Jennifer looked at the Caligo Mental Hospital as she was leaving with only one backpack and a few dollars to her name. She used to be a police officer, but she lost her job due to her IED. Standing at the gate of the hospital, Jennifer lit a cigarette but soon remembered she was quitting. So, she threw it. And smashed it under her feet. Jason, her late husband, left her some money, but it wasn’t enough. She needed to find work as soon as possible to survive. As she walked to the bus stop, she hoped this would be the last time she would be admitted to the Caligo Mental Hospital for therapy.
It was the 31st of October. People were celebrating Halloween. Houses were decorated, and people wore masks and costumes. Everyone wanted to escape themselves by being someone else. It was drizzling. Maybe it was a coincidence that she was discharged right on Norman’s birthday. He would have been eight years old by now. When Jennifer got off the bus, she bought a little cupcake to celebrate her son’s birthday.
After eight years of therapy, Jennifer was going back to that house. That cold empty house. She didn’t want to call that house her home, because it didn’t provide her with that cozy feeling of safety anymore. The memory of her marriage with Jason was still fresh in her mind. Jennifer inherited the house after Jason died in a car accident with his girlfriend Jessica. Jason wanted gave her he house because he knew she had nowhere else to go.
The memory of her baby son being announced dead right after birth was like a knife scratching her heart constantly. Sometimes, she cried, but most of the time she was angry at her fate. After the incident, the devastation and sadness gripped her with full force and her marriage to Jason fell apart due to manic episodes of anger. And his cheating started. Jennifer was admitted to Caligo Mental Hospital when she was 25 years old. Now, she was older, wiser, and more alert to her surroundings. She believed nothing else could shake her anymore.
Jennifer finally arrived at the house. She hesitated before unlocking the door. She felt like an intruder, like the house didn’t belong to her. After a short pause, Jennifer unlocked the door and went straight to Norman’s room. The room she prepared for him before his birth. She was happy to see that Jason kept the room as they prepared it with excitement and joy. Jennifer found an old stack of photos lying around on Norman’s crib. The cupcake was still in her hand, she sat down beside the crib, and as she was browsing through the photos, tears fell from her eyes and dropped down on the cupcake. The pictures were taken when she was pregnant with Norman. A rush of anger followed, and no one was there to stop her. She threw the cupcake and then let out a big cry. And then, she tore the photos and pushed the crib. It soon escalated, and the room was chaos.
As she was angry and crying, she heard someone from outside, a woman calling “Norman……. Norman……..Where are you? It’s time to cut the cake! We’re all waiting for you, honey!”
The woman’s voice was familiar. Jennifer knew her. She got up, curious, and looked out the window. She recognized Alexia, who lived next door, with her husband Alex. She remembered she had been pregnant just as she was 8 years ago. Alexia’s child had survived, but her child died.
“Why did she name him Norman?!” Jennifer thought, “I picked that name for my baby, and she knew it. She knew how much it meant to me!”
Anger boiled in her veins.
“Calm down! Calm down!” Jennifer kept telling herself.
Jennifer and Alexia weren’t close in the past, but being pregnant at the same time created a bond between them 8 years ago. She remembered she used to go to her house. They talked about being pregnant, over tea and chocolate cake in the afternoons.
Jennifer drew the curtain and saw a little boy in an orange costume running in circles. A woman dressed like a witch, wearing a mask, followed her through the crowd. The backyard was filled with people of all ages wearing masks and Halloween costumes. She recognized Alexia by her voice.
Alexia stopped, froze, and saw Jennifer watching them from the window. Jennifer took a step back and quickly drew the curtain. She heard something, someone was knocking on the door. She wiped her tears and blew her nose with a tissue and went downstairs to open the door.
“Hi, I’m Janet. I live just across from you. I and Jason used to work together. He used to talk about you a lot with me. I was sort of his confidant. It’s not what you think. I promise. We weren’t romantic. Anyway, Jason gave me a box to give to you. He said it’s important for you to open it as soon as you can! ” Janet said and with a forced smile, gave the box to Jennifer.
“Thank you. Anything else?” Jennifer said. She knew she was being a little rude, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to stay in front of the door and talk with Janet. She wanted to get back to her sad existence.
“That’s it. Good luck! I wouldn’t want to disturb you! I know you must be tired. Anyway, if you need me, you know where to find me!” Janet replied and as she was leaving she looked back once but kept walking to her house.
Jennifer closed the door and opened the box. There was a letter inside along with a knife. The knife was old, with weird inscriptions.
Dear Jennifer,
I should start this letter by telling you that no one could replace you in my heart. When you read this, I might not be in this world. It means that something bad happened to me. Something that probably wasn’t an accident. During your stay at the Caligo Mental Hospital, I’ve been doing some investigations about Alexia and her husband Alex. I suspected them from the day of your labor. I found out that they have been observing and spying on us since you became pregnant. Alexia wasn’t pregnant and she faked her entire pregnancy. That child they are raising is our son. They stole it from us! Our baby is not dead. You have to get him back. You have to! But, be careful, they are not human! They are called Booya, who are evil creatures who possess humans and live inside their bodies like parasites. They feed off of their souls, and when they drain their souls, they take another body. They steal human children. I don’t know what they do to children. It is something that you should find out on your own. When they take off their masks and show their true nature, you have to use the knife! They know we know about them. Take care of yourself and stay alive!
Jennifer was shocked. She couldn’t stand still, and there was no one to hold her. She collapsed on the floor.
