Chapter 3.3 - Atonement

"Here you go, Billy... here is your milk..."

Opeth – Atonement

Rainy season made its return, and honestly, it can sometimes look a bit gloomy.
Now at this time, a certain rumor circulated the town that Natalie's grandparents, Friederich and Eva Goth-Asli, had finally divorced after years of going back and forth with each other. They had been fighting on and off like this ever since Natalie's parents were kids, so it wasn't very surprising to the towns people...

With the new season and after the incident in the bathroom, the teddy bear stopped following Natalie around. Now it was as lifeless as a teddy bear should be, seemingly staring blankly at the doll house. And finally the tv-repairman had arrived, after she had called him twice to come over to fix their cheap broken tv-set.


Natalie:So, so, Aaron... I don't trust that teddy bear thing.. so I'll put you down on the floor here to eat right next to him.. so he can see I'm doing my job..



Then the ghostly figure appeared again. He drifted out of the bathroom and faced Natalie for a split second..

Natalie: Who are you? What do you want? I just fed him!



But he didn't answer. He did a sharp left turn, before disappearing through the wall to the right of the door..



At 3:30 in the night, Natalie is awakened by a howling sound from the living room and the sight of a pair of hands coming out of her bedroom wall...
Natalie: Why are you here? Where do you come from!?



No answer. The ghostly figure turned and drifted away with a complacent smile on his face.

"This is just getting all to strange.... Where does he come from? There is no gravestone on our lot, and no one has died here. Is it because of the... graveyard nearby?"

Natalie went back to bed, but all these questions made it difficult to fall asleep.



He returned again at 6:30 in the morning, standing in almost the same spot, staring directly at Natalie's location as if he could see through walls.



Natalie had another 30 minutes left to sleep before she had to get up and get ready for work, but this immediately woke her, as she could sense his presence.



And when the ghostly figure had made sure she got out of bed, he went over to the stove and lifted it about in the air and shook it violently between the kitchen benches making as much noise as possible. Was he trying to prove a point, or just being a jerk?



When he was done with the noise making, he went to the bookshelf and picked up a book to leave on the living room table, before disappearing in a puff of green smoke.

Natalie skipped breakfast that morning. She ran out the door and called for a taxi.



"This can't be happening. This isn't real. I never had a teddy bear. Teddy bears can't talk. This isn't real. Ghosts aren't real. This is all in my head. It has to be. There is no other way. This is all in my head. Repeat after me. This is all in my head. Why is this happening? All in my head. This isn't real. This isn't real. I never had one. I never had one. Alright. Alright. Alright."

Taxi driver: You okay back there?

Natalie: What? Oh. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.

Taxi driver: Ok, ma'am. Just checking. Governments building, right?

Natalie: Governments building. But its on the left. It's.. It's on the left.

Taxi driver: I know, ma'am.. just checking...



It wasn't long after she came home from work that the ghost made his appearance again, by waving his fingers through the bathroom wall and interrupting Natalies playtime with the dollhouse....

...before slowly drifting through the kitchen and out through the living room on the opposite end of the house.



Natalie: What do you want? Why can't you leave me alone?

But he wasn't leaving just yet, he did a turn around outside the house and headed up the stairs to the toddlers bedroom where Aaron was sleeping.



He stood there for a good while, staring at the crib. Natalie could hear a soft, almost inaudible whisper coming from upstairs.

"Sleep tight..." Then he went downstairs to vanish into a puff of green smoke once more.



"I don't know what's going on. If I do dishes, maybe he stays away. Did I feed Isaac? I have fed Isaac. Aaron is upstairs. He's asleep. Everything is good. Everything is good. This is ridiculous. Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts aren't real."



Then the kitchen sink broke with a thud.

Natalie: Oh, God! What was that?



Exhausted, Natalie went to bed. But the ghost came back again and violently shook the bed around and kept Natalie in a state of paralysis.



Then he finally started talking.



Ghostly figure: Well, I have seen that you are doing better with the children.. but you still need to learn how to clean up the house a little better, because this place stinks!



Ghostly figure: Goodbye for now, Natalie.

But by morning, he was there again.



Natalie: You're not real! Leave me alone!

Ghostly Figure: There is still some rotten food in your refridgerator. Take that out, and I will go.



"Ignore him. He's not real. He's not real."

Ghostly Figure: Empty your refridgerator, Natalie, and I will go.



Natalie: Ughh...



"I don't believe this. He's not real. He's not real."



Ghostly figure: Well done, Aaron! You almost got it now!

Natalie: You're not real! Leave my kid alone!



Ghostly Figure: I just want to make sure he has mastered the xylophone, Natalie. Don't disturb us...

And after that he finally disappeared .. and that was the last she saw of the ghost for a long while. And from now on Natalie made sure to take good care of her children, as she did not want him to come back, or for that teddy bear to come alive again.

Well, for the most part.



Natalie: Hahaha, you screaming little #*@£! Mommy will give you some food, but only to keep you alive so I can hear your screams again at a later time!

"Just like mommy has always done..."

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