This was an experiment for me (in class and competition). It's not my finest hour but for some reason, it works for me. It's too fragmented and short to take seriously, but it has just the right amount of creepiness. I think I'll keep it and rework it into something better. But for now? Light reading. I hope you have fun with it.
Stress
Kaye’s heart welled with joy as they pulled in the driveway. Moving out of the city and into the old refurbished barn was a dream come true for her. The creeks and groans were heard as welcoming: stiff but welcoming, as the Roberstons shoved their new furniture around that old space. When the wind whispered outside at night or the nosy sycamores bent and swayed to peek in her windows Kaye sighed contentedly. To her the nights were darker, deeper and she slept well; relieved that she’d found balance in her chaotic life. What a pity: all of those things would have served her better as warnings.
It began innocently enough. Kaye started to wake in the night. She was having panicky dreams that she was missing something: conversations that were important but just out of earshot. Her eyes would snap open and her ears would strain to listen; nothing. Kaye dismissed it as anxiety. After all, it was tricky to keep her husband’s new job a priority, accept her new position at the paper and settle in to the new “more relaxed” homestead. Kaye smiled and moved forward. She’d adjust.
Weeks rolled by with no improvement. Kaye began to hear the soft voice and movement around the house. She would get up and search for what she believed was a “lost soul” often addressing it:
“Who are you? Don’t go. I can’t hear you."
Although it would run from her, it never REALLY went away. It hovered. Kaye felt its presence; a heavy sorrow or dread. Sometimes from the corner of her eye, she would see it dash around the corner or hear it tap at the windows. She even noticed that it hid things from her; her watch, a ring. There was no harm. It was simply a mischievous ghost. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. Her research turned up nothing. There were no horrific secrets or menacing terrors with regards to the house, the property, or the town for that matter, tucked in any of the historical records. But the disturbances kept occurring.
David, her husband, hauled her to several doctors who prescribed a slew of sleep aids. They called it stress and patted her hand. Kaye knew better. The meds didn’t work and the noises got louder. David hadn’t experienced the things Kaye had in the house. He continued to badger her about stress. In fact, he named Kaye’s ghost Stress. She did not find it funny.
Kaye began to slip at the paper. She neglected herself, became forgetful and bickered with David frequently. She was raw and fragile. One afternoon, Kaye was pacing around trying to find her specter. She did this obsessively now. It was a warped hide-and-seek. She felt it approach and loom over her. Her spine tingled and she shuddered. “Hello.” She said quietly. A breeze icily swept through the room, though no windows were open.
“Talk to me. We’re on our own today. Let me hear you. Let me see you.” She stood very still and closed her eyes.
The voice was cagey and rushed but distinct. “Okay?”
Kaye paused. “Am I okay? I’m tired. I wish you’d let me sleep.” She felt a touch; almost like scotch-tape being dragged against the flow of the hair on her arm. “Yes, you can touch me. It’s okay” she smiled. “Stress” was friendly. Kaye sighed. The air swirled for a few moments then it was gone. Kaye was alone; sort of. She relaxed a little.
David was impressed by his wife’s apparent turn around. She began attempting to re-connect with him. She tried to find out about his day or tell him things about hers. He disregarded the latter because as always; it was about “Stress”. He often found her humming or muttering to herself. He thought things were going to be just fine until the day he got the news Kaye had missed several deadlines, refused to return calls and had subsequently lost her job. David was furious. He confronted Kaye but with disastrous results. She went wild; she cursed and screamed… “It’s all Stress!” she shouted. “Remember? STRESS” then she strolled out laughing. David felt the air become heavy and cold. He could have sworn he heard a whisper. If he were a believer, he would have thought it said, “Stop.”
“Yeah, Stress” he said angrily storming from the room. He did not see the vase on the corner table tip over. Nor did he pay attention to the growl.
Kaye did not sleep at all after that. She was up every night, sometimes singing, talking or simply sitting. But she had lost touch with everything around her. Stress consumed her. If approached by David, her eyes narrowed, her posture was defensive and crouched; almost as if she would pounce on him. He swore he heard her snarl a couple of times. She refused to visit any doctor or go out of the house usually flipping the sarcastic “I’m fine. Just a little stressed” over her shoulder, laughing too loudly and high for her natural tone.
David struggled to keep communication open with his wife. He was home as often as possible though it mattered little to Kaye. She barely spoke at all to him except for grunts and small crisp head gestures. He had listed the house for sale though he’d not told Kaye yet. He needed to get her out of that house before it was too late.
Two months crawled by before the place was sold. He had not allowed visitors or realtors on the property. He’d managed it all through the net and virtual tours. It was done. He’d signed the papers and they were to leave the following week. That night, he arrived home to find her sitting in the family room rocking gently and laughing quietly. “That’s funny.” She sighed.
“What’s funny?” he asked cheerfully. He’d brought home a lovely bottle of Kaye’s favorite wine. They were going to have a nice evening, celebrate life and getting back to it. Kaye’s face immediately went slack. Her eyes seemed to fade out. The room was cold. She rocked in silence. She refused the wine and sat while David began to tell her the good news. She did not react. David left Kaye sitting quietly alone. He thought.
He had no idea what time it was when the screeching began. It was so unusual to have any noise in the house at all that he was utterly dumbfounded by the sound of his wife’s voice. He darted to the hall and found her standing there arguing with Stress. It was the first time David had seen her. Her hair was wild, her eyes dark, haunted and dead. “This is ENOUGH!” Kaye hollered. Spit flew from her thin pale lips “You will stop this or I will stop YOU!” Stress huffed and puffed right along side like a hungry caged animal. Her growl was low and terrifying. The shattering of glass took him by surprise. David rushed to Kaye’s side. The cut was deep. He drove her to the hospital.
Now, I don't like to gossip but that is how she ended up here with me as her ward nurse. She’s one of our most studied cases. She was lucky she didn’t kill herself after smashing that mirror. She rests quietly most days because of her medications and restraints. But on occasion, she gets fidgety and frightened. She paces about and says things like “Stress? What stress? There’s no stress here….”
Her husband pulled the house. He’s still there. David used to come to see her all the time; smiling cautiously at her. But lately he just sits with her and rocks. Sometimes he sings quietly or talks very softly. He says he’s got Stress. I wonder.
