Elle's fictional prose

New Home (13+)

They tell me that this time will be different. That this could be my forever home. That these smiling people could be my new parents. But I have learned that nightmares aren’t tethered to one bed, to one room, to one house. Nightmares follow a person, stuck to them like the inverse of a shadow, only appearing in the quiet darkness. Nightmares take postcard-perfect families and warp them into horror stories. I’ve never liked horror stories, but I like fairytales even less. At least the horror stories speak the truth. They don’t pretend that monsters can be defeated and that little boys can live happily ever after. They tell me that this time will be different, but they said that last time too. I know how this story ends.


Written 30 June 2019