The sun was setting when Marie got home. She had stayed in the library after school. She found more articles from Silent Hill that had much stranger happenings. She went up to her room and shoved some books and papers off her desk. She dropped the backpack down and took out all the printed articles. She paged through them until one seemed to call her attention.
There was a photograph of a naked six-year-old girl floating in a lake. Taluca Lake was mentioned as the name as she scanned through. No one could identify the body but they were confused by the wounds it had suffered. As Marie scanned the photograph more and let the article fall limply from her fingers. It was Kristy in the picture. She stared down at the article in disbelief. How could her sister end up in a lake near a city when she had drowned in the middle of the forest?
Marie felt an urge to scream but bit it back. Her town also knew about this article. So why did they claim that all of what she said was in her head? Why lie to her? She leaned against the desk and closed her eyes. Her chest heaved as she tried to calm down. She picked up the article and went to the door. She would tell her parents.
But as she reached for the doorknob, she stopped. Why should she tell them? For all she knew they could just call her a liar like they did ten years ago. She decided against telling them. She would figure this out on her own. She turned and looked out the window. The trees moved in a slight wind and she felt a shiver run down her spine. Somehow Silent Hill and that forest had a connection.
She saw that figure again but didn't feel fear towards it anymore. You know the answer to all my questions don't you? She questioned the figure in her mind. Her eyes widen when she saw it nod in response as though it had heard her. She backed away from the window and sat on the bed. Everything she knew for ten years was flipped on its head and she was more confused.
She flopped back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. All of the things told to her had been a lie. But was she really surprised? They had kept telling her that she made it all up. Even when she produced the yellow dress with the various slashes and tears, they had waved it off. She decided everyone had lied to her.
She closed her eyes and pressed her face into the pillow. For once her nightmares left her alone and she finally got the sleep she needed.
xxx
Marie woke up late because she forgot to set her alarm. Luckily it was Saturday and she had no pressing things to do. Except maybe clean up her room. She waved a hand at the mess and forgot about it. She changed out of her sleep wrinkled clothes and put on a shirt that had been in the closet and a pair of jeans with a paint stain on one knee. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw that the bruising was much more faint.
She looked over to where the backpack laid and made to go towards it. But she stopped herself and stared at the printed article on the floor. She felt all the anger flood through her again and she grabbed up the article. She was tempted to tear it up but what good would that do? Besides she had to discover what was going on. And she couldn't do that if she destroyed the most obvious clue.
She walked out of the room with the piece of paper and headed downstairs. She went into the kitchen and prepped her customary piece of dry toast then headed outside. She was going to face her fear of the forest today. She walked out the backdoor and went to the edge of the backyard. But she stopped where the grass ended and the trees began. The trees felt much more imposing this close up.
Marie backed away from the forest and sighed. Most would say she was being stupid about being afraid of the forest. But she couldn't make herself cross that border between safe and danger as carelessly as she did before. The trees were a barrier between her and the mystery of her sister's appearance in Silent Hill's Taluca Lake.
She moved away from the trees and heaved a breath. Marie Conelle, you are a coward, she slapped her hand against her forehead. She couldn't even brave a bunch of stupid trees to advenge her sister. Could she even claim to be Kristy's sister anymore? She had let ten years pass her when she had all the resources at her fingertips.
Marie shoved open the door and headed up to her room. She passed her mother, Salena who looked like she saw a ghost. She slammed the door shut to make it clear she was not to be disturbed. She leaned against the door and heaved a sigh. She was a definite coward. She couldn't even face crossing the line of trees.
She sank down on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. How her sister must be laughing at her. She stared out the window and thought she saw a flash of movement. She got up and ran towards the window. She looked outside but nothing stirred, not even the trees. She turned away from the window and laid back down.
Soon she was asleep and trapped in dark dreams that left her screaming for sanity.