Ophree attempted to sneak around the room, but her motions were obvious, anybody could’ve caught her if they were paying attention. She lit a small candle and carried it over to the far end of the room. Grabbing a cup, she filled it with water, it wasn’t the clean drinking water, but rather the leftover water from washing. After filling the cup, she slowly walked back over toward the bunk bed that we shared. She climbed onto her bunk and used the extra height to reach her hand over and attempt to pour the cup’s contents. Not this time.
I grabbed the cup and turned it over, it spilt all over the floor and somehow mostly avoided that brat, Ophree. Luckily, she wasn’t expecting my sneak attack, she fell backward onto the ground and screamed.
The memory with the girl laying in a puddle of her blood flashed back into my mind as Ophree contacted the ground. My heart pounded and my eyes bulged as I looked at the ground beneath me. The memory and Ophree phased in and out of each other. One second, the near-unharmed Ophree, the next second, the blood covered girl with no face.
I slapped myself in the face and forced myself to calm down. Slowly but surely, my heart rate decreased, and the memory faded back into the filing cabinets of my brain.
Ryn burst through the door with a candle in her hand.
“Are you girls ok!? What happened!?” she frantically yelled out as she looked around the room. Eventually, her eyes fell on Ophree, who was in the process of standing up.
“Little Baby Kae Kae poured water all over me, Big Sis! You should punish her right away!” Ophree yelled out as she pointed up at me.
I had planned for this. At this point, I knew Ophree had been doing something with water, but I hadn’t been sure what. Luckily, the whole thing with the cup was perfect for me. I mean, I was up in the bed and didn’t have access to candles. Ophree, on the other hand, had the perfect opportunity to fill the cup and do something petty, as she had been doing the whole time. There was no way I could be blamed for this one.
“Is that true, Kaelynn?” Ryn tapped her foot on the ground while looking at me.
“Of course not! It’s like I’ve been saying, she’s out to get me,” I pointed back at Ophree, “I couldn’t have even gotten the water, I don’t have candles to see what I’m doing! She was going to pour it on me and call me a bedwetter again!”
Ryn was about to respond to me, but she held her tongue for a second and thought through the facts that I’d laid out. Ophree looked nervous as time went on without Ryn saying anything.
“Ophree, sweetie,” Ryn spoke, “you wouldn’t lie to Big Sis, would you?”
Ophree shook her head side-to-side.
“Did you fill that cup with water?”
I saw something click in Ophree’s head before she responded. It gave me a bad feeling.
“Yes, Big Sis, I filled the cup, but it’s not like she’s saying,” Ophree paused for a second before looking at me again, “Baby Kae asked me to bring her some water, since she was thirsty. I g–guess she just really huh–huh–hates me or something,” Ophree put on a pouty face, “c–cause she decided to dump it on me a–and try to call me a l–l–liar,” Ophree faked sobbing rather impressively. If I didn’t hate her, I’d give her an Oscar. What’s an Oscar? Ah, it doesn’t matter...
Ryn went up to Ophree and pulled her in close, “It’s ok sweetie,” Ryn petted Ophree’s hair, “I’m sorry she hurt your feelings,” Ryn looked up at me and shook her head with disappointment.
It wasn’t over. I wouldn’t accept defeat that easily.
“Ryn,” I said without a shake in my voice as I stared her in her eyes, “if that water was to drink, how come it’s dirty water? I mean, it’s easy to see that the water is a bit cloudy and has gunk in it.”
Ryn inspected the water closer and realized that I was right, “Why is the water dirty, Ophree?”
“Huh? I– uh–” Ophree stuttered, completely dropping the sobbing act on accident, “well, you see, I guess maybe I couldn’t see very well which was the right place to get it?”
“But you have a candle, and we never put the fresh water jug directly on the ground. You know that, Ophree,” Ryn looked into Ophree’s eyes as she spoke, “are you lying to me?”
Ophree looked confused and then frustrated, “It’s all that stupid bedwetter’s fault! If she just never came, you wouldn’t have been hurt by those men,” Ophree cried out, “and– and I would always get to be your favorite! Just because her dad is famous doesn’t mean you should care about her! All she’s done is cause trouble and behave like a toddler! I should have all the attention! ME!”
