Tormented Girl

I roll down the car window and sigh. I peer outside, watching the trees and cars pass by. Park City, Utah. The town most people would dream of living in. It’s beautiful, it’s peaceful, it has a low crime rate, it’s everything you could want and more, but it’s just not home. “I can never see myself living here”. I think to myself. I miss Bucktown, Chicago. I miss the tall buildings decorated with mural wall paint, which some people may call tacky, but I call art. I miss the sound of the trains, and the symphony of the cars honking. I miss the crowds of diverse people, and never knowing what the day would bring. I miss my friends. I miss everything about it. Some people may call me crazy, but I was born and raised there. It’s a drastic change, moving from Bucktown, Chicago to Park City, Utah. I can already tell by looking out the window how quiet and boring my life is going to become. I didn’t want to say anything to my mom, because I know how hard she saved up to live here. She even spent the full $20,000 she inherited from Grandma to move here, so I didn’t want to make a big fuss about it.

“You okay sweetie?” Mom asks while looking through the review mirror.

I shrug, trying to hide my uninterest “Yeah… I’m fine.”

Mom stops for a moment like she’s reflecting on what she wants to say. “I know it’s not easy moving to another state, but trust me. With time you will learn to love it here.”

I subtly roll my eyes. Before I knew it, I could feel the car coming to a halt. We were here. My new home. I look outside the window and examine the house. It was huge. Though I didn’t want to admit it, it was nice. I’ve seen pictures of it online, but the pictures were nothing compared to how it looked in person. I catch my mom at the corner of my eye with a satisfied smirk. She knew I was impressed, and I could tell she was resisting the urge not to gloat. Mom popped the trunk open, and we begin dragging our suitcases to the front door of what would be my new home. Mom unlocks the door, revealing the wide-open space.

“Let’s get packing,” Mom says.

I groan and try not to protest. I get my luggage and we begin to unpack. It was a long and boring day like I expected. Everything was going normal. I was unpacking one of the boxes in the living room when my mom yells “Oh crap!”

I quickly turn around “What’s wrong?” I ask.

Mom sighs, brushing her fingers through her hair. “I completely forgot. I have to meet up with the interior designer in ten minutes… Do you think you can stay here by yourself for a bit until I come back?”

I raise my eyebrows. “Seriously mom? I’m not 5. Of course, I can.”

“Ok thanks, I’ll be right back. If you have any emergencies call me. My phone’s always on.”

“Ok, mom…”

Mom gives me a warm smile while kissing my forehead before leaving. She walks out, letting the door slam behind her. Suddenly the house darkens. I feel an eerie presence like I’m not alone. I shake the feeling off and decide to go through the boxes, searching for my earbuds. I look through all of the boxes and have no luck. Then I remember mom put some of the moving boxes in the basement. I sigh and walk to the basement. I stand in front of a wooden door. Something about this door caught my attention, and not in a good way. I creak open the door and see 2 boxes. I look through one, and it was all my old baby clothes. I scoff and open the next box, but as I’m going through it, I realize none of the stuff looks familiar. This stuff isn’t mine. What was it doing here? Did the previous owners leave it behind? Curious, I continue to take all the little vintage antiques out of the box until something catches my eyes. On the very bottom of the box was a little black Moleskine notebook. I wipe the dust off, and eagerly break open the book. It was so unusual. There was cursive writing written in red ink, which I thought was odd. I squint my eyes, trying to read what it said. It was a little difficult, but I finally managed to read it.

