She was there, her deep dark eyes staring back at me.

“You’re going to be with me forever.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Well, that hurt my feelings. Maybe I should let you feel the pain.”

“The pain?”

“Yes of course! I see you saw my friends on the wall! When I take out your heart you will see them all! We can play for days! Everyone is the same age as you so I think you will find great joy in playing with them.”

“I hate playing.”

“You're such a killjoy. Maybe I will have to torture you. Then you will play with me!”

“Has it worked before?”

“Yes! And now I have lots of friends to play with.”

She was smiling back at me. Her dress was pink and tattered. It looked like it was covered in blood but it could very well be dirt. Behind her, I saw barrels fill with what looked like dolls.

“You see my toys?”

“Why are there so many dolls?”

“Because what else are we supposed to play with?”

I had no idea that once I died we would be playing with dolls. Forever.

“Are you ready for playtime?” The being said with a mischievous smile.

~~~

I was strapped to a long narrow table. The straps were so tight I could barely move. To the right of me were some medical tools and above me was a very bright light. We were in a separate room. Lining the walls were boxes that I could only assume were filled with the leftover body parts. The walls were a sad gray and the floor was just concrete littered with dried blood.

“I see you’re admiring my tools.”

“Not so much admiring but, glaring in hate.”

“Well, it will all be over soon then we can play!”

“Will it hurt?”

“You are very stupid. Of course, it will hurt! I’m taking out your heart with no pain relievers!”

“Why?”

“You can feel the most in your last hours!”

I started to struggle with the straps. They were tight still but if I struggled enough I bet I could get them loose. She started to pick up the first tool.

“Are you ready?”

~~~

I was shaking in my seat. She was getting ready to take me apart bit by bit. The scalpel was in her hand and the straps were as tight as humanly possible. I could barely feel my body! Well, at least this way there would not be much pain!

“I am going to do this in the most professional way. Taking apart each and every piece of your body!”

“Why do you sound so happy?”

“I have always loved taking apart the bodies!”

I feel a sharp pinprick on both the left and right sides of my neck.

“What was that?”

“The only pain you will be feeling. I think you will play with me if I am nice to you!”

“So, you’re putting me under?”

“Nonsense. I still want to be able to talk to you!”

She starts moving tons of medical equipment around.

“I am taking all your blood out and putting it into these jars. While the blood is being taken out I am replacing it with a life-giving substance. That way you will still be alive!”

She starts dropping equipment all over the floor. Or maybe that is the body parts. I have no idea.

“I am taking off your ankle now. You will feel a tingling sensation.”

It has been at least 45 minutes since she took off my ankle.

“I am clamping off your...well what used to be your leg.”

She starts taking out my abdominal muscles. Then I feel some sort of discomfort in my gut.

“Taking out your stomach now.”

My stomach is covered in the bright green life-giving solution. I look down and I can’t see my legs or my stomach. Or much of anything.

“I am afraid you will not be able to talk to me anymore. Soon enough you will though! After everything is gone and preserved and made into a ghostly form!”

My mouth is being taken away. I have forgotten how to talk. How to move my mouth.

“Now I am taking out more of your chest. You will feel some tingling sensations. Nothing to worry about. Please blink twice if you can hear me.”

Blink, blink.

~~~

It has been at least 2 and a half hours. My jaw is tingling.

“I am taking your jaw. Nothing to worry about. Blink twice if you can hear me.”

Blink, blink.

She starts taking more parts of my jaw. Bit by bit. Piece by piece.

“I am taking your eyes now. You will not be able to see me but, you will be able to hear me.”

I can hear everything. I can’t see anything and I can’t voice my opinion anymore.

“Tingling in your scalp now.”

Everything is gone. Memories go crazy. One memory here. Another there.

“Left cerebral cortex”

Another memory flash.

“Left temporal lobe.”

When I was four I had a babysitter. She was amazing. Very pretty too. She shook my sister. That makes no sense. What is going on? Confused.

“Auditory nerves.”

I’m in my crib. I crying. No one cares. No one coming.

Left frontal lobe.

I don't feel good…

Left occipital lobe.

What’s my name again?

Left parietal lobe.

I can’t remember my name…

Right temporal lobe.

I’m still here though.

Right frontal lobe.

I still…

Right parietal lobe.

I’m…

Cerebellum.

I’m…

Thalamus.

I’m…

Hypothalamus.

I…

Hippocampus.

I…

Medulla

~~~

I’m back. But, not in the way I wanted to be coming back. I am as light as the air. Floating through the air. Like a bird but, also a cloud.

“You’re here!”

“Where is here? Where am I? Who am I?”

“Oh! The process is not complete. Soon you will remember everything. Including what just happened!”

She turns around and picks up pieces of a brain.

“This is your brain! It is filled with all your memories. I have to link it to your spirit body and you will remember everything.”

She drops the brain pieces into a big box filled with flowers and green liquid. Suddenly I remember everything. Flashes of my life go flying by. My name is Rayla Nightshade. My mom and dad got divorced recently. This house is haunted by…

“YOU! YOU KILLED ME! MY MOM! MY DAD! THEY ARE GOING TO FREAK WHEN I AM MISSING!”

“That hurts my feelings. I guess I can’t make you stay down here. But you are cursed to haunt this house forever! I can’t go anywhere but this cellar though.”

“Why?”

“When my dad killed me he said he didn’t want me to see anything but the dank dark prison cell in which I belong.”

“...”

I had no idea what to say. Her story was so sad. If she wasn’t so mean at the beginning maybe I would have been nicer. Maybe I would have played with her forever. But, I ran. Well, the ghost equivalent of running. I ran up the cellar stairs, through the cellar door, around the corner, and towards the front door. I tried going through it. I couldn’t. I was stuck here. Forever. I would never see my mom or dad ever again.