House By The Pond

It was the first day of winter, but it was going to be a sunny morning, you could see the sun rays piercing through the cloudy sky. And there I was, sitting on the deck dipping my feet one toe at a time in the icy cold water of our pond, enjoying the crispiness of the morning. It was only a matter of few days until the pond freezes over and my sister and I will have to wait until summer arrives for us to have any fun.

As I sat there lost in my thoughts, I watched the small ripples my toes were making in the water, but they would die down quickly, as the water stood still, looking dark and placid. It was then when I heard someone approaching from behind; I ignored the nearing footsteps and pretended as if no one was there. The intruder to my solitude inched closer, I felt an urge to turn and see who it was. It can’t be my mother, otherwise, I would have had an earful already for the many times she has warned me not to sit on the edge of the deck or to put my bare feet in the water. For some unfathomable reason, she never allowed us near the pond. But before I could react, I felt two hands on the small of my back and without a warning, I was forcefully pushed into the water.

It was cold. It was so very cold. I shrieked as I splashed deep into the pond, gasping for air, spluttering, and shivering as my body registered the iciness. Oh my God, it must be my younger sister Chrissy. I am going to give her a good hiding, was my first thought. The frosty water made my eyes sting and watery, blurring my sight. I couldn’t see her mischievous face, in fact to my shock, I couldn’t hear anyone or anything at all. My ears must have gone numb. I placed my hands on wooden planks of the deck to regain my balance and I dragged myself out. My ears were ringing, and my head spun as I tried to find my bearings. And then I heard her giggle coming from a distance, she must be running fast to try and find mother before I find her.

Without caring that my clothes were soaking wet and that I still felt disoriented from the icy bath, I started racing after her. Splattering water and mud all over the place. I kept on shouting, “You know I will get you. You keep running, you little devil. If I catch you, you are the next one to swim.” Truth be told, I could not stop laughing or shivering, my anger had dissipated. But my guilty conscience has started to manifest, as I knew it will be hard to explain to my mother, why I was dripping wet or to calm her down when she has, for the umpteenth time, told us to stay away from the pond.

I arrived at our tiny little cottage and pushed open the door. I was disheveled and flustered. I could hear them in the living room, so I stomped all the way there. When I reached the doorway, I saw my mum sitting beside the fire, knitting peacefully, oblivious of the fact that her older daughter just arrived drenched from head to toe. And beside my mum sat my little naughty sister so peacefully and calmly positioned as if she hasn’t done any mischief at all.

My huffy puffy entrance broke the quaint silence in the room. My mum gave me a quizzical look, and then within seconds, it turned stern. She looked at me disapprovingly and said, “May I ask why you are dripping water all over the floor and how did you manage to get all wet?”

“It’s not my fault mommy. It was Chrissy. Ask her, she pushed me in the pond and ran back here. I’m not lying. She did this.” I implored. I had no clue why, but I was starting to feel guilty for some reason.

“Olive, you mustn’t falsely blame your sister. She has been sitting here by my side, meanwhile, you were busy disobeying me. You know she is still feverish and hasn’t recovered enough to play with you, let alone have the strength to push you.” my mum rolled her eyes in frustration.

I felt foolish standing there, my face turning red, I was positively befuddled now. If it wasn’t my sister, then who could it be. Our neighbouring house was desolate. It’s been that way for months now. No family wants to move to the outskirts of an abandoned old town, it was only us here. Was I imagining it or maybe mum was too busy knitting that she didn’t notice Chrissy leaving? It was highly unlikely but maybe I was daydreaming and fell in the pond as I drifted off in my thoughts.

A week went by and as the winter approached it started to snow perpetually, the weather outside our small cottage was ferociously cold. I patiently waited for the snowstorm to end, as I was itching to go out and try my new shiny red ice skates and frisk away on the frozen pond. I hoped my sister was feeling better now. She has been awfully quiet. It’s not like her. The doctor said that she will need some time to recover from the fever and my mother has asked me to leave her alone. But despite my mother’s warnings I inched towards her bedroom and opened her door just a sliver, daring not to open it any further as it would creak, and my mum will know I entered my sister’s room.

