Empty Eyes

A random Story that I wrote for English... :

I stepped out of the car and stared at the house. Lightening raced through the air casting a strange eerie light on it. Its tall dark front loomed over us as my cat, Rohan named after my favorite book character, hurried back into the car huddled at the other end of the seat. The house moaned as the strong winds blew, nearly knocking me off my feet.

“This is where we’re moving?” I asked glaring at my parents.

“Lizzy honey, I know it looks a little strange but all the houses, in the country side of England, look like this in the storm and besides it has a lot of history that’s perfect for my first hand research and not to mention…” said my mom going on and on about thing she and my dad planned to do. I rolled my eyes and sighed. My parents are both Elizabethan Professors (that’s just one reason they named me Elizabeth) at a small college in which they’ve been teaching in for over 9 years.

We always traveled to accommodate their research needs and what my parents called “mini sabbaticals“. I’m 15 and we had already been to at least 12 countries in my knowledge, this would be the thirteenth one. It was only during vacations, though, that we went anywhere. We had house movers set up most things already that we took with us whenever we went on another sabbaticals All that was left to do was to head on in. I put my shoulder bag on, gently picked up Rohan and left my parents in their awe to go locate another new room.

Rohan snuggled against me as we walked through the hallway to find a light switch. Everything looked dim even after I had turned the lights on. Most of the rooms on the first floor, such as the rather large parlor and the private drawing room, looked dull. The only room that held any interest to me was the library. Its shelves reached the high ceiling and covered the entire wall, with the exception of the windows. A grand piano stood near one of the windows. Then I noticed a book underneath the piano.

I put Rohan down as I reached underneath the piano to retrieve the book. On its cover was the title ‘Wuthering Heights.’ I opened the book unable to control my excitement and found on the first page the words ‘Mary’s personal diary. Please do not touch.’ Even more peculiar was that the little diary was glued into the empty cover. Baffled I turned the page and started on the first faded diary entry.

Dear Diary,
This house is splendid! You have no clue how beautiful it is! I must go and explore more and thus this is a little short. Until later!
Mary

The next few diary entries contained about the same information. Mary wrote about secret nooks, her piano lessons, fights with her little brother, school and the book she was reading, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and its amazing brilliance. I could just about imagine her accent as she wrote these things down in earnest. The few entries after those were somewhat vague and panicky. They were completely opposite from what the first few were.

Dear Diary,
I keep getting this feeling that someone is watching me. During the night I hear sounds that I can’t distinguish. Sometimes when I can I fancy that a girl is calling my name softly like a whisper. It seems only starts at night. ‘Mary… Mary…’ I hate it.
Mary

Dear Diary,
I can hardly sleep… All I can think about during the day is the voice during the night. I can hardly pay attention during piano lesson or in school. I think last night the girl talked to me… ‘Mary… Mary… I’m coming… I’m coming.’ The house no longer holds discoveries; instead it contains secrets and horrors that haunt me.
Mary

I could hardly believe what I was reading. Everything seemed to grow bolder on the pages as I read. Whispers… night… watching me… sounds… girl… I’m coming… I hate it. My mind whirled around the words. I started to imagine that a girl stood a few feet away from the other side the piano. Her long black hair blew in front of her face covering everything except her mouth which formed a secretive, knowing, evil smile. She had a tattered, dirty nightdress on though her feet were bare. Her hand started reaching out toward me. In the back of my mind I could hear Rohan hissing and the wind howling louder than before. The girl started shuffling closer, her hair shifting from side to side as lightening lit up the room for a split second. Her lips started moving and I started to imagine that I heard her calling and talking.

“Mary… Lizzy… Mary… Lizzy… Lizzy…I‘m coming Lizzy. Silly Mary wrote everything down so that you‘d know all about me but that just makes everything more fun. I love games, but know this Lizzy I‘m coming sooner than you expect!”

