Hello, Rosaline

Hello, Rosaline
 

“We can’t keep her anymore.” With those final words, the couple left the office. The man that they had been speaking to sighed heavily, and looked at the girl sitting in the corner. Her ruffled blonde hair framed her face, untamed bangs hung over her eyes, which were a faded blue.

“Rosaline…what happened this time?”

At a mere seven years old, the girl had gone through numerous foster homes, and each one in turn ended up hurriedly bringing her back, some spouting about how she was demonically influenced, some confused, and the rest unwilling to accept what had happened.

“A girl died.”

Ever since she could speak, odd occurrences happened around her. At first there were small things: Lights would go out, appliances would stop working, and people would accidently hurt themselves.

But no matter what went wrong, they all had something in common: She was always in the room when it happened.

The man’s eyes widened. “Died?”

At first, they simply thought ‘Oh, just a coincidence.’ But no matter how they tried to ignore it, they couldn’t deny it always related back to her.

The girl nodded. “She was talkin’ with her friends by the slide…but…but it fell over on her…”

If not for her pained expression, most would assume it was purposeful. Some assumed that anyway.

“Okay…” The man said with a sigh. “There’s one last family willing to adopt you. Go on and go to bed.”

The girl nodded. “I’m sorry, Mr. Marks…” and silently left the room.

--

A flurry of symbols dance around and around, until she finally awakes, driving them away. She sat up, and quietly drew the images in her journal, along with the emotion associated with each one. After she finished, she closed it, and stared at it in her lap.

“You guys gotta go away.” She said to the journal. “Ever since I started dreamin’ about you, bad stuff started happenin’. So you gotta go away, or everyone’s gonna hate me.”

The book didn’t respond.

There was a light knock on the door. “Rosaline, they’re here.”

The girl carefully got up, journal in hand, and walked out to meet her new family.

--

“Well, we’ve heard that she has some ‘demonic influence’ over her…but don’t worry, we can handle that.” The woman said to Mr. Marks.

“Um…yeah. Good luck with that.”

“Come along, Rosaline.” The woman left, young Rosaline in tow.

The house was rather ordinary, as was the family. A husband, wife, a dog, and now a daughter.

The mother watched Rosaline closely, but made no comments on the previously mentioned demonic influence.

In fact, until the next morning, everything was completely normal.

Rosaline’s dreams again haunted her with various symbols, always ones she had never seen before. As she always did, she recorded them in her journal when she awoke. She was midway through a symbol when the woman walked in.

“Rosaline –“she froze upon seeing the notebook. “…what is that?”

“It’s –“ before the girl could finish, however, it was snatched out of her hands. The woman flipped through it quickly, her anger increasing upon each page.

“So these are the demonic influences…Well, we’ll fix that….” With a sharp movement, she began tearing the pages out of the journal.

“N-no, stop!” Rosaline cried, reaching for the journal.

“Silence, demon!” She then swiftly struck Rosaline in the side of the head, with a resounding thud. She yelped shortly, then got back up, again trying to retrieve the journal, as the pages fluttered to the ground around her.

“Stop, please!”

Another strike came against her, and the cycle continued.

Stop…

Stop it…

Please stop…
Case Number: RA 05/04/01/3462
Incident: Death

Reporting Officer: Officer Carlito Coiro Date of Report: 05 Capricorn 3409

At about 2040 hours on 5th Capricorn 3409, I met with Mr. John Price at 61 South Chorley Drive regarding a possible murder. Mr. Price said he went to check on his wife and recently adopted daughter, when he found the scene.

The scene was as follows: Mrs. Price was lying on the floor, bleeding out of her mouth and not breathing. The daughter was lying curled up nearby, crying and clutching a small journal. 

Mr. Price said that he first became worried when he heard screaming, and on his way to investigate, the noises abruptly stopped.
There is no evidence to suggest the girl killed Mrs. Price, as Mr. Price implied. She has been taken into custody. 

Further investigation pending. 
 

“We can’t simply let this go on!” “Demon! Demon!”

“She’s a menace!” “Demon! Demon!”

It had been several years since the death of Karen Price. Since then, the number of deaths attributed to Rosaline had only increased.

