Thursday 5, January

6:32 pm

Dear Diary,

Today has not been a good day. I tried getting along with my brother today, but he makes it impossible. Earlier today, I asked him the simple question, “Why are you afraid of water?” and he just glared at me as if I had done something wrong. Like, what's his problem? There's nothing wrong with water, don't we need it to live?? Anyway, after glaring for no reason, he just stood up and left... Without even saying goodbye. I was just trying to have a casual conversation. Is that not what normal people talk about? Their fears?

Other than that my day was pretty boring. Same as every other day.

***

Friday 6, January

6:27 pm

Dear Diary,

My brother visited me again today. He says mom would come to talk to me, but she can hardly get out of bed. Nice excuse. I told him that she doesn't love me and he kind of took a second to deny that, so... Hah! I was right!

He also brought me something though, a picture. I won't tell you what it is. It makes me sick. How about a guessing game?

It's hideous.

It's dead.

And it's the reason I'm stuck in this place

***

Saturday 7, January

Dear Diary,

He didn't come today. I may have ripped the picture then thrown it at him yesterday and gotten out of that room, but he didn't look mad at me, just disappointed. And sad. Like kinda how feel.

Maybe I should tell someone. Oh hey! I'll tell you, my precious diary. The reason I drowned her was that she told me that she had drowned my baby brother.

That kind of makes us the same, only I got caught and sentenced to prison, and she died.

I think I know the answer to my question from two days ago now. The reason that he's afraid of water is that his two youngest siblings have both died because of it. Or maybe it's what happened to dad. That gives me an idea of how to get out of this place.

***

Thursday 19, January

Dear Diary,

I've lost my family to my greatest fear. I lost my mother and sister on the same day. My mother died from cancer, but oddly, both of my siblings drowned. When I was twelve, my younger brother drowned in our backyard pool. Then when I was 18, my older sister killed my younger sister by drowning her, too. My dad drowned when I was seven. Ever since then, I had always feared that that's how I would lose my life, but instead...

It's how I lost my family.