Tes felt the urge to jump out a window today , but knew that she should not do that  & would not. it was not in human nature to do such things. She looked in her long narrow mirror. Her complexion seemed darker as if  the light colors of her sky blue sweater made the sienna tone in her skin stand out more than normal. Tes had never loved her skin tone but  it was part of her identity that she  could not change.  As Tes stood in front of this mirror, her eyes seemed to blur and as she closed them slightly she heard a little girl screaming, ‘’Mommy mommy don't leave me here!’’ The chills as if a ghost’s hand had touched her skin sent coldness all the way up her body. She opened her eyes, and when she did it was not her in the mirror, it was a black hooded figure standing there, leaning her head to the side as a veil fell over her face and she smiled a black empty grin.  Tes did not scream instead she took a deep breath , slowly in and out. It was what she did when she felt chills and got frightened or blood seemed to appear on the wall. The visions hadn’t happened right away when her family had up and gone, leaving her here, but started a couple years later. 

Unsteadily, Tes moved and blocked the memory of that black veiled creature out of her head and realised she had been standing here at the mirror for what seemed like hours. But her cold feet seemed to almost point towards her window which made her think again of how high this third floor was and what lay below. Maybe there was something down there to break her fall.  The window was the only way out of this three story victorian style house. Tes was locked in this place she did not want to be in. It seemed she was more like Rapunzel , except Tes would not wait for some man to come and save her. She knew the room. But then again, that door was locked and it was on the second floor.  So that wasn’t an option for which window to jump or fall out of. Right now the only other window that she could remember was the room that had the odd smell of blood tracing the walls.

She stood up straight giving herself a weak smile into the mirror that read “yep your still alive move on , with the rest of your day.” This nothingness seemed to well up inside her today more than it usually did. She thought it might have something to do with this longing to be free of the literally walls that surrounded her. Tes sighed once more , then moved her feet to the side. Only the blur of her shadow could be seen as she passed the mirror. Tes did not glance at her reflection,  just went towards her pale  door. As she reached it, Tes stretched out her hand,running her thin hand over the door’s corse blue chipped wood as scratches collected on Tes palm. She dropped her right palm to her side as it left the door and walked down the walkway slowly. Her hair falling in her face as her steps speed up. Tes did not close her eyes but the hall was so dark and cold it felt as if she had drifted into a sleep as screams of a young girl repeated in her head over and over till they caused an unwilling migraine. “ Okay that's it I am falling out a window” Tes stopped right where she was and then crossed her legs. This room was one she had not been in a while. Tes did not have a fondness for this room. She could choose another room but if Tes wanted to get out of this house immediately she would have to do it now or she would change her mind.

Tes stepped forward and took a deep breathe of cold musty air. She must have left a window open somewhere. The old house could get cold and misty, little droplets of water on the old peeling paper walls as the old  tan wood showed. But usually not this cold, the kind that you read about in a ghost story. Tes took in one more breath before she stepped forward with her shaking body from the shock of having to go into this room again. She took in a breath of crisp fresh air before shuffling herself into this room as she tripped on her own feet and at once she hit the floor. then the fear ran into her bones and through her veins. As anxiety kicked in She tried to turn and grasp the door turning fast falling on her legs as one foot slipped under the other. Tes’s eyes could not see anything, the room was pitch black , and seemed to be cold as if someone had frozen the room. She heard the scream in her head that loved to hunt her so much. She saw a vision of a girl in the dark as she yelled for her brother to help her as an apple rolled towards her. Tes’s dark hair laid in front of her as she saw this scene that seems so familiar play out in her head. 

The only light was from the window high above in the small loft as it spread down and caught at the edge of the family portrait. A still happy family exempt of Tes. Yes, Tes was in the painting along with the rest of her siblings. The painter had painted her into the canvas with subtle features and dark hair but none of that had mattered when  her family packed up and left her here, thrashing at the door till her hands and knuckles went bloody. Tes could not dwell on it; they had done what they had. Tes got up from the ground and took her scratch and scarred hand to move her dark brown hair aside as her light green eyes went to look at the stairs that spiraled to lead to a small loft. 

She untangled her legs and moved towards the ornate designed stairs as Tes heard the old dark wood creak under her boots. Her hand went to the railing as her boot hit the first steep she heard a rattle and then the tapping of small delicate  feet barely being able to be heard.  A small cat made out of white skeletal bones the cat sat nicely by her hand sitting looking at Tes with it black deep holes where eyes should be, tilting its head slightly then it looked right up into her green eyes. It stood up from its sitting position and bent it's back. The vertebrae curved as the cat leaned it head down towards her hand.  It rubbed her slightly with its crest ridges on its skeleton head. A faint ghost pur came from it. Tes smiled and slid her right hand to the top of this skeleton cat's head, rubbing it lightly, “ Hi Jack Skellington , I haven't seen you since I was thirteen.” Tes’ lips pursed to a wider grin this definitely made Tes day.  “Where have you been, little guy?”  Tes said as if the cat would respond, then ran her hand down Jack Skellington’ vertebrae. The cat’s tail flicked her hand away as if it had fur to it. Tes turned to go up the twisted stairs she felt a light but heaviness to her shoulders as she started  up the stairs.

Tes continued up a few more steps, her left hand tapping out a beat on the railing. Tes felt a jolt on her right shoulder. She glanced over to find  Jack Skellington perched there proudly as if he had always been there. Tes stepped over the last step and as she stepped off the top of the stairs to now walk on a light wood floor. Pushing back the  plum  ripped and dusty curtains as the dust flows off the hung curtain. Tes stood across from the window with small french doors as pillows and kid’s books laid across the floor. Jack Skeleton jumped off Tes shoulder and gracefully landed by a  light blue pillow that looked almost white under all of the dust. He pranced over to the small pillow, padding at it before  settling nicely in his spot. Tes walked towards the window made out of clear french doors. She pushed it open as the damp seasonal air swept into the small  landing causing dust to spread though the small space. Tes leaned out the window to look down. From  up here it looked as if maybe the drop was twenty feet. Fortunately there was a tree below so if Tes did jump, one of thoses foliage would probably catch her.  Tes pulled herself onto the ledge. The  cold air on her legs as she pulled them up slightly  looking over the side to see if anyone was passing by below. Tes assumed it was best to act as if it was all  an accident. Here we go, Tes thought to herself. 

Tes got up on the window ledge and she moved a little too far and tripped over her own boot as she tried to pull it away and stand up on this thin legs a quarter of her shoes of the edge. Tes waved her arms before she fell forwards. But before she closed her eyes she saw Jackseltion whom she had always played with when she was little,  scattered into pieces just as she dropped out the window.  But Tes did not scream but closed her eyes as the air filled up her lungs. She could feel the air flowing through her hair probably causing a curly mess about her hair. She bit her lips. Tes could not scream but she could not open her eyes either. If she screamed she feared it would  alert whoever was walking at this time to try to help. Tes closed her eyes tight as the gravity pulled her towards the ground.  Tes felt herself crash into something fast as she also felt something japing her down her body. she felt the sharp leaves dig into her skin. Tes also felt bruising starting to form on her legs and arms as she hit the many branches & trunk of this tree she was falling into coming closer and closer to the ground.  She did not struggle, but just kept falling till she hit something hard and opened her opaque eyes. At first, all Tes could see were the brown curls next, Tes’ eyes went to her outfit. It was torn in some places but largely it remained intact. Tes did not know where from but she knew she was bleeding and suspected it was coming from one of the main scratches she had.  

Tes sat there on this branch, as her legs bent backward under her bottom and she contemplated what to do next.  All she could see was green- orange and yellow leaves around her. If Tes wanted to know exactly where she’d landed, she would need to get out of this tree with spiky leaves. Tes gripped the wood, causing her old blisters to open and bleed on this tree. Tes pushed herself up into a crouch and pushed off the tree branch holding on so tight her hands got pale. As her arms hung loosely down over this branch, she caused herself to slow down,  Tes hung there a few feet off the ground her knees bent so her feet were behind her. She lightly closed her grip till her knees touched the grass. Tes sat down under this tree in the cooling shade, which would have been better on a warm summer day not a cool autumn day.Tes sat there as the black sun hit her face. At least that was what it looked like from behind leaf she was staring at. Tes scooted back up against the tree trunk. Her ribs hurt from the bruising. As she tried to breathe, her breath was hard to get out of her throat. By some miracle, Tes had not suffered any internal bleeding. But she could feel that in some places on her arms were sorer than others, her leg also felt a little numb. There also was a faint headache as the light around her made it worse especially as the street lamps  flickered. But then again she was alive so it could be worse.

Also Tes was tired for the first time in her life. Probably from the blood loss but if that was the reason she needed to stay up and hope someone would come pass her or she could just rest and then go find a med kit. Tes looked down at her sleeves. Her blue sweater had a few tears and  her right sleeve especially had snags on the end and in the middle with a few loose stings but not much else. Tes had worn a thick sweater , after the thought of wanting to get out of the house, because she knew that she would have needed to fall out a window from somewhere high. She had put it on so she would not be cold.  Tes smiled slightly. She had not looked this bad since the one time her brother had gotten into a fight with an older boy. Tes had seen the older boy go for her  brother and swiftly got in between them, managing to punch him straight in the nose to which the older boy pushed Tes. She remembered hitting a brick wall and then waking up with scratches all over her body. 

At the time, Tes was eleven years old; the older guy was thirteen and her brother was twelve. Their parents had been furious that they were out in the city after curfew. They all knew what happened to kids who missed curfew: someone snatched them up. Tes laughed at the memory, before wincing in pain. She made a note not to laugh until she got fixed up.Tes did not bother to look at the rest of her because she  already knew from that fall she would likely have more injuries. Instead she focused on the outside of her house. She had been trapped inside it for so long she couldn’t help but examine the exterior. There was not much different about it. The ivy vines were still there. The brick was still placed crookedly leaving many holes that were filled with a reddish grey plaster. The door was a light grey with spider webs hanging from the edges of it. The newer ivy vines wrapping around the outside of the white terrace. Tes bent her head back and let out a breath that showed in the air like steam. Tes crossed her legs, as her breath caught and she heard the sound of men as the sunset with oranges and purples came across a blue grey sky. Tes uncrossed her legs, and she stood up using the tree for support because her right leg had gone limp as the lanterns that lined the streets started to flicker on.