The Shattered Soul

The Woman

A light tapping at the door stirred Amy from her slumber making her grumble.

"Amy, it's time for school." her mother softly called out, trying to open the door, but finding out was locked.

"Amy?" her mother tried again while jiggling the doorknob.

Amy used all her strength to pick herself up off the floor. Her tired body felt heavy, and her eyes were slightly swollen from crying. She opened the door just as her mother was about to knock again making her mother jump.

"I'm up." Amy said with all her effort,

Her mother didn't say anything but her eyes moved around Amy's tired face, wondering what could have happened while she was asleep. Then her eyes darted to her daughters legs. Amy's pyjama shorts didn't cover the marks she had left on herself in the early hours of the morning.

"Amy -" her mother started in a worried whisper.

But Amy was too exhausted to get into it now, so she left her mother standing at the door while she made her way back to lay down on the floor.

She could feel her mothers eyes on her, and then she heard her door close. There was a short pause before she saw her mother walk over to her bed, stripping the sheets.

No questions were asked and she didn't make a fuss.

As her mother put the dirty sheets in the laundry basket Amy closed her eyes and felt her bottom lip starting to tremble and her eyes finally let go of the tears she had been holding back.

Her body hurt, her head hurt, her soul hurt.

Suddenly she felt a warm comfortable presence behind her, it was her mother. Wrapping her arms around Amy's broken body, pulling her close, soothing her as her daughter cried.

"It's okay hun, I've got you."

In her mother's warm embrace Amy finally started to feel safe, the safest she'd felt in a long time. The tears wouldn't stop pouring out of her sore eyes while she heard her mother's calming voice every now and again.

"It's going to be okay." she whispered, but Amy wasn't so sure of that.

"Please don't tell anyone I wet the bed." Amy sobbed, feeling ashamed "I didn't mean too. I was just so scared."

"It stays between you and me" her mother replied.

A few minutes of silence passed before her mother softly spoke again "I do need to know how you got those marks on your legs."

Amy didn't say anything, all she did was sob.

"Did you.." her mother hesitated "Did you do that to yourself?" her mother asked sadly, and Amy nodded.

Amy used all her strength to sit up, her mother doing the same, shifting their bodies so they were facing each other.

"Oh Amy.." her mother whispered, gently stroking the marks with her fingertips, like she was trying to make it all go away, making Amy flinch.

"I've had some visions, I know I should've said before but, I'm telling you now, and well-" Amy took a deep breath in before she continued "They feel so real, like I am really there, so I have to hurt myself sometimes, so I can make sure I've come out of the vision."

Her mother looked at her confused "You don't know when you come out of your visions?"

Amy felt like she had said something wrong, as if her mother didn't understand what she meant.

"She thinks you're lying Amy." Amy heard someone whisper.

"Amy?" she heard her mother say and Amy frowned at her.

"I asked if all the visions you have scare you?"

She didn't hear her mother asking that, but nodded.

"But out of everything I have seen the only "normal" spirit was the one of the little girl. The other ones have been horrible."

"Okay." her mother let out as she got up off the floor. "You can stay home today." she smiled and grabbed the laundry basket and headed out the door.

"She thinks you are losing your mind, she thinks you might be crazy." Amy heard another voice whisper.

-

Downstairs Judy grabbed her school bag and headed out the door to wait for the bus, after having a moan that she had to go to school but not her sister.

Amy came down, poured herself some orange juice and joined her mother who was sitting at the dining room table. Taking a sip Amy watched her mother type something on the laptop, sunken in her thoughts.

"Don't trust her Amy."

Amy's eyes quickly scanned the room but she couldn't see where these whispers where coming from so she carried on watching her mother.

"She's looking at mental hospitals." the same voice called out and suddenly Amy noticed a very tall and thin woman appearing behind her mother. The woman's hair was slicked back and she was dressed in all black.

"Looks like she thinks you are mentally unstable Amy." the woman whispered while she glanced at the screen her mother was looking at.

Amy's eyes widened "Who was this woman?" she thought and her mind started spinning with questions.

The woman looked like she hadn't slept in years, she had a very sunken face and all her bones poked through her clothes.

"Mum, you don't think I'm crazy, do you?" Amy quickly asked, not wanting to believe this woman could be telling the truth.

Her mother paused, carefully took off her glasses and looked up "No Hun, I don't." she replied smiling softly.

"Lies Amy, it's all lies." the woman said with her eyes still fixated on her mother's laptop screen.

"I would never lie to you Amy, come see for yourself, she is looking at hospitals."

"Shut up!" Amy spat out at the woman.

"I beg your pardon?" her mother replied sharply.

Amy froze, keeping her eyes on the woman, who looked up at Amy and smirked.

"Amy?" her mother let out making her jump.

Amy lightly shook her head and tried to pull herself together "Sorry, I'm going to take shower" she quickly let out as she got up from her seat and started to walk away.

"I hope you like hospital food." Amy heard her mother mutter under her breath.

Amy felt a lump in her throat, was the woman telling the truth? Did her mother really think she was crazy?

"What?" Amy asked, turning around to look at her mother.

"What?" her mother asked.

"You said something about hospital food."

Her mother closed the laptop and got up "I didn't say anything, are you feeling okay hun?"

Amy frowned, she knew what she heard, was her mother lying to her or was she just hearing things?

"Yeah, I'm fine." Amy lied as she turned around and headed upstairs.