Just a few minutes ago….
"And in this entry, you and Dad went on a camping trip. You caught fishes and he almost caught a pink salmon. But they keep escaping and slapping Dad's face with their tails, haha!"
Chloe continued explaining the journal to her mother. Josephine Jones looked at it with interest, but it didn't seem to be clicking with her.
"I see…."
Her head hurts a bit. She keeps seeing flashes of memories….
There was always a girl in them. It was as if her memories had been invaded by this one girl. She was so mean to her….
"Hahaha! You ugly fat pig! I bet your Ma and Pa mistake you for one of 'em hogs in yer farm! They might cook ya for bacon soon!"
This girl was somewhere around 10-13 years old. She was in front of a Church, and yet her bullying knows no boundaries. She had curly ginger hair put up in two pigtails, buck teeth with a gap, straw hat, and she was wearing blue overalls over a dirty white shirt. But most importantly….
She was still pretty despite all this, and she had freckles. Her face was always tinged red.
Just like this little girl beside her.
Chloe continued showing her Polaroid pictures in the journal. "This was when you and Dad went to sing along with a jukebox. You said it was lucky that it drowned out your voice since you're not the best singer, but Dad was great at it."
Another girl appeared in Josephine's mind, mixing with the memory of the mean redhead. She was a honey-haired lass and wore a white dress. She greeted everyone wearing the same pure white clothes that stood on the side, seeming to be the church choir.
"Good day to you all! How's it going?" She greeted them.
The boys quickly responded all at once, trying to gain her attention first. Meanwhile the girls didn't seem to dislike her either, and greeted them like a well-respected senior.
The girl just smiled, and then turned to another direction.
"Oh, you're here already. Good morning, Father."
Those pinkish flesh full of life…. Always present on her soft cheeks….
Chloe shifted in her seat a little, crossing her legs. "Oh, this one! This is your last entry, when you gave birth to Harker! You said that your whole back and legs felt sore, and that your pussy had been stretched out so much that you thought it would have torn."
Josephine blinked. "How vulgar! Did I really write those words?"
"Well, it's your journal after all. You probably weren't expecting anyone to read it. Besides, I'm a girl too. I think it's important for me to know what these things would have felt like." Chloe frowned. "Though it's making me less keen on actually giving birth…. If it's really this painful and dangerous. We women really have the short end of the stick here."
Another flash of memory came to his mind. Pink cheeks turning almost crimson red, legs that try to cross but kept wide apart by two strong hands, and….
"Please stop! Stop! It's going to tear! …. Sob…."
A little girl's voice pleading, drops of blood on the tiled floor that seemed to have a repetitive design of….
The cross, where Jesus had died to sacrifice himself for the sins of mankind.
And right before the girl was the altar and the table where the Holy Eucharist was placed. The Body of Christ, consumed by all, and the wine as His Blood.
"Father, please stop! Help me! Help!"
Josephine groaned in pain as the numbing ache in her mind continued to increase. Consummation, blood, flesh….. Sin….
Another memory flashed. She could only see a screen behind her, blurring the image of the person on the other side. She was inside a wooden compartment of sorts.
Then, she heard that voice.
"Please help me, Father. I have sinned very much. Sob…. I don't know how I could tell my Ma and Pa about it."
It was the voice of that blond choir girl, There was no mistaking it.
A man's rough voice responded with much concern. "What's wrong, Charlotte?"
Charlotte continued to cry behind the podium. "Father…. I have let a boy touch me before marriage."
The man was obviously surprised. "Touch you..? But Charlotte… Darling…. You're still so young. You're only 12 years old. What made you think of doing such a thing? "
"I know it is wrong, Father! The moment he did it, I felt so impure! Unclean…. Please help me. I couldn't tell anyone about it, and I have already cut ties with the boy. I want my body to only serve God and His will. To sing for his praise, and nothing else!"
She sobbed and sobbed. "I-I realized that I wanted to be a nun when I grow older, Father! So I must cleanse myself to be worthy of being in the Order. Could you help me?"
The man thought about it. "..... Go to the altar. Swear to never repeat that sin again, and pray the whole rosary as you do. I'll be watching over you as you purify yourself."
Charlotte stopped crying, and beamed at this. "T-Thank you, Father! A-Are you sure just praying the rosary once for such a grave sin as this is enough? I could pray it as many times as needed—"
"That won't be necessary. Just do as I say, and your sins will be forgiven, darling."
He got out of the confession booth, this priest. And so too was the pretty little girl, her cheeks flushed red as blood had rushed to her face…. That smooth, soft flesh that must be wonderful to taste…
"Cough! Cough!"
Josephine's reverie was broken when Chloe coughed.
"Ack…. My pills. Where are they…. Cough!" Chloe reached out into her backpack.
Marks of red appeared on her face, in the shape of a butterfly over her cheeks. It was a symptom of her lupus disease flaring up, those rashes.
"Here, let me help you find it." Josephine went near her…
And pinned her down on the limo's seat.
"Huh? M-Mom, what are you doing…."
Saliva flowed down Josephine's dark lips. She looked closer to a zombie more than ever, her skin completely gray and her eyes bulging and bloodshot.
"I'm helping you, darling." She said, wearing a demented smile.
And she used her teeth to take a bite out of Chloe's shoulder.
Chloe struggled and pushed her face before she could bite her. But Josephine still managed to bite into the sleeves of her shirt, and she tore it with all her might. Chloe yelled and tried kicking her off, opening the door.
"Somebody help me! Help!"
Roland, who was talking to the gasoline station manager heard this, and his eyes widened. "Chloe!?"
Josephine grabbed the little girl, and wrapped her hands around Chloe's neck. All 'her' memories have returned now. And it was thanks to those pink flushed cheeks.
"If any of ya come any closer, I'll snap this girlie's neck in half. Ya hear?"
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om