The letter began “It has come to our attention that…..” I stopped reading. They knew then. About me, my children and the Nursery. That’s what I called it. The Nursery. It’s where I put the children when they misbehave. You see, they have all they need there. Beds and blankets all around. Dolls for the girls and cars for the boys.

They’re free to play even though they’re in restraints. It’s just ...

I am trapped inside this small scary room.

There’s nowhere to go, sometimes there’s a moment where I finally feel free.

I’m stuck in here unless I’m in the trees.

I give up escaping, I’m crying on my knees.

There is nowhere to go but down.

It never gets better.

You never get better....

I tried not to cry as I walked through the orphanage.

My orphanage.

The walls were falling apart, wallpaper peeling, floors stained a nasty shade of yellow-brown.

My home.

Not anymore though.

It was bright and light in here.

The place had a creepy vibe to it now.

Teenagers would run through, daring each other to go through the old abandoned orphanage.

It made me angry.

How could they?

I hadn't not...

Jack knew not to go back to that horrid old place. It was his old orphanage, and he didn’t want to set foot in it ever again. But something told him he needed to. It looked the same as ever: broken, dusty, and dark. He mustered up the courage to knock on the door, but no one answered. He turned the handle, and the door creaked open.

“This is a bad idea,” he muttered to himself, but he wal...

1993

“This is a bad idea,” Gaspar mumbled for maybe the millionth time as he flashed the flashlight into the darkness of the abandoned orphanage, the starless night a weighing canopy of dread above them. He heard Casparo’s boisterous laugh from behind him, his sixteen-year-dol twin brother approaching him from the darkness with the flashlight shining in his face.

“What’s the matter? Afriad lit...

If you grew up in my orphanage you would know my story. This is the story of an ancient dolly that was a friend to everyone. At night I was cozy company but at daylight, a hairdresser’s client. I had many different styles being installed daily by little girls. Updos, short hair, buns and even bald. I rocked all styles and the girls and I shared a special type of confidence. They complimented me as...

Finally, all the children at the orphanage were gone. Now, all that’s left is to get rid of the evidence....

I got a call to inspect my next sell. I drove up to the property and saw potential. I felt motivated as a real estate agent looking to sell this property. The property is beautiful. I walked through the door and could see the hospital looked band new. It’s going to sell fast. As I walked through the door I noticed how busy it was by the amount of moths smacking me as I walked inside. I’m not sure ...

Some of us left toys there, on our stacked cots, for the next kids. Part of me wishes Ebony is played with and cared for by another. A bigger part of me hopes there are no more kids to come through, that no one has to cradle Ebony in place of their friends, their family.

Not like I have.

Not as some of the kids were taken in the middle of the night. Not as I waited for them to come back. They ne...

Crawling. On my spine.

Nails on the chalkboard of my bones.

Running up and down

To my legs

Pins, needles, the lot

Vertebraes clicking

In and out of place

Can we just quicken up the pace

Of my dying?

I'm ready to go.

So ready in fact I think

The pain and the scratching

Are pure imagination

Simply rogue thoughts

Left to fester for too long

The electrical impulses

In my brain, taking a detour

...