As I peered inside, her room felt cold and gloomy, as if there was no warmth. Chrissy was in her bed, sleeping like an angel. I dared to go in and watched her sleep. She looked so tiny; I pushed her auburn hair to kiss her forehead. It felt oddly cold. As I pulled her blanket to tuck her in, Chrissy stirred and turned around facing me. The fever has made her look gauntly, her eyes looked lifeless as if two empty windows. She was in a dire need of some fresh air. I sat beside her and took her hand in mine “Hey, would you like to come and skate, the pond must be frozen. I bet I can convince mom to let us go.” I looked at her expectantly, I knew she’ll never say no to it.

“I don’t want to go out Oli. I want to stay in the bed.” She said timidly. Well, that’s new it was usually the other way around. I looked at her questioningly but didn’t force her to tag along.

I got up and was about to leave the room when I turned and asked, “Where is the necklace I gave you? I thought you adored it.” For a fleeting second, I thought I saw the expression on her face change; was it anger? But then she said, “I think I must have lost it. Please can you close the door when you leave?” I nodded and left.

I was happy as it has finally stopped snowing and I can go out; I practically pranced all the way down to the kitchen where my mum was busy cooking. I begged my mum to allow me to skate, “Mom please pretty please can I go and skate. The pond must be frozen, and in a few days, we’ll be leaving for grandma’s house. Can I just skate once before we go?” To my surprise, she agreed. I kissed her on the cheek and went out.

It was freezing outside, my furred coat shielded me against the fierce cold wind. Ankle deep in snow I managed to walk to the frozen pond. It looked cold, beautiful, and ominous at the same time. The icy surface had an undisturbed layer of snow. I stepped on the ice carefully, if something happens this time, no one is there to blame but myself. As I smoothed my way around, shuffling the snow, something in the pond caught my eye.

I bent down and cleared away the snow. I saw something, something shiny. It was my sister’s necklace and as I frantically cleared away the snow what I saw next froze me in shock and terror. The necklace wasn’t floating on its own, it was wrapped around my sister’s neck. The ice was thin at this end of the pond, and I could see her body at the bottom, her auburn hair floating aimlessly in the greyish blue water. I was transfixed. I wanted to move but my feet were numb. And then, I heard the ice cracking under my feet. I screamed in horror and felt my limbs coming back to life and I ran. I ran like a mad person towards the house.

As I was about to reach the doorstep, I chanced to look back and I saw someone standing at the end of the deck. It was her; it was Chrissy, and she was smiling malevolently at me. “Mom, where are you?” I yelled as panic rose in my chest. Maybe I am hallucinating, but whoever this is, standing in front of me is not my sister. Her smiled widened as she saw me panicking. I ran into the house in hopes of finding my mother. As I rushed into the kitchen, I could see blood across the floor, but there was no sign of my mother there.

I could hear her moving towards the house, the snow muffled the sound of the nearing footsteps. Instinctively, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and sprinted towards my room. I was going to die. My own sister is going to kill me. I bolted the door, turned off the lights, and hid inside my wardrobe. I could hear the thumping of the feet up the wooden staircase. It was pitch dark in the room and my body shivered uncontrollably, all I could see was the wisps of the cold breathe coming from my mouth as I tried to catch my breath.

I heard the doorknob turn twice, but it didn’t budge and then something heavy crashed against the door. The lock broke and the door snapped open. I let out a sob out of fear and I knew I have given away my hiding spot. The invader started walking towards my wardrobe dragging their feet slowly on the carpeted floor. The door of my wardrobe swung open and what I saw terrified me to my soul. I was face to face with myself. I was completely immobilized. I felt my heartbeat getting fainter, and darkness was enveloping me. I was helpless. I was dead.

I snapped awake and as my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I noticed I was in a hospital. It felt strange and I couldn’t move at all, I was in a straitjacket. A nurse was standing near my head holding a syringe, telling me it’s going to be okay and not to resist. I wanted to ask her where my mother was, I wanted to tell her about my sister, but only muffled sounds came out of my mouth. I was gagged and tied up, and amidst the struggle, I heard the nurse say; “This girl has to be taken to the mental asylum, she just killed her whole family.”

Unable to move, realize or recollect any memory of my own twisted actions I screamed, I screamed in my head.