There once was a family with two children. Joe and Megan. Megan was always the favorite child. Joe always sought love and affection, but the parents only ever acknowledged and cared about Megan. Joe tried everything to gain their parent’s love, but nothing worked. Having have had enough of the unfair treatment, Joe ran away. A woman named Trisha, saw Joe crying on the street, alone. Trisha immediately brought Joe into her home. Joe felt safe with Trisha, and finally felt loved, but it was too good to be true. For Trisha was an evil woman, who preyed on innocents, louring them into her trap. She would spoil them, and all her victims believed she actually loved them when in reality all she wanted was to make them part of her collection…

Before I could continue reading, suddenly I hear the sound of dogs barking outside, snapping me back to reality. I went to bed that night, tossing and turning. For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking of that book. What kind of sick story is that? I wondered. Finally, I was able to doze off to sleep but ended up having a terrible nightmare. In the dream, there was a woman in a white gown with black hair tied back into a bun. She started walking towards me menacingly. She didn’t do anything, but I felt her evil energy as if she wanted to hurt me. She smiled at me with a sinister grin, laughing “You’re next!” After that, it’s all a blur, for the next thing I know I’m waking up to the sound of birds chirping. Mom left me a note, with a paper lunch bag. She already left for work. I knew where the school was since mom showed me yesterday. It was only a couple of blocks down the street. When I arrive at school, it’s nothing like I expect. Everyone was actually pretty friendly, and though I was convinced I wouldn’t make any friends here, I met more people who I could see being my friends, than at my old school. They were all warm and welcoming. One student in particular. Joanna Smith. She was a pretty blonde, that wore a blue ribbon around her neck. She had a sweet smile, but the thing that drew my attention was her eyes. They seemed so sad. I’ve never seen such sad eyes before in my life. She shyly walked over to me.

She seemed almost nervous. “Hi, I’m Joanna. Are you new here?”

I nod “Yes, I just moved from Chicago.”

Joanna smiled “Oh really!? That’s so interesting! I’ve never been there, but I’ve always wanted to go.”

I give her a quizzical look. “Really?”

Joanna nods “Of course. It always seems so lively on TV. I rather be there than here anyway”

I softly smile “I’m surprised. I thought most people preferred Utah over Chicago.”

Joanna grins “Maybe, but I’m not most people.” I smile at her, and we share a moment. Suddenly, the bell rings, waking us from our trance.

“Well, I guess I have to get to my next class” She groans. “Who’s your teacher?” She asks.

I look at my schedule and furrow my eyebrows trying my best to suppress the laughter. “Umm… It says here Mr. Bunghead?”

Joanna bursts into laughter. “That name never gets old” She giggles. “ He’s nice. Just make sure you sit in the back row, he’s a spitter.”

I chuckle. “Thank you for that tip.”

Joanna grins “No problem. Us gals gotta stick together, right?”

Before I could say anything the second bell rings.

“Well, we better go to our classes. Talk to you later, okay?”

I nod “Sure, bye.” We go our separate ways. Throughout the day I noticed people began to stare and whisper. I figured it was because I am new but later on I found out it wasn’t that at all. There was a much sinister reason. In my history class, my teacher was talking about the history of this town, and apparently, the house I just moved into was haunted and there was a tragic event that happened in the late 1800s. The teacher wouldn’t go into too much detail. I was mad, how can my mom keep this from me? No wonder why the house was so cheap. I go home and think about the book I read the previous day. After knowing that something bad happened in this house, I felt creeped out. Of course, I knew going to the basement and looking at that stupid book wouldn’t help, but I was so curious to see what was going to happen next in the story. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, I roam to the basement door and open it, where I walk down the spiral staircase, leading me to the little black Moleskine notebook. I take a deep breath, preparing myself before opening the pages.

Trisha was known for collecting the heads of her victims. Completely unaware, Joe was the next target.

Before I can finish reading one sentence, I hear the doorbell ring downstairs. I quickly close the book and walk upstairs. When I open the door, I’m puzzled.

It’s Joanna. “Hi Indra, I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to get a bite to eat or something?”

I stand there dumbfounded. Finally, I speak “Oh...Uh...Yeah… Sure, I mean I would, but I promised my mom I would be doing laundry today.”

Joanna frowns. “Oh…”

“But, you can come in if you want.”

Joanna smiles. “Thank you!”

