Trew

*BANG* *BANG*

“I’LL GET THE DOOR, MOMMY!” I run to the door and I slide my fuzzy socks against the sleek, white wood floor. Right before I turn the doorknob I feel my shirt being yanked, “Hey.” I grunt, “You know better than to open the door when I’m not around.” My mom scolds me. I roll my eyes.

She’s just down the hall. I don't see the big deal. She opens the door and there’s a medium sized box on the porch, “Did you order something else online without asking me?” She raises an eyebrow, “No of course not! I don’t even know what that is!” I shriek, “Okay.. No need to shout.” She closes the door with the package outside. What in the world is she doing? She’s going to leave a perfectly great package outside? I swear sometimes I think there’s something wrong with my mom… She goes into the kitchen, opens one of the drawers and grabs a kitchen knife. She holds it downwards, “Move out the way, Flora. Go upstairs and play with your dolls or something.” She insists, I shake my head and I stomp up the stairs. She never lets me do anything, I swing the bathroom door open and I go straight to the window. I push the curtains back and I see my mom cutting the tape off of the box. She reaches her hands inside the box and all I can think is what if it’s something for me. She takes out a red and pink teddy bear, she must’ve forgot that she bought me a gift. She clenches the bear and bursts her way back into the house. “FLORA!” Uh oh.. That doesn’t sound very good, “I’m coming!” I bolt down the stairs and I jump the last two, “What happened?” I tremble, “I’m going to ask you one more time if you bought this bear. And I want the truth.” She snaps, “I already told you I didn’t order that bear.” I insist; now she’s starting to irritate me. She never believes a word that comes out of my mouth. “Don’t have that tone with me! Who else could’ve bought this? I know I didn’t.” She rants, “How in the world would I know? Do you think my dad bought it or something? You can look at all of your bank accounts and see that I didn’t spend any money on this bear.” I voice, “Your dad hasn’t given you anything in your whole entire life. Why would he start now?” She questions, but I don’t think she was actually questioning me. I think she was genuinely confused. I shrug, and jog upstairs and I make my way to my room. I let my body fall onto my bed and I let my thoughts run. They were moving so fast I could barely catch up to them; the first thought I can actually acknowledge is why isn’t my honesty enough for my mom to trust me.

Thirty minutes passes by and I hear Janice call my name once again. “MOM I DIDN’T BUY THE BEAR!” I shout, assuming that’s why she’s calling me. “GIRL, COME DOWN STAIRS! She shouts, I go downstairs expecting World War III and then all of a sudden she hugs me and gives me the teddy bear. “I apologize for not trusting you. You didn’t deserve to be scolded.” This is what she does; she apologizes and then the next time I’m questioned it’s more of an accusation. “Okay, mom. Thank you.” I turn around and I get ready to walk away, “Wait before you go up to your room there’s food on the table for you. I made french toast and bacon.” That doesn’t sound too bad… I guess I can forgive her this time. “Alright, thanks.” I go upstairs and I put the teddy bear on top of my bed. I head out of my room and I make my way to the dining room table, I spot the french toast with the bananas, strawberries and whip cream on top. I begin to dig into my favorite meal; I look up and I see my mom doing the same. A grin magically appears on my face; it’s times like this that I truly appreciate her.

“Flora.” something whispers in my ear, I look up from my plate and I can sense something hanging from my mouth. I take my finger and scoop whatever was on my bottom lip. “Oh, just bacon.” I thought. “Flora.” Another whisper in my ear… What can that be? “FLORA!” It shouts, I shake in my seat and my mom looks up from her plate, “You okay, darling?” I shake my head yes, “I’m just full.” My mom’s eyes widen as if she’s surprised; I guess that is pretty surprising considering I’ve never wasted her food a day in my life and I’m totally lying. There’s something spooky going on. I get up and I take my plate to the trash, I scrape all the leftover food that was on the plate in the trash. I gently drop my dish into the sink and I sprint upstairs. The voices I heard came from up here… I just know it. I enter my room and I see the teddy bear sitting up perfectly at the edge of the bed. The room felt bleak, grim; I got a chill down my spine. “I don’t know what’s happening, but it isn’t good.” I whisper to myself. I turn around, ready to leave my room when all of a sudden the door shuts right in front of me. I back away towards my bed slowly, scared of what might be behind me… Nothing; the teddy bear disappeared. My ears begin to ring and all I can feel is my heart banging against my chest. “You stole my mommy away from me.” I hear a voice say, “Now I will make you pay.” It chuckles, I turn around and there’s the teddy bear. I back up into my bed and I plop right on it, “How did I steal your mom?” I quaver, “JANICE WAS MY MOMMY FIRST!” The voice screeches. Okay now I’m confused. Why in the world does a teddy bear think my mom is theirs? “Because I’m not actually a teddy bear you idiot. I’m a vengeful spirit haunting you.” How does it know what I’m thinking? “Because I’m everywhere and nowhere, I hear your thoughts. AND I’M NOT AN IT!” the voice snaps, “Then what are you and who are you?” I investigate. “I’m your worst nightmare and before you were even thought of I was Janice’s baby girl first!” She yells. I’m getting tired of this, I move past the stupid teddy bear and I try to open my door. It’s stuck shut, I want to yell but for some reason I can’t. “Why can’t I leave?” I ask, “Because I’m taking your body; I deserve to be alive just as much as you do. You had your turn; now it’s my turn!” This spirit is as enraged as my mom is sometimes, “Could I at least say goodbye to my mom somehow; like maybe give her a hug?” The spirit doesn’t say anything for a while, so I grab my doorknob and I turn it… I open it and I run downstairs, when I make it to the kitchen I look out the window and it’s pitch black. What’s happening? “Did you really think I was going to let you out of the room?” Where am I? Where’s my mom? “We’re in your head and I almost have you exactly where I want you.” The voice begins to sound menacing, “What’s your name?” I ask, she pauses and silence carries throughout the house. “My name is Trew… And I died in mommy’s womb. She didn’t pick a name for me at the time but I knew what it was going to be before I was even born.” That’s terrible.. I wonder why my mom didn’t tell me about Trew. “I think she’s still mourning my death. Which is why I don’t feel free from the physical realm.” She agonizes, “Give me a chance to liven up your spirit before you try to possess my body.” I suggest, “What do you mean by that?” Trew investigates, “I can try to make our mom talk about you, so your spirit can be free and live on in bliss.” All of a sudden I’m in the dark and I feel like I’m falling down. I plop on my bed and I look up. The teddy bear is sitting in front of my room door and it's bright outside again. I get up and I walk towards my door, I hesitate to open it. Something in my heart began to tell me that everything was okay. I make my way to the kitchen and I see my mom washing dishes. “Hey, mom, we need to talk about the miscarriage you had before you had me.” My mom stares at me for a while and then the tears from her eyes begin to fall down like rain. “How did you know about that?” I scratch my head, “Let’s just say she came to me in a dream and also all of my life I’ve seen how protective you are and how angry you seemed. So I knew there had to be something wrong.” My mom leads me into the living room and we mourn Trew. I guess this is what we all needed.