Work Text:
You’ve been there for a while now, ever since the incident when you were younger, 6 to be exact. Since then, you were told that your memories of it were, “unreliable” and “not to be trusted”. After the incident, you were admitted to a mental hospital. Every single therapist you’ve had has told you something similar, “Your memories aren’t reliable”, or, “You know your memories are messed up”. You learned to stop telling them about your memories soon enough. 7 years after you were admitted, you were allowed to leave the hospital. You were 13 when you were released, relieved to be able to finally leave. Now, you’ve been stuck in your home for about 4 years. Ever since you came home, there were only two rules, no discussing the incident and no leaving the house. You were always curious as to why you could never leave, but you had never attempted to. They say it’s to keep you safe and things like that, but your curiosity grew gradually. With your 18th birthday on its way, you planned to go out for the first time. Time passed and your birthday grew closer. Now only 5 days away, you prepared to leave the house in secret, counting the hours until it was time to leave. You planned to leave as soon as the clock hit 12. 11:50, 10 minutes till you were to see the outside world since you were 13. 11:52, you started recounting your supplies and made sure you were ready to leave. According to your family as they described the weather out there, it was the middle of winter. 11:56, as you put on your boots and coat, you started to count the seconds. 11:58, as you opened your bathroom window you began to crawl out. 12:00, you made it, you were outside feeling the winter breeze and the falling snow. You noticed that your home was surrounded by a dense forest. You explored for a bit, hearing small noises here or there but telling yourself it was the wind or small animals. You probably should’ve checked your surroundings when you heard those noises. It crept closer as you wandered the dense forest. You decided to check a bit too late, or too early if you were what you saw. You turned around and were stunned, frozen with fear as you looked at the same thing you’d seen all those years ago. The thing so many family members and therapists tried to make you forget about. The thing that has stuck at the back of your head and haunted your dreams for 12 long years. You probably should’ve listened, as they say curiosity killed the cat. In this case, curiosity killed you. In your last moments, as the thing began to tear at you, you did realize one thing. Your memories were never wrong.