No Happily Ever Afters

The Voices

March 1933

"I just don't understand how they could possibly know," I shake my head slowly, "I've been so careful to hide it, yet I can't help but feel like they know... The way they look at me - and none of them want to ever hang out!"

I sigh loudly, flopping down on to my bed. "You're no help!" I complain, glaring at my companion. He silently gazes back at me, seemingly unwilling to respond.

I roll on to my side and glance over at Diego, who sits staring thoughtfully out the window. "What about you?" I ask him "Or are you just going to ignore me too?"

I stand up and walk over to the window and sit down next to him. Looking out, I silently watch the gorgeous sunset with Diego with a growing feeling of dread in my stomach. As the last bit of the sun's rays start to sink down over the horizon, I quickly jump to my feet and dash across the room, fumbling to switch on the light switch. Then I move from lamp to lamp turning them on as well.

"There," I sigh out in relief as I sink back down on to my bed next to 'Jack the Silent', as I sarcastically label him in my head. "So, Jack, what do you think we should read tonight? Hmmm?" I ask him, not really expecting him to answer - which he doesn't.

I walk back over to Diego and pick him up, carrying him to the bed. "And I thought cats were supposed to be the silent type," I mutter, shaking my head.

"Excuse me, but I am a tiger - not a cat!" Diego explains indifferently.

I pause, giving my stuffed tiger a look, "Same difference," I retort, as I pick up my favorite book.

The glare I get from Diego makes it clear that he doesn't agree. Then again, what does he know? He's just a stuffed animal, after all. I, on the other hand, am a 14 year old girl. I definitely think I know better, being the more experienced of the two of us.

Jack, my elephant, frowns when he sees the book I've chosen. "Alice in Wonderland again?" he complains in his whinny elephant voice.

"Oh, now you feel like talking!" I say, rolling my eyes at him. "Well you should have said something early."

"Leah!" a voice calls from the other side of my bedroom door, startling me.

"Yes?" I reply and the door opens. In comes Nurse Dinah, which I thought a bit rude since I hadn't actually told her she could come in yet...

"Honey," she says with her bright, cheery smile, "It is time for your meds!" she exclaims, as if this is somehow great news.

Not bothering to answer, I just nod my head slightly. I know it would be helpful of me to go over and take the offered glass and pills from her hand without fuss, but I don't feel like it. Besides, I really hate those stupid pills...

She must see it on my face because her smile becomes even more cheery and bright. "Come on now, Leah. You know it'll make you feel better." Nurse walks over to my bed and sits down on the edge of it. Her weight makes the bed shift and Diego topples over. Snarling in anger, he tries to get back up and can't. Jack is uproarious snorting laughter through his trunk, making Diego even more upset.

I glance over at Nurse Dinah, wondering if she was going to bother to help Diego up or at least apologize. Apparently not, though, because all she does is continue blinding us with her cheery smile as she began babbling merrily.

"Did you hear, Leah? We have a new President! Franklin D. Roosevelt, is his name," she informed me, "A lot of people are saying he's going to really turn things around - won't that be great?" Nurse Dinah continued chattering, not seeming to want or need a reply, which was a good thing because, not only did I not know what she was talking about, I didn't really care either.

With a dramatic sigh, I reach over and help Diego upright again. "Oh! I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to knock over your toy," she exclaims as if just now noticing the chaos she was causing.

Jack was still snorting loudly while Diego growled threateningly at him. "Shut up, would you?" I hiss at the both of them and they settle down a bit.

"Excuse me?" Nurse Dinah asks, somehow managing to look slightly miffed while still smiling hugely.

"Oh," I said brushing a loose strand of my long hair behind my back, "I wasn't talking to you, Nurse," I reply.

"Please, just call me Dinah, hun," she smiles. I'm not sure why, but she always corrects me when I call her 'nurse', as if she doesn't think I know what she is.

I mutter something that I hope she takes for agreement and grab the glass of water from her. With a slight grimace, I quickly choke down the pills and shudder. I'm not sure why everyone is certain I need pills. They keep changing them too, trying all sorts of different ones, as if they can't figure out what problem they're trying to fix. I haven't figured it out either, since it is clear to anyone that I'm perfectly normal.

... Well, at least Diego and Jack think so. Whenever I ask Nurse Dinah, she seems to avoid answering. She tells me 'no, of course nothing is wrong with me' and then 'don't worry, you'll get better soon'. Which seems like a bit of a contradiction to me, but whenever I try to point out things like this to her, it seems to confuse her. So I leave the poor lady alone and just try to keep her happy. I used to do the same thing with my family before they brought me here. Now, its been awhile since they've come by to visit...

"Leah! Leah, honey, where are you?" my mom calls, sounding more and more frantic. I know I should answer her, I know I should move or do something but I don't. I can't. In fact, I can barely hear her now over the voices. They're screaming at me - I don't know why. Oh, how I wish they'd stop...

By the time my parents manage to find me, curled up and shaking on the floor of the guest room closet, my mom is nearly hysterical. My dad seems very angry for some reason and won't stop shouting. I wish they would all just stop - my head is pounding and my ears hurt from all the noise.

That was the last day I spent in my house before they brought me to this place. I was only ten at the time, but I knew I had somehow done something wrong. I never could figure out why my family was so upset that I was scared of the voices. I thought they must have been a lot braver than I was.

Of course, since then, I've been told by doctors and by Nurse that not everyone can hear the voices. However, I find that hard to believe. I think all the adults hear them but are just too afraid to admit it because they don't want anyone thinking they're crazy.

Crazy - it's practically a forbidden word around here. None of us are 'crazy'. We all just are 'confused' or 'special' or 'need a little help', depending on which doctor you talk to.

I watch as Nurse gets up, turns off all my lamps but one and walks to the door. "Good night, Leah. Try to get some sleep, honey, I'll see you in the morning," she says, same as every other night.

I wait a few moments after she closes the door, then get up and turn all the lights back on.

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Hey everyone!
I hope you guys enjoyed the first part of my first short story "The Voices". Please vote, comment and share!! This is my first story I've written on Wattpad and I'm very excited. I'd love to hear from you guys about what you think or any feedback you might have :)
Thanks for reading!
~Shelby Laine