Blinking awake, Vince stared at the grey wall in front of him. Sinking lazily into the comfort, he laid still for a few more moments. Taking a moment to regather himself, he finally twisted around, eyes narrowing in satisfaction as the blankets moved around with him. He wiped the drool at the edge of his lips groggily, the wooden roof gradually coming into focus. With a reluctant grunt, Vince pushed himself out of bed. Yawning, he wiped his eyes as he went to get the milk and the paper.

The water gushed out, wetting the sink with Vince in front of it. Weary eyes looked back at him, his bed hair all over the place. Sighing, he cupped the water in his hands, quickly washing up. Bathing could come later. He was too hungry to even think of it.

The dusty floorboards creaked under his feet as Vince walked to the dining room. His math book still lay open on the table, the last shabbily written problem unsolved. Ignoring it, he went to the kitchen to bring out a bowl. His stomach continuously growled as he placed it roughly on the table, roughly pushing the books aside. Studying could come later.

A golden rain of cereal poured into the bowl that he didn’t even bother washing. Putting it back on the counter, he slowly poured the milk into it in measured, careful not to spill. Closing the refrigerator after putting the milk back in, his eyes fell on the dusty note that was still in the fridge. “We will be back soon, Vin. Love, mom”. It was written shabbily, almost in a rush. Pulling off the red marker, he sighed weakly as he solemnly made the seventh consecutive cross on the calendar.

Sitting down for breakfast, Vince closed his eyes in prayer. Flinching, he quickly left his seat and rushed to the next room, a mixture of sadness and regret on his face as he entered. A small picture frame stood on top of the furnace, the only dustless place in the entire house. Vin kneeled before the picture, shoulders jerking as his eyes slowly teared up. His eyes were fixed on the picture, his face contorting with visible pain.

The girl smiled back at him, her beautiful blue eyes seemingly filled with the stars. She was fairly short, with her hair tied into a beautiful ponytail. A short white cane laid before the picture, as clean as it was when it was first placed there. Vince wiped away his tears as he shakingly lit a new candle, and once again, with extreme care, cleaned the picture frame and the cane.

Finished, he drew in a deep breath and turned to leave.

A cold wind blew through the room. The flame shuddered, Vince’s shadow flickering around wildly.

He froze in place, his eyes widened to the extreme. Mind blank, his eyes were fixed at the open doorway, a picture of absolute disbelief on his face. It couldn’t have been.

After a few moments, Vince finally snapped out of his daze, rushing to the doorway. He laid on the floor, checking even the dust on the floor. He frantically looked left and right, confusion evident on his face. Muttering under his breath, he headed back to the kitchen, his steps slow and hesitant.

Taking a seat, he scooped a few mouthfuls of the soggy cereal down, his eyes still quivering.

“Big brother, aren’t you going to give Lizzy some too?”

The girl before him pouted, her cuteness undiminished even after death. The spoon clattered against the ground, as Vince stared at the now empty chair, his eyes wide open in terror. Almost taunting, a tinkling laugh floated in from outside the room. He tensed, visibly shaking. He couldn’t believe it. It had to be a hallucination. She… She was dead.

The cereal bowl was empty.

The chairs were roughly pushed away as Vince fled at top speed, his mind blank with terror. He had seen it. It couldn’t be a hallucination. It was too…

He tripped on the chair, crashing roughly onto the floor. Ragged breaths escaped his mouth as he tried to get back on his feet. “Are you okay, Big brother?”

Those empty sockets. The dry blood that caked her eyelashes. The black trails that dirtied her precious face. Her visible concern for him as she looked at his fallen state.

It was too real.

Vince couldn’t move. His arms refused to listen to him, his legs hung down upon him like deadweights. His half-opened mouth let out slow sounds of moaning, his head starting to split apart…

“Big brother…” Elizabeth stretched her hand out, the pale white skin about to touch his.

A wild scream escaped his lips as he kicked away, his hands reaching for something. Turning, he found a dirty iron rod. Without hesitation, he grabbed it, throwing it at his dead sister.

The iron bar hit the wall, ringing as it fell down.

But Vince couldn’t be bothered about her disappearance. He grabbed his head, fingernails scratching at his scalp. “Make it stop, Make it stop, Make it stop!” He wildly pulled at his hair, as his head slowly tore itself to shreds, like an animal was feeding on his brains. The pain was unbearable. Vince flailed on the floor, shrieking like a wounded animal.

