The Castle of Forgotten Souls

Claudia the Friendly Ghost

The sudden attack of a bright light made Anna shield her eyes. She heard a lilting laugh as they fell. The sound of something heavy being dragged across wood sounded through the room. Anna fell onto a soft, plush bed. 

 She started at the frame above her and the velvet, burgundy curtains neatly pulled to the bottom bedposts. Laughter bubbled up in her throat and spilt over her lips. She clutched at the sheets underneath her until her fingertips turned white and she could no longer hear her heartbeat in her ears. 

Her laughter was cut short by a groan. Anna peered over the side of the bed and started laughing even more. Tears sprung up in her eyes and she had to clutch at her gut instead of the sheets. Chloe was strewn across a handful of pillows with more than half of her hair in her mouth. She clutched at her heart but scowled at Anna. 

 "I don't think whoever that was liked me very much," she grumbled, taking a pillow from underneath her and dumping it onto her face. 

 Anna couldn't stop laughing but turned over so her laughs were muffled by the duvet. She heard Chloe mocking her laughter and suddenly the duvet was pulled from underneath her and she was on the floor. 

 The breath was knocked out of her when she landed on her back. She turned her head to the side and glared at Chloe whose eyes were sparkling and her grin was nothing short of smug. Anna scoffed and pushed her face away with a hand and a roll of her eyes. 

 "You're an awful person," Anna stated as she got up and offered Chloe a hand. 

"Aw," she cooed as she took the offered hand, "You're so sweet for noticing."

 Anna grinned at her and rolled her eyes again. She pushed Chloe's hand away and Anna looked at the room. It was a big bedroom filled with mahogany wardrobes and tables stacked with various mementoes. 

A picture stood on one dresser. Curious, Anna stepped up and picked it up. It was a black and white photo of a little girl and a grown man, her dad, Anna guessed. The father was crouched down so he was at eye height with his daughter. They had their foreheads rested together and both were sporting big smiles while they looked at each other. 

 The little girl had her short hair up in two curly pigtails held up with ribbon. Her nose was scrunched up and the corners of her eyes were tilted up. She looked to have dirt on her cheeks and her grin revealed two missing teeth. Anna smiled at the scene, her heart full. She gasped a little as she looked closer at the father. 

She saw Chloe peek over her shoulder in curiosity and witnessed her jaw fall open. 

 "Is that.." Chloe trailed off in shock. 

 "The hunchback," Anna whispered. 

He certainly was not hunchbacked in the photo. His gums looked perfectly normal and his hair was all there, smoothened and looking painstakingly cared for. The only lines on his face were the creases made from his grin. His eyes contained life, joy and love. His high cheekbones were the same tinge as his daughters. Mud. Anna felt close to laughing at the picture, it was a beautiful scene. 

 "That's Papa!" 

 Anna jumped and nearly dropped the frame at the voice. She looked around but found no glowing figure. The little girl giggled. 

 "You can't see me!" The girl screeched in joy, "Mama says the mean old witch made sure people wouldn't be able to see me." 

Anna stared, dumbfounded at the room around them. She did not want to know what that meant for the little girl if all the other souls had bodies, no matter how tortured they looked. She did not want an inkling of the horrors this little girl went through.