Windows
In a small village of Sweden lived a young girl named Zoella. As a child she always loved going to Trisha’s house, her neighbor, who was the same age as her. The two of them both loved spending time together. Across the street from Trisha’s lived an old women named Velsa, she was very old, around her late 70’s she had a nose that was larger than average almost like those portrayed in movies which evil witches and a mole on the side of her chin that always bother Zoella. She dressed very old fashioned; she wore a long sleeve, olive green dress that flowed down to her shins. It didn’t seem as though she had a good taste in style, as all her clothes were dresses similar to each other, but all different tints of green. She gave off an uneasy feeling. For this reason Zoella would try her best to keep her distance from her because she was afraid. Not only was she afraid, but Zoella believed that Velsa was obsessed with her. Everywhere she went around her neighborhood she felt like she was being followed and watched.
One day Trisha and Zoella were outside playing with a bouncy ball and Zoella accidentally kicked it across the streets just outside Velsa’s fence. Both of them looked at each other with fear in their eyes. “Go get it Zoella, you kicked it!” said Trisha. Zoella looked terrified but slowly walked over towards the ball and just as she was close enough to grab it, the door to Velsa’s house swung open. Zoella fell back in shock, as she got up she grabbed the ball and looked up to see Velsa standing in the doorway creepily staring straight at her. She ran to Trisha and both rushed inside the house. Once they were safely inside they went over to Trisha’s room and looked outside the window, to their surprise Velsa was no longer there. When they looked back a second time Velsa was staring at them from inside her house through her window, and Zoella quickly shut the blinds and closed the curtains.
After Zoella felt it was safe to head back home, she said goodbye to Trisha and went on her way. The walk home seemed like forever to her, even though it was only a house away. The distance between the houses was uncommonly farther than most houses were. She had an eerie feeling as she walked because it was dead silent and darker than usual. She did not want to run because the eerie feeling made her feel like if she were to do so that something or someone would grab her before she could get away, so she walked at an even pace. Just as she made it to her front door, she looked back to see if anyone was behind her. Although nothing was there, she gazed at Velsa’s house and sure enough Zoella was able to see Velsa’s silhouette formed behind the curtains, slowly pacing back and forth in front of the window. When Zoella was about to turn to enter her house the pacing stopped, and Velsa’s shadow stood still in front of the window as if she was facing her. Zoella quickly rushed inside her house and went up to her room.
As Zoella changed into her pajamas she did her normal nightly routine. She always had a nightlight by her bed, but only turned it on when she felt like it was really necessary. Tonight was a nightlight type of night. She dozed off and went to sleep; she was later awoken by some ruffling outside her window and sat up right. She got up to close her curtains and in front of her was Velsa writing “Z O E L L A” on her window. Zoella screamed and her parents quickly rushed to her room to see what was going on.
She explained to them what had happened and when they checked the window to see what she was talking about there was nothing there. The window was clear as crystal. This was not the first time Zoella had accused Velsa of spying on her, and stalking her every move so her parents decided to talk to her.
Later the next morning Zoella’s parents spoke with and told her it would be best if she went to a mental institution to be treated for the events that she sees that aren’t really happening. Zoella was confused, she knew what she saw was certainly not fake. She didn’t know where to turn for help to make people believe her, all she could do was obey her parents request and follow through with treatment that she thought she didn’t need.
A few days after her parents told her the news, Zoella was finally heading to a mental institution that was located far from her village. All she could think about was how her parents betrayed her, but most of all she felt lost. Nobody believed the things she saw, not even her parents. Once she got there she settled in and said her goodbyes, they would be able to visit her from time to time, but it was recommended for them not to as it could affect her treatment. Later she was asked to change into the white gown that are mostly used in hospitals, and then was escorted to her room. Her room was very plain and small, only containing a chair, bed, nightstand and a desk. When Zoella walked into her room the first thing she noticed was the window, it had bars from the inside and outside, there was no way in or out.
Zoella had nothing to do but lie down and stare at the ceiling until it was dinner time. She didn’t know when it was coming because there was no clock in her room. She didn’t know how to feel, she was happy that she was away from Velsa, but she was angry that Velsa was the reason she was on lock down. It angered Zoella knowing that Velsa could freely go wherever she wanted, eat whenever she wanted, bathe whenever she wanted and she had to live her life on a schedule and was restricted.
