Don't Wake the Baby

Alex sat outside in the garden of his neighbor, Sara - she had invited him over for some company and he had been all too glad to do so: after all Sara was a single mother raising a young baby by herself following the sudden departure of her former husband.

In fact the baby was sleeping in its pram nearby as Alex sat at a bench, the baby pram was very old and as a result Alex couldn't get a very good look at the sleeping infant - curiosity beginning to get the better of him.. he and Sara had always been good friends but it came to his attention that he never did see her baby, it always seemed to be sleeping in that pram and Sara would warn him not to wake it.

Glancing over to the house and noticing Sara busying herself with preparing snacks Alex got to his feet and moved over to the pram - glancing inside, when he did his eyes grew wide with shock and he stumbled back - his heart racing as fear raced across his body.

Alex wasted little time in grabbing his stuff and trying to make a hasty retreat, however the only way out was through Sara' house - Alex was too overwhelmed with fear to reason and soon barged his way past Sara, shoving her aside as she asked what was wrong.. the last thing Alex heard was the sound of a baby crying.. he never looked back: his heart was already pounding in his chest and he broke into a full-out dash.

Alex didn't stop until he reached his house and locked the doors, finally collapsing on a seat as he tried to reason with himself - yet he couldn't.. he kept shaking as visions of that baby flooded his mind as vivid as the moment he lay eyes on it.. the skin.. the mouth.. those eyes... oh god.. those eyes would haunt Alex forever..

Suddenly the phone rang and Alex nearly jumped out of his skin, eventually answering the phone in a shaky voice - to his horror Sara was on the other end:

"Alex? I told you not to wake the baby! I TOLD YOU -!".

However Sara was cut short as Alex quickly hung up, it was just too much for him - Sara was clearly angry but Alex was too scared to care.. he considered calling the cops until he thought on it, they'd think he was insane and even if they investigated there had been no crime.. in fact as the rush of fear slowly began to fade Alex felt sick to his stomach..

Here he was, a full-grown man, acting like a maniac.. all because of a baby.. a harmless baby - sure, it was strange.. disturbing.. yet as Alex's mind finally began to recover he felt guilt: perhaps the baby had a defect? maybe it was sick? perhaps Sara never wanted him to know.. fearing he'd have a reaction like this..

Alex sighed a little, thinking on how he had practically shoved Sara aside without even waiting for an explaination - she probably though he was crazy.. as he leaned back on his chair he began to feel that way too..

The phone rang again, this time Alex answered - speaking without thinking:

"..Sara.. I'm sorry.. I..".

Only Alex's eyes grew wide once more as he was cut off mid-sentence by the sound of gurgling sounds, much like a baby trying to form words - followed by a high-pitched cry that made Alex drop his phone as he jerked in surprise.

"..I told you not to wake the baby.. Alex.. I TOLD YOU.." Sara's voice spoke out from the phone as it lay on the ground, Alex stumbling over to switch it off as more gurgling and crying followed.

Alex was now truly terrified, he didn't care what they thought - he had to get help.. he dialled 911 and tried to calm himself, if only to stop the shaking - within moments a voice spoke out:

"991 - what is your emergency?".

"Hello? Listen, this is going to sound crazy but I need the police or something.. I need -" Alex began, only to be cut off once more as the voice interupted.

"You woke the baby, Alex.. she warned you.."

Alex threw the phone away as the voice faded to familar gurgling and crying.

Getting to his feet Alex stumbled across the room and headed for the hall, when he felt two tiny hands clamp around one of his ankles - tugging as he fell to the ground and cried out..

+++++++++++++++

Miranda sat outside in the garden of her neighbor, Sara - still wearing the black dress she had worn to Alex's funeral as Sara came out with drinks, she too was wearing a black dress and several other mourners moved around inside the house.

As usual the old pram lay to one corner as Miranda looked to Sara and spoke out:

"..it's just so sudden - I.. I can't believe he's gone.." - she began to weep, covering her face with her hands.

Sara was quick to comfort Miranda, wrapping her arm around her shoulder as she knelt down and whispered quietly as she began to gently lift Miranda up and guided her towards the house:

"Please, Miranda.. I know it hurts.. I miss him too.. let's go inside.. we don't want to wake the baby..".