Chapter Text
CHAPTER 2
REALITY.
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July 12, 2000
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Hello!
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Your name is Mari! Yes?
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Mari slowly opens her tired and cold eyes. She sees the dark and pale room around her, this was supposed to be what she used to call "her room" but from all the packed boxes around, the cold air conditioner and the spider webs all around she didn't really like that name for the room anymore.
She slowly got up to sit on the edge of her bed silently looking at the ground. Her hair was a complete mess, she thought as she quickly looked into the small mirror beside her bed. She used to use it everyday trying to look as perfect as possible, but there was really no need for that anymore.
Mari still went out on some occasions. She would constantly go to her backyard over to the old tree house her and her friends used to hang out and constantly draw out her headspace fantasies. It was probably the most fun Mari had these days. She would also go grocery shopping with her mom on occasions, only on the condition it was the one on the end of town where only really the farmers went too.
At a point Mari had actually thought of maybe going to University on her 18th birthday, but being homeschooled for 4 entire years by a single woman who had no experience on it what so ever she never got accepted into any. She only really had her mom anymore, her dad who had more experience in teaching promised her he would teach her but after the funeral...he didn't stick around for much longer.
But for the first time...for the first time in so many years, Mari had some kind of hope in her. Her mom had recently sold the house and in about...5...4..6..2....days?....Mari didn't really have much of a sense of time anymore. They would move out of this rotting house and move away to some big city off to the country side. It wasn't much but it was something for Mari too look forward too.
Mari felt the overwhelming silence of her house overwhelm her as she got lost in her thoughts. What was she doing again? It was the middle of the night why was she up? She couldnt remeber. Mari was about to walk straight out of the room as she got up before she noticed a flickering light coming from the telephone at her bedside. It had originally been in the kitchen but since Mom wasn't home much she just moved it to Maris room since thats where she'll usually end up finding it.
"Heyyyy Mari its mommy!" Her mom's voice came from the voicemail as she picked up the phone. "Im still in the city setting up the new house at the moment! Sorry mommy keeps getting so busy! Are you done packing yet?" Her mom's hypergenic voice came from the other side, something Mari was not awake enough for. "Well the movers are going to be at the house in a couple of more days so mommy left a list of things to do before they arrive!"
"Im also very sorry sweetheart Mommy messed up for her little girl! I forgot to tell the electric company that we need more days before we're out of the house so the electricity might cut off. Now sweetie, I know its been a long time since you've talked to any of your little friends but moving is a big change so maybe you wanna say some goodbyes before we leave" Maris mom said from the other end of the phone.
Since the incident for the first year her mom was completely understanding of Maris unwillingness too really talk to any of her friends but since than her mom has been adding little hints that she wants Mari to interact more with people. Mari just ignores her for the most part, her interactions with her mom and the nice check out lady at the grocery store she had become good friends with was enough for her.
"Thats it for now, Mommy loves you! Bye honey!" Her mom said before Mari heard the phone ring as she hung up. Almost immediately as she put the phone down Mari felt her stomach growling loudly. Really the only sound that filled the room at the moment. Mari sighed as she walked out of the room and down the dark and cold hall holding her arms a bit as she did.
She walked over to the bathroom to where she went inside. She looked at the mirror for a few seconds in complete silence. Just looking at her stupid reflection, God is this really how she looked now. Mari looked down in disappointment before walking over to the note her mom had said she left. It was only about brushing your teeth and a reminder to properly take care of herself.
The fact Mari had just been looking in the mirror a few seconds ago thinking about how ugly she was at the moment doesnt make the note any less true. Mari quickly crumpled up the note and put it up in the pocket of her night gown before exiting the room.
Mari made it to the end of the hall that these days felt like an entirety. She looked down at the long....horrible..rigid....disgusting stairs.
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Mari hated these stairs.
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She hated them so much.
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Oh how she wished this house was a one story.
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With both of her hands on one side of the rail putting her entire pressure on the rail she slowly and very hesitantly went down one step at a time. The fact that it was dark enough that she could barely even see the end of the stairs didn't make it much better. She started shaking in fear as she kept and kept going one step at a time.
Making sure that there was never a single moment one of her feet were safely planted in the middle of a step.
One step
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Two step
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Three step.
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She kept counting but yet the stairs didn't seem to end and she didn't seem to be reaching the bottom. She didn't want to look back to see how far she had gone she just didn't. She didn't want to turn her back to the dark void at the bottom of the steps.
Four step.
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Five step.
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Six step.
God she knew these stairs were long but she didn't realize how long. She kept going, and going, and going, and going until it felt like she had been walking down for all of eternity.
She gulped up her saliva as she kept getting more nervous and more nervous and more nervous.
Until..she felt herself slip.
She let out a small yell as she closed her eyes but she only was met with landing perfectly.
She opened her eyes slowly to find that she was now on the ground floor and at the bottom of the stairs. She slowly looked back to see how short the stairs really were. God now she was embarrassed by how scared she was.
But she swears, she swears on her soul it was longer. It just had to be longer than that, it felt like an entirnity walking down those steps...how..how didn't she realize how short it was.