“My baby is alive… My baby is alive!” Jennifer kept on whispering to herself, hot tears streaming down her cheek. She was both happy and sad.
“All these years I suffered. All this time, he was alive!” Jennifer murmured, clenching her fist out of anger. Years working as a police officer taught her not to attack right away. So, she swallowed her anger.
“They have messed with the wrong girl,” Jennifer said, about to throw the chair out the window, but she restrained her anger.
“I don’t care if they are humans or not, I want my BABY!” Jennifer said, angrily. She breathed in and out as her doctor had taught her. After a few minutes, she could think more clearly, and devise a plan of action. Jennifer changed her clothes. She wore a black T-shirt and jeans. A black leather jacket on top. She found an old mask in her stuff. She put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. “I’m ready to fight,” she said with determination. Her eyes were puffed up from all the crying. She went to Norman’s room and slowly drew the curtain to see if the party was still going on at Alexia’s house. It was almost 6:30 p.m. The backyard was more crowded now.
Jennifer exited from the backdoor, which led to Alexia’s backyard. She climbed the fence and landed on Alexia’s property. Children were playing with each other and grownups busied themselves with talks about business and work. No one paid attention to her. She looked around, but she couldn’t find Norman or Alexia. She went inside the house, which was nicely decorated, you wouldn’t believe monsters lived there. It was cozy, it was everything Jennifer didn’t have, but wanted. There was a family picture near the fireplace just across from the kitchen. Jennifer was taking the picture out of the frame when she saw Alexia without her mask on. Alexia didn’t see her. Jennifer quickly hid herself under the kitchen counter. Alex followed Alexia. They stood right near the kitchen, and Jennifer could hear them perfectly.
“She has come back. She wants Norman. We need to take action immediately! She knows us! If we take care of her like we did with Jason, we can’t live here anymore! Some neighbors suspect us. They think we are not normal people, they believe we don’t belong among them! We can’t turn to our old state! They know what lives inside us and they fear it! I can’t live inside Alexia’s body anymore. Her soul has lost all its juice, I can’t feed on her! I need a new body!” Alexia said nervously.
“Let’s defend our territory. No one can take Norman from us! We raised him. We are his parents and he needs to do as we tell him. We trained him well, he knows his side,” Alex said, ready to fight for Norman.
“We have to go to the lake house tonight. I want to turn. I need Big Mama’s advice to take down Jennifer.” Alexia said and then frowned. “Where is Norman? I haven’t seen him for a while,” Alexia looked around, searching for Norman in the crowd of people with masks and costumes. “Norman………. Honey……. Come here…..”
Norman, who was playing in the backyard, heard Alexia and rushed towards her.
“Honey, tonight, right after the party, we are going to the lake house. You are coming with us. We will feed you the Mommy’s Juice,” Alexia said taking Norman’s hands in her hands.
Norman started crying “I don’t like mommy’s juice …… It makes me feel sick!!!”
“It’s important for you to get that juice. You must obey your parents!” Alexia said with a victorious smile. “Right Alex?”
Alex nodded and said “We are so proud of you for taking the juice for 8 years! Two more months and we are done!”
“Can I go play now?” Norman said innocently, but was annoyed he had to go to the lake house with them.
Jennifer was transfixed. She put her hand on her mouth to stop gasping. After a while, Alex and Alexia returned to the backyard and Jennifer could get out of her hiding place.
Jennifer went back to her house. A few hours passed, and it was about 10 p.m. when Alex, Alexia, and Norman got into a black SUV and headed to the lake house. Jennifer followed them, with Janet’s car, which she borrowed. It started to downpour with heavy rain.
The lake house was a secluded place. There were two canoes on the deck. Alex, Alexia, and Norman got in one of them and started rowing. Jennifer followed them by getting into the other canoe.
After a few minutes, Jennifer found their canoe. Alexia and Alex’s body were lying there. Jennifer checked their pulse. They were not dead, but only unconscious. It was dark and silent.
Suddenly, two monstrous creatures with demon heads, human torsos and octopus legs emerged from the water. The female had Norman, holding him like he was her baby. A vein-like tube was attached from her body to Norman’s body, and a black liquid was being transferred to Norman’s body. He was unconscious.
“Looking for us!” Mama Booya said with a coarse voice. “I smelled you the moment you stepped foot in our home!”
“You want your “baby”?! Come and get it!” Baba Booya said and they both laughed together.
“What did you do to him?” Jennifer shouted, shaking.
“We turn children to Booyas. To one of us! We teach them how to feed on their own kind! Just like we fed on Alex and Alexia. They didn’t know we inhabited this lake when they bought the place. We possessed them and took over their lives!” Mama Booya said laughing.
Jennifer jumped on Mama Booya and plunged the knife into her heart. Mama Booya cried and Norman fell onto the water. Baba Booya was crying and making strange sounds. He took Mama Booya and they both retreated under water.
Jennifer dived into the water. She brought Norman back to the surface. His lungs were full of water. Jennifer holding Norman swam to the shore.
“Come on……….Come on……….” Jennifer kept saying as she was giving Norman CPR and mouth-to-mouth.
Norman gasped for air and vomited a slimy black liquid that looked like black ink.
“Where is Mommy?” Norman said, terrified.
“Mommy is here………Mommy is here!” Jennifer said. She hugged her monstrous baby. Norman hugged Jennifer back as if he had known her all along. She smelled like food, and he was hungry.
The cries of a woman echoed through the darkness breaking the silence. Cries were not of anger nor sadness, but of truth.
Thanks for reading all the way through the end 😅❤️