Birthday Rituals

The knife gleamed bright enough to catch my attention first.

It sat in a small pool of dark, red blood on the table next to a party hat.

I thought I had known what I would find on the evening of my birthday when I had accidentally read the group chat on my sister's phone where she and my parents had been planning my surprise birthday. What had actually surprised me was the fact that my sister had voluntarily planned this surprise. She was usually a sulky, unhappy person to be around. But this was definitely new. I had even practised my surprised reactions when they would switch on the lights and yell, "Surprise!" solely for her benefit. 

But the scene that greeted me in my living room made me feel like ice was flowing through my veins instead of blood. My mind was numb. I collapsed on the floor, the contents of my bag spilling over.

My first instinct was to pinch myself to check if I was having one of those nightmares I had been having the past week. When the spectacle remained unwavering I knew this was happening in real-time. Those nightmares had felt so real that I had a very strong premonition, something was coming for me.

Both my parents lay next to the sofa, unmoving. They were tied up and gagged, a small puddle of blood pooled nearby. From my vantage point, I couldn't see my sister. With shaky legs, I stood up and peered farther into the room. That was when I heard the whimpering. 

It was my sister huddled up in the corner. Her hunched shoulder quivered as she sobbed softly. 

"Joy?" I called out softly. My own voice had a tremor. 

She looked up suddenly, startled; as if she had just noticed my presence. Her red-rimmed eyes found mine and she started sobbing again,

"I-I'm s-sorry, she m-made me d-do it," she barely choked out, standing up slowly.

"What are you talking about? Who made you do what?" I demanded my own knees almost buckling at her appearance. 

Her hair was dishevelled and she had purple bruises on her forehead and arms. Her shirt was coloured crimson with huge bloodstains. I noticed the small cut in her arm causing a stream of blood to drip down at her bare feet.

"S-she said she would k-kill everyone if I didn't do what s-she asked..." she said almost maniacally. 

"Who!?" I cried frantically.

Her eyes focused on me suddenly and with a trembling hand, she pointed towards the kitchen. I swivelled my gaze in that direction and that was when I saw her. 

My heart stopped beating for a second and I knew in an instant that this was the figure that had been haunting my dreams for the past week. 

It was dark in the house but enough moonlight filtered in through the windows for me to make out her appearance. Her matted, tangled locks flowed down past her hips and covered half her grotesque face. Her skin looked like it had melted to form the scarred mass that covered her lips. Her nose was long and hung over where her lips would have been. One of her eyes stared right at me with a malignant gleam of anticipation. 

Her tattered black robe swayed slightly in the gentle breeze. She held a chalice that looked so old that it must have been a relic. She raised the chalice and took a step in my direction

I stumbled trying to back up and put as much space between us as I could but there was nowhere else to go. My back hit the wall and before I could let out another scream or run out to get help Joy called out to me in a panic,

"Don't!" she sobbed, "If you take another step, she is going to kill us all." 

"What does she want?" I asked desperately.