There I was, sitting alone on a stone bench, staring up at the dark sky. Thunder rumbled, blending in with my screams. Raindrops fell, blending in with my tears. My black hair was stuck to my face, but I didn't feel like pushing it away. At my feet sat a curious stray cat, its black fur matted to its tiny, shivering body. And then I saw her. A dark figure making its way toward me, which I soon realized was a little girl. Something about her was familiar. Maybe it was the way her brown curls bounced when she walked, the way her shoes clacked against the pavement loudly, the way she reached for the hem of her dress, as if trying to find something to tug on. Maybe it was the way she chewed on her lip, the way her mouth curled into a smile that might once have been bright, but was now nothing short of sinister and twisted. "Hey, little girl," I called out to her. "Are you lost? Someone so little like you shouldn't be out in this weather by herself. Do you want me to help you find your parents?" "I'M NOT LITTLE," was the first thing the girl said. At first, I was surprised. It sounded like something someone had said to me before, long ago. "I'm not lost, and I could say the same for you. This weather is dangerous for everyone. And I don't have parents." "What are you doing away from the orphanage then?" "I don't BELONG to the orphanage." "I never said you did." I was getting irritated by how snappish and defensive this little girl's tone was. "And you don't have to be so defensive. I'm merely concerned for your safety." The girl scoffed. "As if you ever cared about my safety." My brows pressed low. "Excuse me, but have we met before?" And in that moment, I swore the girl's chocolate brown eyes flashed a deep, violent red. "I can't believe you don't remember me." A single tear slipped down her cheek. "After what you did to me." "I don't understand..." Then it hit me. Brisa. My little sister. But...how could I ever forget about someone so close and important to me? It was almost as if someone had erased my memory, and seeing my sister in the flesh had brought the memory back. And I remembered. I never liked Brisa. She was an annoying, spoiled child who thought the world revolved around her. I always teased her for being younger than me, and she was always super defensive about her age. Like, what's the point of having enemies when you have siblings? I never gave her much of my attention, since she got enough of it from our parents. But she would always bug me and my friends when we hung out, and it would drive me crazy. So one day, at age eleven, I had schemed the ultimate plan to get rid of her. I would traumatize her so she would never bother me again. I grew to regret that choice for how cruel it was, especially because of the unexpected outcome. "Hey Brisa," I said, popping my head in her doorway. "What do you want?" "Wanna come with me to go fishing by the lake?" I knew Brisa couldn't swim, but I was a strong swimmer, so I'd get to her before she drowned. I had it all planned out. Her eyes had brightened up with excitement, and she immediately agreed. Once we got there, I made sure to spend some "quality" time with her before I shoved her in. Her scream echoed through the forest, and her little limbs flailed around as she swallowed jugfuls of water. "MILA!! SAVE ME, PLEASE!! I PROMISE I WON'T BOTHER YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS EVER AGAIN!! PLEASE!!" I was hunched over, laughing my head off. That's when I realized how severe it had gotten, and I threw off my jacket, jumping right in. But because of her flailing, the current had pulled Brisa farther than I had imagined, and panic started rising in my chest. "WAIT UP, BRISA!! I'M C0MING!!" I swam with all my strength, but by the time I got to her, it was too late. Her little limbs were all limp, and her eyelids were closed. "NO!! NO!! BRISA, PLEASE, WAKE UP!! WAKE UP!!" I shook her shoulders as hard as I could, checking for a pulse. But there wasn't one. Tears streamed down my cheeks, blurring my vision so bad that I couldn't see a single thing clearly. "No...no...no... this can't be happening..." Sobs shook my body and I choked on my tears as I screamed for help. I might've screamed for an hour, or maybe just a few minutes, I didn't know. All I knew was that while my throat was burning, in my arms was my sister's corpse. Soon, my parents arrived, but once they pulled us both out of the water and realized that Brisa was dead, they collapsed into sobs as well. My parents never blamed me for her death, though, since I never told them my intention. They must've assumed that we had gone for a swim, and I didn't reach her in time. It didn't matter, though, since I hated myself for it. The day of my sister's funeral, I marched right up to her coffin and promised that I would see her soon, once I died. So how could I have forgotten such an event?
"Brisa... I'm so sorry... It was all my fault... You didn't deserve to die..." "No, I didn't. But you let me." "..." I always knew that Brisa's death was my fault, and it would always be, but I hadn't expected her to be so brutally honest about it. But I guess I deserved it. "You do remember the promise you made to me, didn't you?" "No, I don't. I'm sorry." Brisa clicked her tongue like a grown adult, shaking her head. "Oh, Mila... What to do with you... Well, it's not surprising that you forgot such a tiny promise if you forgot about my existence -- ahem, death." "I promise, I have no idea how I forgot about you, Brisa," I said. "It's like someone just erased my memory for me, and seeing you again in the flesh is what brought it back." Brisa leaned in conspiratorially. "Or maybe you /wanted/ someone to erase it for you." At first, I didn't know what she meant, but then it all came rushing back, just like the memories of her death. Slowly dying from the guilt of my place of responsibility in her death, I had gone to a local memory eraser in town, desperate. Of course, I didn't believe that anyone could actually erase my memory, but I just wanted to live my life again, without having to bear the weight of the guilt I felt on my shoulders. Before my memory was erased, the memory eraser had warned me that I would recover my memory if I saw my sister again, but I was sure that that would only be in death, so I agreed. "You forgot about me..." Brisa said, as if reading my mind. "...I'm so sorry, Brisa, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to live a normal life again." "Don't you get it?" Brisa's tone was harsh and bitter now. "You don't DESERVE a normal life after what you did to me." I was crying now. "I know, I know..." "Now," she continued, straightening up. "You will honor your side of the pact." "What pact?" Brisa sighed again. "The promise you made to me at my funeral. You said you would see me again soon, once you died. I've wanted my revenge ever since you killed me, and now I will have it. We meet again, dear sister, though not through death. And I'm not going to wait for you to die to unleash my fury against you." "No, Brisa, please..." Brisa had always been a little dark, reading disturbing horror stories all the time, but I had never known her to be a murderer. She was just another annoying, spoiled brat. "I'm your sister," I pleaded. "Would you really kill me?" Brisa smiled. "You killed me." "I didn't mean to!" "You promised me, and now you will suffer the consequences." Suddenly, I felt the warmth inside my body draining, as if my life were being sucked away. Brisa had her wicked smile on again, and all my limbs were going limp. "NO!! NO!! BRISA, PLEASE!! NO!!" Brisa chuckled. "The last time you screamed like that...was when I died."