Joanna and I talk, and I completely forget about the laundry. We talk for so long. It was so weird. It felt like I’ve known her for ages. After our talking and gossip, we suddenly hear a loud bang coming from the basement.

“What’s that?” Joanna asks.

“I-I.. don’t know. Maybe my mom came home early.”

Joanna sighs in relief. Then the lights start to flicker. “Why are the lights doing that!?” Joanna exclaims.

I shrug, trying not to panic. “I don’t know, maybe the electrician didn’t finish setting things up…” Joanna looks at me with wide eyes, not completely convinced. Then we hear sinister laughter echo throughout the room. At that point, I was even having trouble convincing myself what was happening.

“I think I’m going to go,” Joanna says.

“Wait!” I yell. “Don’t go now.”

Joanna looks at me with hesitation. She looks at me. Her eyes widen in fear. “It’s Joe.”

I furrow my eyebrows. “What are you talking about?” Then suddenly the light begins to flicker repeatedly. Joanna takes a deep breath “I’m sorry I have to go.” She takes her things and gets up.

Before she leaves I exclaim “Wait, please stay..”

Joanna tilts her head, confused.

I sigh “I know it sounds stupid, but I don’t want to be in this house alone.”

Joanna smiles slightly. “Okay,” She says with an understanding tone. I asked Joanna what she meant when she said it’s Joe, and finally, Joanna explained the tragic history of the house to me. She told me how a woman in the late 1800s went on a killing spree, beheading her victims. Then she mentioned the name, Trish. When she said that name my heart immediately dropped. “What did you just say?” I ask.

Joanna repeated herself “Trish. I think that was her name?”

“Trisha?” I correct her, afraid to know the answer.

Joanna nods “Yeah how did you know?”

Terrified, I explain the book I found in the basement. Joanna’s eyes immediately widen in terror. “You must destroy the book” She demands.

I look at her strangely.”What are you talking about?”

Joanna explains to me the rumor of the book. She tells me how Joe’s spirit is trapped in the book and that Joe will continue to haunt this house until Joe’s set free. She told me Joe can only be free if someone writes their name in the book and then destroys it. I try not to laugh at the ridiculous rumor. Joanna looks at me with a serious expression “What’s funny?”She spats.

I shrug “Nothing it just sounds a little silly, is all.

” Joanna grits her teeth. I see anger take over her, but only for a second. After some convincing, we head down to the basement so I can show her the book. I attempt to finish reading the story, but Joanna stops me. “Don’t read it, it’s terrible. You don’t want to know what happened to her. Just write your name in the book and burn it. Then the hauntings will stop and Joe’s spirit should be free.”

I shrug. “Okay.” I start to write the first letter of my name when suddenly the doorbell rings. Mom must be home. I get up and walk upstairs. “Where are you going?” Joanna asks.

“I have to let my mom in,” I say slightly annoyed. I turn around, unlock the door and let my mom through. The first question she asks is “Did you finish the laundry?’ I gasp “Oh my god mom, I’m so sorry. I completely lost track of the time” Mom glares at me. I explain to her I was with my friend. “What friend?” My mom asks.

I look behind me and Joanne is gone. I shrug “She must have gone home,” I say.

Mom rolls her eyes “Whatever you say. I brought us some pizza.

I smile, and immediately take the pizza box and bring it into the kitchen, getting my dinner plate prepared. The next day at school, Joanna is nowhere to be seen. Then in history class, we got back on the same subject about the great tragedy that happened along time ago. I ask the teacher about the book I found. The teacher immediately freezes. “Get rid of that book right away!” She warns. I furrow my eyebrows, confused. “You didn’t write in it, did you?” She asks.

I shake my head “No, I was going to, but..”

“Don’t EVER write in that book. Never.”

