The Letter
Catherine couldn’t sleep well that night. She kept on tossing and turning in her bed; the memory of the cave was scaring her.
“It’s okay. Nothing is in here.” She would say to herself, but she always felt like she was being watched. Alice wake up! You have to get up! Catherine bolted up and looked around here. Come on Alice! We have to get to Overland, before it’s too late! Catherine screamed. Alice! Alice! Alice!
“Catherine! Are you okay?” Catherine’s mother had quickly ran up the stairs to her room.
“What’s all this noise? I am trying to sleep you know.” Said her father with a less caring voice.
“Were you scared? I bet you were scared!” said John. Just then Stephaney started crying.
“Look! You woke Stephaney up.” Catherine’s father said cruelly to her as he walked out the room.
“Oh and Mary, we need to talk.”
“Can’t we do it tomorrow Henry. In the morning?” Catherine’s mother replied.
“No.” he said back sternly. Catherine’s mother sighed and rolled her eyes at John.
“Good night you two.” She told them.
“Good night Mum.” Catherine said back.
“Yeah.” John walk back to his room. Catherine sighed. “It was nothing. I’m just have a nightmare.” She told her self. A living nightmare. She thought. I swear I’ve heard that voice before. You have… Don’t you remember? Catherine was about to scream again, but she thought what her father would say. Go away! She thought instead. As you wish. And the voice was gone. “Creepy. Just plain creepy.” She said to her self.
“What!?” John shouted
“Nothing!” She shouted back.
* * *
The next morning Catherine woke up late. Really late.
“Catherine! Come on. You’re going to be late to school.”
“Arhhhh!” Catherine said as she bolted up. In a dash she put her uniform on, brushed her teeth and her hair and got a piece of toast from her brother’s plate.
“Hey!” he retorted, but she didn’t hear them, she was already was out the door.
“Hey! Cat! You know it is Saturday right?” John yelled again and then he laughed. Catherine’s mum came out to and laughed with him.
“That wasn’t funny.” Catherine said to them embarrassed, “No wonder my alarm didn’t go off.”
“Yeah, you twit!” John said to her with a smirk. Catherine walked back inside with her brother beside her. John jabbed her side.
“Dad wanted to talk to you, ya know. You’re probably in trouble or something like that.” He said. Great. She thought. Now what? First I am pranked, now I have to talk to Dad. This day keeps on getting better and better.
Catherine didn’t have a very good relationship with her father. She felt she was never good enough for him, and that hurt her a lot. Her dad never came to any of her award nights or any of her school assemblies. Whenever her dad did speak to her it was to tell her off, or to give her chores. Catherine took the long steps up to her father’s office. His office was full of encyclopaedias, dictionaries and non-fiction books. Her father sat behind an old desk with many papers spread out on it. John told her that he has to transfer all the information on the paper onto the computer.
“Dad? Dad! Where are you?” Catherine yelled.
“I’m back here. Come here!” he yelled back. Catherine walked over to her father.
“I have a letter for you from you’re grandfather. He said to give it to you when you turned sixteen.” He handed out a letter to her.
“Thanks.” Catherine said wearily. She hadn’t turned sixteen yet. She would turn sixteen in about a month.
“But dad, I’m not sixteen yet.” She told him.
“I know that. I am not stupid. I am going away in a week’s time and will not be coming back for a couple of months. So I will be missing you’re birthday.” Catherine was about to cry. She felt that this was too far. Her father wasn’t going to be there when she would turn sixteen.
“That not fair! You never come to any of my birthdays and you never seem to care! I have never got any respect form you since I was seven, and I had enough of this from you. I…I…I wish I was never born!” she shouted and stormed to of the room.
“Catherine? Catherine!” Catherine’s dad called her back but see didn’t listen. She just walked up to her room and slammed and locked the door. Don’t cry…don’t cry… Please don’t cry. She told herself. What are you doing? Crying won’t solve anything. Catherine was crying too much to really understand what she was doing.
“Then what am I supposed to do then?” she sobbed. Well, you could stand for one thing. Catherine got up as she whipped her nose with the back of her hand.
“Now what?” she asked. Close you eyes. Think of your family right now. Think of you first memory you had with them.
“But I don’t remember being born! Wait! Am I’m talking to myself?” Catherine enquired. Oh shut up you stupid girl. I you haven’t noticed I am a male, now will you st…
“You’re a voice in my head. This is unreal…” she continued, “Anyway, where was I? Oh right, thinking about mum and dad. Umm. I think it was my fifth birthday. I had this cute cat cake with strawberries and…” That is not the point I am trying to make. You can’t remember when you were born or anything until you were five! Doesn’t that tell you anything?
“I can…remember further then others?” Oh for GODS sakes! Just forget it. You are stupid beyond belief! Don’t you know anything?
“Wait! I’ve heard that voice before… Your voice. I can’t remember any images but I remember your voice. Just who are you?” Catherine shouted. “Answer me!”
“Catherine! Are you Okay?” Catherine’s mother knocked on the door.
“Yeah! I’m fine!” she said back.
“Were you talking to anyone or are you just talking to you self… Anyway, you’re father want’s to say goodbye. He’s leaving tonight.”
“WHAT!” Catherine shouted. She opened her door and ran down the stairs straight to her father.
“After all that…you are leaving early! What kind of Father are you?” she panted. She jumped and gave her father a hug.
“I don’t want you to go…not yet!”
“I know, but I must.” he said. He smiled weakly and kissed Catherine on the forehead.
“I hope that you have a wonderful birthday.” He said then walked into a taxi with his suitcase.
“Goodbye!” he shouted. Catherine, John and their mother waved goodbye.
* * *
“Happy Birthday dear Catherine! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!” John screamed to his sister.
