23 Chapter#23: The final chapter

"The story is only about me, my mother, and my dad. There is no old witch. It was a cold evening. Autumn wind blew. I was on the swing playing with my dolls. The sun was about to set. I was waiting for mom to call me inside. I suddenly started hearing voices. It seemed as if mom and dad were having a quarrel. I went inside. I saw that dad pushed mom towards his fucking nail on the wall got through her neck. She started to bleed. Mom died at the spot. Dad was holding a hammer in his hand. I screamed and yelled that I would tell the cops about what happened. I ran outside the house. Dad ran after me. He hit me with the hammer which was in his hand. I fell down on the ground. I was badly injured and went unconscious. He thought that I was dead. He threw me in the jungle. Fortunately, I was saved by some campers who took me to the hospital. I could not remember anything because of the injury on my head but when I recovered I remembered everything. I made up a fake story and told everyone in which they believed."

Tears rolled down Jenifer's eyes, "But why were you doing this to me?"

Medora gave Jenifer a spooky smile and suddenly all the candles blew off and the lights of the house powered off. Jack quickly turned on the flash of his phone.

"What just happened?" Lauren looked afraid.

"I guess the circuits broke out." exclaimed Jack.

"Whe…where's Medora?" yelled Jenifer.

Three of them ran out from the basement. The entrance door of the house was opened. They rushed outside. They saw Medora running away.

"Medora stop!" yelled Jack from behind and ran after her.

Suddenly she got hit by a car whose driver was drunk. The lights of the house came back. Jack picked up Medora. She was injured and was bleeding badly. Jack, Lauren and Jenifer took Medora to the hospital. Medora was out of count.

They three spent the night with Medora in the hospital. In the morning Della called Jenifer, "Jen where are you?"

"Mom I'm in the hospital. I want you all to come here as soon as you can. I'll clear everything to you."

Jack brought breakfast for three of them. Medora was still not in her senses. After sometime, John and Della came. Jenifer was sobbing and she rushed to hug her parents.

"But honey will you tell us what happened?" John asked.

Jenifer told everything that happened. John and Della got stuck to the ground when they heard the story. At the same moment, Medora opened her eyes.

"Jen…Jenifer, you want to know who my father was?" Medora spoke in a low tone while laying in the bed in the hospital room.

"Who was he?" Jenifer turned around to Medora and asked.

Medora slowly lifted up her injured arm and pointed the finger towards John, "Him!" she spoke.

Jenifer turned around to her father and she could not control her tears. She tucked to the wall beside her.

"Clara…is that you?" John went white.

"I was Clara before but now I'm Medora." Medora uttered.

Della went cold after listening this all. Jack and Lauren were also shocked at the situation. The truth was like a heavy thunder on all of them.

Jenifer ran outside the hospital to the parking area. Jack and Lauren ran after her.

"Stop crying Jen." Lauren solaced.

"It won't change anything." exclaimed Jack, "You're only hurting yourself."

"Why wasn't I dead a long time ago?" Jenifer couldn't control her tears.

"Don't say like this." Jack uttered, "None of this is your fault."

The three of them saw John going towards his car and going outside the hospital.

"He's running again. I feel ashamed to call him my Father." cried Jenifer.

"No one can change the truth Jen. You have to be brave enough to face it." Lauren spoke.

"See you got your answers now Jen." Jack said.

They both were trying to make Jenifer quiet. After sometime, John came back. He got out from the car and was holding a big box in his hands.

"Why is he back?" Jenifer got shocked, "What's in that box?"

"Let's go check it out." uttered Jack.

Three of them followed John to the room where Medora was laying.

"Clara you know nothing about that evening." John spoke while putting the box on the table beside Medora's bed and he sat on a chair next to Medora's bed.

"What else is left to tell?" Medora murmured.

"You see this…" he opened the box, "I kept it with me after that incident. I've never forgotten you both. I see these pictures every night I go to sleep."

He took out a small pouch, "See this is your first teeth and these are your first hair. I love you both so much and have always loved you." Tears rolled down John's face.

"Then why did you kill mom?" Medora cried.

"Ashley was suffering from a deadly virus which had no cure. I took her to the best doctors but she could not be cured. Doctors told that the virus would soon spread in the family so they wanted to keep Ashley in the hospital with them. Ashley had not much time left to live. She forced me to kill her. I hesitated to do such a thing. I loved her a lot. I could have never killed her. She said that she couldn't see her family die because of her. I tried to make her believe that she would be cured but she knew the reality. That evening, I was putting the nail on the wall and she came. She snatched the hammer from my hand and yelled that she was going to kill herself. I snatched back the hammer and she got hit on the wall where I was putting the nail on. The nail got through her neck and you suddenly came and started to yell. You ran outside the house and I ran after you but my foot got hit by a rock and I fell down. The hammer in my hand slipped and hit your head. You got out of count and were injured. I didn't know what to do. I saw a group of campers not far from our house. I put you in the jungle and screamed. They heard the scream and came running. The found you there. They took you to the hospital. I went back to the house and put all of the family photos in a box and took your mother with me in the car. I took her dead body to where she belonged; I buried it in the city where she was born. You lost your memory. I came every day to meet you but you didn't remember anything. You told everyone the fake story. I thought your memory had yet not recovered. I could have adopted you at that time but your memory could come back at any time. I didn't want your memory to be recovered because I couldn't live with your thought that your father killed your mother. A lady adopted you and she was a nice lady. I knew you would live happy with her. She took you away from the city and I was relieved to know that you were living happy with her. I made people think that the house was cursed because I never wanted anyone to live there as it was Ashley's and your house."