I look at him strangely. Then he explains the legend. According to the legend, you’re never supposed to write in the book, because if you do your soul gets trapped in the book and your whole life becomes the story of the book. I suppress my laughter. Great, my teacher is crazy. I thought. The rest of the day there was no sight of Joanna. I bump into Cindy, an acquaintance I sit with in my math class. I ask her if she knows where Joanna is but she gives me a bewildered look. “Who’s Joanna?”

“You know the girl with the ribbon around her neck and the blonde hair?.”

Cindy shakes her head “I’m sorry. I don’t know anyone by that description that goes here.”

The bell rings and everyone goes home. What was happening? Was I going nuts? Later that evening, I go into the basement and open the book. I don’t even finish reading the first sentence when I feel a sudden cold shiver go up to my spine. “What are you doing?”

I jump. I look behind me and see Joanna standing there motionless. “Jesus Joanna, you scared the crap out of me! What are you doing here?!” I yell.

“Sorry” She mutters. “Did you write your name in the book yet?”

I look at her hesitant. I suddenly get a strange feeling. “About that, my teacher told me to never do that.” Joanna rolls her eyes “Don’t listen to her. She’s just crazy.”

Let me at least finish reading the story first.” I say.

“No!” Joanna yells abruptly.

“Why not?” I ask.

“Because...because it’s not important.” Joanna stammers.

I go with my intuition and begin to read it to myself secretly. Joana notices and throws the book across the room.

“What’s wrong with you?” I exclaim.

Joanna looks at me with an emotion I’ve never seen on her before. Rage.

“I said don’t read it! That will just make Joe’s spirit angry. You have to write your name in it and destroy the book if you want to set Joe free and stop the hauntings.”

I suddenly feel uneasy. “Okay. I will.” I lie.

Joanna smiles. She then hands me the notebook back. I pretend to write my name in it, not sure what I’m waiting for when I notice a name on the button corner of the book. I quickly glance at it and feel the air escape from my lungs. It spells out “Joanna”. Everything was starting to piece together. I felt crazy for even asking, but I couldn’t control it anymore.“Y-you’re Joe aren’t you?” I ask. Joanne gives me a sinister look. I can’t tell what she’s feeling. Joanne screams at the top of her lungs. I cover my ears from the terrible screeching sound. “Why couldn’t you free me!”?” She says almost crying. “You will pay for this!” She screams in a deep voice.

Then like magic, she just disappears. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. I tell my mom what happened, but she thought I just dreamt it. Wanting answers, the next day I did more research, and according to the rumors, if I did what Joanna asked and wrote my name in the book, my soul would have been forever trapped in that book. “Good thing I didn’t sign it.” I thought to myself A part of me was furious. Joanna who I thought was my friend, wasn’t even alive. She was a… ghost. She was just using me the entire time. She wanted to trick me into exchanging her freedom for mine. Though I was angry, another part of me, a stronger part felt a deep sadness. Though what she did was wrong, I couldn’t imagine how she felt. She was just a trapped soul, tormented by her past. Later that night I did something unexpected. It was just an idea, but I thought to myself... Maybe I could finish the story and give her a better ending. So I did just that. I crossed out her terrible fate and rewrote her a happy ending.

Joe’s remains were found, and she was brought to justice. Her spirit went to heaven where she found everlasting peace.

It was a long shot. I’m sure what I did was pointless, and stupid, but I didn’t want Joanna’s story to end that way, so I re-wrote her story hoping it would give her some peace. As soon as I put the pen down, I felt a sudden lift, like the weight was taken off my shoulder. The room got brighter, and I heard what I swear sounded like soft whisper “Thank you”. Of course, it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me. All I can say is that the next day on the news, the police miraculously found the remains of “Joe”, and ever since I did that, no more strange occurrences ever happened again. I never saw “Joannah” at school after that day. I didn’t know what to do with the book, so I buried it deep in the backyard, praying no one would find it. It was the craziest, weirdest experience of my life, and that’s when I finally thought to myself. “Perhaps it’s not so boring here after all.”