The Dark Witch

P.O.V. - Becky Sinclair

So what if I was insane? I thought as I stared aimlessly at the ceiling of my white padded cell. What’s it to anyone else? If I don’t bother anyone with it, then why should I be locked up?

But I had bothered people, hurt them actually. Argued the other voice inside my head. Which, I guess, spoke the truth. Unintentionally, I had injured people. Apparently those, balls of fire, I saw flying at people when I got upset, was me throwing lit candlesticks at them. I still say their wrong. Delusional they called me. I just like to think they’re the insane ones.

Except, sometimes, I…no…it hurts me to think of it. I just wish I had known my family, maybe if I had all this stuff would never have happened to me.

I rolled over in my cell, desperate to move my arms out my confining straight jacket (I had been put in one, after what the nurses considered, the third attack, I swear it was nothing of the kind). With a groan, I finally decided it was time to close my eyes and go to sleep, even though I dreaded the thought of it, but what else was there to do? Even though my dreams were always twisted and bizarre and I generally woke up screaming (which sent the nurses running in with tasers). But, what could I do? Boredom had set in. I shut my eyes tightly, drowning out the surrounding silence, I would go to sleep.

When I next awoke, I was in my dream world. A vast land of endless gray fog. Happily, I flexed my pale arms, no straight jackets in dream world, I looked down to admire my bright red finger nails. For as long as I could remember my nails had been bright red, no nail polish required. I moved my left hand through my waist length black hair, pushing it over my shoulder and onto my back. I winced, I had forgotten. My tattoo. I had a long green snake tattoo that went down the length of my back, it always hurt in my dreams. It was another oddity about me, I had no idea how I had gotten it, as far as I was concerned, I had always had it.

“Becky,” Began a silky voice behind me, I tensed, the horrific nature of my dreams had begun, “It’s time to come home.”

Slowly I turned around to face the creature in front of me, he hadn’t changed. His red eyes pierced me, making me stand motionless, paralyzed, in his presence. His face, in fact, his whole appearance, reminded me of a wary snake, ready to strike at a moments notice…

“Becky,” He drawled taking a step forward, twirling a long stick in between his fingers, “You belong by my side, don’t you remember?” The creature, for he looked nothing like a man, laughed, a private joke with himself I assume.

“I don’t know you.” I said, forcing my eyes to meet his, making myself still my shaking limbs, I refused to show him my fear, “And I want you to stop doing this to me.”

An amused look appeared on his snake like face, “Doing what?” He asked innocently, as if he wasn’t a monster, “Reminding you who you are?”

A shiver went up my spine, hitting me at full force, “You don’t know who I am.” I replied softly, my voice sounding far away.

“To the contrary, I know you better than you do.”

That had done it, I lost control. My eyes burned and my body began to convulse. My last sight was the monster laughing hysterically in front of me as my dream world was engulfed by flame.

I woke up to screaming. It took me a moment to realize it was my own. Like my dream world, my room was aflame, only a little space was left that was not on fire, where I was to be exact. It had happened again. Only this time, I don’t know how this could be pinned on my insanity. An alarm sounded in the distance. They were coming for me again, firemen, policemen, the army…okay, I was joking about the last one.

A sudden loud popping noise beside me caused me to jump a foot in the air. An old wrinkly woman draped in a violet cloak had appeared beside me.

“What the…” I gasped, my mouth hanging open as she grabbed my shoulders firmly.

“No time.” She replied, her voice cracking with age, then all vanished around me.