The Omniscrolls

Two weeks had passed since mom passed away and I was finally ready to check her belongings. Going through her desk, I came across a diary. As I sifted through the pages, my eyes stopped at a crossed-out page that was titled ‘Marissa’: Marissa, if you’re reading this, I have passed away. It’s time you learned the truth. I am not your mother, I’m an assassin. I was once hired to kill your family, including you, because they were creating a lot of problems for some powerful people through their activism. But although I killed your parents, I  couldn’t bring myself to do the same to you. And so, I adopted you instead. My hands began to tremble; I felt lifeless. I threw the diary at the wall as I fell to the floor. Everything I knew was a lie—my whole life was a lie. I sat there, on the floor, unable to move or even think. I don’t know how much time passed, but I eventually heard the doorbell ring. It was dad. I confronted him about it the moment he stepped inside. “Were you in on it, too?”

I woke up to the warmth of the sunlight brushing against my face. It was a week before Christmas, and my mind wandered off to all the things I needed to wrap up. It was then that the doorbell rang and derailed my train of thought. I opened the door to find a delivery guy with a package. “Delivery for Francesca Miller. Please sign here.” I looked at the package. It read, From: Santa Claus . “Is this some kind of joke?” The delivery guy shrugged. “I don’t know, ma’am.” I signed the paper and took the package inside. My husband, Josh, was curious about it. “I think Dani’s playing a prank on you again, Fran.” I opened the package and found a green and red suit inside. There was a note next to it, which read: Fran, would you please help me at the factory today? Two of my elves are sick and I could really use your help. “This is ridiculous.” Josh covered his mouth as he laughed. “See if it fits.” “Go away.” The day passed by with no more surprises. At night, however, I was woken up by thump

“Mommy, daddy, wake up! It's time to go out!” Noah jumped up and down on the bed.   “Okay, okay, just give us a minute,” my husband, Clive, said. “Mommy, let’s just leave daddy at home and go there by ourselves.” “Oh, is that how it is?” Clive pulled Noah and tickled him. I laughed and got out of bed. “You both better hurry up or I’ll go alone.” Around an hour later, we arrived at the park. Noah leapt out of the car and ran across the ground littered with orange and red leaves. I had to yell at him to keep him from straying into the woods. The park was nearly deserted, with only a few families around. It was peaceful and quiet. The faint warmth of the sun stroked my face, whilst the soft, cool breeze enveloped me in its gentle embrace. Winter was closing in, with Christmas just a week away. Noah was still adamant to explore every corner of the park, so we followed close behind. Soon, we were the only ones left in the park, and suddenly, there was the sound of a twig snapping nearby

As my husband and I were ready to leave on our camping trip, his phone began to ring. I reached for it, but my husband waved at me not to answer it. “What’s wrong, Cam?” “It’s from a client, Abby, and a peculiar one at that.” Their conversation had only just begun, but Cam looked like he was already drained. He left for the office a few minutes later, saying he’ll be back in two or three hours. And so, I waited, not three but four hours. I called him and he said that he was stuck with work. Cam was the one who really loved camping, yet he was the one who kept on putting it off. This was the third time we had to cancel our plans that month. Since I had bought new boots for our trip, I decided to go hiking on my own. The warmth of the sun was gentle upon my skin, and the cool breeze even gentler. Hiking through the woods, under a cascading mixture of show and light, and surrounded by the soft rustling of the trees, I felt more energised than I had been in months. After a while, I noticed

“Lanie, where are you?” “I’m here, mommy. Look what I found,” the little girl said as she ran out of the basement entrance. “We’ve been here only a minute and you’ve already gone into the basement?” “It’s alright, Cathy, she just followed me inside.” Cathy’s husband, Tom, said as he stepped out from the entrance to the basement. Cathy looked down at what Lanie was holding in her hands. “Is that a music box?” “Yes, and there’s a fairy inside!” “Oh, let me see,” Cathy said with a smile. Lanie opened the music box and, to both Cathy’s and Tom’s surprise, there was truly a fairy inside. The fairy was clad in dark grey clothing, but was wrapped in a pale blue light. The fairy’s eyes furrowed as her cold eyes met Cathy’s; the expression sent chills down Cathy’s spine. She pushed the music box out of her daughter’s hand and pulled her into her arms. The fairy yelled as the music box fell; her body rattled against what seemed to be invisible walls that covered the exact dimensions of the music