“Big brother, let’s play~! Come with Lizzie, big brother!” The voice came in again, the melodiousness a haunting shriek in his head. He wanted it to stop. It couldn’t go on any longer. If it did… He couldn’t take it. Tears streamed out of his eyes like rivers, the terror a knife stabbing him.

“Big brother…” The voice was now slightly morose, with a hint of sadness. “Big brother never plays with Lizzie now. Big brother used to talk and play with Lizzie all the time. Now big brother doesn’t even visit Lizzie.”

A crack appeared in his mind as clarity slowly returned to his eyes. But they were no longer weary, but soulless. His mind was blissfully blank. Vince slowly got to his feet, legs shivering. The pallid hand stretched towards him, offering it to him. After a slight hesitation, Vince took his sister’s hand.

“Yay~! Big brother, let’s go! We can play like before too!” Vince dumbly nodded, as if he were just a puppet. Elizabeth pulled him forward, chattering continuously as they headed to the firmly locked door.

“Mother always told us to not go down there since it’s dark. So you have to hold my hand closely, ok big brother?” Elizabeth explained, pushing open the door with the greatest ease. Vince followed behind, his hand tightly gripping hers. ‘She was always so beautiful. It was just too easy to adore her.’

The musty wooden stairs pressed down under the weight as they slowly headed down into the darkness.

Her eyes. It was like a drug. Staring into them, who could resist her charm? Mom and Dad were always so protective of her. She was the family’s jewel. She was everyone’s jewel.

They reached the basement, the familiar scent now absent. Elizabeth turned to look at Vince, her sockets darker than the night. Her lips lifted into the cutest smile as she cheerfully said, “Big brother, I’m so glad you came to visit. Let’s play now!”

And he was always so jealous.

Vince staggered forward, slowly remembering what happened. He crashed to his knees, staring at what was before him. It was something he had chosen to forget, something he had to forget. He had to stay sane.

“Wh-What have I done..”

She smiled as she heard him enter, her innocence ever present. Vince headed towards her, his steps slow and hesitant. “Ah, big brother, are we going to play again?” Her beautiful eyes twinkled with curiosity as they remained fixed on the wall. This was too easy. His hands stretched towards her…

Vince’s face stained with tears again, his heart being stabbed to pieces. “What have I done….”

His thumbs were aimed towards her face, but she still didn’t react. Neither would she. Only when they were close enough to touch her face did her expression slightly change. “Big brother..?”

The rank stench in the air burnt his nose like lava. The corpse of his sister lay there, her face brutally mutilated. It leaned against the wall, her expression serene. “Big brother, come on! Let’s play now~!” The reddish deposits around her eyes cracked as fresh blood flowed from it. An expression of ecstasy emerged on her face as she ran around like a little girl. “Let’s play~”

Her shriek of pain was a guilty pleasure to him. She was in pain. The jewel was in pain. His thumbs continued to dig into her eyes, fresh blood overflowing from it.

“Mother...Father…” Vince panted, his lips forming into a smile. But he continued to cry as if everything was a dreamy nightmare.

This pain the only thing her eyes would give her since she was born. “You should be thankful, Lizzie. At least you can see pain now.” Vince grunted, a smile creeping onto his face. Hearing the scream, his parents ran into the room. Horror painted their faces as they saw what was going on. With trembling hands, he reached for the iron rod...

“WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” He screamed, his head crashing against the ground. Elizabeth ran around, giggling happily. Her eyes continued to stream rivulets of blood, as she ran around him in circles. “More big brother, more~!”

“MOTHER!” His voice cracked as he yelled at the broken face of his mother, the expression of fear on her face a testament to what happened. “Father…” Vince cried his heart out, his screams of agony accompanied by the crazy giggling of his dead sister.

He smashed his head against the ground again, his head splitting apart. It was his apology. His remorse for what he’d done. Blood stained the ground a brilliant crimson as he continued his demented punishment.

With a final hit, he finally slid down onto the ground. Blood streamed from his head, his face similar to that of his family now. Tears silently flowed out of his eyes, but his deranged smile never faded.

Blinking awake, Vince stared at the grey wall in front of him.