“Elizabeth!” I jumped and the book fell onto the ground. I tore my eyes away from the girl and saw my mother standing in the door way. I looked back to where the girl was standing and to my surprise saw nothing. I blinked a few times and stared again. Rohan came closer and rubbed against my legs.

“Lizzy! Come on honey we haven’t got all day and we’ve got to go see your new room,” my mom said picking up a duffle bag from beside her. I picked up the book and Rohan and followed my mother but before leaving the room I gave it one last look. It may have been my imagination but I thought I could hear faint laughter as I turned away.

My room was quite spacious. All of my stuff had been set up according to the way I had planned it. I walked over to my bed, put my bag down and sat with my legs dangling off the side. The cream colored wallpaper looked faded and the shutters on the windows looked beyond ancient. My eyes wandered back down to the book in front of my. I shifted so that I sat cross-legged and picked up the diary. Finally curiosity got the better of me and I opened it.

Dear Diary,
I’ve now decided to hide you inside the cover of my favorite book ‘Wuthering Heights’ so that she may never find you. Last night I saw her eyes. She turned from the window and the moonlight struck her face. The wind blew and her hair moved revealing nothing but hallow sockets. She came to the bed and clutched my arm. Then with amazing force she dragged me off my bed and repeatedly hit my head against the window. When I woke up this morning my head had bruises on them and I told my parents that I fell off the bed knowing that they would object to the knowledge of ghosts. There was blood on the window sill and I tried to clean it as best I could but I could still see the stains. I hate my room now and hardly get any sleep. Even now I am having trouble keeping my eyes open. I have to go to school now.
Mary

That night after dinner I returned to my room I pulled the diary out of a drawer in the table next to my bed. I sat down cross legged and started to read more. Mary went on about how the ghost would torture her during the night and how in the mornings she had to lie, to her parents, about her many bruises and cuts. At times during the day she could still feel a hovering presence near her where ever she went. Mary went on to tell how she had no more friends who avoided her like she had the plague. Even her own parents seemed to whisper about her behind closed doors. With each day Mary lashed out at anything that came too near scared. She could no longer tell what was real and what was not. When I couldn’t bear to read anymore I closed the diary. Rohan had slinked into the room and hopped onto the bed and I was glad for a distraction.

When my clock struck three o’clock I suddenly woke up with no reason. The sounds from the night started to scare me. An owl started hooting right outside my window causing Rohan to wake up and hop into my lap. The house creaked on its own sending shivers down my spine. The moon wasn’t too bright so I could hardly see a foot ahead of me. Rohan’s eyes darted one here and there and settled on something in the dark. He started hissing and dug his claws into my leg. I slowly moved until I was in a sitting position and turned on the light. I nearly screamed but nothing came out of my mouth. At the foot of my bed the girl sat with face towards me and her hair pushed behind her ear. Her empty sockets stared right back at me and her lips were in that same evil smile.

“Lizzy… I told you I’d come,” the girl said cocking her head to the side obviously enjoying my reaction. I looked at her speechless my heart pounding.

“Since you know so much about me already I think that’s right that I finish my tale. I’m Reena. I lived here since I was born. My mom died in childbirth and my father got another wife. But you know she wasn’t very nice to me. She loved to torture me… I’m sure you’ve read some of them from poor Mary’s dairy. The one day out of ten years that I tried to take revenge on my stepmother was the day she hurt me the most. She beat me with a metal rod and knocked me unconscious. Then she tore my eyes out… my beautiful hazel eyes… the only thing that made me my mother’s. Then before she killed me she put a curse on me so that until I found enough eyes I would never be with my mother again. At first I hated roaming like a ghost until I found out that even without my eyes I can see. Now it’s my favorite game. Shall we play?” Reena asked after finishing her tale.

I shrank away as she reached her hands out. When she saw that I wasn’t going to come willingly she grew angry. She grabbed my ankle and started to pull. I grabbed onto the head of the bed and hung on. Then as quickly as it started she disappeared.

