“Sally?” That was her name. The voice knew her name. “C-can you hear me at all?” The voice was soft and shaky and as the sleepy fog melted away from Sally, she saw that this voice belonged to the small round face that was similar to her own. “C-can you even understand me? You look so distant all the time. Are you aware of anything?" Sally wasn't sure how to react. "Don’t you know me?” Sally felt something warm and wet drip onto her face. “It's me… Riley. Don’t you know your own sister?” Sister? Riley, that name had never appeared in her dreams or her memories. Maybe Sally was crazy. Maybe these memories and dreams were all in her head and had no real connection to anything around her. Oh! Oh! Nothing made any sense! Why? Why? Why?
“Oh… you’re crying again,” Riley said softly. The figure held out a small, pale hand to Sally. Sally could now feel a soft pressure on her face. The face… Riley was trying to comfort her, or that was what it looked like. Well, that was something. Maybe she could become friends with this face. Over time, life became bearable. Sally still had many unanswered questions. But that didn’t change anything between her and Riley.
She didn’t need to remember Riley to be thankful for the comfort she got. Maybe Riley was crazy. Maybe Sally was crazy. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she now had a friend and a kind owner. At least she was fairly sure of that. It only made sense for Lisa to be the owner of Riley.
Sally was finally able to control her body. She was also now fed regularly. She could hear things clearly. She also had five times more strength than she had had before. She also memorized the two different faces she saw and their names. One was the face of Riley, small and pale and round with huge fearful eyes. The other was a strange, uncanny face.
It was a sharp face, with large eyes that seemed to hold no color. For a little while Sally thought that this face had belonged to the lady she so often dreamed about. But then she learned that the face had a different name, Lisa.
In Sally’s opinion, The Lady was a much prettier name than Lisa. But Lisa herself seemed nice enough. She didn’t see Lisa as often as she saw Riley, but she did enjoy her time with Lisa. Lisa was usually the one to feed her. Thanks to the nourishment and motivation brought to her, Sally was growing stronger and stronger every day. Soon she was able to walk around on her own, if only for a short amount of time. This was a dream come true for her. She could finally see what she had been missing out on and what the world had in store for her.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
At first, Sally would just wander around her little room. It was dark and dusty in her room. But there was a little window in the corner that let in some cheerful light. Outside the window was a dull world. It was grey and empty. Every once in a while, Sally would see people going by. She would always give them a friendly wave with her good arm. They never waved back. Was it because they thought she was awful too?
One night, Sally opened her eyes to find the door to her room slightly ajar. She could see a soft, bright glow coming from the other room. It was as if the sun was rising, but only inside the house. The world outside was still dark. It looked like the warm candlelight Sally had become used to. Those candles had been a welcome sight during her days of darkness and pain.
Sally slipped out of bed and carefully made her way across the room. The light grew brighter as she stepped closer. Sally squinted and blinked. There was a strange feeling stirring in her heart. She pushed the door open. This was a new room. The light came from a fireplace in the corner. There was also a window. Below the window sat a small wooden table.
Thankful for the warmth, Sally rushed over to the fire. She should have brought her blanket with her. The firelight was beautiful and so warm. But at the sight of it, the feeling in Sally's heart grew. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed more details in the room. There were a handful of spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling. She also spotted a small mirror on the wall and... what was that? A voice filled Sally's mind.
“Do you know what you have done, Sally?” That voice… it belonged to the lady. Why did it sound so cruel and cold? She could see the face now. It wasn’t gentle or soft. It was stern and dark. Her lips were tightly sealed and her eyes glowed with a malice that hurt more than the burns that spread across Sally. Sally clutched at her face with shaking hands. “You have disobeyed the very people who brought you to this place. What you have done cannot be forgiven. You must be punished!” That awful, awful voice. The memory stabbed Sally like a knife. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. That was it. That was the source of all her fear, and that was the reason she had mistaken her own reflection for that of a monster’s.
Sally’s knees gave out underneath her as she collapsed to the ground in a miserable heap of trembling limbs and silent tears. She heard a kind voice whispering to her gently. She felt strong arms lifting her up and carrying her back to the security of her own room. She saw the faces of Lisa and Riley lean over her. Her Riley, her Lisa. She saw the compassion and concern in their eyes. “Awful,” there was that word again. But this time Sally finally understood. It wasn’t her that was awful; it was the pain that she had been feeling in her heart.