As for Rosaline, she continued to be shafted from home to home, adoption center to adoption center, orphanage to orphanage. She had traversed several cities, but still remained in her country.

Now, at the death of a senator whom had bumped into her at a store, the public was finally demanding something be done. The mayor of the city tried to calm them, but to no avail.

“Surely a little girl isn’t such a menace?!”

“You haven’t seen her!” “Do something!”

“Don’t let anyone else die!”

So, the mayor and his advisors held a small meeting. They found Rosaline, whom was now nearly 16, and brought her in.

Although, she wasn’t there for questioning, they simply wanted to see her while they discussed the best course of action.

So Rosaline simply sat there silently, listening as they discussed the problem and how to fix it. Their conversation dragged on and on, half an hour passing with no headway.

“Well, we certainly can’t let people keep dying like this…”

“Yes, but she’s young so we can’t just kick her out…”

“Hm…a grave issue indeed…”

“Sh…shut up.” Rosaline spoke suddenly. They all blinked at her.

“Just…shut up. You’re all acting like this is a problem you have to fix. There’s nothing to fix; I’m not broken.”

“Well, surely you know that these deaths are indirectly caused by you. What do you suggest?”

There was a slight pause.

“People only die when they talk to me. So…just…stick me in a house somewhere, and just send food and stuff. I won’t interact with anyone, and you won’t have to feel guilty about getting rid of me.”

And so it was.

Breaking News – Mayor dead!
 
In a stunning event, the Mayor of Lavender Town is dead. After meeting with the publically nicknamed ‘demon girl’, the mayor and his aides got into a limo, and headed towards their next meeting. On the way, a semi truck crashed into them, killing all three.

On a brighter note, it appears they reached a deal with the girl, so further incidents will hopefully not occur.

Turn to A1 for the rest of the story.

Sh…shut up.

A teardrop dripped off of her face as she read the headline. I’m sorry. Another teardrop. I’m so sorry.
Just…shut up.

Having no reason to conform to the normally accepted time of sleeping and waking up, Rosaline would often find herself staring at the TV, long into the morning.

One night, she was watching a show, where a boy was having a birthday party. She tilted her head at the screen and watched closely.

They’re…celebrating his birthday? Why would they do that?

A faint frown crossed her features.

…I’ve never had a birthday party.

…

When is my birthday?

The frown deepened.

I guess it doesn’t matter…

It’s not like…anyone wants to celebrate my birth.

Rosaline had always been fairly quiet. For the longest time, she had been desperate for attention. She never received it for long enough.

And now, she was literally not allowed to speak with anyone.

Babies will stop cooing when no one responds. Although she wasn’t aware of it at first, her ability to speak slowly spiraled away.

That’s not to say she lost her ability to understand language, however. She watched TV often, sometimes she wrote, but mostly she drew. The symbols that had always haunted her dreams.

One day she was quietly watching TV, when there was a knock on the door. Confused and startled at the interruption, she quickly got up and went to the door.

Outside, there was a man and a woman, whom was pregnant.

“Oh, hello miss.” Said the man. “Are your parents’ home?”

“No, I live alone.” At least, that’s what she tried to say. Instead, her throat cracked, and no sound would come out.

“You’ve lost your voice?” The woman had a deep accent. “You poor thing.”

Rosaline frowned and thought for a moment. Then, she held up a finger and ran into the house, returning with a notebook and a pencil.

She then quickly scribbled down ‘I live alone’, and showed it to them.

“At your age?” The man said. “It must be quite lonely.”

Rosaline nodded sadly.

“Do you go to school?”

She shook her head. ‘I’m not allowed.’

“Why, that’s terrible.” “Yes, indeed.”

‘May I ask why you’re here?’

“Oh,” said the man. “we were looking for a place to stay; the hotels are far too expensive.”

“Only for a day, though.” Said the woman.

‘You can stay.’

It’s probably better that I can’t talk. This way I won’t be able to hurt them.

She managed to explain her situation to the couple, mostly through the use of newspapers.

They seemed much more concerned about her health rather than the fact that they could potentially die. In fact, the idea didn’t seem to bother them in the least. The woman – whom was named Anita Stren - was very warm and kind and treated her like her own daughter.

