Twisted Fairy Tale
Innocence Lost
The True Tale of Jack and Jill
Stacy blamed her exhaustion on the events of the last two months. Her aunt, who she cared for, had passed away recently and Stacy, being the last known member of her family, had to handle everything. On top of that she had to fight the courts to stay out of the foster system.
Stacy thought it was stupid that she had spent two years caring for her aunt who had limited mental ability, meaning she was in charge of two people, but because she had been seventeen at the time, was considered the one who needed a guardian. Now that she was on her own and only had to take care of herself, she was deemed too young. Luckily her eighteenth birthday arrived before the court could take action and it was a moot point.
Stacy inherited her aunt’s one-bedroom condo and had finally decided it was okay to move from the couch to the bedroom on her birthday. Her first three nights in the new room, for some reason, were restless; on the fourth night, she learned why.
As she tried to drift off, two apparitions appeared. At first Stacy thought she was dreaming but as she sat up, they came more into focus. Her body went cold as she both stared at, and looked through, the vision of two children, their bodies made of blue smoke. While she could not make out every detail; it was clear they were both severely injured. The boy had a gaping head wound and the girl’s left shoulder was wrenched behind her back.
“Who are you?” Stacy managed to murmur after a period of silent stares.
“We are Jack and Jill”
“From the nursery rhyme?”
“Yes. The nursery rhyme your grandmother, eight times removed, made up to hide her crime.”
“What do you mean?”
“That will be revealed another night.” Jill said as she took Stacy’s hand in hers.
Stacy felt a chill sweep through her and went numb.
Jack placed his hand on her forehead and said, “Sleep now.”
All through the night Stacy had terrible nightmares. At times she suffered from her deepest fears no matter how irrational they were and other times she felt like she was viewing the absolute worst of humanity right before her eyes. She woke the next morning to feel her body well rested, but her mind was still haunted by the images of the previous night. She fought her way through the day and assumed she would not have the vivid nightmares again. She’d just drifted off to sleep when Jack and Jill appeared again.
“Please leave me alone.” Stacy cried. “You scare me.”
Stacy thought she saw Jack smile but it was hard to tell with the gash in his head and the blood on his face.
“Don’t you want to hear what your ancestor did to us?” Jill asked. “Listen to our tale and I will make sure your mind is quiet tonight.”
Stacy nodded.
“Our mother needed water to make dinner. She told us to only take a little because it hadn’t rained and the well was low. We went to do as she asked. While we were pulling up our pail, your ancestor arrived. She accused us of taking too much water, although we barely had one third of a bucket. She tried to dump our water back down the well. In the struggle, Jack fell and hit his head on the bricks. Blood gushed from his head and he wasn’t moving. I was in such shock; I couldn’t do anything as I watched her dump Jack’s body down the well.”
“I’m so sorry.” Stacy said, feeling truly terrified.
“When I finally came to; I screamed, ‘Jack needs help, I’ll get my mother! And I turned to run home. Before I could escape down the hill, she grabbed me and we wrestled until she had pushed me down the well too. With my shoulder broken so badly, I couldn’t scream for help. I couldn’t even comfort Jack as I watched the life drain from his body.”
Jill gave Jack a hug with the one arm she could move.
“Your ancestor never admitted what she did and was never punished. The curiosity about our disappearance became like a fireside tale, and she made up a rhyme about Jack and Jill to try and ease her guilt.” Jack growled.
“I’m sorry. That is terrible. I wish I could make it up to you, but I don’t see what I can do to help. Please let me sleep.” Stacy begged.
“I promised you a quiet mind.” Jill said as she floated closer.
Jack took Stacy’s hand and Jill laid a gentle touch on Stacy’s forehead. As soon as she was asleep, Stacy felt her leg twitch. Her hands were opening and clinching uncontrollably. She wanted to wake up, but her mind was at peace. The last thing she remembered was feeling like her ribs were being separated. She woke up the next morning with no visible wounds but in so much pain she could hardly move.
By midday, Stacy had regained some mobility. She reset the couch for sleeping, hoping just the bedroom was haunted. She was wrong.
The next night she stayed at a hotel, where she learned it was not the condo that was haunted; it was her.
