Excerpt ~ The Visitor's Room

Excerpt

The Visitor's Room

A Paranormal Short Story

Coming January 6, 2017

“Today’s as good as any to get a shock treatment.”

Amy lifted her head from the pillow. There, at the foot of her bed, stood Larry.

She waited, as he turned and shuffled out the door, then laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Sleep began to return.

Then he was back, the rhythmic swish of slippers on tile as he approached. “Today’s as good as any to get a shock treatment.”

She sighed and waited. Silence. Melanie was sound asleep in the next bed, unaware of the intrusion.

“Today’s as good as any to get a shock treatment.”

“Larry!” Amy shot up. “Shut up, and get the hell out of here.”

Larry smiled half-heartedly, turned, and wandered again from the room. This time, his shadow disappeared out of the doorway completely.

That had done it. She was definitely awake now.

Melanie continued to sleep, and Amy frowned. Dead to the world. Like I should be. That girl could sleep if a freight train came roaring through here. Then again, who knows what meds they have her on this week?

She climbed out of bed and tugged on her slippers—blue terry cloth, like her bathrobe. So cheap, her toe poked through the seam.

She padded over to the window.

The sun was rising, but the building across the street was still buried in darkness. She wasn’t normally awake this early—though someone did knock promptly at seven every morning to inform her breakfast was ready.

It was quiet though; peaceful as a grave. She could get used to this.

Then she heard it again, the sound of water dripping.

Stepping away from the window, she walked—as she had yesterday and the day before, and every day for the past three weeks—to the washroom. The dripping wasn’t louder there, but she couldn’t imagine where else it might be coming from. It wasn’t muffled, as it would have been inside the wall. No water came through the collapsible ceiling. It wasn’t raining. No drain pipes ran outside her window.

It was like Larry; it came and went and was irritating.

Then it was gone.

She closed the door and locked it. Here was the only place where she could truly be alone.
Resting her palms on the edge of the sink, she leaned in and studied herself in the mirror. Her blue eyes, in which she’d always taken such pride, seemed almost vacant these days. Her face was pale.

She unfastened her watch and laid it on the edge of the sink, then turned the taps on the tub. She undressed and climbed in, the warm water covering her like a thick woolen blanket. 

The tub filled, and she pushed the taps into the off position with her foot. The room became silent.

Slipping her face beneath the surface, she soaked her hair and drew it back over her scalp.
How difficult could it be?

The water ran off her face.

You only have to relax and let it happen. It’s that simple.

She settled back, only her eyes, nose, and mouth remaining above the surface.

Just let it happen.

She shut her eyes.