Isis Carter-Xavier
March 13, 2019 8:41 PM
Silence. by Isis Carter-Xavier
Isis couldn’t sleep.The baby crying was the most common source for her newly discovered spells of insomnia, but that wasn’t it. The baby wasn’t crying tonight. She thought she was hearing it, but anytime she got up and checked, the baby was asleep. Or sometimes the crack of light when she opened the door actually woke the baby up, and those were the worst nights of all. Because then it was her own damn fault.
Tonight wasn’t like that. Isis heard crying, but she knew that there was no crying, so she didn’t risk looking at waking and actually causing the crying. She paced in the hallway of the Xavier family’s magically expanded quarters, her arms hovering in front of her chest as if she were carrying an invisible infant to placate its silent cries, even though there was none. But eventually when she couldn’t stop the crying she wasn’t hearing, the walls felt a little too tight, and despite the late hour, she slipped quietly out the door.
She knew she wanted to be somewhere that students would not be - not that they should be anywhere at this time of night, but she really didn’t have disciplining one in her if she were to happen upon one - so she decided to take a trip to the staff lounge. It was quiet, the kind of quiet Isis hadn’t known in so many months now, it felt like. And the overwhelming silence was a comfort. She made herself some tea and took up residence on the couch, baggy pajama pants folding up underneath her as she crossed her legs. The steam poured into her eyes as she drew the warm beverage closer to her face, and she let it all wash over her as she sipped. It was almost peace. For the first time in a long time, she almost knew peace.
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Isis Carter-Xavier
Silence.
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