Dried crimson roses

She finally got home, she ran to her door then slammed it closed.

-Zora? You're late again, go change then come downstairs; a feminine voice demanded.

-Yes mother; voiced the girl coldly while taking off her shoes.

She went upstairs in a hurry. Her expression was blank again while she took off her uniform and put on whatever outfit her mother prepared; this time it was a white simple dress. She looked in the mirror only to see a girl as pale as a ghost with a lifeless expression.

-She really outdid herself this time; she smiled with contempt.

She went down the stairs and found the whole family there, they were warmly embracing the twins and showering them with attention. She inhaled deeply and put up a bright smile, to look happy for the occasion. In spite of them being so young, they were the most privileged ones among family and that also made them become the most spoiled children in this whole world.

Since it was their birthday, they were allowed to ask for anything they could think of; well, at least that's what their mother told the rest of the family to make sure everybody would play by their rules today.

- We wish for Zora to entertain us today, they said playfully.

And everyone was thrilled with the idea, except for Zora due to some unknown reason. She was a little skeptical but since she yearned to create a good memory with her family so much, she was willing to make a compromise. She thought why not give it a try.

-So what do you guys want to do? Should we play some cards or would you prefer a magic show? I'm willing to do pretty much anything for you today; she suggested, while wearing a mask for her family's sake.

- Well, dear sister, why won't you play swords with us; requested one of them.

- Yes, we were in dire need of someone to be the dragon for our play; confirmed the other.

- Very well, are there any rules to this game; she asked the boys curiously.

- There is the first rule, we atack you and you have to roar every time we strike you with our swords; explained Noah.

-That doesn't sound very fair; she smiled concerned.

-The second rule is that you can't run from us; added Tristan while running around to find the swords.

- Very peculiar, then we will play only one round, so you don't get too tired; she suggested gently while trying not to upset them.

-Promise?

-Promise; she stated while holding out her pinky.

The boy came back with two tiny swords, they looked like they were made out of a light type of metal, similar to aluminum. Zora tried not to panic as she knew that the boys had a more violent tendency and their stufferd toys always ended up being torn into pieces. This shouldn't be the case with her, or so she thinks, since they never showed any sort of interest in hurting any family member so far. She was wrong... so very wrong.

As soon as the game started, the boys started swinging the swords at her as she was trying to avoid getting stabbed by the pointy objects.

-Stay still, you're not supposed to dodge it; yelled Tristan upset by her actions.

The girl tried to block their swimgs gently as to not get hit too hard but with each swing the strenght doubled; the boys were really intending to stab her. She couldn't take the pain anymore as scratch marks were showing on her arms and hands.

No matter how many times she got hurt, no one intervened to stop the two children from doing such a horrid thing. She realized that to them it only seemed like mere play so she had to put an end to it right here and now.

She carefully grabbed their wrists and had loosen the grip on the swords. She placed her foot on top of them and said:

- The round is over.

The twins were expecting a different outcome, where they won against the so called dragon so they started yelling:

- No, this is not amusing! You are a piece of garbage!

-Can't you do anything right?!?! You weren't supposed to run; they shouted then slapped her face.

-You're not worthy to be our sister; added Noah while trying to pull her hair.

- Boys, behave or you won't get your gifts; the mother intervened with a dry tone.

- Did you say gifts? one of the boys exclaimed while turning to his mother.

-Yes, if you are going to be nice to your sister, you can give her a new haircut; she cheered as she pulled out 2 pairs of scissors.

The boys cheered and glandly took the opportunity to torment their sister again.

Zora stepped back, with her dress now stained with the deep red color of her blood.

- Don't come any closer; she yelled filled with rage.

- Zora, let them be. It's their birthday after all; her father added with an unbothered expression.

- No! You really never loved me at all, did you? All you ever did is condemn my existence and use me like a puppet. Like I'm not even a person anymore; she replied with a shaken voice.

-Don't be foolish, girl, it's just some hair it'll grow back; her mother added while trying to get closer.

-If it's my hair that they want then that's what they won't get today; she mumbled while trying to go upstairs.

- How dare you act this ungrateful! We raised you, we offered you a roof under your head and you dare disobey your parents; her mother fumed while grabbing her hair.

-Get off! Let me go;, she cried while trying to release her mother's grip over her.

-Give me the scissors; she urged fanatically after dragging Zora to the middle of the room.

Her mother forcibly started chopping off her red locks. She desperately tried to run away but everytime she did they would either hit her, restrain her or continuously yell.

No one stood by her side and that is the reason this day is going to end with a tremendous view.

She closed her eyes, crying in despair, thinking that she truly is useless and searched deep in her own mind a place to hide.

