FLASHBACK

"It happened again Charles." my mother whispers. "What could it be?" Elizabeth asks, with a sigh. i brush my doll's hair and pretend I'm not listening. But I am listening. "If people find out, they are going to take her from you." Charles says, trying not to let me hear him. I continue to brush my doll's hair, and refusing to look up. What are they talking about? I don't understand. I then hear a baby's cry. "Oh its Ahna, she's up from her nap." My mother says. Elizabeth gently touches mother's arm. "I'll go calm her. You stay here." She says, smiling warmly. My mother nods. I drop my doll and run after Elizabeth. "Elizabeth! Can I go with you?" I ask, as I run to the staircase. "Sure darling, come." She says, as I run ahead of her. As we both enter Ahna's room, her cries seem to get louder. I watch as Elizabeth picks up Ahna from her crib and rocks her. She mumbles soothing words and surely the baby stops crying. "Can I hold her?" I ask, excitement bursting through me. "Maybe some other time, Abrielle." Elizabeth says. I bite my lip in frustration. "Okay." I say, as I watch Elizabeth sit in a nearby chair. "Does she need her bottle?" I ask. "Yes, I am sure she does. Would you mind getting it for me?" she asks, warmly. "Oh I don't mind at all!" I exclaim. I run down the staircase, smiling. "Mommy, Elizabeth wants me to bring Ahnas bottle!" I say, proudly. My mother gets to her feet from the couch and makes her way into the kitchen. "Here you go." She says. She smiles at me but I noticed she looked different. "Are you okay mommy?" I ask. "Of course, dear. Now go help Elizabeth!" She says. I grin. I hand the bottle to Elizabeth. "Thanks honey. Now go play along now." She says. I frown. "You don't need anymore help?" I ask. "Nope. Go play, child." she says, brushing me away. I walk into my room and sit on the bed. I pick up my favorite plushie which was a pink cat. I then hear the doorbell ring and I walk down the stairs. I watch my mother open the door to reveal a man. "Hello, what brings you here?" My mother says. Charles stands a few feet behind her. "I would like to speak to you." He says, in a serious tone. He steps in. "What a lovely house you have." he says, as he takes out a piece of paper and writes something. I watch in confusion. Who was this man? "Thank you, sir. May I ask your name?" my mother asks. "Mr. Sysdale. I know we scheduled an appointment next week but I decided to come as soon as possible. I know this is quite...urgent." He says. I step off the bottom step and walk towards the man. "Hi. My name is Abrielle." I say, with a friendly smile. He looks down at me. "Well hello Abrielle. It's nice to meet you." He says, as he takes out his hand towards mine. I shake it politely. "What brings you here, mister." I ask, inpatiently. He looks over at my mother. "Well honey, he's here to talk to you." She tells me. "For what?" I ask. "Mr. Sysdale is going to be your friend." Charles says. I look up at the man. "Okay." I say, still confused. "Well show me around your house." He says. "I can show you my room." I say, leading him upstairs. He follows me. "You have a lovely room." He says. "Thanks. It was my mommy's idea." I say. I pick up my pink plush cat and set it neatly on my bed. "Do you like to clean?" He asks, observing me. "Sometimes." I say, straightening my covers. He takes out the same piece of paper and writes. "What are you writing?" I ask. "Well, I am just writing reminders." He says. I shrug it off and continue to blab on about my room and where I got each toy. I see my mother leaning against the door frame. "I think that will be enough of your room, Abrielle." She says, with a small giggle. "What a detailed child." The man says. I smile.

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The following morning after the confession, I make my way into the kitchen but see no sign of my mother anywhere. I open the fridge and take out some waffles. I pop them in the toaster. I think back at last night's events, and what happened after everything calmed down. My mother explained to me that the reason I didn't get in any trouble was because I was too young and that my mental illness covered it. All the city asked was to keep me as far away from society as possible until a successful medication was ever discovered. I sigh.

