Post by Rainy on Sept 26, 2015 18:50:21 GMT -5
But first, a little introduction!
I'm Rainy, the newest member of the NTWF as of writing. I'm a fairly young user. I like to think that my style is best described as "beige prose" - I focus little on details, only what's important to the story. The following story will be best understood if you already have read/are familiar with the Meepit Oaks Sanitorium from Tale of Woe. The word count for the following short story is 1,298 words, according to an online tool. Thanks!
---
There it is.
The rusted door. The object of nightmares and hallucinations, and yet you stand right in front of it. Of course, whenever you're curious about something, it always leads to trouble in one form or another, you days of Neoschool being a prime example. But this time, it all started with a vacation.
It would typically sound absurd to some, but it had. Your friends had noticed you'd been extremely haggled recently, what with the economy being so unstable. They'd "generously" arranged for your Neopets to go to Cockroach Towers while you spent a week in Neovia. Little buggers.
However, it hadn't been all bad. While the journey through the Haunted Woods to get here wasn't exactly fun, Neovia was at least interesting. You'd visited a gypsy camp last night, where you heard the tale that brought you to this horrible place. Your insides squirm, but you steel yourself. What could be so bad about it? Ghosts don't exist.
You open the door and enter the infamous Meepit Oaks Sanitorium.
The first thing to assault your senses is the smell. While your nose isn't as trained as a Lupe's, it's fairly good. Having lived in the country before, you know this smell well. It's rank and pungent, but has a sickening sweetness - it's the smell of death. You wave your hand in front of your face, trying to keep down bile. You step forward into a lobby, covered in cobwebs of all shapes and sizes, and shudder. You hate spyders.
As you push forward, taking in every little detail from the old-fashioned upholstery to the mahogany desk, sight is the next sense to be abused. A flash of a dark purple dress, an eye staring at you, a tail whipping 'round the corner, a fog when there are no windows open. You get the odd feeling that somewhere, someone is watching you.
Impossible, you scoff. There is no such thing as ghosts. You've now entered a hallway, and it's like that of a prison. Heavy metal doors with a small slot at the top, though filled with bars. The architects were either really paranoid, or the people here were seriously insane.
A light paw touches the small of your back, and you feel a warm breath on your neck. You utter a guttural scream, whirling around. There's nothing there. "There's no such thing as ghosts, there's no such thing as ghosts, there's no such thing as ghosts..."
Your mantra of madness is interrupted by a voice, light and girly, slightly muffled. "There's no such thing as ghosts," it mocks.
"L-leave me alone!"
The voice laughs. "I just want to play. I won't hurt you, I promise." A Kacheek appears in front of you, fading in. It - no, she - has long, tangled chestnut hair that was once probably elegant. Her dress is stained, torn and worn, dark purple with sheer sleeves, reaching the floor. She carries a fan of the same color.
The most startling thing about her is her body. She's emaciated, thin to the point of starvation. Pale, pockmarked with darker spots, she has the appearance of the undead. Wide, pale eyes like moons, with large eyelashes. She smiles, revealing a mouth devoid of teeth, framed by dry and cracked lips. "I get so lonely sometimes."
You approach warily. "Who are you?"
She sighs. "Oh, names are such a formality. My friends and I don't need names, but I suppose you may refer to me as Cora. I lived here, you know." At the word 'friends', a dark shadow frames her face, then quickly disappears.
You can practically feel your thirst for knowledge. "You did? But it's...abandoned..."
She laughs again, high and cold. "It wasn't always. Do you want me to tell you a story?"
You nod shakily.
"I was born in Neovia to Mr. and Mrs. Brightington. My father was the town secretary, my mother a figure of high society. Naturally I grew up polite, and was always comfortable. However, unlike my parents, who had always been so keen to stay inside the town barriers, I longed for life in other places. I would beg for just a day in the countryside, but Father was always busy. When I was eight years old, I finally visited Meridell. It was there I met him.
"We were having a picnic in between a string of farms when I met Teddy. His real name was Theodore, but he preferred his nickname. He was my age, but wasn't exactly the same. He was a ghost, you see, perished in a Kau stampede. We quickly became friends, and Teddy followed me home. I was an only child, and though I had plenty of dolls, I was often lonely. Teddy became like a brother to me, and we always talked.
