Lost In The Onyx

On a quite historical street. Normal to the naked eye, lie Secrets hidden beyond fresh laid concrete and flowers that grow on unkept lawns. A daughter, Sherry Blackstock daughter of Rosalina Blackstock arrives at her childhood house. Going over the plans with her sister, Rain Blackstock they would be moving their strained mother to her new home in a mediocre old folks home, courtesy of her daughters. They would be spending the next few weeks packing, renovating, and eventually selling their mothers belongings and house. Putting their mother to Rot instead of spending her golden years in luxury she would be subjected to dirty sheets and flavorless food. To her daughters this would be their way of getting revenge for the years upon years of abuse inflicted from their psychotic fantasy driven mother, in the house that tormented not just them with nightmares but also induced schizophrenic episodes from their mother. They had dreamed of this moment for a long time. Whatever coin they get from the house would be a bonus as well. Peace is soon.

“Hey Rain, yeah I’m heading to moms now….” Sherry said

“Okay, what more do we have to get from the house?” Said Rain

“I just gotta grab some boxes that ma wants to bring to Sherman oaks and then grab ma. Do you wanna meet us here and we can all drive together?” Sherry asked.

“Yeah I’m already heading that way. I’ll be there in about 10 minutes. Try to be ready by the time I get there. I don’t wanna be in that vortex of a house any longer than I have to be” Rain insisted

“Yeah yeah, In and out. Just think, this time next month we will never have to set foot in that house again.” Sherry said

“Thinks it’s too late to burn it to the ground? Collect insurance? Go on a vacation to the Scottish highlands or a nude beach in France. A girl can dream…”Rain joked but meant completely.

“Don’t joke with me. I have lighter fluid in my trunk and I have nothing to lose” Sherry joked back but also meant too.

“Haha I love you I’ll see you in a bit” said rain

“Haha love you too I’ll see you soon” Sherry hung up the phone. Her state was cold as she looked out the car window into that damned house.

“In and out Sherry baby. In and out” she reassured herself.

She walked towards the large gray Victorian home,That was always too much house for such a small family. Only one step was too much pressure for the old steps and Sherry fell right in.

“God dammit! Add that to another job for the contractor. This fucking house!”

Sherry pulled her leg from out of the tired wood. Tripping as she freed herself.

“Ahhhh!!Don’t burn this house down Sherry . Don’t do it. Get mom,get the boxes, get out of this house till next week”

She brushed herself off and headed to the door and unlocked it with her childhood Hello Kitty key.

“Hey Mom, I'm here, sorry I’m late !” Sherry called out to the dark house that the November night sky made feel even darker and desolate.

She threw her keys into a dish bowl her mother always had by the door. Muscle memory

Sherry reached for the light switch

But Nothing.

“Damn..I should have paid for the electric for one more month while we move everything out” sherry thought to herself

“Mom! You okay? It’s pitch black out here..”

“She must be asleep” Sherry thought to herself “I told her I would be here at 7:30. She is never on time.”

No reply came from the house just the sound of her mothers old box fan could be heard in roses room down the main hall.

Annoyed that her mother decided to take a nap,Sherry went to the closet where her mothers most prized possessions lie. She grabbed an old lantern on the closet shelf and cranked it to get some light. Filtering through the dust,cobwebs, and blankets to find the specific items that Rose requested. Family pictures, Books, And her Antiques.

A large crashing sound in roses bedroom sent Sherry jolting up quickly, hitting her head on a shelf above her.

“Ah shit! Ma you alright?”

She called out, grabbing the lantern and walking towards her mothers room. She opened the door. It was dark of course, but she could see her mothers silhouette under the lavender covers resting with her 10 year old box fan blowing proudly beside her.

“Oh mother. You’d sleep through the end of days.”

No response came from her mother. Sherry turned her back towards her about to close the door. Then the cold elderly voice of Rose echoed from the darkness

“I just needed to lie down for a bit dear. I’ll be out in a moment”

“Okay ma I’ll be in the hall just call for me when your ready” Sherry closed the bedroom door and walked back to the closet. Putting the lantern on the same shelf that nearly knocked her down.