John's face was wet with tears. Everyone in the room cried.

"Clara, your mom's last words were to take care of our daughter." John told.'

"Dad I can't believe that all the time I hated you for something I haven't done." cried Clara.

John turned around to Della and spoke, "I am sorry Della. I should have told you that I was married before. You see, me and Ashley dated each other for years. My mother asked me to marry you before her death so I had no other choice but to marry you. After some months of our marriage, Ashley ran away from her house and she told me that she would die without me. We both had loved each other for years. I married her and kept her in that house. You loved children but doctors had told that you couldn't become a mother. Ashley knew about our marriage and everything. She gave birth to twin girls. That is when she asked me to give Jenifer to you and I brought her to you by saying that I had adopted a child. You've always loved Jenifer as your own daughter and Ashley knew that. A miracle happened and Kate was born and then Dalton. I'm really sorry for hiding things from you."

"I don't know what to say." Della sobbed and moved towards Medora and grabbed her hands, "Medora, you have a family now. You are my daughter same as Jenifer is."

"But what about the dreams?" Jenifer asked.

"I played with your dreams. I had to take revenge. I wanted to hurt you people the way I was hurt. I'm really sorry." Medora cried.

"A new member in the family, this calls for a celebration." cheered Lauren.

The doctors asked Medora to have some rest. John and Della were sent home. Jenifer, Jack and Lauren talked outside the room where Medora was sleeping.

"A happy ending after all." Lauren smile.

"But that ending made me cry a bit." laughed Jack.

Lauren went to take some water. Meanwhile, Jack asked Jenifer, "So what now?"

"Now we'll right the true story." Jenifer uttered.

"I meant to say about us." Jack spoke while grabbing Jenifer from her waist.

"What about us?" Jenifer blushed.

"You'll never understand." Jack left her waist.

Jenifer suddenly gave Jack a tight hug, "I kind of a…"

"Kind of a what?" Jack smiled.

"I love you too."

They both kissed.

"Ahem! Ahem!" Lauren stepped in.

Jack and Jenifer got aside.

"Why's your throat aching?" Jenifer laughed.

"After the labor of all those years, Jack finally succeeded." howled Lauren.

There was a wave of laughter.

At night, Jenifer was asleep on the chair beside Medora's bed. Her eyes opened as her phone rang. She found that Medora was no in the room. She picked up the call. It was Jack.

"Jenifer…is Medora with you?"

"No she's not here. I think she went to the toilet." Jenifer told, "But why are you asking?"

"That's because she's dead."

"What!"

"Do you remember Miss. Margret?"

"That lady who owned the orphanage?"

"Yeah! She told me that Medora died about three months ago in a car accident."

"Wasn't it her aunt who died?"

"Her aunt died three years ago. I went to Medora's workplace and asked about her. They told me that they had no worker named as Medora or Clara. I even showed them the picture but no one knew her."

"I'll…I'll talk to you later." Jenifer got shocked and cold with fear.

It was dark in the room. There was no one but Jenifer all alone. She slowly got up from the chair. Her legs shivered badly. She got out from the room. "Hello!" she said in a loud tone. It seemed as if there was no one in the hospital but her. She got petrified.

Suddenly she saw a shadow of someone. "Is anyone there?" she asked. The shadow slowly moved in the hallway. The lights of the hallway started to blink. Jenifer thought of nothing else and started to follow the shadow. The shadow moved upstairs. She followed it. It took her to the roof of the building.

There was no one there. "Medora! I know it's you." she shouted. She suddenly heard someone laughing from behind. She quickly turned around. No one was there.

"I'm glad you got your answers." A voice came from behind. Jenifer turned around. It was Medora.

"You were dead?" Jenifer was scared.

"I died months ago sister." Medora smiled.

"Then what was that entire magic thing about?"

"That was a way I used to tell you the truth. I knew whatever you did or where ever you went. I also know when you told your friends about me that I was a witch."

"You came for revenge then why haven't you killed us at the first place?"

"I was going to but I wanted dad to spit out what he actually said. I wanted him to confess his sin in front of everyone but dad opened my eyes today. All those years I've hated my father because of something he never did." Medora spoke, "Listen sister…you've got the best dad ever. Never think that he could do anything wrong. He would do anything for his family."

"I wish I could meet my real mother." Jenifer sobbed.

"I'm sure she loved you the same way she loved me."

"Will I get the dreams now?"

"Yes you will but the good ones only. Let me tell you one thing, what you, Kate and Dalton saw, those were not dreams."

"What? Then what were those?"

"That is something for you to figure out." Medora smiled, "I've to go now."

"Go where?"

"To where I actually belong."

"All those years I had never met my real sister but when I met her I came to know that she isn't even alive." Jenifer cried.

"My soul was captured in this world after I died because I had the fire of revenge inside me but now I've got relief. I'm going to my world now where I can rest in peace. I was always your sister and will always be."

"You're going to leave us? I don't want you to go."

"Jenifer you ask too many questions. Remember that there's less to loose and more to gain. Tell dad that I love him a lot." saying this she slowly faded I the air.

A small note flew in the air and down on the ground it fell. Jenifer ran and picked that up. It read;

"One bad chapter doesn't mean that your story is over."

People come and go in our lives. Some stay in our heart, some in our minds, some become a fear and some become unforgiveable. Same was the case with Medora. She came in Jenifer's life and went away but she remained always in her heart. She became her unforgettable fear but at the same time she became her only best creepy memory.

This was the truth which was hidden for years and it changed their lives. It is well said that the hidden things are best kept hidden.

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