The room went silent for a couple of minutes.
“Oh, Ophree,” Ryn spoke slowly and softly, “I’ll never stop being your Big Sis, I’ll always love you just as much as I love your sisters. The thing is, sweetheart, that you have to learn to share with your little sisters. Do you love me, Ophree?”
“Yes! Of course I love you, it’s tha–”
“Ah, ah, ah, don’t say something nasty,” Ryn condescended for a moment before returning to her other cadence, “being a good big sister is about sharing, Ophree. Don’t you want to be a good big sister?”
“Well, yes, but–”
“No buts!”
“Kaelynn is not my sister.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Well, if Kaelynn isn't your sister, neither am I,” Ryn spoke sternly, “because Kaelynn is my adorable little sister, just like you and Myrie, so that means that she is your little sister too! Ok?”
The look on Ophree’s face showed the cogs turning in her head as she tried to battle Ryn’s argument, ultimately losing, “Ok...”
“Good!” Ryn grabbed Ophree by the hand, “Now we need to say sorry to Kaelynn for what we did, ok?”
“Bu–” Ophree tried to deny, but she was met by a stern look from Ryn, “fine.”
“I’ll go first,” Ryn said, “Kaelynn, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me before. I truly feel horrible for treating you the way I have. Will you forgive me?”
“I suppose that will suffice,” is what I wanted to say, but held in. Instead, I opted for, “I forgive you.”
“Ok, Ophree. Your turn,” Ryn looked at Ophree expectantly.
“I– I’m s–” Ophree paused, “Do I have to apologize?”
“Yes, and if you don’t, I’ll put you through what you put Kaelynn through.”
Ophree went pale for a moment before looking back at me, “I’m sorry Kaelynn.”
“Will you forgive her, Kaelynn?” Ryn asked.
It was hard enough to forgive Ryn, but forgive this brat? I bundled up all the strength I had and spoke, “Fine. I forgive you, Ophree,” I decided to have some grace on the kid for some reason. I am just too kind.
“I promise I’ll be a better big sister, Kaelynn!” Ophree’s face lit up with a grin. She really was just a child, a devil child, but a child nonetheless.
“Now can I have my clothes back?” I asked.
“Now wait just a second, Kaelynn,” Ryn said, “there’s no mistaking your real accident yesterday, even if you were scared into it! If you go today and tomorrow without one, I’ll let you have them back. That was the original deal. Got it?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I wished I could rescind my forgiveness. Instead, I caved for just two more days of torture. I guess I could have a good time playing with Myrie, but every second wasted, my dad was receiving more pain. Not that a six year-old girl could stop any of that. Ugh. I wanted to get older as soon as possible.
***
Princess and Maid was highly entertaining that day. Myrie insisted that I be the Princess that day, and eventually I caved. She fawned over me all day long, even when I wasn’t asking for it. I couldn’t even sit down or stand up without her, “assistance”. My hair was always brushed and it had all kinds of girly clips in it, along with more bows than I could’ve imagined the place had. I will say, Myrie’s sense of style was somewhat lacking, but it was still fun to participate nonetheless.
When I was the Maid again the next day, I’d make sure to really pamper Myrie as much as I could. I liked her a lot more than Ophree, for obvious reasons, but I was hoping that Ophree would get over her childishness. When we’d finished playing for the day, Ryn and Ophree came back into the main room. Or I suppose I should say we stopped playing because they were back in the room. It hadn’t felt like a whole day had passed yet, but I guessed that it had by the fact that the pair was re-entering.
The first thing Ryn did was step over the fence and check me for wetness, I would’ve rolled my eyes if I didn’t know that I’d be told on. Obviously, I came back clean as Ryn began to speak.
“Good job on making it half the day, Kaelynn!” she spoke with seemingly real glee as she put up her hand for a high-five, she didn’t move until I obliged her, “Ok, girls, we have some gifts for you!”
“Whaddya get us, whaddya get us!?” Myrie jumped for joy as she waited for the surprise to be revealed. I, on the other hand, was a bit worried about what kind of “gift” this was. It had better not be monikered diapers or something, I thought. That was out of the realm of possibility though, since only I was wearing a diaper...