  As my waffles pop up, the door bell rings. I unlock the door and open the door to reveal the man from yesterday I saw. "Hello?" I say, with confusion. "Hello. Where is your mother?" he asks. I shrug. "I just woke." I say, looking down at my pajamas. He nods, and steps inside.

  "How is your foot?" he asks, looking down at the bandage. "It's fine." I say, going back to applying syrup on my waffles. "I am sure my mother will be in here in a second." I say, avoiding silence. "He nods, and looks around at the house.

  "So what do you need to talk to my mother about?" I ask, as I eat my waffle. "Well, I need to talk to her about confidential stuff." he says. I stare at him for a second. "You know, private stuff." He says. "I knew what you meant." I snap. He raises an eyebrow.

  "So how long have you lived here?" he asks. "Since I was 5." I inform him. He nods again. "Where did you live before?" He asks. "Somewhere in the city probably. I don't really remember." I say, as I pick up my glass of orange juice from the table."Do you remember anything from then?" he asks. I could feel anger bursts inside me. Why is he being so nosy?

   "The house had stairs." I say, biting my lip. "Is that all?" He asks. "Yeah. I was four." I add. "Why did you decide to move?" He asks. "I don't know. I guess because my mother wanted to?" I say. He shifts his weight to his other leg. "My name is Mr. Baker. I should've properly introduced myself." He says. I nod. "My name is Abrielle." I say. "I already know your name." he says.

  Our eyes meet for a second and I look away. He wasn't going to see my confusion. "Are you an only child?" he asks. I open my mouth to say something but I then hear the backdoor open. I hear my mother's footsteps. "Abrielle?" She says. "Oh hey, Mr. Baker." She says, startled.

    "Hello." He says. "I am sorry. I was planting some flowers in the back. How long have I kept you waiting?" She says, as she looks from me to him. "Just a few minutes. Not very long. It is fine." he says. "What is it that you need?" She asks. "I would like to speak to you in private. He says, looking at me.

   I grab my empty plate and place it in the sink. I leave upstairs. I stop midway and listen closely.

   "Take a seat Mr. Baker." She says. "I am just going to cut to the chase. Have you not told your daughter what she has done?" he asks. She stays silent. "Yesterday, I told her." She says. "How did she react?" He asks. "She was very upset." my mother says. "It will take awhile for her to cope and accept it. Do you need me to hire someone to talk to her?" he asks. "Oh no. I think she will be fine." She says, quickly. He is silent for a couple seconds.

   "You know she's almost 18." He says. "Yes. I know." She says."She will want to go into society." He says. "I know. I do not know what to do." She says. "We could send her to a mental facility and- " He stops mid sentence. "I would never send her to a place like that." My mother says, angrily. "At least you could try outpatient. We could start her off small. 3 days a week. Just from 7am to 7pm. She would learnto socialize and it would help tremendously." He says. I swallow a lump. They want to take me to a crazy place?

  "I would have to ask Abrielle how she would feel about that. She is old enough to make her own decisions." My mother says. He is silent. I think I hear a pen. "Okay, you ask her and get back to me in a week. Have a nice day." He says. I hear the door shut and I make my way up to my room. I lay on my bed.

    A couple minutes later, I hear a knock. "Come in." I say. My mother walks in. "Nikki is on her way. She is going to spend the night here." She informs me. I smile. "That's good." She sits on the edge of my bed. "Honey, I have to ask you a question." She says. "No. I don't want to do that outpatient program." I say, not waiting for her response. I sit up. "I already have to accept I am crazy and I killed my own sister. Why would I want to go to a place surrounded by people who are probably more insane than me?" I say. "I really feel it would help you. I mean, you actually will get to see the city." She says, with a smile.

   "I have came to terms that i am not meant to be in the city, mother." I say. "Will you please think about it?" she asks. "I guess." I reply. "Thank you." She says with a smile. "Nikki will be up here in a moment." She says. I nod. She closes the door and I close my eyes and sigh. What should I do?