"One day at the private academy I attended, during recess, he came to visit me. The other children said I was talking to no one - apparently, only I could see him - and called me names." You watch her shudder, rocking her entire body, which only makes her seem more fragile. "I was 'lunatic', 'dark child', 'insane'. One of them went to the headmaster, who called a meeting with Mother and Father. Naturally, two of the most respected people in the town couldn't have word get out they had an insane daughter who talked to people only she could see. They had a long talk, and said we were moving to Meridell." She smiles with a strange kind of vacant sweetness. "I was estatic, and packed hastily. We took a carriage to this awful, awful place and they left me here, saying they would come back for me when everything was ready. They never did. I later overheard one of the nurses say they let out a rumor I was lost in a terrible blizzard."
Your stomach sinks. This girl, abandoned by people too selfish to love their daughter as she was? "Go on."
She nods. "I lived here for a while. I was taken care of, and Teddy kept me company. I made new friends, and was a favourite among the nurses, especially Miss Lucy. One day, Lucy said that the other 'inmates' were rioting, and locked me in my room, saying she would come back when it was safe." Tears well in her eyes, and her breath is uneven and ragged. "She never came back either." Sobs, loud and pitiful, rock her body. She falls to her knees, her face in her paws.
"It's okay," you say, enveloping her in a hug. You can't understand why, but you feel inclined to help this poor little girl. Her sobs eventually even out.
"I'm sorry," she says, wiping her pale eyes on her sleeve. "Do you want to know anything?"
You think for a moment, elaborating in your mind on two details that bugged you particularly. "Yes. How are you out of your cell? What did you eat?"
She shrugs. "I'm no longer alive. It's been that way for decades. When I passed, I was able to leave. I can eat, but I don't have a heartbeat. As for food..." Her smile is wide, psychotic, and her eyes become dilated. You back up. "I ate bugs for as long as I could. My friends brought them to me. However, it wasn't enough..." She begins walking toward you. "Now, as I mentioned, I can make up for that. I just eat whatever's lying around..."
---
Renji Stratums, a dark Spotted Lupe, hummed a little tune. He was leading a ghost tour through the Neovian woods, and tonight was his largest crowd yet. A strangled scream entered his left ear. He whirled towards it, facing the old Sanitorium. "What was that?" someone asked, and he shrugged, pressing on.
---
(Btw, if you want to see the outfit I made in DTI that inspired this, it can be found here!)
I'm Rainy, the newest member of the NTWF as of writing. I'm a fairly young user. I like to think that my style is best described as "beige prose" - I focus little on details, only what's important to the story. The following story will be best understood if you already have read/are familiar with the Meepit Oaks Sanitorium from Tale of Woe. The word count for the following short story is 1,298 words, according to an online tool. Thanks!
---
There it is.
The rusted door. The object of nightmares and hallucinations, and yet you stand right in front of it. Of course, whenever you're curious about something, it always leads to trouble in one form or another, you days of Neoschool being a prime example. But this time, it all started with a vacation.
It would typically sound absurd to some, but it had. Your friends had noticed you'd been extremely haggled recently, what with the economy being so unstable. They'd "generously" arranged for your Neopets to go to Cockroach Towers while you spent a week in Neovia. Little buggers.
However, it hadn't been all bad. While the journey through the Haunted Woods to get here wasn't exactly fun, Neovia was at least interesting. You'd visited a gypsy camp last night, where you heard the tale that brought you to this horrible place. Your insides squirm, but you steel yourself. What could be so bad about it? Ghosts don't exist.
You open the door and enter the infamous Meepit Oaks Sanitorium.
The first thing to assault your senses is the smell. While your nose isn't as trained as a Lupe's, it's fairly good. Having lived in the country before, you know this smell well. It's rank and pungent, but has a sickening sweetness - it's the smell of death. You wave your hand in front of your face, trying to keep down bile. You step forward into a lobby, covered in cobwebs of all shapes and sizes, and shudder. You hate spyders.
As you push forward, taking in every little detail from the old-fashioned upholstery to the mahogany desk, sight is the next sense to be abused. A flash of a dark purple dress, an eye staring at you, a tail whipping 'round the corner, a fog when there are no windows open. You get the odd feeling that somewhere, someone is watching you.
Impossible, you scoff. There is no such thing as ghosts. You've now entered a hallway, and it's like that of a prison. Heavy metal doors with a small slot at the top, though filled with bars. The architects were either really paranoid, or the people here were seriously insane.
A light paw touches the small of your back, and you feel a warm breath on your neck. You utter a guttural scream, whirling around. There's nothing there. "There's no such thing as ghosts, there's no such thing as ghosts, there's no such thing as ghosts..."
