CHAPTER ONE:
"Do you like it?"
I jump, feeling like I'd been caught with my hand in a cookie jar. My eyes avert from the painting towards the older lady in front of me, her smile wickedly tender and full of mirth. Her eyes seemed to twinkle as she gazed upon me, as if she knew what was behind the invisible mask on my face. Her hair was a pale shade of caramel, yet her roots were tinted with shiny grey strands. I could tell just by looking at her that she was a wise woman and well-liked for her obvious pleasant personality and friendly appearance.
"I-It's ok. Kind of neat," I blush and look away from her to focus on the painting. The piece features a woman with a white flower in her hand, gazing at it intently as if trying to crush it with her mind. She sits cross-legged at the edge of a crystal clear lake in a lacy black dress that molds to her body like a second skin. The forest around her is dark and mysterious, and the sky a gloomy grey. The unwelcoming colouring of the surrounding world is all in contrast to the woman's fiery auburn hair. Her locks curl down over her shoulders and back, spilling over the grass as if they were rooted from the earth itself.
"It's very old. My grandmother left it to me in her will. She didn't own a lot of things and was not much of a pack rat. But this...she never got rid of it. It was her prized possession," the lady nods, walking around the table to look at the painting as well. She crosses her arms over her chest and stares at the artwork.
"Why are you selling it then? Isn't that rude to your grandma?" I question but flinch when my mom, Karen, hisses from another table nearby.
"Rayne, leave her alone!" She turns to the woman and smiles, 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicOGPErmGd
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"I'm sorry, she can be a bit impulsive sometimes."
Her eyes find the painting and an awed expression crosses over her face. 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzn7BX7xsz
430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHuIUQUCXB
"How beautiful."
"Oh, no worries. She's no bother to me. My health isn't doing too well lately—I've got the big C, and no young-in's of my own to leave my belongings to. Thought I'd have a garage sale and get rid of a few things. Are you interested in taking the painting? It would make a beautiful conversation piece for guests," the lady touches the painting with her fingertips and visibly shudders. Her eyes widen and she backs away, smiling nervously. I believe the roles have turned here, and she is the one caught off guard.
"Are you alright?" Mom asks, leaning towards the woman in concern.
"I was just remembering the moment I saw this painting. I was just a little girl, no older than ten. I wish I was back in that moment, with my grandmother and mother both alive. I didn't have such a big responsibility thrown on me back then," the lady wipes away a fallen tear and turns to move around the table. I feel suspicion over her actions, but ignore it. She's an old lady, they never harm anyone.
"I'm so sorry..."
The lady stays quiet and looks up at a cherry blossom tree shadowing over us on her front lawn. It stands proud, pink petals floating down to the grass at our feet.
"How much do you want for the painting?" Mom asks as she digs in her purse, intending to find money through all the junk inside it.
"You can have it for free. You both seem to love it as much as I do. And hopefully it will stay in your family for many years to come..." Her eyes brighten, and she gives us a massive smile. She seems very relieved, and overly excited to be rid of such a sentimental piece. I question it immediately, but accept her kindness anyway.
Free stuff is good stuff.
...
"What's so special about it?" My dad, Martin, groans as he ogles the painting hanging on our living room wall.
"I can ask you the same thing about all your manly stuff," Mom shrugs, earning a dull look in response.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDCz5jHED3
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"We don't need this. Women..." Dad shakes his head, moving into the kitchen. Within seconds the click of a beer cap is heard as it rattles onto the kitchen table.
"You don't need that beer, but you're still drinking it," Mom sasses back. 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuub4kEdUf
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"Men..."
I head towards my room as my parents bicker back and forth. Putting my headphones over my ears, I sit down on my bed and begin to draw in one of my many sketchbooks. Soon my attention is no longer focused on my surroundings. I had become so enraptured in the music and of the face I was drawing, that I didn't notice the chaos going on in the house.
...
I wake with a start, my body alert as chills shoot through me. It is so cold that I can see the air float in front of me as I breathe. The atmosphere has a silence to it, as if I were plunged into the middle of the ocean and forced to go deeper and deeper into the unknown. There is a static presence that rings in my ears, and I'm left completely dumbfounded. It is the middle of April...
Lifting myself up onto my elbows, I reach for my phone.
"What in the hell..." 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeksKwhZ4Cc
430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYzZwtbU2J
It is almost one in the afternoon on a school day. Hell would freeze over before my parents ever let me miss school. They also need to leave for work in a few hours, and the house is silent—aside from the static in the air. No wonder I slept in so late.
"Mom, Dad?" I stand up from my bed, legs quivering from the pressure of walking after sleep. Making my way down the hall, I flinch as something sticky has my foot plastered against the hardwood floor. I scrunch my toes and gently lift my leg to inspect the floor. A dried substance, the colour of rust, stains the bottom of my foot. I don't bother looking at the slightly dried pool of blood on the floor, and instead slowly continue into the living room. Most people would have crouched down and inspected the scene. But I know there are greater things to worry about.
I continue forward, even though my instincts are telling me to go back to my room and hide.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtvxRnmzfR
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I see nothing out of order and that everything looks exactly the same as the night before; besides the blood near the bathroom door in the hallway. How did it get there and where were my parents? I can feel my legs shake, and I know the only thing keeping me together is the adrenalin in my system.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH24cL4cT57
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I walk into the kitchen and look around, hoping there is a note left for me. Maybe the bickering turned violent and needed a hospital trip? I doubted that immediately. My parents never hurt each other, ever. 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwa3N4OqPMC
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My mind is buzzing with anxiety, searching for a logical reason as to why there is blood in the hallway.
Finding naught of value, I stride through the other exit of the kitchen and into the living room. I barely make it before I see them. I just stand there in shock before bile rises out of my mouth.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9E2KPwXTWj
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From my view earlier, I hadn't been able to see the floor from behind the couch. 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgxS47y2RI
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My parents...430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVpNqigRlK
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All that's left of them are their severed heads. They are facing each other with their eyes gouged out and mouths wide open—like a permanent scream, only their voices have been taken from them. 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zG3pvaZYi
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There are sprinkles of blood here and there. On the walls, ceiling, couch, and television. It was as if someone had tried cleaning up the larger messes, and then left little puzzle pieces of blood splatter for fun.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7KGpXH2T8
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I just stare.
I hear screaming, and it is so loud that I cover my ears. I turn and see my reflection in the mirror on the wall. I see my mouth wide open and I realize it's me screaming.
I wish the music had been off so I would have heard their screams for help. I may have been able to do something.
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I wish I knew back then what I know now...430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1oyv0bn1Z
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The greatest regret in my life was when we brought that painting home. I know one thing after this: that old lady knew what was coming, and sent it off to us with a smile. I hate her the most of all. 430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAccXdLPXE
