Sleepwalker

TW: murder

All the locations and characters used in this story are fictional

***

Ruby

5/5/1948

12:04 am

It was a dark, windy night. I don’t remember how or when, but I woke up in the middle of a field. This field was the property of my family. It was a beautiful, golden field in the morning. At night, however, it is rather ominous. The wheat grazed my legs as I stood up, brushing dirt off my nightgown. It was around midnight, and no light was to be seen, not even the moon who was hiding behind a fluffy cloud. I followed my senses and walked towards the pebble path leading towards my house. We’ve been living on this farm since forever. I remember plucking weeds with my meemaw when I was little. Memories of meemaw are getting much blurrier now. After meemaw’s passing, the field has gotten way out of shape than it was supposed to. I walked through the hundreds of weeds surrounding the bright, golden wheat. I continued to walk, with my senses leading me.

I’ll pluck some weeds tomorrow, I was once more pushing my chores back.

After about 10 minutes of walking, my head bumped into a tree. It was a strong, mouldy tree. It was also our family’s pride. I was 3 meters away from the front door of the house. I walked along the path made with pebbles and arrived at my residence safely.

***

Olivia

4/19/2000

1:30 pm

I arrived at my family farm, safe and sound. Grandma stood outside the front door.

“Grandma Ruby!”, I shouted, while running towards her. Grandma was a wise woman. You can ask her anything, and she would always give a reasonable answer. Mother told me that Grandma was once a beautiful, young woman whom all the men in town had chased after. I believed Mother. Even though Grandma was already 70, her brilliant amber eyes and wise smile showed just how beautiful grandma was. I ran into Grandma Ruby’s open arms, and she lifted me. Grandma was also a strong woman. 

“You’ve grown taller, my dear”

I smiled and nodded. I had grown quite a bit since the last time I met Grandma. Grandma pushed her large, red glasses up and waved to my parents. Mother grinned at Grandma. Mother was quite cheerful nowadays. She finally got accepted into her dream job; a nurse at the local hospital. Father, who had been carrying a basket full of fruits, greeted Grandma politely.

“Hello, Ms. Kate”

I didn’t understand why father always greets Grandma by her last name. Grandma had insisted that Father calls her “Mom”, but Father had always refused to listen. Father was strict; perhaps too strict for his own good. Father even calls Mother by her name, Daisy, instead of nicknames like “dear” or “honey”.

“We bought some fruits along the way,” Father handed the basket full of discrete tropical fruits to Grandma Ruby. She looked at the basket of tropical fruits with sparkling eyes, and thanked Father thrice.

***

Ruby

5/6/1948

7:15 am

I had been woken by the sound of cheerful chirps outside my window. I was worn out from yesterday, but surprisingly managed to gather the strength to walk downstairs. Mother was humming a lullaby while reading the morning newspaper.

“You’re up early, Ruby!” Mother exclaimed, her eyes still focused on the newspaper. I went to Mother to give her a hug and a peck on the cheek. I then sat next to her and glanced at her newspaper. It was about politics. I simply don’t understand how adults can be so interested in politics. To me, politics were a bore. If I ever have a child, I would certainly be more active than Mother. Father and Marie, my older sister, are busy working in the field. I would go and help, but I was too tired for that. Sometimes I wonder, if mother were properly educated, would she have become a lawyer? I still hadn’t told Mother about me sleepwalking, and I don’t think I will.

***

Olivia

4/19/2000

2:02 pm

Grandma opened the door to the huge house. It smelled just like Grandma. A sweet aroma of cinnamon cookies filled my nose. I took a long sniff and jumped on the sofa. The sofa was an old leather sofa. Grandma liked vintage things. She said they reminded her of her grandma. The sun shone through the windows in the living room. I got up and walked along the red carpet into the kitchen. The kitchen was one of the most marvellous places to be. Grandma would always have cinnamon toast on her wooden counters. Mmmmm, I washed my hands at the antique kitchen sink and took a big bite into a cinnamon toast. Grandma walked into the kitchen and laughed her heartily laugh.

“Save some for your Mother, little piggy!” Mother shouted into the kitchen. Father frowned at Mother raising her voice unnecessarily.

Grandma began to hum a lullaby. She had told me that it was the lullaby her Mother, my Great-Grandma, used to hum in the mornings. It was a soothing melody. Grandma tapped her foot to the beat. I did the same. Doing so caused crumbs to fly everywhere. Sigh, Father has come once more to discipline me.

***

Ruby

5/17/1948

1:33 am

I had awoken once more in the middle of the field. This has happened over 5 times the past week. It’s been confusing, although I’ve now gotten used to it. My sense of direction has become so skilled that Father is getting suspicious. I still haven’t told them. I don’t want to stress them when they’ve already gotten enough problems from my aunt. My aunt was a stern yet rude person. My cousin, Margaret, was even worse. Margaret was usually jealous of my popularity at school and spread bad rumours about me. Luckily, my reputation was much better than hers. Although one of her rumours have gotten me suspended for 2 days, before the principal found out it was only Margaret’s lies. I don’t blame Margaret for doing so, though. My popularity had all been due to my appearance. My personality was lazy, unlike her. Margaret was a smart bean. If she had looked like me, her popularity would’ve skyrocketed. Tsk, the society sure is harsh. Marie was also popular. If the townspeople thought I was pretty, they should’ve seen my sister before half her face was burnt by fire. I remember the night of the fire vividly. Margaret had been cooking, when the phone called. It was my aunt, once more demanding things. Margaret stayed on the phone for 5 minutes, forgetting to turn off the fire. I was also in the kitchen, but made the mistake of ignoring the opened kitchen counter. I was tired to my aunt’s voice and went outside. Minutes later, I smelt smoke. It was the kitchen, which was ablaze by the time I realized Margaret was in there. My sister, being the humble person she was, tried to put out the fire instead of escaping. She was successful but injured her delicate face.

***

Olivia

4/21/2000

12:30 pm

Time at Grandma’s passed faster than it should’ve. Mother and Father waved goodbye to Grandma. I gave Grandma a goodbye hug. Although we could come back whenever we’d like, Mother would be much more occupied with her new job, and Father, who was a lawyer, had a case. In the car, I asked mother a question.

“Mother, how come Grandma never talks about Grandpa or just anyone in her family?”

I was told about how perfect my Grandpa was. But that was it. I’ve never seen Grandpa before. Nor have I ever heard about him. I’ve also never heard anything about Grandma’s family, except for the fact that Grandma’s mother sang a lovely lullaby. Mother flinched, and Father paused his driving. It was a sudden stop. I bumped my head on the front seat.

“If your Grandma doesn’t want to talk about them, then she won’t have to,” Mother grunted. I nodded, feeling bad for how insensitive I was. Grandpa had passed away early, and Grandma probably wouldn’t want to talk about it. Mother smiled at me. Father patted Mother’s shoulders and continued driving. I wondered seriously what Great-Grandma was like.

***

Ruby

7/30/1958

3:00 am

My whole family moved to the city 10 years ago. I found myself a capable man, who I was marrying. I walked down the aisle. I was in a silky, flowing white dress. I walked towards the love of my life. We’ll live a happy life.

At least that’s what I thought.

When I realized what I’ve done, it was already too late. Hands stained with the blood of my husband and my own family. Sleepwalking got to the best of me. At this point, I wasn’t sure if this was sleepwalking or not anymore. How could I have done what I’ve done when I was wide awake? I didn’t know anything. My only instinct was to run. Run, as far as I could. And I’ve always trusted my instincts. I ran all the way back to my family farmhouse. I had arrived just within 20 minutes. It was shocking, but I didn’t have time to question it. I wanted to wake up. I knew that this was just a dream. How could I have murdered my own family? That’s when she arrived. A voice that sounded like my dead cousin, Margaret.

“Hello, Ruby”

It was a dry voice. It sounded, well, dead.

“Margaret?”

And that’s when it happened. That’s how it happened. That’s when Margaret became Ruby, the body I had claimed for myself. This was such a violation of the spirit rules!

“Margaret, this is violating rule 51 of the many laws of Spirits!”

Margaret, that sly fox, ignored me and proceeded to dance her happy dance in Ruby’s body while humming her lullaby. 2 days later, Margaret-Ruby would’ve proceeded to “clean up” evidence that showed the Kate family and Ruby’s husband had ever existed. With the blood and meat of the lifeless bodies, a newborn baby which she named Daisy would be born.

***

Olivia

4/30/2021

5:00 am

I woke up with the rising sun shining on my face. I had somehow sleepwalked into the field. This was the 5th time since I moved into my deceased Grandma’s farm. I was feeling less like myself, but I supposed it was just sleep deprivation. Honestly, I had much enjoyed sleepwalking. Every morning I woke up, I would be able to see the rising sun. The sun rising was a beautiful sight. The glowing sun lit up the whole field, showing a magical sight of a yard of golden wheat.