Ryn had been hiding one hand behind her back the whole time and Ophree had both of hers behind her back as well, obviously hiding the surprise.
“Ophree, give Kaelynn hers first, ok?” Ryn spoke.
Ophree nodded her head once and walked over to me, she pulled a stuffed animal from behind her back and handed it to me. “I’m sorry for what I did. I know it was wrong.”
I knew something was wrong as I started shaking uncontrollably while staring at the stuffed animal being offered to me. It wasn’t like I hated Ophree so much that I wouldn’t accept the gift, but my brain refused to let me move. I thought that I felt my held in fluids release again, but I couldn’t care less at the moment. Fear paralyzed my legs and my eyes went wide before everything went dark.
***
I stood in the small one-room home once more. The girl’s dead body no longer lay on the floor next to me as I held a note and a compass in my hands. Just the stain of her blood on the floor left a reminder. Surprisingly, I could read most of the note, though some parts were fogged over.
I’m not stable anymore. ******’s loss was too much for me, and now **** as well. Take care of her if she lives. Don’t hold it against me, son. If you will, take my lucky compass, may it guide you swiftly.
- Dad
I looked over at the cursed object in my left hand, a compass, complete with an etched boar. Inside the cracks was blood that had dripped off of my hands, lightly staining the silver case. I felt tears flow down my face. Anger and fear burned my skin. I eyed the front door and bolted, evading policemen as I fled the crime scene. I stopped in an alleyway and breathed heavily as I put my hands on my knees. No one had given chase. As I opened up the compass I–
***
Warmth radiated from my side as I curled up tightly. I was pulled in close, resting on the side of a warm object. A hand ran through my hair as my hearing began to come to me, a sweet soft voice sang slowly as I rocked back and forth. I forced my eyes to open and saw Ryn’s face not so far from my own. She was embracing me tightly against her chest as I sat in her lap. She rocked in a chair as she sang and petted my head. My surroundings were unfamiliar, I was pretty sure I was in Ryn's bedroom. To say the least, I was very confused. One second I was looking at a–
A boar. That was the stuffed animal. It was always a boar. My heartbeat quickened for a second as I thought about it, but it settled down at my adamant request. I had to admit that I was enjoying the rocking motion and the embrace, but I needed to figure out what had just happened. Had I passed out?
“Ryn.”
“Shh, just rest, sweet baby, everything is alright, you’re ok,” Ryn said with a baby voice.
“Wha–”
“Don’t talk,” Ryn reached over and grabbed a pacifier, “just suckle on this and sleep,” she tried to put it in my mouth. I almost let her and just went back to sleep, but I wasn’t going to accept it this time.
“No,” I tried to sit up straighter and gently pushed Ryn’s hand away, “you need to tell me what happened.”
Ryn sighed, “You saw that cute little boar toy that Ophree made for you and you freaked out for some reason. All of the sudden you fainted,” she booped me on my nose, “so I changed you and now you just need to rest, ok?”
“I’m fine,” I tried to escape her grip, “you can let me go now.”
“No,” Ryn countered as she tightened her grip, “let Big Sis take care of you for just one night. I’m worried about my cute little sister.”
“Fine,” I mumbled out at my cheeks went bright red, “is– is Ophree ok? I didn’t offend her, did I?”
“She’ll be ok, you just need to explain to her that it's not her fault tomorrow, and if you can, accept her toy.”
“I want to take it, I do, but–”
“Hush, sweetheart, I know, I know. You must’ve had a really bad experience with boars before, it’s ok to be scared.”
I stayed silent for a second before beginning to speak again, but I was immediately re-silenced by a pacifier in my mouth. I'd been caught off guard and the second opportunity had presented itself, she'd took it. I couldn’t believe that I’d went from being a man at some point to now being degraded to “baby” status. I was a whole six years old, for crying out loud! That’s not even counting however many years I’d been alive before I became Kaelynn. Wait, am I an old guy? The thought creeped me out before I resigned to sleeping rather than thinking.
Tomorrow would be the final day of the playpen...