“Would you like to listen?” She asked, motioning at her pregnant belly.

Rosaline blinked and tilted her head.

“To hear the baby?”

The girl’s expression didn’t change.

“…you don’t know what it means to be pregnant, do you?”

Rosaline ashamedly hung her head.

“It means that there’s a baby growing inside me…”

Her eyes widened, and immediately were drawn to Anita’s stomach. Anita gently grabbed Rosaline’s hand, and placed it onto her stomach. The girl’s body tensed, as if expecting something to happen when her hand made contact with her stomach.

With a bit of hesitation, she pressed her ear against the woman’s stomach, and listened intently.

Suddenly, she sat up, and made an alarmed expression. Anita chuckled.

“He’s kicking…”

--

The next morning, the couple readied themselves to leave.

“Thank you for letting us stay, Rosaline…” Anita spoke. “If there’s anything we can do to repay you, please tell us…”

After a moment of thinking, Rosaline decided to imitate something she had seen on TV. She extended her arms outward, in Anita’s direction.

The woman’s expressions softened, and she pulled Rosaline into a warm embrace.

“…when’s the last time you had a hug?”

Rosaline didn’t need to try and answer. Her expression spoke volumes that words simply couldn’t.

“Too long.” The woman said, shaking her head and rocking the girl. “Far too long.”

--

As she had done so many times before, Rosaline stared out her window, into the world that she couldn’t be a part of.

It was 3 in the morning, dark and deathly silent.

A man walked by, and looked up at her house. He spotted her, and in surprise, she jumped away from the window. After a moment of recovering, she peeked back out the window, only to find the man was gone.

--

She wanted to go outside.

The sun shone beautifully, lighting the ground and making the birds sing. People flittered around, all caught up in themselves.

As she watched out the window, a familiar looking man strode up to her house, and knocked on the door.

She quickly ran down and answered it, hoping for an event like she had experienced with the couple from before.

The man smiled. “Hello. Are you, by any chance, Rosaline Davis?” The girl blinked and nodded. He knows my last name?

“It was a long time ago, so you probably don’t remember…” He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to her. “Does this belong to you?”

It was a page from her journal. It was old and wrinkled and had obviously been torn out.

It must…be from back then…

She started to give a positive response, when she noticed he was studying her closely. Before she could decide what to do, he spoke again.

“Ah, I suppose so. I don’t suppose I could convince you to give me the rest of the journal?”

She frowned heavily and shook her head, then took a step back and closed the door, making sure to lock it.

She then quickly made her way upstairs, to look out the window. The man shrugged, and simply left. Relieved, she went back to scanning the outside world.

Soon, she found herself on her bed, slowly drifting off into sleep.

Suddenly, she heard a loud crack, which sounded like wood splintering. She jumped, startled, and looked around.

It came from downstairs.

Almost instinctually, she grabbed her notebook and headed as quietly as possible to the back door.

“There she is!”

And for the first time in years, she felt the fresh air on her face.

The feeling of the wind blowing swiftly past her.

The sound of her heart beating.

I’m free.

Adrenaline pushed her body beyond its limits.

The sound of her pursuers’ feet got louder.

Free.

A rough hand grabbed her wrist.

She saw his knife.

For the first time in years, she felt fear.

“No one’ll notice.”

For the first time in years, she felt physical pain.

For the first time in years, she bled.

For the last time, her heart beat.

For the last time, she took a breath.

For the last time, she thought,

I’m free…

Free forever...

 

Goodbye, Rosaline

 

Reviews

[.:Naiira Harlow:.]

Wow! I really like this story! I honestly think she was mearly misunderstood and can actually feel her pain. It's such a shame how people judge these days. I really liked it!
-Twilight

[*Kantola*]

"In a stunning event, the Mayor of blah town is dead"
I INWARDLY ROFLED!
D=
I ALMOST CRIED AT THE END OF THIS!
Atleast she doesnt have to suffer anymor e:( Atleast now she can be a happy person! This was beautifully written, ELemiah.
Sorry that it took me so long to read xD AIM, the game i always play, and this... xD