I'm finally back for maybe a post or two.. anyways, I found a writing prompt so I decided to have a writing challenge with my good friend / brother Voice_In_My_Head. You can check out his version of it. (I'll link it ;)) (find his version on his page)


PROMPT:
People must not look outside between 3am and 6am.
Children are kept in windowless rooms, and adults wear blindfolds during sleep to avoid incident.



voice_in_my_head






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We finish dinner and my mother wipes my face gently with a clean wet rag. "You really need to learn to not be so messy when you eat, Nessa!" I giggle and dry my face with the end of my sleeve. She smooths down my hair and gives me a soft kiss on my forehead. "Go get ready for your bath, I'll be upstairs to help you in a moment." She winks at me and turns around to finish cleaning up the kitchen after our dinner.
"Hurry along, Nessa," my father calls out to me.
"Yes, Papa." I answer, and run up the stairs to my bedroom. I turn the corner and head into my room. It's a sad corner of the house, mostly because there's no windows. Where we live, you can't go outside, or even look outside from 3:00 am to 6:00 am in the morning. It's forbidden. I open my drawer and take out a clean pair of fuzzy pants and an old worn t-shirt of my dads. I scurry along to the dingy bathroom at the end of the hall and sit on the edge of the tub removing my grubby clothes from a long day of working in the fields. I sigh as dirt falls all over the rug in front of me. Papa would make me sweep it up in the morning.
"Are you ready to get clean, Nessa?"
I smile wide and nod my head. "Yes, Mama!" She helps me finish undressing and I stand in front of the mirror gazing at my dirty face and knotted hair. I was proud. I was the hardest working girl in the neighborhood and everyone could tell. I turned back to Mama and she gave me a big hug and helped me into the tub. I sat down and began to splash the water on my body while she tried to comb the knots from my hair. "Ow," I said, and rubbed the spot on my head where the comb had pulled my hair.
"I'm sorry, Nessa. It must be done." I make a face and she laughs at me, splashing water on my face. I giggle and begin to wash my body with the little piece of soap we have left.
"When will we get new soap, Mama?"
"Whenever Papa can get to the market."
"Oh. Okay." I settle back, and continue removing the dirt and grime from my limbs.

When we finally finished, and I was wrapped up in a towel, Mama combed my hair again. "Much better, Nessa!" She exclaimed. I like it when Mama is proud of me. I smiled and looked at the clock. 9:00 pm. My heart skipped a few beats. How long was I in the bath for? Mama noticed that I look concerned and asked me what was on my mind. While she helped me into my sleeping clothes, I told her that I couldn't believe how much time had passed since dinner. She stroked my hair and smiled at me. I brushed my teeth, and headed back down the hall to my solemn windowless room. Every time I went in there, I felt a small twinge of fear, but it was quickly replaced every night with my Mama and Papa's love. They both came into my bedroom and kissed me goodnight, singing me a different song every single night ever since I can remember. They closed my door, and reminded me that if anything happened, where I needed them immediately, that I'd have to put on my blindfold that was kept on the door and call for help from my doorway, making sure I couldn't see anything.


I woke up at about 4:00 am and my heart was pounding out my chest. I had just had a terrible dream and I needed my Mama's loving reassurance. Forgetting all about my blindfold, and the rules, I slipped out of my room and padded downstairs to their bedroom. I tapped on the door and walked in. They were both lying in the bed, with their blindfolds on and I let out a barely audible gasp. I had forgotten my blindfold. Stricken with panic, I slowly backed out of their doorway and tried to make it back upstairs to my room, but caught a glimpse of something moving outside the front window. Too young to fear strict consequences from the village community, or worse, the government that embodied 12 villages around, I dropped to my knees and crawled to the window. I slowly raised my eyes so I could just see over the edge of the windowsill. My eyes widened, and a felt my stomach jump up to my throat. I suddenly had the urge to be sick, and started profusely sweating all over.

What I saw, I told myself I'd forget, but I haven't. I had never seen anything like this before. They were tall, shadowy, and slender figures that were crawling around in the streets and between houses. When they stopped to look in the windows, and found something they liked, the window would slowly open and a long tentacle-like object would come out of the monster's mouth and a blue fluid would come back to the figure. Stricken with fear, I let out a gasp, and tried to run back to my room, and convince myself it was all just a dream. I lied in my bed with my eyes squeezed shut, trying to forget what I had seen. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I fell asleep.

When I woke again, I could smell Mama making breakfast, and Papa humming some song I had never heard before. I rubbed my eyes and headed downstairs, still terrified at what I had witnessed the night before. As the day went on, I told myself that I was being a child, and had simply made up the creatures in my head as an explanation as to why the blindfolds were necessary.

I've never seen them again, but sometimes, late at night, I can hear noises outside like I've heard at no other time of the day. I close my eyes and cover my ears, urging myself to go back to sleep but I know I won't. I get in trouble for slacking on my work in the fields, but the truth is I'm too mentally fatigued to think about anything other than the dark creatures. I don't know what they're doing or why, but I know I wasn't supposed to see it. It's been 12 years since I've witnessed something forbidden, and I'm still scared every day, even at 18. My name is Nessa, and you're the only one who knows what I've seen.