Zoella didn’t get much sleep her first night there; she spent the whole night thinking about how long she’d have to be there and the window gave her an uneasy feeling, although she knew it was properly secured. As the days went by and time passed she got more and more comfortable with her new living arrangements. Every day each patient was given one hour of free time, and Zoella spent most days putting together puzzles and playing cards in the lobby. One day she asked for a new puzzle, but the lady at the front desk was busy attending someone so she told Zoella she was permitted to go into the next room, over where the puzzles were, and pick the one she’d like.
She entered the room, it was small and dark. The light switch was those old fashion pull chain light fixtures, after she pulled the chain the light bulb flickered a few times before it lit all the way. She saw the puzzles, but something else caught her eye, to the right of the puzzles was a worn out filing cabinet that had dents and black marks like burns all around the front and sides. She looked around to see if anyone was nearby and then tried opening it, but it was locked. She realized that the front of the cabinet contained a key slot so she controlled her curiosity, grabbed a puzzle and left the room.
Zoella chose a Halloween themed puzzle, with deciduous trees and carved pumpkins bordering the fence of an old house. Before opening the puzzle box she noticed initials written on the front in tiny letters “V.B” she thought maybe it was from a past owner as most of the puzzles and games are donated. She opened the puzzle box and dumped out all the pieces and as she did there was an odd sound like a coin had hit against the table. Looking around her she spotted a key bunched with the puzzle pieces. She looked at it for a while and wondered what it might be for, then remembered about the cabinet in the storage room. Going back to the lady at the front desk she told her that a few pieces were missing, and asked if she could go get another. The lady nodded her head yes.
Zoella headed towards the room and went straight to the cabinet. As she predicted the key fit snug into the slot, she turned the key and the cabinet unlocked. The drawer contained loads of files organized in alphabetical order, although it looked as if they hadn’t been touches in ages. It was not what she was hoping she would find, she thought there would be some antique items from past patients which she would have found interesting. As she was about to close and lock the cabinet she noticed a name that looked familiar, Velsa Bryngelson was written on the top right corner of the file. Zoella’s heart started pounding as she started to think. What if this is the same Velsa from back home? Slowly she pulled the file out and snuck it under her shirt. She locked the cabinet and put the key into the little pocket on the right side of her gown.
Zoella went back into the lobby with her arms wrapped around her to keep the file from falling out and told one of the employees that she was tired and wanted to go back to her room to rest. She waited a few minutes after she got back to her room to make sure that the coast was clear and nobody would come back in. She pulled up her chair and took the file out from under her gown and placed it on the desk, she hesitated opening it and started at it for a couple minutes. After building up the courage she finally grabbed the bottom right corner of the file and turned it open, the file contained a black and white picture of a little girl paper clipped onto other papers. She knew right away it was not the Velsa she had thought because this file was for an 11 year old and not an old woman in her late 70’s. Zoella began to read information from the other papers and realized that this file was from over 60 years ago which makes the person in the picture around the same age as Velsa from back home is now.
The more she read the more confirmation it was that this truly was Velsa. Even the puzzle box that contained the key had the initials “V.B” which would stand for Velsa Bryngelson. The file stated that Velsa was mentally ill. She often had to be restrained for not cooperating at the institution and would try to squirm out of it which resulted in scars on her arms, which explained why she always wore long sleeve dresses all season long. All the details that described physical appearances matched those to Velsa, even the pesky mole on the side of her chin. Velsa was sent for treatment because her parents noticed that she was different from other children, and the last straw was when she gave her little sister severe burns by grabbing her hand and put it on a hot stove. Velsa purposely put her sister in pain. Zoella was in shock this was…without a doubt, the old hag that always creeped her out. She finally found the proof to show that she wasn’t crazy and everything she saw really did happen, and she wasn’t seeing things.
Zoella was still confused, the file created more questions than answers. Why was Velsa let out? Is she still dangerous? She spent the rest of the day reading through the papers but couldn’t figure out why Velsa was released. She heard footsteps down the hall and quickly hid the file under her pillow. A young women came in to bring Zoella her lunch and as she was about to leave. Zoella stopped her and asked her to stay. She wanted to make conversation to see if maybe she knew something, anything that could help her get answers. The young women sat on her bed while Zoella ate her lunch on her desk. Zoella asked for her name and she answered Miriam, she asked her several questions to start conversation.
