Her father had always told her never to read aloud. She had obeyed his rule ever since she was young, thinking it was for the best. But then the teacher started reading to the class one day at school.
Young Jade had been scribbling random things from her favorite books in a notebook when her seventh grade teacher announced he would begin reading, and each student would read after him. The title he had chosen was "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. She recalled what her father said, but shrugged it off today. Poe was one of her favorite authors and she knew this one by heart.
The teacher began and the girl mouthed every word as he spoke them. "TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story. "
Jade's turn had not arrived by the end of class. "All right class," The teacher said cheerily as the bell rang, "We'll continue this tomorrow!"
The girl dashed off to the bus stop, excited to get home. Hearing the words spoken aloud for the first time had made Jade appreciate the story even more. It had caused her whole being to be sucked into the text even more so than when she simply read it. Her father would not be home for a few hours so she pulled a book off the shelf. This book contained many of Poe's writings and she chose the one she enjoyed the most, a short story called "The Raven".
She started out whispering the words, running her index finger under the line she was on. "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary...." Her voice gave the words a certain peaceful air as she spoke them to an even rhythm. "....From my books surcease of sorrow--sorrow for the lost Lenore...."
Her fingers ceased to trace an invisible line beneath her words. With every, "And nothing more," her voice grew stronger and more enthusiastic. "....Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing...." Jade was so engrossed in the story before her that she had not realized the change in her surroundings.
She was now in a dark room, the door open wide. There was a man, pushing the window wide. And a raven perched on the sill. Jade did not realize anyone else there until she said, "....Till I scarcely more than muttered 'other friends have flown before--'" She froze, focusing on the words. Just as she was about to begin the next part a man spoke.
"On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before." Jade stood and turned all in one swift motion.
"S-sir, what are y-you do-doing in m-" She stopped. "Oh, no." She touched the walls. "T-This isn't mine room!" On top of that, the man did not take any notice to her. He kept on speaking and doing the things that the narrator had done in the story.
Jade looked around. The room was exactly as Poe had described it. She touched the purple curtains, and then she realized the raven had gone silent. "Nevermore," she said quietly.
Jade shrieked, seeing the man on the floor before her. It had happened so fast, in about the time it would have taken her to read it. She looked up to the bust of Athena just above the door. There sat the raven, an evil glint in its eye.
Jade looked back at the body on the floor, reciting the very last line in the story, "And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted -- nevermore!" Tears clouded her vision, as she realized she was stuck in a room with a dead man and had no idea how to get home.
The girl's father came home from work "Jade, I'm home!" He called into the empty house. "Silly girl must be reading again," he laughed to himself, climbing the stairs to the girl's room.
He tapped lightly on the door before opening it, "Jade what-" He looked around the room, but his eyes locked on the book that lay open on the floor. He kneeled down and scanned the page. His face turned white as a sheet as he noticed a new character in the story - a young girl exactly like his daughter.
He began reading the same lines that had graced the girl's lips just an hour before, only this time their were various lines added about her. He put special emphasis on those lines.
Jade found herself doing things without thinking about. She was standing in the darkness of the door when the man opened it, as if the story had started over again. He addressed her as Lenore.
Her father was shaking as he read the words, and a raven mysteriously appeared, circling the room. It squawked, "Nevermore."
Tears filled Jade's eyes as she watched the raven disappear. "W-what's happening?" She stammered as she looked up at the man that paced the room, speaking bits of the story. She put her hands over her eyes.
Suddenly the dank feeling of the room was lifted. "Dad!" She yelled, seeing him on her floor. She flung her arms around him as the book fell from his trembling hands. "I'll never read out loud again," she said, sobbing. "Never."
Her father wrapped his arms around her in return, holding her close. "It's all right," he muttered, quivering from fright. He had lost her brother the same way, he didn't need to lose his daughter.