I woke up and found myself in a log cabin riddled with dust and cobwebs. The room was almost entirely dark, save for the faint light that shone through a single window ahead. From outside I could hear the continuous whistling of the wind, which was followed by a hundred sharp stings upon my skin that gave me goosebumps almost instantly. Where was I? How did I get there? Did someone kidnap me? The questions made my head reel. I had no recollection of what had happened. The last thing I remembered was visiting my mom for Christmas; she and I were talking while I was going through some of my childhood belongings. It wasn’t snowing when I met her, so I wondered just how long I had been in that place. I dragged myself out of bed whilst rubbing my hands together; the chill was beginning to settle deep within my skin. Through the window, I could see flakes of snow swirling and fluttering in the air, concealing a sea of trees in its white haze. My legs trembled as I walked down the stairs. Wit

“Anna, where are you going?” Rose said as she leapt to stop her daughter from sleepwalking out of the house. As Rose grabbed Anna’s arm, however, Anna pushed her back and knocked her off her feet. “Leave me alone!” Anna said, opening the door and marching outside. Rose got to her feet and bolted towards Anna, pinning her down and slapping her twice to wake her up. Anna struggled to break free from her mother’s grip, still only half-awake. “Hon, it’s me, your mom!” Anna came back to her senses as she opened her eyes and saw her mother’s worried face. “Mom! I thought…” “Yes?” Anna shook her head. “I don’t remember anymore.” “You need to start seeing your therapist again, hon.” Anna nodded as tears began to emerge from her eyes. “Sorry for the trouble, mom.” “It’s alright, hon. You don’t need to apologise.” Rose helped Anna back to her feet and escorted her back to the house. As Anna got into bed, she told her she was locking the door, just to be safe. Anna opposed the idea at first, but

  “ Dad, wake up!” little Kia said as she jumped on the bed. Her father, Harry, was still half asleep. “What’s the matter, hon?” “Let’s make a snowman!” “Honey, it’s still 6:00 a.m. What’s the hurry?” “So what? Let’s go, dad.” “Not until you’ve brushed your teeth and had breakfast,” Kia’s mother, Mala, said as she walked into the room. Kia grumbled under her breath as her mother led her out of the bedroom. After having their meals, Harry took Kia outside to build a snowman. Once they were done, Harry turned to his daughter. “So, what do you think?” “He’s missing something.” “Oh, of course!” Harry said, taking out an extra scarf from his jacket pocket and wrapping it around the snowman’s neck. “There we are.” “He’s still missing something, dad.” Harry smiled, wondering what was on her mind. “And what is that?” “Another snowman to keep him company!” Harry couldn’t help but chuckle. The next day, Kia ran downstairs first thing in the morning to see her snowmen, but to her dismay, one of t

  Rachel looked around the kitchen in confusion. She did not remember why she was there. Meanwhile, watching her from behind was a ghost. “How do I tell her how I feel? I wish she could see me.” Rachel felt a strange presence beside her, although she could see nothing around her. “Why do I feel like I’m being watched?” she thought. “I’ll always be here for you, Rachel,” the ghost thought. Rachel heard those thoughts. “Who’s there?” she asked, grabbing a knife and moving away from the kitchen entrance. “Wait, you can actually hear me?” Rachel felt her heart begin to pound. Was she hearing things? “You’re not having hallucinations, Rachel. It’s me, Andrew.” “Stop it!” Rachel held her head and fell to her knees. The voice was echoing endlessly in her mind. Andrew quickly reached out to her and placed his phantom hand upon her head. “I’m so sorry.” Rachel looked around the kitchen in confusion once again. Unable to remember why she had arrived there, she went back to the living room. Her m