V.I.N.I.S.S.A.

 
 

            October 24th, Sunday morning, 3 am. Melissa woke up suddenly. Her eyes were wide open as she stared horrifyingly in the pitch-black room. Her mouth was shivering and gasping for breath. Her legs were shaking underneath the cosy warm blanket. She had an instant urge to run out of the bedroom. But at the same time, her legs couldn㦙 move � not even an inch. She felt that something grabbed her skinny little feet � something so strong that she thought her bones were crunched into pieces. Melissa was extremely frightened. Nightmare conquered her mind and jogged her memory of the blood-curdling and terrifying incident that occurred unexpectedly on the previous night. Melissa grasped her head with both of her trembling hands. She struggled hard to get the horrific vision out of her head.

**********

            October 23rd, Saturday night, 7 pm. Videlle stood still and observed the tidiness in the living room. 幞ice work, Videlle!� she told herself and smiled proudly. It was five minutes before Anne and Melissa arrived at her house. Videlle𠏋 parents were out of town. It was the third day that she was left home alone. She had a thought of throwing a massive party, but then she figured that an intimate gathering with her best friends was the perfect decision.

            Suddenly the bell rang. 鐈i Anne! Hi Melissa!� Videlle greeted and hugged each of them warmly as she opened the door. She led them inside to the living room. She opened and served a few bags of chips, peanuts, and a bottle of vanilla coke. The three girls talked, chattered, giggled, and laughed as they enjoyed the snacks. It was an hour later when they ran out of conversation.

            鐈ey, how about watching a video?� Videlle suggested as she grabbed a few videos from the shelf beside the television.

            幞aah, boorrriiiinngg� Melissa said reluctantly. Then everyone paused and became silent.

            鐈ey! I have a better idea!� Anne said impulsively. 鐈ow about playing a mystical game that awakens a spirit?�

            䥲reat idea!� Melissa and Videlle said simultaneously as they got up from their seats in excitement. Videlle took a few candles of different colours from the drawer. She lit them one by one, and placed them in every corner of the well-designed living room. Melissa took out a coin from her pocket and rubbed it gently. Meanwhile, Anne took an A3-sized black paper. She wrote down the alphabets and numbers � from zero to nine � with a silver pen. She also drew a little house that was meant to be the home of the spirit.

            Ten minutes later, they were done with the preparation. The three girls sat cross-legged on the floor, forming a circle with the black paper in the centre. Melissa placed the shiny coin on the 魐ome� that Anne drew. Then they held their hands and closed their eyes. Anne murmured a mantra and repeated it continuously, while the rest took a deep breath and remained silent.

            Suddenly, they sensed movement. They opened their eyes and found the coin trembling. The girls cheered altogether because the mantra worked. They jumped on the floor and gave each other a high-five. The next thing that they had to do was ask questions.

            㜁hat𠏋 your name?� Anne began. They all watched as the coin started to move by itself. It moved slowly and reached the letter 驘�. Then it approached 飡�, 𤨩�, 飡�, 騌�, 騌�, and 飊�.

            𡤄i� nis� sa� Videlle mumbled as she wrote the spirit𠏋 name on a piece of paper.

            㜁hen did you die? And how?� Melissa asked innocently. The coin moved sluggishly and stopped at �0�, �5�, �0�, �1�, �1�, �9�, �8�, and �6�. The girls nodded and assumed that it should mean January 5, 1986. After that, the silvery coin moved back towards the letters. It ended on 餹�, 騐�, 駵�, 飇�, 䫿�, 駵�, 䫿�, and 飇�. Anne and Melissa stared at the coin with their mouth open. They were shocked by the word that the letters formed. Once again, Videlle noted down Vinissa𠏋 death, including the date and what caused it.

            孏hat𠏋 it!� Anne seriously said with her hands up. Her expression was uncertain whether she was becoming frightened or not. 尞et𠏋 end this game!�

            Videlle and Melissa nodded. Anne began to whisper the mantra that should make the coin return to its 魐ome�. The coin started to move, but suddenly it stopped. It ended on a blank spot on the paper. Anne panicked and repeated the mantra frustratingly. Videlle gulped, while Melissa started shivering. The coin wouldn㦙 move, however, Anne wasn㦙 giving up. She tried a stronger mantra which should work. Videlle and Melissa watched with fear on their faces. Sweat was dripping down Anne𠏋 forehead as she tried harder. Hopelessly, the coin remained unmoved.

            All of a sudden, the lights switched off by themselves. Furthermore, the curtains shut in a whizz. The unexpected spine-chilling situation made the girls scream and shriek with fright. They clasped each other tightly with twitching arms.

            Abruptly, there stood an eerie ghostly figure out of the darkness. It was a figure of a teenage girl, dreadful and staring. The pearly white transparent girl was hovering a few inches off the ground. She was ghastly and terrifying, with a frail body that was partly moldy skeleton and bloody decayed flesh. Her left eye was hollow and bony, while her right eyeball was slightly hanging out of its socket. The girls froze � no gulps, no screams, no shrieks, and no shivers.

            㛝ou𠑥l die soon!� the figure retorted irascibly. Then she disappeared in a blink of an eye. The lights turned back on, and the curtains zapped open. No one dared to speak. They still froze, as if the horrifying figure was still there.

            𨧻t was� Vinissa,� Anne whispered.

            廍he� she wanted me to be dead,� Melissa said with a trembling voice. The rest turned their heads facing her.  

𨧻 just realised� that I was born on the day she died,� she continued sobbingly. Tears began to run down her cheeks like the Niagara Falls. Anne and Videlle hugged her in comfort. But then Videlle gasped and let go of her arms.

            幈r does she want us all dead?� she said in a low voice.

            幈hhh� STOP it!!� Melissa cried as she blocked her ears with both hands.

𠐓ut I� I just realised� that...�

㜁hat? What??�

𨧻t𠏋 her name...� Melissa tried to continue.

㜁hat𠏋 wrong with her name??!!� The two other girls shouted eagerly.

𡤄inissa𠏋 name� can be formed from our names: Videlle, Anne, and Melissa.� She finished her sentence calmly but with a shivering tone in her voice. Anne gulped, and Melissa burst more tears.

            While the girls were caught in horror and dismay, no one knew what to do afterwards. They agreed to keep the frightful incident to themselves. However, the question remained in their mind. Was the fear about to end? Or was it just the beginning of the game?

 

 

 

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