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Hiya! The name's Jane. Mary Jane. I live east of everything, and I'm a mere 8 years of age. Yes yes, I know, pretty good grammar for an 8-year-old. Let's just say, I've been through school a couple times. Anyway, I've been locked in this house my whole life. I've never even been outside. I lived with my mom for a while, until-.. Nevermind. My point is, I've never been outside of this household. It's relatively sad, but it has it's advantages, really! I mean, I know everything there is to know about this old place: the creaky floors, the measurements of each room, literally everything. My mother- bless her soul..- taught me everything I needed to know to survive. She literally dedicated her life to teaching me how to stay alive. Out of everything, I only remember one thing she said. "Stay here." I don't even know what it means! Like, does she mean stay in the house, or stay in my happy place? Eh, it doesn't matter. I'm staying right here.

There's only one window, and it only has one place that's not covered with the nasty shit from outside. When I look out, all I see is a sign that my mother put up. "Look to your left." When I look to my left, there's a big heart on the wall. I remember when she carved it there. It was a weird day, I should probably explain.

On that day, day number 69420, is the day that mom.. Left. I woke up, she said she had gone outside. She was different, she had red stuff in her hair, and her voice was cracky. She had big spots on her face that looked gray, compared to the rest of her. I offered her an herb we grew here for her spots, but she slapped it out of my hand. She was insane. I tried to back away from her, but she grabbed my arms and pulled me close. She said "Never go. Stay here. It's safe here. I promise, I'll stay here with you for as long as I can." I felt her hair, and the red stuff was a thick liquid. She slapped my hand once more, and tightened her grip on my arms. "Listen to me. We don't have any time. Or, I don't, at least. You have to listen. Never go. Never ever. It's a bad place. Stay here." She screamed. She looked exhausted, like she only had moments to spare. "I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but I know you'll see me. Keep me safe. Please, never let me go out there again. I love y-" She stopped talking in attempt to gasp for air, but she couldn't inhale whatsoever. I tried to help, but she slapped me for the last time, covered her mouth, took me with her other arm, and hugged me. She then got up and picked up the scissors from a small, wooden table that we usually ate on. I was worried she would hurt herself, but she ran to the wall to the left of the lone window and carved a heart. I ran to her and looked at the heart, as if it was looking at me too. I heard complete silence, and looked to mother. She was done. She was cold, her eyes were black, and her whole body was the color of those damn spots.. I used the last of the herb to make medicine for her. I thought she was dead, but lord, was I wrong.

She laid in that spot for exactly a day, and she woke up while I was sleeping, on day number 69421. She was so happy, so peaceful.. So pretty. She was exactly the same, except she couldn't speak. She was completely unresponsive. Her smile was so pretty, like a painting. She was sitting at the wooden table. I tried to get her attention, but nothing worked. I knew I should have been worried, but she was so beautiful. Her face still grey, her body still cold, and where she got the red lipstick, I'll never know.