Voices

Hearing Nick

Years passed and I never grew closer to Anne, but somehow I grew to love her, something I would eventually regret. She looked out for me and made sure I was never picked on. I kept the voices secret.

Eventually we moved out of the orphanage and Anne took up a full time secretarial job to make a living for us both. It was in those few months that I heard Nick.

He first spoke to me when it was a quiet night in bed and Anne was working late. He was different. Unique. He was unlike the voices before him, he spoke to me, he would tell me stories. His voice so beautiful and mesmerizing, like a newscaster or radio personality. I loved him. His sweet words and his kindness unlike anything I had ever heard.

I told Anne.

Anne laughed. I was confused and bitter. She belittled my love for Nick. "Mary, don't play games. You never go out," she laughed between words, "There is no Nick to love." The voices screamed in my ears. Such rage! "Kill her!", they screamed, the clearest message I had ever heard. Unlike before, I chose not to listen. I didn't care what Anne thought, I loved Nick and I, him.