“16 sweetie! You’re coming of age. You’re not my little girl anymore.” Catherine’s mum pitched Catherine’s cheek.
“Hey! Stop it!” That hurts.” she complained. John and Mum collapsed into fits of laughter. I can open grandfather’s letter today. She thought.
“I…I have to go get something.” She announced. Catherine ran up the stairs to her room and shut her door. She walked over to her bedside table and opened her sock draw. Under all of her socks she kept her most prized possessions. A picture of her and her family, her gold and silver glitter pens, her old diary that she had used up when she was little and her letter.
Catherine opened up the letter and gasped. The letters written were moving. Around and around making pictures made of beige and sepia.
“Hello Catherine.” It said. She was gobsmacked. Catherine tried to scream but nothing came out.
“I hope you are having a great 16th birthday. I wish I could be there with you, in person, but I can’t for I’m and either dead or in an unknown place. I want you to know some things for you have become of age. First of all, you’re mother was a great woman, and you’re sisters were absolutely brilliant. Second, you may have already realized that a voice is in you’re head. He is your guide, trust in him. He though will only come when an important piece of the Overland Puzzle is in place his name is Edmund Armorsleth… Some one’s coming…I’m sorry I wish I could write more, but I…I” There was a splash of red and the picture and letters are gone. Catherine fell to her knees. Oh my God… What just happened?
“Mum…Mum…MUM!” Catherine screamed.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Catherine’s mother raced up the stairs and kneeled down next to Catherine.
“What is it honey? You’re crying.” She said
“The… the letter… moving words… grandfather… blood” Catherine whimpered.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re saying… Try again, slowly.” The mother hugged her tight.
“Slowly.” She said again.
Catherine explained the letter, and how the letters started to moving and made an image of her grandfather. She told her mother of the blood at the end. Catherine particularly took care of not saying the two things that he had said to her. She thought that they might think she had gone mad. Then she realized that everything she said might have made her seem mad.
“I think… I think you need to rest a little. To clear your head.” Catherine’s mother said after a while. Staring off into the darkness. Not looking at anything in particular.
“Yeah… I think you’re right.” Catherine replied.
“Wake me up in an hour or so okay?” she said and then she yawned. It made her fell like she hadn’t had any sleep for ages.
* * *
A man walked down the street. He wore a red cloak with golden lining in his arms was a baby girl, fast asleep. As the man walked down the rode people would stare at him with suspicion.
“What a strange person.” They would say. “Nobody wears those anymore. He looks like he just came out of Harry Potter or something like that.” But the man in red didn’t hear them, or if he did, he did not care. He would keep walking down the rode, looking at every house. When no one was watching, he carefully placed the infant on the doorstep of a house and rang the doorbell three times.
“Yeah, yeah! I’m coming!” someone yelled from inside. A woman opened the door and looked around. Somewhere close, a baby was crying. The crying was very close indeed. The woman looked down to see the baby girl crying with a letter attached to her. The woman looked around again to try and see this child’s mother or even her father, but there was no one in sight.
* * *
Catherine woke up and sat up straight. She looked at her alarm clock. It was already evening. She sighed. John needs to learn the difference of an hour and eleven hours. She thought. Catherine walked down the stairs.
“Hey John! I told you to wake me up in an hour or two! How many hours do call this?” she called down in her brother.
“I know, I know. But you’re a lot less annoying when you’re asleep!”
Catherine scolded John as she went down the stairs. How could he do this to me? On my birthday? She thought.
“Hey… Hey! This is ground control to major Catherine! Hello!” Catherine laughed.
“This is Major Catherine to ground control. What is it?” she said back. John smiled at her.
“Cheer up. Tomorrow is the last day of school!” said told her.
“And I’m supposed to be happy about going to school?” she enquired. John laughed. Catherine paused before asking this next question.
“John. Do you ever feel like you’re, you know, adopted?” she asked. John choked on the water he was drinking. He was coughing very deeply.
“Why would you ask that?” he asked when he had stopped.
“Well, I…” Catherine hesitated, “I had this weird dream about a little baby being dropped outside our house by a man dressed in red. Then mum came to see whom it was and no one was there. She picked up the baby and then well, I woke up.” Catherine took a deep breath before asking this next question.
“Do you think that it might be true? That you or me, or both of us are adopted?” she asked. Catherine stared into her brother’s eyes.
“I think that it was just a dream. You… We can’t be adopted. It’s illogical.” He said after a long pause.
“Okay. Okay.” Catherine replied.
“Hey birthday girl! DO you and your big brother want dinner or what?”
“Coming mum!” John and Catherine said in unison.
* * *
Catherine slept well that night. She didn’t know how, since all she could think about was her dream. When she woke up, she woke up with an urge to go to school. This is weird. I never like going to school. She thought. Maybe it’s because it’s your last day?
“Yeah. Maybe… Hey! You’re back. I don’t think that’s a good thing but…” I believe it is a good thing. I am only here if you’re alive. Thus I never left. I can never leave until you depart the physical realm.
“Uh, huh. Creepy. So you’re a voice in my head, and you’re going to be in my head until I die. Personally I don’t think that’s a good thing. It means that I’m going mad.” Catherine said. And it’s another reason for me to go jump off a cliff. She thought. Finding a cliff at that height around here would be quite a feat. And for you’re personal information, I can also hear you’re thoughts.
”Right. Um… Would you mind not talking for like the rest of the day?” Catherine asked trying to be nice. I shall only speak when I must. Or when you ask a question you cannot answer. Like in your mathematics class. Good day.
“So I basically have a calculator in my head right? Hello? Voice in my head? Oh and what’s up with this dream I keep having! Hello? Hello!” Catherine eyes widened.
“He’s
Gone?”
She
Said
In
Fear.
