Madeline

It had been few days since we started living in my dad’s mansion. The house was so big that maintaining it was hard for me and my mom. We needed house help as soon as we both could. I told mom mid cleaning, “Should I go and ask for work? I mean, I don’t want you to think of work this soon mom but living off of your jewels can not be possible forever.” I was mid sweeping the floor when I heard something breaking.

I looked at mom and rushed to her. She was at the corner of the kitchen, looking scared, she was panting like she had seen something deadly. I looked around to see as to what she was doing. All I was able to see was some dishes in the sink and a running water.

“What is it? I am here mom! Look at me! Everything is fine!” I told her softly while caressing her hair. They were loose today. They were so big, almost reaching her hips. She then slowly looked at me. “What happened?” I asked her softly. Dealing with her in this state is getting harder day by day for me. Her situation is getting worse. Her love for dad was more than mine. But I am not someone who shows their emotions out so easily. Right now, she wanted me to be there for her and I will always be there for her. She was all I had now.

“That… that water… talked to me.” She finally said in between her tears. She needed to sit. I slowly led her to a nearby chair. “Mom? I will do the dishes. You don’t have to do it. So? Tell me, did you ever see this house of dad? It is so beautiful and how was my grandparents with you?” I asked her with a smile on my face. I have been meaning to ask this to her for few days now. Why had nobody told me this before? That my dad had this big house.

“I never saw them. They were dead. When I came to visit. They were dead. On this floor. The blood was everywhere.” Oh god help me, why this story has got to be this bad. I cannot ask for more details as she could panic again while telling me the story. She needed help and it was urgent. But leaving her in this state was hard for me. But I could get few hours and ask neighbours for help, maybe that would be helpful. I looked at my mom. “She killed them.” That was all she said. She? Who was she?

“I think we should go on a walk and see our neighbours. It has been what, four days since we arrived and we should meet them and let them know we are going to be living here.” Mom nodded. All of her dresses were plain. But her choice of dresses for the past few days were very weird. She was wearing a dress which had red roses on it and was all black. She never had this dress before. I wanted to ask her where she had found this dress but she looked happy this morning so I didn’t ask.

“Mom? Whose dress is this?” I bluntly asked her. The look she gave me was deadly. “Gianna. His sister. He loved her so very much and one day when she came to visit…” “Don’t! I know, she killed her too, didn’t she?” The things mom was saying were feeling like fictional to me. My dad never told me that he had a sister. Let alone a big one. Gianna! I really don’t believe her now.

We didn’t talk much after that as I told her to sleep and she did. While she was sleeping, I locked her door to make sure that she would stay in and would not cause any harm to herself. She was acting weirdly when she is seeing water. She screamed when she was in bath yesterday. Saying that she would kill her too. That she wronged her and she was now after her. I know locking her in her room is wrong. But for her own safety is it important. She is seeing things and I don’t want anything to happen to her because of it.

I looked outside, the sun was about to set. I looked at the shore. Mesmerising! It was beautiful. All I wanted to do was go and dip my bare feet in those water waves. I giggled at myself. Only if I had not listened to all of those scary drowning stories from my mom and dad. How can I forget that the reason my father is dead because his lungs were filled with water. It almost feels like a curse now. Looking at my mother, how she reacts to water. I wish we were normal and together. I wish dad was here, with me and with her.

I never confessed how much I missed him. Looking around me. Everything has changed since he left us. We moved and now not doing well. We want money to keep our family moving. Family? Are we even a family now? The part that completed us is now gone. All those emotions, the emotions I tried to hide. Hide from mom and myself are now surfacing. I was placing the lock in place. Double checking it.

Come to me! Here I am! Come to me my child!

I turned. Found nobody behind me. Who was it? I clearly heard a voice behind me. But there was nobody to be seen. Of course there were people walking by but nobody as close to me to whisper them. It almost felt like I could feel it just right behind me. All I could see behind me was the ocean.

“Hello!” I girl’s voice called out to me. I looked to my side, where the voice had come from. There stood a little girl. Her ball was almost a feet away from me. “Can you kick it to me?” She waved and said loudly. I nodded and kicked the ball towards her. I saw a lady come out quickly and stopping the ball from reaching her. “Sia! What are you doing? I told you to not talk to them.” With those mean words she picked the girl up. She was almost seven years old. Then she took the little girl inside. Though she still waved at me.

Strange. We were not that weird for someone to keep their child away from us. Maybe it’s because of my father’s death.

“Don’t take her words to heart.” Someone said from behind me. I turned to find a girl almost of my age. I’d say a few yours younger than I am. “Oh! I didn’t.” I said and waved my hand up in the air in dismissal.

“I know you do. Everybody around here is talking about you and your family.” The way our conversation shifted. I had no idea as to how this would go. “What do you mean? Talking about us?” She nodded. Her summery dress was pretty. She was not wearing any shoes. “Will you accompany me on a small walk?” She asked. I nodded and started walking with her.

“My mother told me that this house has been abandoned for past twenty years now. The last owners were killed. Who killed them or how they died is still a mystery. It all sounds like a fake story if you’d ask me.” She said and giggled but when I didn’t join her, she understood my silence.

So she was right. They were killed. I had so many questions now. Who is going to answer them? Will I ever find answers?