the neck.

She pulled up her hands and wrapped her fingers around my arms, digging her nails into my flesh.  I screamed and let go. 

She whipped her body around and slapped me across the face.  She climbed into the back seat.  That’s when I saw the syringe.

I remember getting drowsy, but that’s the last thing I remember about that morning.

The next thing I do remember, I was awakened out of a sound sleep by a loud clap of thunder.

Startled, I sat up.  Bunky was asleep at the foot of the bed.

I remember thinking that I must have had a bad dream. 

I felt a stinging pain on my arms.  I rolled up the sleeves of my pajamas gasped when  I saw the scratches. 

Please, can we stop now?  I’m so tired. You keep asking me the same questions over and over. 

I swear I don’t know where Todd is.

I don’t know how I got back to my house.

And I certainly don’t know where the money came from. 

The inquisitor pushed the stop button.  The loud click made Sylvia jump. 

“You can go home now,” he said.  

As she walked through the parking lot, a car pulled up next to her.

The woman lowered the window and called her name.

“Sylvie!”  

“We know where Todd is.”