Rebecca

She was a robust girl, this Rebecca. High maintenance and emotionally stable—at least, she’d like to think so.
But under the superficial layers of this female, there lie a different kind of person. Scared, tormented and haunted.

She wasn’t much alone. Not yet, anyway. She lived with a room mate by the name of David and on most nights, she stayed out late with friends. Going to strip clubs to visit her playmate, drinking at bars and enjoying the flirts of males. Or whatever activity suited her. She didn’t like new people and was an outwardly jealous woman. Rebecca also had another problem. In fact, she had many problems. She had been raped at 13 by her step brother, had a miscarriage 3 months later, and would continue to be raped until she was 16. After this, she could recall no such events leading up to the time she met David. Her dietary habits were atrocious, and doctors could not physically explain what was wrong. She could not eat most of anything, and breakfast included only a bagel with cream cheese and honey. Not only were her tastes intolerable, but she would also vomit anything that was not put into small portions and had bouts of blacking out. Everything was a hazard to her. The doors in the apartment could not have locks, due to the fact that if she were to faint, there needed to be immediate access to her.
At night she slept in her room. Sleep would come easily until she slipped into somewhat of a coma. And almost as soon as this happened, small audible voices would whisper “Mortem vitae sequens. Momento mori, momento mori. (Death follows life. Remember death, remember death) She would start awake in a cold sweat, very pale and very wan. Would any of her friends, let alone David, a conformed agnostic, believe that she heard voices? She had to appear lively at all times; full of vigor, not fear and doubt. Not only did these voices haunt her, but as did the memories of her early teenage years. This also affected her in every way. It was told that she loved to be forced in bed by her room mate. In bars she would flirt and if an innocent speculator noticed it, they would find that she would overdo herself to the point of embarassment. We don’t know if she ever left the bar with any of these men, but it would be no surprise if she had. Rebecca used bars and the attention of men and clubs to douse her midnight mare. And at 12 midnight, she seemed to dread going back to the apartment. Dread the nocturnal slumber. So she took caffeine pills. However, these made her hallucinate and she discontinued it’s use. The whispers did not come for a week and she was beginning to feel somewhat safe. At work, employees began to submit strange behaviors. Many sent frazzled and quick stares and looks her way. At one point she would swear that a female said “Momento mori.” When dusk began, Rebecca decided not to visit a club or bar. She was determined that if she slept before dark, she could evade these sounds. She dreamt a dream unlike any other dream her mind had weaved before. A shadow slipped across her view saying, “Rebecca? Rebecca! You hear us, we know you hear us. Stay asleep, Rebecca, stay asleep!!”
Jolted awake by the feeling of suffocation, she ran to David’s room. But he was not there. She turned around and headed for the living room. She knew that insomniacs mindlessly toiled with the channels on the t.v. Before 5 minutes had passed she was awaken again, but this time by a presence over her body. It was David. He had a knife in one hand and shouted “Momento mori!” with a seething grin. Her screams pierced the ears of any dog near by and ricocheted off the walls. She was awoken by shakes and coos of a soothing voice: David. Had she been dreaming? Or was it real? He’d never hurt her, he promised that much. She delved deep into his eyes. No, it was a dream.
Rebecca sat on her bed, thinking, pondering. All the clubs she’d visited and the strip joints. What were they for? She had moved on, as a woman, but now a sullen woman full of something deeper than sorrow. She still heard the voices, but not as clear. She decided to leave her life with David and escaped to Georgia with another man. Perhaps one she met at a bar. David visited her every now and then. He’d moved on as well, but not as quickly because he took her downfall very personally. After the night she thought David was out to kill her, she made it a vow to leave him and their apartment. **Today she was half-heartedly cleaning the small apartment she now lived in. He’d be here soon, and it is always custom to clean up before guests arrive. They made small talk and ate at a restaurant near by. As the horizon darkened and stars began to dot the sky, she apologized for ever thinking he meant her harm. “Oh, I know,” he said. “I forgive you.” And as she turned to face him, a knife glistened in the moonlight. He smiled. “Momento mori!”

–i hope this wasn’t short and choppy like the one i’d done before. i had my inspiration on hand but most of it left me, unfortuneatly. i hope this wasn’t predictable, either. and moreover, easy to follow.