“Okay. Pictures pictures pictures. Where would I be if I was a photo album with decades worth of painfully traumatic pictures of your childhood…” she rummaged through the boxes until finally Finding the box containing the dozens of photo albums. Sherry picked one up titled “the kids and the ayin house” and flipped through the photo album while she waited for her mother to awaken.

She giggled while looking at a picture of her, rain, and her mother standing in front of the house when they first bought it. Rain was 10 and Sherry 7. They sat on the curb in their old worn sundresses. Rosalina stood behind them. Her long brown hair blowing down past her waist. Her smile was broken, but had so much to say for just one picture. Sherry stared at it for a while. All the repressed memories flooding their way back into the veins in her brain that she thought she had turned the valve off. Or at least thought she did.

She caressed the photo brushing her fingertips along her mothers face

“Oh Rose, look at how beautiful you are. You and this old house, all the stories y’all share…all the horrible memories ”

She smiled flipping through the book. Periodically cranking the lantern to keep the light on. While flipping, a loose picture fell from one of the albums. The lantern began to flicker in and out as she picked up the delicate picture that was falling apart at the touch.

It was the house,but back when it was first built, 1821. A woman stood in front wearing clothes a long black garment with a complimenting hat with a sewn in black lace veil that covered her long dark hair, She held a large wooden cane with carvings of dozens of little distorted and down right disturbing faces with eyes that looked like they were possible jewels. It looked worth a fortune and definitely not of that time period.The woman made a striking resemblance to Rosalina. Which made Sherry surprisingly uneasy. She flipped the photo over and in faded cursive it wrote-

“The house of the daughters of Ayin, founder Rosalina blackstock”

“Daughters of ayin? Blackstock? She looks just like mom…. I wonder if this is our great great great grandmother?” She thought out loud to herself

Sherry, confused studied the picture before a ring on her cell phone interupted her many ideas on what this picture was.

-Incoming call from rain-

“Hey! Rain, mom never mentioned this being a house that was passed through the family right? I’m looking at this picture of when the house was first built, and this woman looks just like her… she has moms first and last name too. It’s freaking me out. Oh, also we need to pay the electric bill it’s so dark I can barely see anything.”

“Sherry, where are you? I just came and got mom. I tried to call you but ma got hungry, so I’m getting her some food, what do you mean? the power is perfectly fine, I was just there?”

Sherry's heart dropped to her stomach. The frame of face changed from curious to completely terrified

“Rain, stop fucking with me. Mom’s in her room napping. Are you almost here? I got the boxes. You should really see this stuff. Have you ever heard of the daughters of ayin??”

The phone got silent.

“SHERRY!” rains voice shifted to a dark and demented tone “THAT’S NOT MOM!” the dial tone cut the call off

“RAIN! RAIN!” Sherry shouted in the phone

She listened to the dial tone. A voice came through. Distorted at first but then clear..it was Rosalina’s voice but not just her regular voice. It was down right evil and cold.

“Sherry baby? How about you quit hiding in the closet and come give your dear mother a kiss?” Each word curved up as if you could feel her smile as she spoke

Sherry’s face turned white as a ghost. Dropping the phone. She sat in the closet, closing the door quickly. Petrified. Her breath began to tremble. The already silent house had turned completely void of sound besides the white noise coming from the fan.

Holding the lantern She peaked from the closet door, Looking down the hall where her mothers room resided. Sherry watched the bedroom door like a predator hunting its prey only she didn’t know which part she played in the grand hunt.

She cranked the lantern,but just like most things it faded into black and Sherry was lost in the onyx. She looked around the closet. Her depth perception made everything her feel like she was in a black hole and anything could reach from space to take her into the void. Although the house was freezing. Sherry was sweating buckets of bullets to supply an infantry. She shivered and quaked in fear before gathering the courage to call out to house.

“Mmmmmm mommmmm i think I’m ready to go now….” She waited. Trembling in the closet for her mothers response

The fan turned off abruptly as Rosalina’s bedroom door began to slowly creek open. It was dreadfully silent. Even the smallest tiniest breath could be heard in the house. Sherry held her mouth. Her eyes nearly bursting from her head like a bug.

The sound of a Cane pounded loudly through the house quickly making its way to the closet door. Where Sherry's corpse was discovered. As for Rosalina Blackstock, only one more piece of the puzzle is left for the daughter of Ayin’s work to be completed.

Rain Blackstock.