A Month of Life

A MONTH OF LIFE

Hi :)

Well, at first, I didn't know what to post but then I remembered a story I wrote last year about a weird dream I had so here is it.

Hayley Blythe did not usually stay at home most of the time, she even hated that place a bit as she was not allowed to do many things, in fact she was not even allowed to go upstairs. Which was funny given the fact that her house was the tallest in the entire neighborhood at ten stories, and her parents were almost always on the top floors without even wondering how she was that day.

Despite that Hayley felt good and settled for it, she usually spent the afternoons out for a walk or when she stayed at home, she enjoyed writing little stories based on the common dreams she used to have every night. The truth is that she liked her life, but deep down she longed to understand what her parents did every day and what made it necessary for her to be banned from the first floor, she knew that she should not care and her hobbies already mentioned, at just as the fear she felt towards her parents prevented her from daring to cross that door that led to the entrance of the second floor and that later would take her to more stairs that would lead to the third floor, and from the third to the fourth floor and so it would be until get to the roof on the tenth floor. It is also worth mentioning that her house was not entirely beautiful or at least not very pleasant since both on the outside and inside, that gray color prevailed that can often bore you or even depress you, there were no more windows than that of her room and a few broken windows in the upper floors, the sad interior paint was starting to fall and the room of Hayley's house had only a mustard-colored armchair that if we did not count the large circumference hole that crossed her floor and also upstairs was the highlight of her house.

It was normal to see her walking, thinking and smiling (because of not having to stay at her lonely house) through the streets of the small town to which she belonged.

One afternoon she was walking hurrying to her house to avoid the winter cold but she could not avoid observing at the end of the street an elderly woman who she had never seen before arrived at a house, so despite the fact that it was beginning to become night she  approached to the house in which the woman was entering, she was a few meters from the entrance of the house when she heard a roar not very deafening but it was enough strange for Hayley to enter the house and go towards where it had come from, however when she arrived the great sound room she found absolutely nothing. At that moment, a chill went through her and she decided to go home.

During her dream of that night it happened that Hayley been able to observe that woman again, now paler than the last time, and not only did she look worse, but she saw her struggling with the air or talking to someone invisible ... or non-existent, she looked as if her mental state was not the best, but not only did she observe her, in the background Hayley noticed two human silhouettes. Later in her dream she was in the kitchen finding a key under a piece of furniture when she suddenly just woke up.

She was in his room, not in the kitchen, which told her that it had only been a bad dream, however, she could not contain herself from going to check if that key was found under the cabinet, would it be the key that would open the door to the upper floors? Well, indeed there was the key to that dream that night, she took it and took it to her bedroom where she hid it among the pages of a book. In her mind, questions were beginning to be asked: could it open the doors? Could she go up? Why was the woman related with this situation? Could those keys be the end of the mystery that consumed her so much inside?

That night she took the keys and began to climb stairs until she reached the usual closed door, took the key and entered with her heart pounding with nerves, fear and enthusiasm mixed. Although she had entered, she found nothing too important, only dust, darkness, and a piece of furniture that contained a thick reddish brown book that gave the impression of being too old and used now but in good conditions and with a symbol marked on the cover which was a circle with a diagonal line to the left traversing it and at the end of the line a triangle, she took it and took it with her to the third floor where she got almost paralyzed when she found her mother and father with the woman from the previous day that as in the dream now she seemed to be insane, when she noticed the strange weapon that her parents were carrying in their hands, and noticing that they were about to harm that woman with disheveled white hair and wrinkles all over his face, she committed the involuntary act of shouting a terrified "NO!", her parents, when they saw her there showed bewilderment and an expression of true surprise that instantly transformed into one of almost infernal fury when they saw that the woman had taken that opportunity of distraction and had run towards the top floor.

Hayley, although she was scared, realized that when the woman ran close to her, the book she was holding had changed her hue to a brighter red, Hayley, now angry, wanted an explanation, she was tired of the secrets, already she was tired of the mysteries involving her parents and that had to end in that moment. She began to shout and ask for explanations, threatened to tear up the book she was

Now imagine the symbol on the cover of this book

holding because she realized that it was important to them, which further infuriated his father, who explained only something she wanted to know: apparently the woman had been important, last night she had been killed by the girl's parents, but before, they had taken away her memories and with that her sanity, so her soul, the one that had only escaped a few minutes ago, could not find peace.

Hayley knew her parents were weird, but she never thought of them as bad people, as murderers. She knew that she would never forgive them: would that woman be the only victim of her parents’ cruelty or would there be more?

As her now angry father began to approach her asking for the book, Hayley ran in the same direction as the woman, guessing what the destination of that race would be, the rooftop.

With her heart screaming at her to stop Hayley discovered her phobia of heights that day when she looked down and peered through the hole in every floor that the stairs surrounded. She should not have stopped because thanks to that her father reached her and took her by the arm making her lose her balance and almost fall, she was about to lose the book and fall when she managed to move and put her father in her place, before falling from the ninth floor he said they were doing it for her, that she should help him, but what did that mean? Should she believe it? Did he deserve forgiveness? Was he telling the truth or was it just a trap? She was sorry, but she would not risk it. "I'm sorry," was the last thing he said to her before stepping on the hand that was still holding the ladder. He would not survive that fall. Finally, she reached the tenth floor and the roof with tears in her eyes. She had murdered his father.

There she was. The woman was crying and screaming in the air. Hayley tried to speak to her, but she did not seem to understand anything she said nor seemed to be able to say a word, not even her name.

Hayley decided to open the book and found 192 different names written on it and again the questions invaded her mind, but after thinking for a long time she thought that maybe they were names of the people murdered by her parents, she looked at the last "Lauren Jones" and said it out loud, she turned to Hayley instantly with teary eyes and nodded, Hayley looked for the page with Lauren's name and in the moment she repeated the name, Lauren began to fade into the air without leaving any trace. "Thank you" was the last thing the woman said. 

Everything became blurred in that instant, the previous events had left her stunned but it did not seem to be just the confusion of the facts and the realization that she had released someone but also murdered someone what made her feel bad, something made her feel weak. Her pale brown hands froze, began to look unreal, her face paled, her heart began to slow down, and she beat slower, slower and slower. Then she understood. She understood everything.

What her parents did were sacrificial processes that gave her vitality, made her breathe and continue in this world. 192 names, one name for each month of her life. By letting Lauren go in peace, she was letting go of her life too. She would not live another month.

Okay, thank you if you finished reading the whole story, I know it is weird but however I hope you have liked it. 

Listen to the "Future Nostalgia" album by Dua Lipa and remember to stay at home and take care of you and your love ones.

-Sil