Chapter 5: The Wait

JILLIAN

My parents came back. After a year, they took my chains off me. I don’t know what they did to me but I just woke up one day on a hospital with stitches on my left wrist. They even sent me to school again just like before. I don’t know what’s gotten into them.

I’m in the room, staring at the scar on my wrist. My other hand started touching it, I feel like there is something inside it. Some small cylindrical stuff. It’s what my fingers can feel. The school uniform is still hanging on my body while I’m squatting on the bed. The wind outside caught my attention so I walk to the window to open it exposing the balcony through my eyes. 

The wind is quite strong this afternoon. I’m all alone again since my parents rarely come here. The foliage of the trees on the forest are swaying and is waving at me. I know it’s crazy but I think I saw a small kid standing there and is watching me.

I ran downstairs and search for her outside. I reached the forest holding a single flashlight. 

“Hello? Are you there? Are you lost?” I can hear no response so I stepped inside the darkness. “Don’t be afraid, I’m all alone too. I can help you.”

“Help me!” I heard her cry from the back which startled me. I turn my body to face her seeing the kid. She is around 7 years old and is wearing a white dress stained with fresh blood.

“What happened?” I asked slowly taking my steps towards her.

Sobbing, she pointed on a direction from the right.

“Can you show me the way to the place you are referring?” She nodded at me and walked to the direction dropping her hand on the side. There’s a car crashed on a tree and all I see is a matured man unmoving and is bathing his own blood. He’s on a severe situation but he is still alive when I checked.

I checked if I could see a phone in the car but something else surprised me. My body trembled realizing that I my sickness must be back. I look at the girl once again on the side still sobbing and watching what I’m doing.

The next minutes, a grown man walked to us.

“Daddy!” the girl called him. I look at the car once again; the guy is dead when I checked again. The girl is beside him, dead. Both of them are dead and I’m seeing their ghosts.

I looked at them again but they are gone. Memories played inside my head, those days when dad is still a different man. I once have a best friend living in a tree, she has white hair and porcelain skin. When my parents started talking to a doctor about me, I did just wake up one day that she is gone. People think that I am crazy so my parents decided to move in the house we are living in the present. 

My mom died and it changed my dad so much. He even brought home a woman. They are both beasts and is mistreating me every day. It’s like dad is whole new person with her. I can remember all the friends I met in this place. They all left me just like how Angelo did. The difference there is that Angelo promised to come back and I’ll willingly wait for him. 

“I will wait for you Angelo,” I whispered. 

I was snapped back to reality when the wind blows even harder. I decided to look at the car once more but it’s not there anymore. The clouds are dark and is like it’s announcing some storm but I didn’t care. I walked and walked but I couldn’t find the mansion. It’s like the forest is misleading me and is making me walk through circles. 

The rain poured hard and I have no choice but ran back to the house. My uniform is all wet and is dripping when I arrived. It’s cold so I immediately walk inside locking the doors running upstairs to change clothes.

After eating dinner all alone, I watched the outside through the window. 

“I can’t be alone like this forever,” I whispered. 

It’s another day but I’m still alone so I just do the chores even realized I’m running out of food. I went to school normally and went home walking since it’s the only thing I can do. I saw dad’s car from the outside so I assume they already came back. Their voices are loud again arguing so I decided to stay outside until they lower down their voices.

“We need to stop this. Angelo, he is long gone!” My eyebrows narrowed hearing my stepmom’s voice shouting with Angelo’s name. My heart suddenly beats so hard. 

“You know Jillian’s situation. It’s dangerous, she might know the truth about the past,” dad also shouted in anger. 

“The past?” I whispered staring at the house still hesitating to go in.

“She is just sick! She is just a crazy n—“

“Don’t say it!” dad shut her off. 

“She is crazy. She’s 14 when she uttered that name, why bringing it up again now?” I hear something crash on the floor. Maybe she’s throwing things again. 

“Okay fine then.” Dad’s heavy footsteps went audible. I also heard my stepmom curse and open the door. There she saw me. Shocked, her eyes widened and walked inside. 

I slowly went inside and saw them both staring at me. The atmosphere became suddenly awkward and silent. We are just staring at each other. No one is talking so I ran upstairs running away from the weirdness. They followed me and knocked hardly on my door.

“Jillian, tell me what you hear?” dad asked furious and is like he wants to break the door.

“I didn’t hear anything. I just know that you two are fighting again,” I lied. After hearing my voice, he stopped smashing the door, walking away.

Now I’m left with silence and it’s making me crazy thinking about the things I just heard. There is something in the past that I should know. That past starting from the reason of my mom’s death and my condition. If I’m just really sick that’s why I’m seeing supernatural creatures and everything. 

I slept without eating that night and is wearing my uniform that’s why I went very hungry in the morning. Since I’m eaten up by the thoughts of myself, I started seeing things once more. Things that are invisible for me the moment my friends turn their backs at me. They are all coming back, I think. The more years passed, the more I see things from the outside even in the inside of the house. 

I just acted as if I’m not seeing them.

“Please stay away from me,” I said and ignored the familiar girl just my age tailing me this morning.

I continued cleaning the house but she’s still here. 

“Your birthday is coming that’s why you will be seeing us more often again. We are also waiting for him,” she said which reminded me that I’m almost turning 21.