Stacy returned to her condo, defeated and terrified. As the sun set and she struggled to keep her eyes open, her fear grew.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Stacy cried as she lay in her bed.
“I vowed to torment your family for eternity for what was done to us.” Jack hissed.
“Why me?”
“You must be aware that you are the last of your family.” Jack said with a deviant smile.
“It seems as though all the others either went crazy or had an unfortunate accident.” Jill added.
“Is that what you are going to do to me?”
“We just keep you company at night.” Jack replied.
The ghostly torment continued for weeks. Every night Stacy had to make the agonizing decision of which punishment she preferred to accept. Jack could terrorize her mind while Jill kept her body so relaxed, Stacy couldn’t wake up in terror. Alternatively, Jack made it feel as though her body was being destroyed while Jill kept her mind so calm, Stacy didn’t feel the effects until the next day.
Stacy had always been a loner, so she had no friends to whom she could turn. She was worried if she sought professional help, she would be deemed insane and be locked away as she had learned was the fate, over the years, of other family members. She used every ounce of strength and mental fortitude she had to hold down her job, but she had to give up completely on her plan for community college.
A week later, Stacy was more confused than startled when Jill appeared to her in the middle of the day, although seeing an apparition while others were around made her a little uneasy. They stared at each other in silence for a minute as Stacy began to worry the daylight hours would no longer be a refuge.
“I apologize.” Jill said breaking the silence.
“For what?” Stacy asked.
“I’ve tried for over a century now to get Jack to let go of his anger and move on. I’ve tried to explain that his actions are never going to change anything or bring him joy.”
“What would happen if you stopped?”
“I think we could pass on to the other side.” Jill replied with apparent desperation in her voice.
“Why don’t you leave him?”
“I could never do that. When we were in the well, I couldn’t fill my lungs enough to yell but I was able to whisper. I kept telling Jack I was right there with him and I would never leave his side. I will never break that promise.”
“Is there anything you can do to help me?” Stacy asked. She was on the verge of collapse.
“I think so. I will try tonight.”
“Thank you.” Stacy said as Jill vanished.
She was so relieved by what the ghostly child had told her, that she hadn’t noticed the change in her expression just before she left. Neither did she realize that her colleague had seen her talking and gesturing to an empty chair.
That evening, Jack and Jill appeared, as they had every night since her aunt had died. However, this time, Jill stepped between Jack and Stacy.
“This has gone on long enough, Jack.”
“I’m not done.”
“Why do you insist on torturing her. She did not hurt us.”
“You know what her family did to us.”
“Of course I do and you have sought retribution for over one hundred years. What has it done for us?”
“It makes me feel better.” Jack snarled.
“Better Jack? Because I don’t feel any different. And what if she dies? She is the last of her family. Can we rest then?”
“I don’t know but that doesn’t matter now.”
“I’m tired of this Jack. I won’t let you. I think we have become no better than our murderer. How many lives have we destroyed?”
Stacy watched as Jack and Jill struggled. She thought this could be her moment to escape but before she could make a move, Jill knocked Jack to the ground. She held Jack down with her foot and placed her hands on Stacy’s forehead and hand.
“You can rest tonight.”
Stacy fell asleep before she could thank Jill. She experienced her first restful night of sleep in months.
The next night, Stacy was optimistic Jill could win again. When they appeared, Stacy could tell Jill had been crying.
“Why are you upset?” Stacy asked.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Why?”
“I used so much energy last night, I will not be able to stop Jack for days. He is going to have control of your mind and body.”
Stacy sobbed uncontrollably. She was terrified of Jack and now he had all the power.
Jack had a devilish grin as he moved toward Stacy. Her head was in her hands, but she felt the chill around her increase as he approached. Just before Jack reached out his hands, he glanced back at his sister. His grin faded and he shivered. He was cruel, but the look on his sister’s face horrified him.
Jill’s plan had worked perfectly.
She had given Stacy a tiny glimmer of hope with one restful night and a plan that may end her haunting — but it was all a ruse meant to terrorize her further. The only respite Stacy would ever know would come from insanity or death; the question was which would arrive first.
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