Zoella asked why she chose to work at the institution and Miriam said because he mother was once ill as well. Miriam’s mother was admitted to a mental institution when Miriam was a little girl, she hardly remembers her mother. Her mother died at the old institution she was at when it burned down due to unknown causes. She said she chose to work here because she wanted to help people who were like her mother, it was closure for her. Zoella remembered the old cabinet in the storage room and how it was dented and old, like it has survived a fire. She asked Miriam about the cabinet in the storage room, telling her that she noticed it when she went to go get a puzzle. Miriam told her that it was retrieved from the fire from the same mental institution her mother went to, but they lost the key to it the day before the building burned down.
Many thoughts were going through Zoella’s head; she had one last question. She asked Miriam how old the puzzles were, she found out that some were fairly new and some were from the old institution, they were saved because they were moving the storage room to the other side of the building and were taken to the owner of the institution’s home for a couple of days. Within those two days the building burned down, which is why the puzzles were not lost in the fire.
Zoella finished her lunch and thanked Miriam for staying before she left her room. Zoella spent the next couple hours thinking. She pieced together this whole conspiracy; her theory was that Velsa must have caused the fire to escape. Velsa must have planned the whole thing ahead, stealing the key and putting it in the puzzle box that had her initials on it hoping that it would be lost in the fire, so that there was no evidence that she ever went there. If Zoella was correct, then that means Velsa would have known how to escape and left the institution before it burned down.
All Zoella had to do now was show someone that Velsa from the file and Velsa from her village were the same person. Zoella knew that if she would tell someone they would all think she is talking gibberish, because they already think she is mentally ill. She had to confide in her parents about this, she hoped and prayed that they would believe her. Later that same day, she asked the main doctor at institution if she could have her parents visit, he agreed and they were scheduled for the next day.
Her parents came and she hugged them tightly when they entered her room. A nurse brought in two extra chairs for her parents and then left. They all talked for a while, and talked about what’s new. After a while of conversation Zoella told them she had something to tell them. She pulled out the file from under her pillow and explained to them everything she knew, even her theory. They listened with blanked expressions, and did not speak or ask anything while Zoella was talking. After she was done talking there was silence, Zoella almost regretted telling them everything until her parents exchanged looks and then told her they believed her.
Zoella was crying hysterically in relief that her parents believed her, and that they didn’t think she was crazy. They apologized to her about not believing her in the beginning. Her parents told her that they would contact the police with the information and see where it would go from there.
Police later came in to ask questions about Velsa, and asked about any strange behavior she experienced from her. The news spread quickly along their small village. The whole process took four days and Zoella still had to stay at the institution, but her parents stayed close in a nearby motel. On the 5th day the police came back to the institution to confirm that it was the same Velsa and thanked her for her investigative skills. They said that as they spoke other authorities were on their way to her village to take custody of Velsa for arson, the deaths of the people who were still in the building, and for her escape.
Zoella was free to go and was on her way back home with her parents. They pulled up to her house and a police officer was waiting at their front door. Zoella’s parents asked the officer what was wrong and he responded by saying they could not find Velsa. When police arrived to Velsa’s house there was no answer at the door, so they broke the door down. They did a quick search inside and there was no sign of Velsa inside her home. Since it was a small village word got around Velsa must have realized something suspicious and fled. The police man reassured Zoella that they were going to do everything they could to find her and not to worry.
After awhile all the police left and the neighborhood was quiet. Zoella felt uneasy the rest of the day, but her parents comforted her with a nice big dinner for her return. After dinner she took a long shower and did her nightly routine as if it never went on a hiatus. She entered her room and stared at the window for a while thinking, what if Velsa shows up again in the middle of the night? She laid in bed and closed her eyes, the next morning she woke up happy to have gotten a good night’s rest. She glanced at the window and sighed in relief that there was nothing written on the window. As she got up out of bed she look over to the mirror and her eyes widened and she stood motionless as written in black paint was, “ I’ll be back someday child – V.”