Screams From Inside - Amazon Kindle

Chapter 1 - The Shadows Whisper

Ever since my sister's passing, our home has been filled with an overwhelming amount of hopelessness. We would often find ourselves silent very often and wander around the house doing our everyday actions with mournful faces. It was almost as if the house had just lost all of its color. We tried our best to move on and as quickly as possible. We all had the belief that life was for living, and although nothing could fill the sorrow inside of us, there was absolutely no reason to wallow in the past and keep harboring our feelings. Yet it still latched onto us. It had only been six months since my sister's passing, dying at the age of fourteen.

My sister, Ava, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, or something that was causing her to become paranoid and fearful. It affected everything she did. The doctors diagnosed it as schizophrenia, but I believe it was something deeper. The heartbreaking moments when she would scream she hated us, then break down and apologize later. Or when she would yell out how much she hated herself and wished she would die. Or the most terrifying moments, when she said she saw beings and creatures roaming around in the house that were trying to kill her. Even that frightened me.

She said she had dreams about being killed or the creatures she saw coming after us, and especially her.

I'm a big believer in philosophy, equally as much about horoscopes, mythology, and religion. Even magic and spells, all things like that. So, when Ava told me one time that she was hearing voices in her head, I wholeheartedly understood. There were many explanations as to why it was happening to her. Beliefs on religion will tell you it could have been the devil, for mythology, a god that had so happened to possess her body, philosophy... the idea that she was to be one that would suffer such torture for unseen reasons. But I had yet to figure it out, and now I'm not sure since she died.

My mother went on to pray very often, and of course, as anyone could imagine, she did it more often after her Ava's passing. She prayed for us too, in hopes that we as a family would be able to move on from such a loss. Ava was like the sun of our lives. Maybe it was because she was naïve and young. Or maybe just because she was blessed with a good heart. So, when she died, the days became dark. I noticed how the air conditioning was never on, but even on warm days, the house still seemed cold and chilly. There was no laughter, and no good times like we once had, so I wondered if that was a sign too.

I tried not to think about her too much, but it felt like as long as I showed on my face that I was unhappy, I would forever feel the emptiness in me.

I had just gotten off of work, usually at around ten-thirty, or ten on the dot if I was lucky. I pulled up into the driveway in my car and proceeded to head towards the front door, opening my umbrella and covering myself from the slight drizzle of rain. Luckily I got home at just the right time before the rain got too bad. There was said to be a flood warning in our area.

I walked inside to see the lights off and the house was pitch black. I let down my umbrella and placed it by the front door. Running my fingers through my hair, I let out a deep sigh. Before moving forward, I noticed how silent it was in the house. I could hear the distant clicking of the analog clock in the dining room and the slight drizzle of rain outside.

I would usually greet Ava by this time as she would come at the railing and greet me with a big smile. She would've been home long before any of us, and I would be the first to see her. But there was no one here now. Now, I was the first one home to an empty, dead house. I found myself staring at the railing at the top of the staircase where she would be.

"Hi, Katie! It's about time you got home!" She might exclaim, excited to see me.

Eventually, I got a hold of myself and looked away. I proceeded to take my jacket off and then made my way to the kitchen tossing my hair back and rubbing my face once again.