Everybody was screaming at her, they were saying how useless and meaningless her existence is, how she should just die or dissappear. She tried escaping once more but then someone hit her head and she lost touch with reality.

Amidst all of this noise she finally found a place deep inside her unconscious plane, it was awfully quiet here... finally some peace... not even this momentum was as peaceful as it should be, the silence was broken by an unknown voice:

- Hey! Listen to me! Can you hear me?! Do you want to make them stop? Do you want to be strong and proud of who you are?

- Who are you? Show yourself! She said while looking into the deep void of her mind with a trembling voice.

- Don't worry, I'm here to help you. So do you wish for a change in your life or you want to remain a potato sack that everyone can dispose of? the voice asked.

- I want a change in my life, I want to be treated better by my family, she desperately answered.

-You can't turn back now, the path you've chosen is waiting for you. Are you still willing to survive or are you just going to die slowly?

- I want to live! I don't want to feel like this anymore. I just want to be free; she cried out.

-Very well then. It's good to see you again; whispered the strange voice.

A mirror appeared behind Zora. As she approached it, she saw herself in the mirror, but in a different way. Her reflection wasn't moving the same as her, it was as if someone else was wearing her skin, it seemed odd. Curious, she touched the shiny surface of the object and all went black since that moment. The only thing she saw was her reflection grinning like a Cheshire cat that slowly reached out to embrace Zora.

The mask of perfection shattered into pieces.

It all happened in a blink of an eye, when she woke up she was standing in front of 5 corpses, wildly stabbed, sliced or chopped to pieces. Her twin brothers, elder sister, father, grandmother and her mother were laying dead ahead of her. She was all covered in warm, crimson blood, holding the pair of scissors in her left hand, shocked by the scenery.

- What happened here? Did I do all this? Why? This has to be a nightmare, she murmured while her body started to shiver and her voice faded in the echo of the living room painted with the blood of her loved ones.

The white roses from the vase on the table were now having alternate crimson shades, the floor became a blood bath, and the "happy" memories now slowly turned into a living nightmare.

- It's going to be fine. It's just a dream, just a bad dream. You'll wake up and you'll see that they are alive, you'll see...she said repeatedly as she went upstairs to the bathroom at the end of the hallway to wash herself and change her clothes soaked in blood.

As she reached to the bathroom and looked into the mirror, she stared at her own reflection for quite a long time, afraid of the person who she saw herself as and slowly approached the sink to wash the dried blood off of her face. While she was washing her face, she suddenly stopped and collapsed down into tears, realizing that what happened was real, that her family was killed, that she was the killer, that her biggest fear became reality. Now she was all alone, terrified of what's next to come. Some time after she calmed down, she started to recall what happened downstairs. It all came back in a flash; as she was laying there unconscious, she suddenly awoke and started to laugh like a psychopath, everyone was shocked by her reaction and stood bsck, she grabbed the pair of scissors from her mother, that she now recalled holding in her hand when she came back to her senses moments ago, turned to her siblings then started chasing them around in otder to stabbed them. She managed to do so even if the rest of the family tried to restrain her. The others started to scream in terror and burst in tears as she approached them grinning like a Cheshire cat and then she had killed them too. The shock became more aggressive this time, after remembering such a traumatic event that she herself created without control, chaotic you could say.

The painful truth couldn't be denied now, Zora knew that and packed some of her belongings, the ones that were fitting in her backpack, changed her dirty clothes, took as much money as she would need to travel far-away from here and left everything behind.

She didn't leave because she wanted to, but because she knew that she had to do it in order to keep any other person she could feel something towards safe.

She got on a train from the train station nearby and vanished among the careless crowd. She didn't care where she was heading, she only wanted to run away. She's never been on her own before. She felt uncertain, remorseful and guilty.

Only when she got into the train did she realize that part of her hair was chopped off so she put on her hoodie and tried to cover her face. She was immersed into a deep sleep for a few good hours until she heard a familiar sound.... the same melodious humming she heard on the hallway. This couldn't be good. She jolted and quickly started surveying her surroundings in a subtle way as to not get caught. The sound wasn't coming from afar, in fact it was too close for her to feel relieved at all; it was coming from the young man sitting in front of her. She slowly looked down only to notice the same old leather boots she saw on the Bloody Devil's feet.

A tremendous amount of thoughts started flooding in and her anxiety levels were through the roof:" If he's here then does he know that I saw him? Did he follow me all the way home?Why is he here? Is it really the same person? What do I do now?Think Zora, think... what can you do in this moment to not give yourself away?!....Bathroom! yes, go to the bathroom! This way I can get off at the first station without him noticing right away."