Mr. Empty Eyes

Chapter 1

Bree stared at the two-story house in front of her. It was nice but it wasn't home. She hugged her teddy bear tightly to her body. Many of her classmates at school had made fun of her for having a teddy bear when she was already eight years old but she ignored them. Her twin, Becca, always stood up for her and fought her bullies.

Who's going to defend me now?

She thought with a broken heart. Becca was gone and that was why Bree's parents had decided to move out. Staying in the old house was too much for them. Bree understood that, she was smart but still, she couldn't fight the sadness. It still felt surreal not having Becca around her all the time. They'd been together since the moment they were born. It felt as if Becca had taken a part of her away, Bree felt incomplete and lonely.

"What do you think?" her mother, Blair, asked behind her, "Do you like it?"

Bree sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

Her older sister moaned, "This is a terrible idea."

"Jess," her dad started, "Come on, it's a beautiful house."

Jess rolled her eyes, "It's in the middle of nowhere, dad."

"That's not true. It's a 5 minutes' walk to town." her dad defended.

Jess huffed, "As if I'm gonna walk there."

Her dad opened his mouth to protest but her mother cut him off, "Harry, that's enough. We should all take a look inside."

They headed inside. Bree was about to follow them when she heard something.

Bree...

The ghostly whisper made her stop on her tracks. A cold breeze brushed the back of her neck. She felt something behind her but when she turned on her feet, there was nothing. She scanned the front yard, glancing around the trees and some bushes.

She frowned. Did she imagine someone saying her name?

She spotted a black raven on a tree branch, staring right at her. Its eyes dark as night, it gave her goose bumps. She swallowed. A hand touched her shoulder. She jumped.

"Hey, baby, something wrong?" Her mother asked, concern written over her face.

Bree shook her head, "No, I'm okay."

"Alright. Let's go inside. Aren't you excited to see your room?" Not really, Bree wanted to say but didn't.

"Yes, mom." Her mother held her hand, pulling her inside the house. Bree took one last look at the raven before going in.

Bree liked the house. It was bigger than her previous one but nothing could fill the emptiness in her chest. She didn't want a bigger house, she wanted Becca. Her bond with her twin was the best thing she had. Yes, they fought sometimes but they couldn't stay mad at each other for long.

She wondered if Becca would like her new room. It was spacious enough for them to practice their ballet lessons and their new backyard had trees that would suit well their favorite game: hide and seek. She missed Becca so much. Why did she have to die? Why did she leave us? Why did she have to get sick? There were many questions running through her young mind.