Mari sighed before she turned around and started to walk over to the kitchen of her house trying to get the shakiness of her body out of her system. Everything is fine. Se told herself over and over again trying to ignore the lingering silence of the home her yell still feeling like it was echoing off the walls.
Soon she made it too the kitchen with alot more effort than it should ever take to get to a simple kitchen. She quickly opened the fridge door to be met with not much food to be offered. She noticed that there was a raw left over steak at the bottom of the fridge. Sure why not. She thought to herself before grabbing it.
She quickly threw the steak into the microwave before plugging it in and turning it on. To be honest, the microwave was really the only thing Mari knew to use in the kitchen. I know thats absolutely horrible for Mari since she is legally and adult now, almost 20 at this point. Some people Mari had even known from high school were getting engaged now her mother told her, and Mari didn't even now how to cook.
But you cant blame her due to the fact that since she was 13 she always thought he would be-......
Nevermind.
She thought as she looked back to the steak. The microwave was now black inside, she didn't hear a ring or anything but she assumed the light being off meant it was now done. She opened it and grabbed the steak out of the microwave before she started digging into it on the counter.
It tasted disgusting.
But yet Mari ate every single bite.
She hated it.
And her stomach definitely did.
Because almost immediately as she was done she felt her stomach growl and start to hurt like fucking hell. She held her stomach close as she felt her stomach acid start to come up before she quickly ran to the garage can in the corner of the kitchen and bent over quickly on the ground before throwing up the entire steak down into the trash can.
God...
Oh right..
Mari thought to herself. Her mother had told her that the power may be off tonight. The steak didn't even cook. Mari had just down right dug straight into a piece of complete raw steak and didn't even think twice about it. What a pathetic girl. What a stupid worthless girl. Waste of oxygen.
She thought to herself as she got up and grabbed a paper towel of the table and rubbed off some of the vomit that had gotten on her cheeks. She looked down at the garage full of vomit that made the kitchen smell absolutely horrible.
She'll clean it up tommorow she thought to herself as she grabbed the utensils and plate and threw them in the sink before walking out of the kicthen. She walked out to look around and see all the pile of boxes all around the living room. Of course she had realized they were there before but looking at the living room which was once so full of life and love. She just couldnt help but feel disappointment to where it had come too.
She hoped for the next owners of this house. That they can also have the such wonderful and loving memory's in this living room that she had once had and dont have it end up the way it did.
Mari sighed as she looked away, she felt eyes itching on her back as she left the living room. But that wasn't new, that wasn't new at all. She had felt like the entire world was viewing her from a little play home since the incident. It didn't bother her much anymore. Nothing bothered her much anymore, it was all so normal to her now.
Mari sighed as she slowly went up the stairs once more. It didn't feel as long or horrible as the first time but she still felt uneasy as she did. She slowly walked over to her room.
But who cared anymore, who cared about reality, who cared about what was happening in her current life, it didn't matter. She thought to herself as she bent over next to her bed on the ground. She stuck her arm to the bottom of her bed and grabbed a small piece of paper, probably the only thing she hadn't packed yet.
She looked at it with aw. It was a drawing Mari had made of Hikki and her best friends in the entire world. Hikki was in the middle with a bright smile as her little brother Sunny was on her left with a bright perfect smile holding violen music sheets. Next to Hikki was her boyfriend Hero, her perfect charming boyfriend. Next to Sunny was his bestfriend Basil, a shy measly little boy. Next to hero was his brother Kel very active and bright, and next to him was Aubrey shining bright with a courageous smile.
Hikkis life was the only place in Maris life that mattered to her. Mari thought to her self as she slowly got into bed.
But...
Mari thought to herself.
Maybe once I move out..
I can finanly let her go....
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Maybe...
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*KNOCK KNOCK*
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*KNOCK KNOCK*
Mari slowly got up as she heard rapid and loud knocking at the door.
*KNOCK KNOCK* .
It was shaking the entire house.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
Mari hid under her blankets in fear.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
Who was at the door at this hour.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
maybe it was mom, or someone in need. Mari thought as she got out of bed and ran down stairs in a hurry.
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Coming!" She said loudly as she entered the living room once more and walked over to the door that was shaking as the rapid and loud knocks kept coming.
Before she opened the door she took a peek through the doorknob to see..nothing. But the knocks this continued. Then she heard a voice..
"...Hi Mari! S-sorry too disturb you this late but, Im finally home! I just sort of maybe...forgot my keys inside..can you open the door?" Sunnys timid voice said from the other side of the door as Mari imagined her little brother cold and scared outside.
Oh how of course, it was just Sunny. Her little adorable baby brother. Mari thought as she slowly opened the door....
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But when she opened that door...
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She was not met with her little baby brother.
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No it did resemble him
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But as she looked at those pale dead black eyes, the neck broken in a 90° degree angle. And his mouth wide open staring back at her, the same height as her with the long and broken neck he had, as his black hair is dirty, musty, and covered most of his face.
Mari quickly shut the door.
Stood there for a few seconds in silence.
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And turned around and went back to bed.