Thetwenties Stories

Vigil lives in fear of her own mind. Voices live inside her head. She should have been in an asylum, but her parents' are determined to keep her condition a secret. In order to hide the sickness, she is kept in the luxurious manor house, only allowed in public for a couple hours. When she meets the family's young gardener, she relies on him to show her the world-- to show her what love is. Make them stop. Make it stop. Sweaty palms were clamped over the sides of her head, though ears were not required to hear the voices. A scream was building in her throat, but she couldn't let them know. Couldn't give away the demons that lurked inside her brain. So she let the fear out in a different way. Fingernails tore the carefully painted murals that adorned her bedroom walls. Teeth ripped into linen sheets. Her mouth gaped open in a silent scream. I won't stop until you give up. The voice was still booming through her skull. Her hands dug into her hair. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She hissed, willing herself from sobbing. I won't stop until you give up. Jump! The last part was a head-splitting roar, and the girl threw herself upon the bed. A knock at the door. A soft voice, her mother. "Vigil? Did it happen?" The door slowly creaked open. Her mother cautiously inched toward her body, like a hunter approaching a half-dead wild animal. Not like a half-dead wild animal. Vigil was, at the end of the day, just that.

I write free verse poetry when my head feels blocked and the story world can't quite become clear.