When I touched my ankle it was freezing. I cautiously looked over the side of the bed and saw nothing. I turned back the other way and found her empty sockets right next to me. I screamed but she clamped her hand over my mouth and started to laugh quietly. Rohan hissed and leaped at Reena landing on her back with his claws ready. Reena let go of me and reached around her to grab Rohan. I fell out of the bed and crawled to the door. Behind me Reena let out a shriek and threw Rohan against the wall. The she launched herself off the bed and grabbed my hair pulling me to my feet. I whimpered and grabbed her hands. With tremendous force she threw me against the wall. I lay there as she walked towards me.

“So the you really thought that you could fight me?” Reena asked with a sneer on her face. I tried to use my hands to prop myself up and she started to laugh again.

“Didn’t Mary teach you through her pathetic diary that I can’t be beat? Your eyes are the last ones I need. Then I can go where ever I want to. I will have your eyes. Yet it would be a pity to finish you off in one day,” she said with a sad smile on her face. Then her face light up and she disappeared through the wall. After a minute I crept to my bed and pulled myself onto it exhausted.

The next morning my head hurt and there was a small bump on the back of it. My back had bruises and my hands had cuts on them. I hid everything except for my hands. When my mother asked I told her that I fell into the rose bush. She gave me something for it and then both my parents retreated to their study. I ran up grabbed the diary from my room and ran into the yard. I sat down on the wide swing and opened the diary. I once more went through the dairy. All that Mary described gave me the shivers. By the time it was almost noon I knew I couldn’t stay one more night in the house and I definitely could not take anymore of Reena’s torture.

I walked into the barn and climbed into the loft. From there I climbed to the roof and looked down at the house. I stepped back dizzy. Next to me I could feel something and I knew that it was her. In the sunlight she didn’t have much power and I knew that she could do almost nothing except for little feeble attempts. I pushed her aside, closed my eyes and jumped. As I feel I could hear a scream from the house and one from above me.

When I opened my eyes I stood up slowly and looked down. My face looked so peaceful. I walked through the barn wall and climbed up the ladder and onto the roof.

“Looking for me?” I asked as Reena turned around. She shrieked and ran at me. What she didn’t know was that good was stronger than evil. I pushed her down and jumped after her and landed next to her. I punched her and pulled her hair. When I was done she lay there unconscious but not dead. To kill her I would have to do more than that but I would have to learn.

There was a wail behind me and I saw my mother crying at my dead body. I tried to touch her but my hands slipped through her and she shuddered. Then I saw Rohan walk over hesitantly and start rubbing against me. I felt a mixture of sadness but at the same time I felt like I did something right. I turned away and went to go sit down on the swing. I looked at the place where I had left Reena and saw it empty. I turned back and I picked up the dairy. Then I saw another book underneath it. On the cover was my favorite book, Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn, and on the inside were the words ‘Lizzy’s personal diary. Please do not touch.’ It was then that I realized what I was meant to do. I sighed and picked up the diaries and walked into the house to wait for the next victim of Reena.

Its interesting how things seem to go so fast as the days go by. I've been in school for only about a week now and it seems as though time is flying past me. I feel lost at times but mostly confused. I get scared so randomly and it bugs me like anything. I don't know how to talk to people most of the time and feel like isolating myself. I feel scared to talk with anyone about it because of the fact that I expose myself too much. I hate the fact that I close up when people get too close and I hate seeing people react to it. I feel bad but can't seem to be able to control the reaction. I don't know... I reject people because of exposure... stupid me... I hope as the days go by I'll like be able to relax more and fall back into the normal school pattern and forget or at least send the throughts of vacation to the back of my mind.... Still that's hard to do considering the fact that my parents call like everyday expecting a full day's report and that's already enough. I really hope things get better..... Until then i'll just have to sit tight.... a bit annoying but nothing much that I can do...