"Why are you such a freak?!" My mother shouts at me.

"She not a freak, she's a crazy liar. You can't see damn dead people and you can talk!" My father says.

This was a regular thing in my house, you see, ever since I was born, I couldn't be heard. You know how after a baby is born most of the time they'll starting screaming and crying? Well I did just that but my voice couldn't be heard. As I grew older I learnt to speak (which was quite hard when no one can hear you) and learnt that I can hear myself, even though no one else could. Apart from the dead people, ghosts if you would, but they preferred to be called passed people. I was basically mute to everyone living, and no one knew why. My parents sent me to many doctors to try and get me "fixed" and see if there was anything wrong with me, but there wasn't. My body and voice were normal and perfectly fine, but for an unknown reason I was not heard. I didn't have a voice to the living.

It was hard growing up, not being able to talk to the kids in my class, or anyone for that fact. My parents were ashamed of me and so they simply just told everyone I was mute. I started seeing the passed people when I was about three, I told my parents about it but they already thought I was just faking the whole not being heard thing so they lost it when I told them, that's why they decided to send me away to my aunty Mary's.

I'd never met Mary before but my mother told me that she raised her and I would love it there. We drove out to her house which was an old two story Victorian house in the country, there where roses everywhere and when we pulled up we saw Aunt Mary gardening out the front.

"Petunia how lovely to see you, you don't visit often enough" Mart says as she greats my mother. She turns to my father with the same warm smile on her face and greats him as well, she then looks down and me, "hello there Victoria, I've heard a lot about you."

I look up at my mother not knowing what to do, does she know I can't be heard? My mother rolls her eyes, "yes she knows you 'can't speak'" so I just smiled and waved to her, she was one of the people that you liked instantly. She gave us sweets and showed us around the house, my favourite room was the painting room, canvases everywhere as well as paint of course, and a huge arch window with a window seat.

It was getting late and my parents looked nervous, "Um Mary, we have to go but we want to leave Victoria here" my mother said. 'They haven't even asked her?' I thought.

"You're just going to abandon your child?! I raised you better than this!" Mary yelled at my parents.

"She's just too much, she's a lying little sh-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Mary cut my father off. "She will stay here because you two are horrid parents, leave!" My parents walk out quickly with scowls on their faces.

I just looked up at Aunt Mary with tears streaming down my face, not because I'm sad my parents didn't want me anymore, I was only 7 but I knew something like this would happen one day. I was crying just because of the situation, every time someone yells I just cry, I can't help it.

"It's ok dear, sometimes you need to cut the toxic people out of your life." She smiles sadly at me.

I write down.

"Of course dear. It seems like your parents haven't left any of your stuff but that's fine we'll go into town and buy some stuff for you tomorrow." She takes me to one of the spare rooms which I guess will be my room now. I fall asleep with a tear stained face.