Your mantra of madness is interrupted by a voice, light and girly, slightly muffled. "There's no such thing as ghosts," it mocks.
"L-leave me alone!"
The voice laughs. "I just want to play. I won't hurt you, I promise." A Kacheek appears in front of you, fading in. It - no, she - has long, tangled chestnut hair that was once probably elegant. Her dress is stained, torn and worn, dark purple with sheer sleeves, reaching the floor. She carries a fan of the same color.
The most startling thing about her is her body. She's emaciated, thin to the point of starvation. Pale, pockmarked with darker spots, she has the appearance of the undead. Wide, pale eyes like moons, with large eyelashes. She smiles, revealing a mouth devoid of teeth, framed by dry and cracked lips. "I get so lonely sometimes."
You approach warily. "Who are you?"
She sighs. "Oh, names are such a formality. My friends and I don't need names, but I suppose you may refer to me as Cora. I lived here, you know." At the word 'friends', a dark shadow frames her face, then quickly disappears.
You can practically feel your thirst for knowledge. "You did? But it's...abandoned..."
She laughs again, high and cold. "It wasn't always. Do you want me to tell you a story?"
You nod shakily.
"I was born in Neovia to Mr. and Mrs. Brightington. My father was the town secretary, my mother a figure of high society. Naturally I grew up polite, and was always comfortable. However, unlike my parents, who had always been so keen to stay inside the town barriers, I longed for life in other places. I would beg for just a day in the countryside, but Father was always busy. When I was eight years old, I finally visited Meridell. It was there I met him.
"We were having a picnic in between a string of farms when I met Teddy. His real name was Theodore, but he preferred his nickname. He was my age, but wasn't exactly the same. He was a ghost, you see, perished in a Kau stampede. We quickly became friends, and Teddy followed me home. I was an only child, and though I had plenty of dolls, I was often lonely. Teddy became like a brother to me, and we always talked.
"One day at the private academy I attended, during recess, he came to visit me. The other children said I was talking to no one - apparently, only I could see him - and called me names." You watch her shudder, rocking her entire body, which only makes her seem more fragile. "I was 'lunatic', 'dark child', 'insane'. One of them went to the headmaster, who called a meeting with Mother and Father. Naturally, two of the most respected people in the town couldn't have word get out they had an insane daughter who talked to people only she could see. They had a long talk, and said we were moving to Meridell." She smiles with a strange kind of vacant sweetness. "I was estatic, and packed hastily. We took a carriage to this awful, awful place and they left me here, saying they would come back for me when everything was ready. They never did. I later overheard one of the nurses say they let out a rumor I was lost in a terrible blizzard."
Your stomach sinks. This girl, abandoned by people too selfish to love their daughter as she was? "Go on."
She nods. "I lived here for a while. I was taken care of, and Teddy kept me company. I made new friends, and was a favourite among the nurses, especially Miss Lucy. One day, Lucy said that the other 'inmates' were rioting, and locked me in my room, saying she would come back when it was safe." Tears well in her eyes, and her breath is uneven and ragged. "She never came back either." Sobs, loud and pitiful, rock her body. She falls to her knees, her face in her paws.
"It's okay," you say, enveloping her in a hug. You can't understand why, but you feel inclined to help this poor little girl. Her sobs eventually even out.
"I'm sorry," she says, wiping her pale eyes on her sleeve. "Do you want to know anything?"
You think for a moment, elaborating in your mind on two details that bugged you particularly. "Yes. How are you out of your cell? What did you eat?"
She shrugs. "I'm no longer alive. It's been that way for decades. When I passed, I was able to leave. I can eat, but I don't have a heartbeat. As for food..." Her smile is wide, psychotic, and her eyes become dilated. You back up. "I ate bugs for as long as I could. My friends brought them to me. However, it wasn't enough..." She begins walking toward you. "Now, as I mentioned, I can make up for that. I just eat whatever's lying around..."
---
Renji Stratums, a dark Spotted Lupe, hummed a little tune. He was leading a ghost tour through the Neovian woods, and tonight was his largest crowd yet. A strangled scream entered his left ear. He whirled towards it, facing the old Sanitorium. "What was that?" someone asked, and he shrugged, pressing on.
---
(Btw, if you want to see the outfit I made in DTI that inspired this, it can be found here!)
The only part I got stuck at was this phrase: