Downtown Ghosts

Traumatic Memories

Jane's POV
9years ago,
Janet my twin and I had closed from school that faithful afternoon. We were supposed to get picked up by our father because our mom had things to do in the clinic that day. We waited till 6 pm that day and we decided to go home on our own. The school bus was faulted so our parents were advised to come and pick us up, but we waited for our dad that afternoon till we took the initiative to go on our own. It was initially my idea. Janet did not want to go. She insisted we waited for Dad and that he was going to come but I said I was so hungry. On our way, we were approached by two average men. They asked where we were proceeding to. We walked past them but one of them yanked Janet back and the other tried to catch me but I run away. As I was running I heard a gunshot but I didn't turn back. I was so scared. I needed to call for help. I needed to see any police around but to no avail. I run to the house to see my dad making out with another woman on the couch. That was the first time I had seen my dad in such a position. There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask at that time but it was not needed. I shouted my twin's name and pointed in the direction I came from. My dad seem to notice that there was trouble and followed me but by the time we got there, it was too late. The gunshot I heard hit my sister. The police had arrived. It turned out that there was a robbery near. I could not see because my eyes were flooded with tears. My vision was blurry. I wanted to blame my father for not doing his responsibilities but I knew it was my fault in the end. I shouldn't have asked that we go home. I shouldn't have left her when the man yanked her. I should have stood there and fought by my sister. I looked at my dad and it seemed he had called my mother. The police tried to question me about what happened, but all that came out of my mouth was gibberish. I wanted to know what happened. Who shot my sister? Where were the two men who blocked our path? Why weren't people in cuffs? I wanted to see my sister. Somebody had to have done this. With all these questions in my mind, the frustration, anger, hunger, tiredness, and stress I passed out. I woke up to find myself in the hospital all alone till I heard my mom's loud wailing outside. That was when it dawned on me. I had killed my sister. I wanted to find ways to escape the guilt but it was slapping me in the face. Why did I run? I was a coward. I was a loser. I didn't need a life. My whole childhood had been shattered. Janet was my life. At that time my little brother was in my mom's belly. Although I knew the whole family loved my sister more than me. I was never jealous of her. I was never envious of her. We did everything together, wore matching clothes, and even prefer staying inside. She was a popular figure in our school and even though we were twins they could distinguish between us. Janet was like my best friend and did not let me feel out of her friendship circle and now I had killed her. It was my dad's fault majorly my fault. As I was sitting on the bed my dad enter. He could not say anything except don't tell anyone you saw me with another lady. That was when I realized I didn't have a father but a beast. It was like he was not sorry. How didn't I realize it was my mom holding the house all this time? All my dad did was drive his boss's daughter back and forth. My mom worked day and night to hold the house strong. And this man stood in front of me to say this. Not long ago my mom walked in. She looked exhausted. Her belly was out a little bit. I was scared she would scold me but she walked closer and hugged me. I couldn't cry. I was numb. My mother had stopped crying the moment she heard I was awake. She needed to be strong. The police came back to question me and I told them what happened. We gave my little sister a simple burial. After the ceremony, my dad becomes bitter towards me. He blamed me for leaving my sister that day, I was bullied at school. My mom and dad fought every night. She told him not to point fingers at me because it was his fault. She questioned him on what he was doing that day. I became depressed. I was traumatized. I could not go to school again. I stay at home till she gave birth to my brother. My dad stopped coming home often. I did my best to help my mom at home. After six months my mom sat me down and advised me to go back to school. She told me to be strong. All these six months my aunty who was a psychologist met with me to help with my trauma. Cause I was always having nightmares. I could still hear the gunshot. The police came to our house to notify us the culprit had been arrested but I was not allowed to see that person or even people who caused this. But I knew deep down that this was not over. Something was not right somewhere.

I hope you loved this chapter. What do you think Jane is thinking?

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